'Toot, toot!'

So of course there was a little airport drama during my journey to India. And by drama, I mean my first flight was delayed by an hour and I had to break into a light jog to reach the connecting flight. I would have felt slightly cheated if the whole journey had been completely plain sailing, after all, travelling alone to a new country is brave right? Now, I’m used to airports so surely the hardest part would be in a car, being driven to my destination in India, as of course it will be just like those programmes on tv every time? The journey to Rishikesh by taxi was a dream.

I couldn’t drink it all in fast enough. There’s almost something childlike about seeing somewhere that is entirely different from what you are used to, I felt my eyes literally dance over everything I could possibly allow them to as we began to weave through the day to day bustle. This place is the opposite end of the spectrum from the shiny Dubai skyscrapers, which crowd and tower above you. This place makes you feel small in an entirely different way. Driving along the green, winding roads made me feel like I was in Scotland again, home, comfortably driving along peaceful roads. Although there is peace, life calmly spills into the road from every direction. A lady sweeping the road in front of her shop, I thought to myself ‘Why bother?’, not because her attempts at sweeping the muddy, dirt road seemed futile, but because look where she can ‘just be’ every single moment. Monkeys chattering and chilling by the roadside, revered cows strolling alongside the people, sharing the place, a family of pigs pottering by the bridge. Harmonious bliss and palpable respect for all living things, life just goes on here. Everything just is. Everything just flows, the expected ‘I’m here!’ Toot echoes through life on the road, again emphasising how right Rishikesh seems to have it.

Beginning the ascent, a lazy glance to the left surprised me. Thick, majestic clouds were resting beautifully on the mountains and it literally took my breath away. I didn't even film it I was so caught in the moment, hence why the video is of the streets below and not the mountains. And isn't that just exactly how it is supposed to be, living in the moment.

There’s mysticism is those hills and you begin to feel it awaken in your soul. You just know it will eventually begin to rumble like a mountainous thunderstorm, strong enough to match the strength of the Himalayas. I am sure the longer you stay here the more inevitable the ‘soul rumble’ becomes. It’s a different kind of magic here, one that you know will change you for the better. You breathe it in alongside the deliciously fresh air.

‘Toot, toot!’ Rishikesh, I’m here.