CAIO SUD AMERICA, NAMASTE INDIA !!!!

So, after a long 17 hours in transit for a flight that should have taken me from Quito to Caracas in 3 hours, I arrived in Caracas at 11:00 pm. Got to my hotel, which was pure luxury compared to some of the shit holes we stayed in. This was to be my last nite in South America. I left the MTV channel on all nite so I could absorb every bit of Spanish music while I was there. On the flight from Panama city to Caracas, I met this lovely man who invited me to stay with him and his wife instead of going to the hotel. He said if I ever came to Caracas again, I was to think of his home as my own! Loved the people in this beautiful continent…always ready with a smile, and a Buenos dias, and a como estas. Then, from Caracas to Frankfurt, a 9 hour flight, I sat next to a German man, who didn’t even say hi to me the entire time. Had 5 hours to kill in Frankfurt so I decided to go out for a little bit of a walk to get some air. I walked out of the airport, and literally turned around and walked back in! I had forgotten what cold feels like. OMG!!! I don’t think my body is capable of dealing with low temperatures any longer.

After a mai tai and a caipirinhia in the lounge, I stumbled over to the boarding gate to make my way to New Delhi. This time again, I sat with a lady who didn’t even say hi. FINE BY ME!!! Arrived in India and my first interaction with an Indian was with the immigration officer. He looked at my passport, and then looked at me a few times. Then asked me what I did for a living. I told him I was a pharmacist which obviously led him to ask me how much I made every month. I was a bit shocked about the personal question and then I remembered I am in India. There is nothing personal here. So, the next question was if I was married…and I told him..been there done that. He was genuinely concerned and asked me why it didn’t work out and if I had married a foreigner! Before I left the counter, he told me that I was lovely and would have no problem finding a man. Phew! Thank God, now I can go on with my life! LOL! Ahh....third world!!! People are so much warmer, friendlier, more interesting and absolutely CRAZY!

My cousin had come to receive me at the airport and I kept him awake until 4 am talking. Thanks to jet lag! After spending the day in Delhi, shopping for clothes that would not give my grandma a heartattack…”decent clothes” they call them here. Means anything that is unflattering, shapeless, non cleavage revealing and I don’t have anything like that in my backpack! Finally after a 5 hour train journey, we arrived in Jalandhar, my hometown, and there were about 20 people to see me. Everyone’s reaction…OMG, what happened to you? You are so dark, so skinny! My grandma literally had tears in her eyes from pity for me. “Oh my poor daughter”, she said, “You’ve been drifting around the world, with nothing to eat, carrying such a heavy back pack.” Not to worry though, coz she’s told me once I drink milk and eat yogurt, I will lose my tan and get my color back. Such drama queens! It’s absolutely hilarious. So, we all sat in my granny’s room and ofcourse within 15 minutes we were talking about finding me a man. Everyone had their two cents to put in…so far, they are going to put an ad in the newspaper in the matrimonial section to find me a man, spread the word to all the relatives that I am single, get me back to a fair and lovely color. All this in one night. I knew there was a reason why I loved my family so much. Can you imagine me having an arranged marriage? That in itself is a joke! I love them so much. My friends have all been calling and coming over to visit. I am only here for 10 days and so they want to make the best use of me…i.e. party! I am an excuse for everyone to get together and go dancing coz they know I love to party. LOL! I am all partied out at the moment and just need some time to detoxify and recuperate before I go to Osho ashram. Heard there’s a party there every evening. Anyway, I can ramble on…so off I go for now!

Restless in Quito

God, what a day I´ve had! Last nite at about 7 pm, I decided to print out my eticket for my flight today. As I held it in my hand, I read and reread to make sure what my eyes were seeing was true. The fucking ticket was from Lima to Caracas instead of Quito to Caracas. I couldn´t believe my stupid travel agent made such a huge mistake. Last minute I was frantically searching for a ticket on the internet and finally got one for this morning, leaving Quito at 7:40am. Arrived at the airport promptly at 5:40 am exactly 2 hours before the flight. To my surprise, the ticket agent upgraded me to first class and that meant I had access to the lounge. I thought to myself, hey all´s well that ends well! But that was not to be! When I went to the check in gate at boarding time, I was informed that the airport was shut down due to bad weather. All the flights were delayed and apparently mine was cancelled. So, now we had to make our way back to the check in counter and try and get on a different flight. My problem is that I have to get to Caracas tonight in order to make the connection for India and that is tomorrow evening. I begged and pleaded with the ticket agent and he booked me on a flight leaving at 3:30pm and arriving Caracas at 10:30pm. I even had the balls to ask him to upgrade me to first class if possible. I thought since I have nowhere else to go in Quito, I´d just stay at the airport and enjoy the lounge. But alas, first class was full!!! However, I decided to give my luck a try and just walked back to the lounge. The girls at the counter recognized me and I smiled at them and said "I´m back"!! They smiled back and forgot to check my boarding pass. So, I sit here now in the first class lounge writing my blog :) Not bad, eh? But still, I am bored out of my tree! 3 more hours to go. I guess I´ll go and find something to eat and maybe some vino to sip!

Galapagoz or Paradise????

If I`ve ever made a decision that I have been so happy about it would have to be to change my plans and go to Galapagoz. I knew it would be a great ending to my trip but I was not prepared for what Galapagoz had in store for me. How does one comprehend something so beautiful, so perfect, so ideal?!? Galapagoz is what mother nature intended our planet to be like...air so clean that you can feel your lungs thanking you, water so clear that you can see to the bottom of the sea from your boat, animals so tame that they come within inches of you without any fear, skies so clear that you can see all the stars in the milky way! Wow, there is definitely no place like Galapagoz on this planet and I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to explore it, experience it!

So, we arrived on the gorgeous island of Baltra after a 2 hour flight. Took a dingy to our boat, our home for the next 8 days. Met the crew, the guide and the rest of the group. Our daily schedule included waking up at 6 am and going for our first exploration of the day. Mostly it was a wet landing, which meant jumping off the dingy while the waves crashed on you so you got soaking wet. Then our lovely guide, Edwin, would take us around the island pointing out all the animals and birds along the way. It`s unbelievable how tame the animals are in Galapagoz. If you are swimming, they`ll come right up to you and swim right next to you. I saw lots of sea lions, iguanas, turtles and loads of birds. My favourite birds were the boobies. Yes, that`s the name...blue footed boobies. I bought a t-shirt that says I love boobies!! There are a lot of species of animals and birds that are only found in Galapagoz and nowhere else on the planet. After the walk the first day, we had a chance to go snorkeling. I had never snorkelled before so I decided to give it a try but wanted to stay right by the shore. Edwin urged me to come along with him and promised he would hold my hand through the whole thing. So, I agreed and let him lead me into the water. The first time I put my face in the water, I was awestruck! I had never seen anything like this before. I`ve swum in the ocean many times but just stayed on the surface not even thinking about what`s underneath the surface. It was like a whole different world down there. I felt like I was flying and watching thousands of fish swimming around me. It was amazing! I saw sea turtles casually flapping, rolling about me. I was really starting to enjoy it and then Edwin pointed at something and when I looked I was startled to see a shark! My first instinct was to take my face out of the water and not look at it. I mean, it was a fucking shark and it was swimming merely a few feet away from me. Granted it was a small (about 2 ft long) reef shark but still!! But I stayed put but held on to Edwin`s hand real tight. As we were coming out of the water, right along the shore, we spotted a sting ray. I swam right on top of it, thinking the whole time about Steve Irwin!! I was in seventh heaven, so pleased that I had been exposed to a whole new world and couldnt wait to go snorkelling again. In the afternoon, after lunch, we got free time or siesta time. We sat on the deck, reading, drinking beer, just watching our surroundings. In the evenings we had another exploration. Walked around and got educated on more birds and animals. In the evenings, we sat at the deck, drinking wine, socializing, dancing. After dinner it would be time to sit on the deck chairs and watch the stars. I swear you have never seen so many stars in your life. Not only because there are absolutely no lights for miles and miles, but also we were right at the equator. That meant that we could see the constellations of both the northern and the southern hemisphere. We`d just lay there quietly and stare at the stars, with the lovely breeze, sound of fish jumping around in the water, sea lions splashing about. I have never in my life felt so much at peace. There are very few times in your life when you are in the moment and you know there isn`t another place you`d rather be. I felt like that the entire time I was in Galapagoz.

The biggest excitement of the whole trip was the day we were to go snorkelling around Devil`s crown. Apparently, it`s the best place to spot hammerhead sharks. Hammerheads are known to be around 9 to 10 meters long i.e. around 10 to 15 ft!! And this time it was going to be deep sea snorkelling, which meant we had to jump out of the dingy instead of swimming in from the shore. So, we took the dingy to the spot where we were supposed to jump in the water. It was quite choppy and our guide said to us that it would be advisable to jump in that spot only if you were a strong swimmer and comfortable snorkelling. I was quite nervous and looking for an excuse not to jump in the water that most likely had schools of sharks in it. One of the guys on our trip was a real shark enthusiast and we`d nicknamed him shark boy. He was the first one to jump in. He came up from the water and told me to jump in coz he said I was in for a treat. He promised me he wouldnt leave my side the whole time. Now, I`ve noticed that when I am faced with a situation where I am really scared, my mind just goes numb. It`s like my body just takes over and I have no control. That`s what happened. I put on my mask and just jumped into deep sea which was likely full of sharks! WOW! I still can`t get over it. I was capable of doing that!?!?! And what a treat it was. I could see right to the bottom of the sea...about 30 meters down. And there they were...sharks...about 10 or 15 Galapagoz sharks all about 9 to 10 ft long. I saw them and I wasn`t scared. I just watched them, fascinated at the grace with which they swim, fascinated at the knowledge that I was in the water with these gorgeous creatures. I have never seen so many fish in my life. All colors, thousands and thousands of them. We, however, didnt see any hammerheads, which was a bit of a disappointment, but a part of me was also a bit relieved.

Now lemme tell you about life on the boat. On the first day, during lunch we were served juice that no one could figure out what it was. I said it was probably guava juice. That reminded me how much I missed being called guava. No one had called me Ria in a long time. I told some people at my table how my group had nicknamed me guava and they really thought it was quite a good name for me. And so it began....i was being called guava again. The crew on board loved me. They waited on me hand and foot. It was great! I was the only vegetarian and man did the cook look after me. He would make these lovely concoctions and present it so beautifully for me. And then bring it to me personally. It was quite funny really. The crew, all latino men, started calling me guavita, which means little guava. It was so cute! The only other time I`ve been treated so well was in Goa when Ash and me stayed in Palolem. My cabin was cleaned twice a day, and they left little treats for me. Then Louis, our first mate, started calling me morenita, which means a little brown girl. This got changed to negrita i.e. little black girl as I progressively got darker and darker. The first time I saw a shark in the water, I panicked a bit and wanted to get out of the water and into the dingy. Louis was driving the dingy at the time and since that day he started making fun of me, telling everyone how I panicked! And one day, as he was yet again laughing at me, I told him that I`d never seen him swimming with sharks and then I went on to make the biggest mistake of my life. I called him a chicken!!! Calling a latino man chicken is apparently a big deal! It was on now! He told me that he was gonna get me when I least expected it. So, on the last nite, we were having a party on the deck. Everyone was drinking, and dancing. Then the captain and Louise came up to me and picked me up. They started carrying me down the stairs to the bottom of the boat. I knew then they were gonna throw me into the water. I started screaming, really kicking up a storm. So the captain backed off and lemme go. But Louise, put me on his shoulder and carried me down and jumped into the water with me!!! It was hillarious! I came out of the water, everyone was laughing. So, I told him that he was still a chicken. Well, I guess I asked for it coz before I knew it, I was being thrown in the water again. LOL!!

It was really hard saying goodbye to everyone. But here I am again, in Quito. My last nite here. Tomorrow I fly to Crackass...I mean Caracas, Venezuela. From Caracas I will fly to India. Can`t believe it`s all come to an end. Loved every minute of it but man I cant wait to be in India now. I cant wait to go.

ALL BY MYSELF!!!! I cant believe I just said goodbye to everyone and I am literally left by myself in Lima, Peru. I said goodbye to Sponge Bob....but she`s been with me for almost 3 months now. I cant imagine her not being there, picking on me, making fun of me, being cross with me, laughing at me, laughing with me, being her spongy self. Wow, I cant believe it all went down without too many tears. I think it might be the wine helping me through this nite and tomorrow I board the plane to Quito very early in the morning. So, its really a matter of one nite that I am ALL BY MYSELF!!!

Riaisms???...yes, i guess that`s what they are calling it! WOrds in hindi like Hai Ram, Aye hai, oh ho, na kar yaar, kuchu, chalo, so rude, and a few more! I cant believe the goras (whities) are using them, especially the two that I hang out with the most...Helga (Jess) and Sponge Bob (jen)! THe funniest was on the Inca trail when Helga slipped and fell and yelled out Hai Ram! It was so funny. It`s become part of their language. Hai Ram just means Oh God but I like it how they are making it a part of their vocab. And I think I have interested quite a few on my group to come visit me in India, esp Spongy. It would be nice to show her the country, take her to Goa, Bombay, maybe even to Jalandhar for my cousin`s wedding. Lets see how it pans out. But for now the big rendezvous is in September...Me, Sponge, Crazy and Kirsty (the girl I travelled from Caracas to Rio with). We shall be descending on the city of London and painting it red, green, and all the colors of the rainbow :) I can`t wait to see Crazy and Kirsty. I also wanna go see their hometowns, so I will be going to Exeter and Sheffield to see where these crazies come from.

Yesterday, we went to see the Nasca Lines. WOw! Took a little 5 seater cessna plane to fly over them. Nasca Lines are pics drawn in the sand dating back to 400 BC. Pics of animals like monkeys, spiders, humming birds etc, too big to appreciate from the ground. That is what makes them so amazing because they didnt have planes back in 400 BC, so why did they draw these pics? Oh, the mystery! Love it...the whole thing is so bizzare! Off to Pisco today, where we might go sandboarding and dune buggying again. Or might just decide to chill by the pool. We are finally at sea level again so now we are in the middle of Peruvian summer. Last nite was beautiful. We stayed at our gorgeous hotel...sat outside on the verandah with the cool breeze blowing, drinking some vino blanco, chatting with the buddies....oh, good times!

I cant believe the time is almost here to say goodbye though. Only 3 more days...hai ram! THen, I am on my own for a few days until i meet the rest of the group going to Galapagoz. There will be 16 of us and 8 staff on a 65 ft yacht for 9 days. Close quarters...I think they might be! Hopefully, it will be a fun group...cute guys will be a bonus ;)

Peru...I feel it´s spirit! I dont know why but Peru has really got under my skin. I enjoy everything about it...the chaotic traffic in the city, the coco leaf chewing people on the street with their green tinted teeth smiling at you, the majestic mountains, the spirituality! I love this country and am feeling it in my blood that I am going to come back for a visit very soon. I would´ve liked to stay and go into the jungle for a few weeks. Maybe try a bit of Ayahuasca. For those of you who dont know what Ayahuasca is, its supposed to be a hallucinogenic plant that is given by shamans to people who like to delve deep into their psyche. I have discovered the term ¨psychonaut¨and I think its quite apt. I had been thinking about doing this since I first heard about it in Vancouver. But since my arrival to South America, I had been thinking about it non stop until I met Brett. Brett, being the wise man that he is, told me a bit more about the ¨drug¨! Seems like it strips away layers of your ego and you come eye to eye with the real you, along with all the fears you might hold. I decided to hold off for the time being coz I dont know what I might find. But then in Peru, my tour leader, Geraldine, told me about the time she did it and how amazing it was for her and how it totally helped her get all the answers she was looking for. She also gave me a wonderful book on it that I devoured in one sitting. I loved everything about it...the fact that you do it in the jungle, in a natural environment, with real ayahuscerios! I almost decide to go do it but Sponge bob made me change my mind. I agree with her that I should go with someone I know..in case I trip out real bad. At the moment, meditation is calling me, Osho is speaking out to me and I am really excited about it. But I think, I will come back to Peru very soon. I would like to do two things when I come back. One is to go on the Inca trail with someone I love. I think its absolutely the most romantic, the most spiritual thing a couple can do together. And, secondly, I would like to go to the jungle and do drugs with this person.

Only 4 more days till this part of my tour ends. I fly out of Lima to Quito on Jan 14th. I´ll be in QUito, Ecuador for 2 days by myself. Then, off to Galapagoz islands for 10 days. Then on the 27th, I fly to India. I cant wait to get there....to see the faces of people that I love and who love me. All I am gonna do for 10 days in Jalandhar, where my granny lives, is to eat home cooked food, put oil in my hair, watch bollywood movies, play with babies! I am so gonna love every minute of it. Just fill my heart with unconditional love .... so simple and so fulfilling!

Machu Picchu...The mystical land of the Incas!!!! Happy new year everyone...hope it brings you everything you hope for. For me new year`s eve has always been a really big deal. A big party, definitely a new outfit, surrounded by friends I love, lots of drinking and dancing. A couple years ago, me and Rick threw the best new year`s party ever. Last year I was in Goa, surrounded by total strangers but me and Kanika managed to make the most of it. This year would be absolutely the most memorable new years eve of my life. When will I ever get a chance to say I was in a tent, surrounded by tall majestic mountains on the Inca trail on my way to Machu Picchu!! What a beautiful way to bring in the new year. Yes, I know it`s just another day...as a lot of people like to think of everything in life. I like to make big deals of some days out of the year. I realize that every day of the year should be memorable and important but sometimes its good to have landmark days to stop and guage your life. For me, a new year brings new energy! Time to let go of the past and look only to the future. And from where I stand now, it looks amazing! I read somewhere today that the best place for personal growth is when your ego has been shattered but still hasn`t had the time to attach itself to anything new. That`s where I am at right now. CLEAN SLATE!!! Time to write a new story.

The story begins on Dec 31st, the most anticipated day of my entire South American journey. I think Machu Picchu was the reason for me to set out on this journey. We arrived by bus to Olyantantambo, the town where the Inca trail begins. I was feeling very restless in the morning before this journey. I think I was a bit homesick...just missing my mom and dad so much. Just wanted to cry...so I called mom and cried my heart out. Thank God for mothers...what would I do without her. After that everything was smooth sailing. Went through the Sacred Valley, which was breathtaking. Drove through little villages, saw old Inca ruins and finally arrived at Olyantantamo in the evening. Got all our supplies for the Inca trail i.e. walking stick, water proof everything, warm clothes and other knick knacks.

Next morning I woke up literally vibrating with excitement! I was like a little kid in a candy store. I just wanted to get started on this journey that I had waited over 3 months for. We arrived by bus to the base of the Inca trail, where we got our passport stamped stating that we began the Inca trail. The first day was easy...i can say that because of the days that followed. But, it was still 6 hours of walking up and down the mountains, in the rain---ponchos on, ponchos off!! The first day, we walked through little villages, saw some ruins but it still seemed like we were in civilization. Arrived at our campsite at around 4 pm. We were 11 people in our group with 18 porters looking after us. We only carried our little day pack with the stuff that we might need during our hike. The rest of our stuff (sleeping bags, matteress etc) was carried by these poor porters. I cant believe the quality of service we received. We were treated like royalty the entire journey. The food was spectacular. We arrived at our campsite and our tents were all set up. We were given hot water to dip our feet in. There was a little shop where we bought some beer. But after beer and dinner, we decided to go to bed...at about 9 pm. At 11:45, we were woken up to bring in the new year. There was champagne, pisco, wine!! It was quite magical to count down to the new year in a dinner tent surrounded by mountains. For the first time, I was really at peace on new years eve even though I had no one to kiss. Last year was hard and I remember the first thing I did when the count down ended, was cry! I had been with Rick for 7 years and he was not there with me for the first time in 7 years. But this year, I was at peace. That`s what I mean about guaging how far you`ve come in your life.

Next morning we were woken up by the donkey braying outside our tent. Came out of my tent to see that I had literally landed in Old McDonald`s farm. There were chicken, pigs, ducks, cats, dogs, donkeys, guinea pigs...all roaming free among our tents. It was quite hillarious. After a lovely breakfast of pancakes, we set out on what was supposed to be the hardest hike of the four day journey. Me, Sponge and Jessica were ahead of the group and walked the entire day together. We had a lot of help from coco leaves! Felt like a right maj(cow for hindi) chewing on dried out leaves. But, it does give you a lot of energy and helps with breathing at high altitude. After all we had to climb 2000 meters in 4 hours. Straight up!! It was grouse grind x 10! But so much more magical. The highest point of our journey, dead woman`s pass, was at 4200 meters. It was a real tough climb, up the uneven, rocky steps. At one point I stopped to put on some sun screen and there was something crystally on my face. Then I realized I was literally sweating salt! But, when I arrived at the top of the dead woman`s pass, I was overcome with emotion! I looked down to see how far I had come and the entire valley was covered with clouds. I realized that I was above the clouds! I sat there, feeling the energy of the mountain....and then the tears came. OUt of nowhere...I started to cry. Not knowing why I was crying but I knew that I had to. I cried and I cried until I felt like I was completely cleansed from the inside. I think a lot of it was related to Rick. I just never allowed myself to grieve for my marriage breaking up. I just went out and started dating right away, never giving myself the space to grieve the loss of someone I loved dearly. I think I had a lot of suppressed grief that just came out at the top of the mountain. I felt so lighthearted after. I have been a whole new person since then...granted its only been 4 days :) but hey, so far I feel like a different person. What goes up, must come down...hence, we started our downhill journey from dead woman`s pass. This was harder than climbing up, especially when it started to rain. Going down slippery stones, covered in our ponchos was not the funnest but we made the most of it. Arrived at our second campsite at the foot of a massive waterfall, in the middle of the cloud forest. Yes, we were literally in the middle of the clouds. Heaven...couldnt have imagined it any other way. That nite we were told the best part of the journey was yet to come.

Next day began with a straight uphill climb for about 2 hours. After that it was supposed to be mostly flat, or rolling hills. After lunch, I decided to walk alone...and am I ever glad that I did. This was the most beautiful landscape of the entire journey. I was walking through clouds, past waterfalls, on this narrow authentic Inca trail. All I heard were birds, waterfalls and my footsteps. Its the closest I`ve ever felt to God. I felt so at one with nature, walking among these majestic mountains, on the road built thousands of years ago. Everything seemed brighter, as if I could see the energy fields of the plants! I get goose bumps when I think about it. I would be walking for hours and then around the bend, in the middle of the mountains, I would come upon an old Inca city ruin. This is how they lived, among the mountains. THey worshipped mountains, as their primary God. THat is why there is so much energy here. Arrived at the 3rd campsite...finally showers!!! Oh, did I mention there were no showers the first two days? Yes, we sweat a lot and we were extremely stinky! After the best hot shower of my life, I had the best cold beer of my life. THis campsite was very posh compared to the other two we stayed at. There was a restaurant, a bar, a discotheque and did I mention..showers!!! We all drank and danced with our lovely (yet extremely stinky) porters. It was a lot of fun. When again would I get the opportunity to go to a discotheque in my socks and sandals :)

Next morning arrived too early. We were supposed to be up at 4 am in order to reach the sun gate to watch the sunrise over machu picchu. It was pouring rain, I was tired and sleepy, and it was freezing cold! But, we got up, got dressed and started our 2 hour journey to the sun gate. Again, I opted to walk alone, away from the group. I wanted to feel one with nature again and I wasnt disappointed. Unfortunately, it was not very sunny when we arrived at the sun gate. In fact, the entire city of machu picchu was shrouded in clouds. But, it was still magical. When I first caught sight of Machu Picchu, it was breathtaking! It looked like it had a veil of clouds over it. But as I stood there, mesmerized by its beauty, the clouds lifted and the city was revealed to me. It was spectacular! Then, our lovely guide, Miguel, took us around the city and brought it to life. HOw the Incas lived, how they prayed, how they performed human sacrifices, their customs, their architecture, their spirituality! It was wonderful. THe entire city is surrounded by amazingly tall mountains. My only regret was that the clouds never fully lifted for me to see the mountains clearly. Yes it was quite amazing to see the clouds drift in and out and reveal a little bit at a time, but I would`ve liked to see the entire thing clearly atleast once. But, it was not to be. Nonetheless, I have to say, Machu Picchu not only lived up to my expectations but exceeded it! I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat. But I have to say, the journey was what made the destination so amazing. You can get to the city by train but I cant imagine the experience being even close to what we experienced!

I am in Cusco now and have only 9 more days left on this trip. After that 10 ays in Galapagoz and then I am off to India. I was gonna come to Vancouver for a week or so but I miss mom too much. My brother has been kind enough to get me a flight direct from Quito, Ecuador to London. Might have to be in London for a couple of days, long enough to buy some clothes and then off to India. Did I mention I am going to live in an ashram in India for 3 months! Yeah, next up, spirituality!! I am going to work and meditate, and do yoga for three months in this gorgeous ashram in Pune called Osho ashram. Should be interesting. Will keep u updated. Lots of love and good wishes for the new year.