Sure Travel Journey Vol 5.2 Autumn 2019 | Page 40

• E N R O U T E / / C O V E R S T O R Y A RETREAT IN RISHIKESH DAWN JORGENSEN TRAVELS TO A CITY WITH 100 000 PEOPLE TO FIND SILENCE AND SOLITUDE I step out of the small and somewhat chaotic Dehradun airport in India and into a sea of nameboards, one of them marked for me. While helping me into a weary-looking car that is my ride to Rishikesh, my driver, Amit, smiles warmly and says, “You are most welcome.” We climb a winding road through thick forest and vegetation, passing brightly decorated trucks and 40 // MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE tuk-tuks, passenger-laden motorbikes and the occasional roadside monkey during the 40-minute journey to my final destination, and the ashram that will be my home for the next 12 days. Situated on the banks of the Ganges River (or holy Mother Ganga as it’s called locally) on the foothills of northern India’s Himalayan Mountains, Rishikesh is a place of ancient spiritual practices and thousands of years of yoga, meditation and Ayurveda. Known as the yoga capital of the world, it is one of the holiest places in Hinduism, and sages and saints have visited here since ancient times in search of higher knowledge. I’m here in what’s turned into a year of “eat, pray, yoga and self-love” in a quest to step away from the madness of digitised life and seek out a healthier