(2005) Once upon a time, I found myself in Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalaya, and a center of yoga, supposedly. Meh...

I did the newbie thing by signing on for a stay inside a temple: for a set price, we got spartan lodging, simple meals, morning yoga and meditation lessions, and strict curfews.

Well, that shit just was't doing it for me, after a while, so I hit the streets to look for leads.

While trying to sniff out some action, I was rushed by a cow and saved from a goring by a sadhu in orange. Stading behind him were Paul and Matt, a pair of Brits. We began walking together, and by the end of the day, I had found my travelling mates for the next portion of my journey. Out of the temple and into the world..

...out of the temple, into the world...

Paul and Matt were in their early twenties, and came to India on a whim. Paul had big blond dreadlocks that he claimed never to have washed in over six months.

'Naked Baba' was a homeless Indian dude they had picked up somewhere. He had taken to following them all day, then sleeping outside their guesthouse door at night. He often assured: "Me no cheating baba. Me nekkid jungle baba."

Apparently, his naked baba gimmick was derived from him running around in the jungle naked when he was a kid. Or something like that...

Ultimately he turned out to be a scheming homeless guy clad in orange, and Rishikesh turned out to be a stinking town with nice colors and a sinister vibe.

So Paul and Matt and I headed north to Manali, the land of Himalayan mountains and marijuana fields. I will post about Manali, some other time...