It was very sad to say goodbye to the beautiful souls I had connected with during my time at Ashiyana. It had been a very intense month and some deep friendship bonds were formed for sure. It was with a slightly heavy heart that I stepped on the plane, waving goodbye to the sandy shores of Goa and the wooden yoga shalas of Ashiyana. I hoped and prayed that it would not be too long before I could reconnect with those who had become so dear to me during my time at Ashiyana. As sad as the goodbyes were, I had to look onwards to what lay ahead for me...a quick pit-stop in Bangalore for a night of fun behind the decks, spinning some tunes for the very swish Blue Bar at the Taj President Hotel. It was great to reconnect with the lovely Praveen & Sam - and be treated to a night in a very, very posh hotel. Next, I would head to Rishekesh, the self-proclaimed yoga capital of the world, with Tania, Jenny & Violetta - a few of my buddies from Ashiyana. And who else would I happen to find there? None other than Sophie! The universe was obviously conspiring to unite us once again.

It did feel special to be on the banks of the great holy Ganges, but I could not help but feel a little overwhelmed at the complete commercialisation of Rishekesh. It was a very beautiful place for sure, and when wandering in tranquility along the banks of the great holy river, you did feel a connection to spirituality...but the over saturation of yoga, meditation and music schools seemed to dilute the magic considerably for me. In such a place of great holy repute you are also bound to find massive numbers of seekers, and I did feel everywhere around me I was surrounded by people who were ultimately lost, trying to find answers at the feet of gurus, or in a whirlwind of chanting...it all felt a little disempowering - a few too many lost souls for my own comfort zone. Water rafting companies are also two-a-penny here...it just doesn't seem right to have such activities in such a holy river...am I being too precious here?

We gave a yoga class a go, but were ultimately disappointed - we had been spoiled by Linda's expertise on the course - she is a very, very hard act to follow! Instead, I found my own self-practice more fulfilling, which, whilst a little disappointing from one perspective, is also very empowering and encouraging from another. Having the knowledge to be able to diagnose what my body needs - and to be able to practice according to those requirements is quite a gift. For sure, there are many reputable ashrams in Rishekesh, offering an array of wonderful yoga courses...but having just come from a strict routine at Ashiyana, I didn't feel inclined to check myself in to the confines of another ashram. I was almost tempted by the Kriya yoga ashram on the recommendation of a good friend who had just been there, but I felt now was not the right time for me...the higher ground of Himalayan Dharamkot was calling me, and my feet were itching to get there. I had just about enough time to make an impromptu trip to an absolutely breathtaking waterfall - which looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie - it was so utterly beautiful. Jenny & I took a cheeky naked shower under the misty tumbling waters, which revived and energised us in the most beautifully uplifting way.

I then made a quick detour to Mumbai to play a gig at an absolutely wonderful club called Aurus. I made yet another amazing friend in Mankaran, the lovely venue manager who booked me for the gig - and we spent the night chatting about human evolution, multi-dimensional existence, and companies that have the ability to energetically reprogram the vibrational frequency of materials so they emanate a positive frequency. Fascinating stuff! From Mumbai I flew to Delhi - transiting from the life of a DJ, having everything paid for, to sitting in a dark and dingy, run-down cafe in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Delhi, awaiting my bus to take me to Dharamkot (which was 100 times more hospitable than the 'bus stop' 200 meters away, down a deserted road, in the middle of a derelict industrial building site). Fabulous. I love these extreme changes, they are so stimulating for the soul! Princess Liz almost came out - nearly despairing over whether or not this was actually a legitimate bus stop and whether I would ever make it onto this bus, but I caught myself, reigned myself in, had faith, and accepted the situation at hand. Sure enough, there were plenty of very lovely and helpful people at hand who saw me onto the bus that eventually arrived. Patience, tolerance...patience, tolerance.

The 12 hour bus ride from was actually not as bad as I'd been anticipating - even with the battery on my iPod running out halfway through the night. We eventually arrived in Dharamsala at around 5:30am and of course I was immediately greeted by an eager taxi driver who of course offered me an overly-inflated fare to take me to Dharamkot. Not really caring much to argue,  simply asked him which way I needed to go and proceeded to walk up the mountain. The fresh mountain air filled my nose, and the snowy Himalayan peaks rose in front of me in the distance. "I'm in the Himalayas!" I thought to myself...and my feet seemed to want to walk. I started to walk in what I was told was the way to Dharamkot (at 5am, and on barely no sleep for 2 nights) and I was eventually greeted by a little dude from the army who also happened to be heading int he same direction as me. He immediately offered to carry my rucksack, and found it highly amusing that I'd decided to walk my way to Dharamkot at 5am.

After climbing up some pretty steep hills and doing a spot of off-roading through some short-cuts, we eventually reached McLeod Ganj - the town just before Dharamkot - and Tibetan monks in their red robes passed us by, quietly chanting mantras as they went on their way. I felt at peace here - safe, tranquil...but my little tired legs could carry me no further and when a taxi driver offered to take us to Dharamkot for 100 Rupees I immediately accepted. The army dude jumped out (not literally) halfway there to get to his barracks - and in his pigeon English he wished me well. The taxi continued on and I glimpsed the Vipassana centre where I will be doing my 10 day silent meditation from Sunday...and I felt my heart jump in my chest. As the day approaches I am definitely beginning to feel a little nervous about it.

I reached the guest house where Jenny & Tania were staying, and I was greeted with chai and smiles. I briefly saw the girls, then had to head to bed for a power snooze. After waking I headed into town to explore my surroundings - so beautiful and serene - I feel totally safe here. White butterflies flutter around everywhere in their hundreds - it literally looks like there are snowflakes in the air when you look up - and people are chilled out and friendly - tourists and locals alike. I've also managed to find a little music school and have decided to learn to play the Indian flute - it's a lot different to the western flute, so I have an interesting challenge ahead of me. We've found a magnificent yoga teacher from Varanasi who has been putting us through our paces...and I've taken it upon myself to learn some powerful kundalini pranayama exercises to prepare myself for the Vipassana...let's wait and see what the next little while has in store for me. I'll be sure to report back to you from the other side of the Vipassana meditation course...wish me luck!

Yoga antics on the beach with my soul sister from New Jersey, Sandra (left), our utterly amazing yoga teacher Linda, (me!), my beautiful sister from another mother, Yam...and adorable Ashley - a Bollywood choreographer from Mumbai no less!

More beach yoga fun!

A beautiful Goan sunrise on our way to catch some dolphin action

Enjoying the freedom of boat life

Catching a quick snooze at Ashiyana in between yoga classes

Across this bridge you'll find beautiful Ashiyana...such idyllic surroundings

The reception area at Ashiyana

The main yoga shala where we had most of our yoga classes

We did it! We graduated!!!

Lakshman Jula - one of the main bridges of Rishekesh

The holy Ganges surrounded by the foothills of the Himalayas

The leading ladies of Rishekesh!

Sunset on the banks of the Ganges

Taking a little dip in the holy (and extremely cold!) waters

Yoga in action...this monkey has it down!

The beautiful waterfall in Rishekesh

Puja time on the Ganges

Beautiful Dharamkot

Two monks help one another up the steep pathway

Yup, it's a bit fresh up in these mountains!

Happy coffee!

The snow-capped peaks of the Himalaya can be seen on a clear day

Yup! Even the holy monks listen to iPods.