Mona's India Journey - 2023 part 1
So many people shared interest and support knowing I was on my way to India to complete my Āyurvedic Doctor training… Everyone’s interest has been so sweet and much appreciated. It took me a while to find my own excitement, and so it was great how you all shared yours with me!
As part of this, many have asked me to “stay in touch if you can”. I have been trying to figure out how to do this and thought I would try documenting the journey using the blog on the website. I have no idea what sort of frequency I’ll be able to post with, however, I figure this is a good place to share what I can when I can. I hope it brings you some joy or perhaps is simply interesting.
I flew out of Pearson Airport on Wednesday, September 27th. My trip was pretty good, albeit filled with delays all over the place. I feel like travel is travel, so I won’t spend time on these stories. What I will share is that my seatmates were great (one of them said to me, “So I’m into this thing called Āyurveda… have you heard of it?” Linda, if you read that, that made my day!) and I made it. Yay! I arrived at the hotel in Bengaluru (Bangalore) at about 4 a.m. India time on Friday, September 29th.
We’re staying at the Clarion Bangalore. It’s great. Here’s a picture outside the window of my room.
Can you see the dog in the picture? Lots of stray dogs here.
And here’s a short video of the area from the pool deck.
From where I was standing to film the above video, I wasn’t able to get one of the most beautiful trees! Here’s a picture of a palaśa tree, known in English as the “Flame of the Forrest” tree. It’s bright orange flame-like flowers are simply gorgeous! (and it’s a medicinal plant!)
We also had to go out on an expedition for some supplies (toiletries, appropriate attire for the hospital, and snacks), which meant piling into an auto-rickshaw. We fit four (4) adult humans in the back seat!
This is me, Patty, Dr. Anusha (our teacher), and you can just see Philippa’s elbow. Philippa ended up being our seatbelt. To get a good sense of the adventure, here’s a video for your enjoyment.
We also have a few lovely cows in our neighborhood.
Tomorrow we are heading to the Bengalore Botanical Gardens where we will get to see many plants AND meet Dr. Venmani - one of our teachers for the program. We have only ever seen her online, so I’m super excited to meet her in person.
Now it’s time for me to rest. It’s amazing what an adjustment a 10.5-hour time difference requires!
Thanks for reading! More to come. Be well :)