Well i am back again. I arrived after an uneventful train ride from Haridwar – just me, an overcrowded train and the usual cockroaches. I am getting used to all this…

However, it was with out a doubt sheer bliss to check back into my hotel – “welcome home again Ms. Smith!”

While waiting for my room I had a superb lunch – the one I had been dreaming about – grilled Irish salmon, a salad lightly dressed, some perfect fries (I know but….) and a chilly, crisp Chablis! Practically orgasmic!

I unloaded a huge mound of clothes to the laundry and headed off to the SPA – Hair, Mani and Pedi – all at the same time. Interestingly all the aestheticians were male , so I had four guys working on me at the same time – and i needed it! My feet turned the water a dark brown ( I won’t say black exactly ) the first pass!

Then out to dinner with Micky, Sheeba and their daughter Amrita at an incredible Japanese restaurant. Perfect sushi – OMG.

What all this tells me of course is that I truly am a hedonist! I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Ashram; I learned a lot about myself, will sincerely try to incorporate some of those things I learned into my daily life and I likely would do it again. BUT….

I suppose it is the juxtaposition of such completely different worlds that works for me. I recollect when on the air safari in southern Africa a couple of years back – the focus was completely outside myself, making those magical shots, flying from place to place in those 182’s; but then returning to Johannesburg and a luxe hotel was also sublime. I suppose too much of one or the other would not suit…

My last couple of days at the ashram were very interesting and bittersweet. I had a couple of the most stimulating conversations I can ever remember having had – Gurinder and I discussed the relative importance of peace, joy and love in one’s life and which could be the most sustainable and which might be the most important – over breakfast no less. Then Tomas and I had a long conversation on the affect of violence on social networks (not Facebook) and how dysfunctional social networks can be detrimental to the sustainability of a social group – that at least was over dinner!

I said good-bye to the vocal yoga group and and received a lovely compliment – “we will miss your joy!” And I realized that that is probably the main thing I felt while there – pure unadulterated JOY.

I consider myself one of the luckiest of people to have such opportunities in life!

Now I am waiting for my “tech-guru” Ankit to arrive here at the hotel. I am not entirely sure why he is coming to see me but I do think it is delightful that he is coming in from Chandigarh to do so and bringing his “soon-to-be fiancé” (I wonder if she knows…) Anyway we will have lunch and I am actually looking forward to meeting him face to face – we too have had some far ranging conversations online.

More later…