In July of 2008, I spent about a week in Rishakesh, India, in the state of Uttarkhand (part of a two month travel/study/volunteering adventure). Rishikesh is known, in the West at least, as housing the Ashram where the Beatles studied--though that is no longer there, as far as I know. The town is full of Ashrams, and Indian and foreign tourists (packs of post-Army Israeli young people). It spans the Ganges, rather beautifully, and is known in some circles as the World Capital of Yoga. Did I partake in any religious study or Yoga whilst there? No, I did not. I enjoyed the sights, though. And I got my eyebrows threaded. Blasphemy?
I chose an interesting, if non-fortiutious, time to visit--smack in the middle of a huge pilgrimage of orange-clothed men. They were entertaining, and at times excessively rowdy. I got my picture taken a lot here. A lot. Was it 'cause my hair had pink in it, at the time? Perhaps.
I will say that I travelled alone for almost four weeks in India, and I rarely felt unsafe, though pretty much always very visible. I'd recommend a lady traveling alone in Northern India be aware of her surroundings, but just go ahead and do it. It's pretty great. Many people are very nice, and hey--more speak English than in most other places of travelled--and that makes things a hell of a lot easier.
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