15th October, 06.
Started off 6 am, rolled till Modinagr and could step on it from there on. Stop at Cheetal park for B’k fast, nice, large, green place with decent food. Lots of space to park, catch your breath, nice clean toilets too. Off again through Roorkee and reach Haridwar around 1 PM, stop at Mayadevi parking lot. Hotel Haveli Hari Ganga chaps are waiting with the rickshaw, cars cannot go through the narrow lanes to the hotel and hence the rickshaw. They have a nice bathing place in the Ganges; we all have the ceremonial dip in the Ganges and wash off millions of accumulated sins !!!!! On to a clean thali meal and a good room to relax a bit. The Haveli itself is something to see, a very old house, great preservation job done to keep it shining; kids have a great time running around and watching the Ganges flow by from the terrace. We catch 40 winks and its time at 5 PM to see the Aarathi at Har-ke-paudi. Hotel sends a short guy with us; Kar-ki-paudi place is jammed with people and pilgrims; vendors selling 5/5 plastic sheets for 30 rupees for people to sit on, touts of all kinds, a daily drama going all around us. Shorty gives us a choice place in front of a pavement shop near where the Aarthi takes place. We park ourselves and I mount the Sony H1 on to the tripod to take some shots.
There’s electricity all around and people are agog with expectations and chanting. Sundown and the Aarti starts; this is something worth seeing. To me it’s, different from Varanashi where it’s more organized, more mechanical and sounds more commercial too; Haridwar is more humane and palpable and a little more personal. After the show is over; we go down the steps into the Ganges and set off the Dhias for the Peace and happiness of the family; they fleece us for Rs.300/- ; well worth it and we fend off circling swamis / gurus and gods men in all sizes and shapes. We run back to the hotel fast as we can shake our legs and are relieved when we see the gates of the hotel. Early dinner, watch TV and crash around 11 PM. We did 206 kms today and are at elevation 982 feet.
Started off 6 am, rolled till Modinagr and could step on it from there on. Stop at Cheetal park for B’k fast, nice, large, green place with decent food. Lots of space to park, catch your breath, nice clean toilets too. Off again through Roorkee and reach Haridwar around 1 PM, stop at Mayadevi parking lot. Hotel Haveli Hari Ganga chaps are waiting with the rickshaw, cars cannot go through the narrow lanes to the hotel and hence the rickshaw. They have a nice bathing place in the Ganges; we all have the ceremonial dip in the Ganges and wash off millions of accumulated sins !!!!! On to a clean thali meal and a good room to relax a bit. The Haveli itself is something to see, a very old house, great preservation job done to keep it shining; kids have a great time running around and watching the Ganges flow by from the terrace. We catch 40 winks and its time at 5 PM to see the Aarathi at Har-ke-paudi. Hotel sends a short guy with us; Kar-ki-paudi place is jammed with people and pilgrims; vendors selling 5/5 plastic sheets for 30 rupees for people to sit on, touts of all kinds, a daily drama going all around us. Shorty gives us a choice place in front of a pavement shop near where the Aarthi takes place. We park ourselves and I mount the Sony H1 on to the tripod to take some shots.
There’s electricity all around and people are agog with expectations and chanting. Sundown and the Aarti starts; this is something worth seeing. To me it’s, different from Varanashi where it’s more organized, more mechanical and sounds more commercial too; Haridwar is more humane and palpable and a little more personal. After the show is over; we go down the steps into the Ganges and set off the Dhias for the Peace and happiness of the family; they fleece us for Rs.300/- ; well worth it and we fend off circling swamis / gurus and gods men in all sizes and shapes. We run back to the hotel fast as we can shake our legs and are relieved when we see the gates of the hotel. Early dinner, watch TV and crash around 11 PM. We did 206 kms today and are at elevation 982 feet. 
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