India 2010: Day Three

Monday, October 25, 2010

Day three of our first pilgrimage to India, the motherland of Yoga.

It has been an eye-opening and humbling journey so far. Our first day was spent on the road, from Hong Kong via Singapore, then all the way to Kolkata, the home of our yoga master, Debdatta Biswas, or, affectionately known as Deva in the Hong Kong yoga community.

After a full 16 hours on the road, we finally arrived at the luxurious Swisshotel Kolkata at 3:30 am Indian time, which would be 5:30 in the morning in Hong Kong. Tired and hungry, we only had about six hours of sleep before heading out in the morning to our final destination: the Punyalakshmi Hotel, where we will be spending the next five days drenching ourselves with yoga, learning the ancient art from local masters.

It was a good three hours ride on a busy and bumpy road through villages, and we even had the opportunity to taste freshly made Indian tea on the way. The hotel is located in an alcove by the Bay of Bengal, where the River Ganges met the sea.

We were transported back in time the moment we set foot onto hotel grounds - it spelled "fifties" in every sense: from decor, to amenities, to technology - imagine having no Internet! This must have been what our parents had when they were in their teens!

We were spell bound. And the rest of the day went by very slowly, as if we were suspended in time.