Ashtanga Yoga Bend

Assistance:

Both Shiva and Murthy are great guys who can fulfill a variety of needs: e.g. taxi from BLR to Gokulam, housing, furnishings, utilities, scooter rentals, money exchanges, etc.

Shiva: 9844226082
Murthy: 9880265622  tskittymurthy@yahoo.co.in
 
Bharath International Travel [ B.I.T. ]: bittravmys@yahoo.com

Airline Tickets:

K.R. (Kayaar) Travels: 415.788.7222 

Getting from Bangalore to Mysore:

There are two options for this: Taxi or Train. The taxi option is quite convenient and takes about 2-1/2 hrs. The train ride is very pleasant – takes about 3hrs – but requires getting not just to the station but also getting a ticket, and then getting your luggage across all of the platforms and on to the train.

Either Shiva, Murthy or any travel agent can arrange for a taxi to pick you up from the Bangalore Airport and take you either all the way to Mysore or to a hotel in Bangalore. If you are being pick up from the airport and taken to a hotel, and then taking a train the following day, you can also have them agent get your train tickets for you ahead of time [the driver will give them to you].

[ Train Schedule ]

Getting Your VISA:

Getting your VISA is fairly simple. You can download an application from the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and then do the whole application process by mail. Beware, your VISA begins the day issued from SF not when you enter India. Consider getting the 10 year VISA.

NOTE: When filling out the VISA application, for “Purpose of Travel” put “tourism” rather than “yoga”; they like this better.

[ http://www.indianconsulate-sf.org ]

Hotels in Bangalore:

We do not have any specific hotel recommendations. However, you could ask one of the travel agents, and they could most likely arrange the reservation for you; or you could look in a travel book, or search the web. The main consideration would be location: the ‘rail station’ and the airport are about a half an hour apart – the ‘rail station’ is on the way out of town towards Mysore.

Housing in Mysore:

Most students rent a house either by themselves or to share with other students. This can be done fairly easily after you arrive either by asking other students or by going through either Shiva or Murthy. Though you will probably want some place to stay when first arriving.

[ Shakti House ] This is the fourth incarnation of what was originally Holly & Tonys. Located a short walking distance from the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Gokulam, Mysore, they are a good landing place for visiting yoga students providing short or long-term housing.

NOTE: Consider bringing a mosquito net to sleep under.

Eating in Gokulam:

Restaurants:
Nalpaks: Located on Gokulam Main Road.
Green Leaf: Located on Kalidasa Road [aka K.D. Rd.].

Home Cooked Food:
Janaki serves a super delicious all you can eat lunch in her home to yoga students -- call to get the schedule of days on which she serves, and also to let her know you are coming. Tel: 2500058

Anu & Ganesh also serve meals from their home and have a high speed internet cafe too. Tel: 4288120 or 9845279513

You can pretty much get all of the vegetables and provisions you’ll need for cooking within Gokulam’s downtown. However if you want more packaged items, ask an auto-rickshaw to take you to either Loyal World or Nilgiris, the semi-local grocery stores.

Sanskrit & Chanting:

Laxmish, who is the pujari for Guruji’s house, and who is also a yoga student of Guruji, teaches Sanskrit courses at AYRI. These classes run in batches and are fairly organized: e.g. levels, etc. Register through Murthy during AYRI office hrs – 4:30 to 6:00 PM.

Jayashree, who is a professional singer and Ph.D. Sanskritist/Professor and very very good, conducts less formal [viz. mixed level] classes that focus primarily on chanting. She doesn't charge; rather students donate at the end of their study with her. These classes are located across town near the Jagamohan Palace; tell an auto rickshaw driver you are going near ‘Avilla Convent’ that will get you close: 384 Krishna Vilasa Road.

Voting from Abroad:

You can vote while you are India or other such places so long as you can receive mail somehwere. If you do not know where that would be, use AYRI’s.

NOTE: Make sure that in the “Remarks” section #7, you tell them that you need a 60 Day Ballot otherwise it will get mailed to you too late (only 29 days before the election).

Mail the form to your County’s local election office.

[ Vote Abroad Form ] [ 4 Digit Zipcodes ]

Vaccinations:

There are no vaccinations required to visit India; however you may consider the basics, such as Hepatitis, Tetanus and Polio (ask your doctor). Check the link below for more information.

[ http://www.cdc.gov/travel/indianrg.htm ]

Dealing with Currency:

There are a few ways of getting your rupees (RS or INR) while in India. The most convenient way is via an ATM machine. However you may need some rupees sooner than you can find an ATM for things such as taxis and what not. For this you should consider bringing either some cash or traveler's checks -- traveler's checks give about 1 rupee more per dollar than does cash.

Exchanges can be made inside the Bangalore Airport, at most hotels and of course at any bank.

[ Currency Converter ]