Goddess Durga on Lion
Mahabalipuram
Itinerary
Spiritual Journey, Fall 2014
Day One: Friday, October 24, 2014 – Depart for Bangalore, India.
Day Two: Saturday, October 25, 2014 – In transit
Day Three: Sunday, October 26, 2014 – Arrive in Bangalore/Bengaluru. It is important that all travelers plan to arrive in Bangalore on this day. Otherwise they will miss some of the scheduled activities.
You will provide your arrival details and I will arrange for hotel shuttles to be at the Bangalore/Bengaluru Airport to meet and transport you to the Alila Hotel, Whitefield. It is imperative that you tell me your travel plans well in advance so that adequate shuttles can be scheduled to pick up travelers.
After time to rest, we will enjoy breakfast at the hotel and some time to get acquainted with one another and Whitefield. Suggested itinerary for this day is an afternoon visit to The National Gallery of Modern Art *(cost of admission to the Gallery is not included in the trip cost) followed by dinner in Bangalore. For those members of the group not interested in the Gallery or who wish a day to rest, there are spa facilities ** available at the hotel as well as a number of restaurants on the property.
Meals: Breakfast is included in cost of the trip. (Breakfast available until 10:30 am) Lunch and dinner will be at your own expense.Day Four: Monday, October 27, 2014 – Day at Gaia Bangalore with Poonam Illuri. The day starts with a Nia class taught by Lisa Jones. Then, we will have an intro to India talk by our hostess, Poonam with questions. Lunch. Temple visit and pooja. There will be a catered lunch at Gaia Bangalore.
Meals: Cost of breakfast and lunch included in cost of trip. Dinner will be at your own expense.Day Five: Tuesday, October 28, 2014 –A circle tour of Bangalore. We will leave early affter breakfast and head to the Iskcon Temple. From the temple we will visit the Malleshwaram area for a look and a little shopping if time permits. Other scheduled stops include Lalbagh Park for a stroll and a visit to the Glass House, and a stop at the Bull Temple and the Ganapathi Temple. We will end the day in Indira Nagar for dinner.
Meals: Cost of breakfast is included in the cost of the trip. Lunch and dinner will be at your own expense.Day Six: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 – We will visit Ayurveda Gram in Whitefield for the day. Our trip will include a talk about Ayurveda, yoga, pranayama (breathing), meditation, an Ayurvedic body treatment, lunch and dinner. Also included will be a show featuring traditional Indian music and dance that evening.
Meals: All meals covered in the cost of the trip.Day Seven: Thursday, October 30, 2014 – Workshop with Swami Devanand of the Bihar School of Yoga at Gaia Bangalore. This will be a four hour workshop. Following the workshop we will have a cooking class/demonstration with Poonam Illuri. In the evening the group will head to the Phoenix Mall for a bit of retail therapy and dinner.
Meals: Cost of breakfast and lunch included in the cost of the trip. Dinner will be at your own expense.Day Eight: Friday, October 31, 2014 – Visit Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and PyramidValley. We will have a short tour of the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ashram and time for meditation. Afterward, we will travel to PyramidValley for a chance to see the pyramid and quiet time for meditation or reflection.
Meals: Cost of breakfast is included in the cost of the trip. Lunch and dinner will be at your own expense.Day Nine: Saturday, November 1, 2014 – Retail therapy India-style. We will spend the day visiting my favorite shopping haunts. Stops will include Commercial Street, a Bangalore favorite. No Commercial Street visit is complete without a stop at the silver shop for earrings and bangles. We will also visit MG Road, Safina Plaza, and Brigade Road with a stop at an amazing little bookshop. We end the day at Gaia for a fire ceremony and mantra chanting.
Meals: Breakfast is included in the cost of the trip. Lunch and Dinner will be at your own expense.Day Ten: Sunday, November 2, 2014 – Nia Dance and Breathwork with Lisa Jones at Gaia Bangalore. This will be followed by an art project/writing experience with Poonam/Kelley. The entire day will be a very meditative. After a break, we will enjoy dinner with Srikant Illuri as chef.
Meals: All meals covered in the cost of the trip .Day Eleven: Monday, November 3, 2014 – Check out of Alila and drive to Pondicherry. We will stop on the way in Tiruvannamalai at the ashram of Sri Ramana Maharshi. After time for meditation and/or looking around, we will have lunch. Upon arrival in Pondicherry, we will check in to QuietHealingArtCenter. Here, we will meet up with Nilima Bhat, an expert on Pondicherry and our workshop presenter for the next two days.
On Monday evening we will go into Pondicherry for a wander around the French Quarter and a stroll along the seaside promenade. We could also visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram for time at the samadhi or tomb of Sri Aurobindo. In addition, shopping is fun along the main commercial street of Pondicherry. We will have dinner in town and head back to Quiet to sleep.
Meals: Breakfast before check out is included in the cost of the trip. Lunch and dinner will be the cost of each traveler.Day Twelve: Tuesday, November 4, 2014 – We will start the day with a visit to Auroville, a universal community founded in 1968 by The Mother and based upon the spiritual teachings of Sri Aurbindo. While there we we will pick up tickets for meditation in the Matrimandir the following day. We will visit the visitor’s center and can watch a movie there about Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and the community of Auroville.
We will head back to Quiet for the first day of our two-day workshop with Nilima, which begins at 1:30 and will end at 5:30. After the workshop we will go back into Pondicherry for dinner at Satsanga, a popular local eatery.
Meals: Breakfast included in the cost of the trip (at Quiet). Lunch and dinner will be at your own expense.Day Thirteen: Wednesday, November 5, 2014 – In the morning we will visit the Matrimandir for mediation at Auroville. After that, we will see any other part of Auroville that we missed the day before. We can go back to Quiet for lunch or eat while we are out. After lunch, at 1:30, we will have the second half of our workshop with Nilima.
At some point during our visit we will fit in a Nia class with Lisa Jones.
Meals: Breakfast is included in the cost of the trip (at Quiet). Lunch and dinner will be at your own expense.Day Fourteen: Thursday, November 6, 2014 – Leave Pondicherry and head up the coast approximately 160 kilometers to Chennai/Madras. On the way, we will stop to view the temples at Mahabalipuram and have lunch. I will prepare a pamphlet that explains the temples and we will hire a local guide once there. After viewing, head into Chennai for a night where we will stay at the Park Hyatt Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast is included in the cost of the trip (at Quiet). Lunch and dinner will be at your own expense.Day Fifteen: Friday, November 7, 2014 – This is our last day in India. This morning we will take our time having breakfast and packing our bags.
We will leave at 10 and head to the Holistic Innovation Center for a workshop with G. Ruthara. Lunch will be provided. After the workshop, we will head back to the hotel to finish packing, take a rest and have dinner before heading to the Chennai International Airport.
Meals: Breakfast and dinner will be at your own expense. Lunch included in cost of the trip, as part of the workshop.Day 16: Saturday, November 8, 2014 – Fly out in the early morning from Chennai. Timing depends on airline. Home by Saturday afternoon/evening.
Accomodations in Whitefield, Bengaluru: Alila Hotel Whitefield
Accomodations in Auroville: Quiet Healing Art Center
Accomodations in Chennai/Madras: The Park Hyatt Hotel
It is important for us to recognize that plans can and do change and, while we will endeavor to follow the itinerary as presented, Spirit Guided Journeys cannot control all circumstances. If a scheduled event must be cancelled for any reason, every effort will be made to find a suitable replacement activity. Spirit Guided Journeys will not be responsible for any fees incurred as a result of a change in activity. We will make every attempt to keep costs at a minimum in finding a suitable alternative.
* While we are in India, other opportunities for experiencing the local culture may arise. If such opportunities do occur, the additional cost to participate will be at your own expense and will not be covered in the trip cost. It will be up to you, the individual traveler to decide to take part in any added outings or workshops at the additional cost.
**Cost of any spa treatments is additional and not included in the cost of the trip.