Some Pictures

More in my Dropbox folder (link on the right).

Second Day - Time to Work

The night went quite well. I was really tired not having slept much the night before. It was very hot if course, but with the fan in the ceiling it was bearable.

Breakfast

The first thing in the morning was to find a spoon. The office could luckily help me with that. It was nice having a spoon for breakfast, especially since it's just a sort of muesli with a sort of whitish liquid. It tasted ok and is going to keep the hunger away until lunch for sure.

Work
I just oiled a fence for over two hours. It was nothing difficult, but the heat takes it toll. There's going to be another work session in the afternoon. We'll probably continue with what we started this morning. There's not much else to say about it really. Big brush, oil, fence. I'll try to remember to take a picture later.

WiFi
There's still no internet connection here in the Ashram. I asked about it in the office and I just got a simple "sometimes it works, sometimes not" answer. The internet cafe in the town is ok for blogging, but I need to find a way to upload my pictures as well.

First Day Is Over

I tried to get some sleep in the late afternoon, but it didn't happen. I went for a walk instead and took a couple of photos. I can't post them at the moment, because I have no wireless access to my mobile, but I'll let you know when they are online. The stereotype about cows walking all over has been proven to fit Vrindavan at least. It's unfortunately also true that the streets are literally covered with shit and trash. But more about that another time perhaps...

Monkeys
The town and our ashram is full of monkeys. They look really nice, but they aren't. Two people got bitten and attacked in our ashram only. Luckily the living quarters, the temple and office are behind a wire netting and doors you always need to close. Especially the little ones look very cute though.

Dinner
One last thing before I go to bed. I had dinner about 40 minutes ago and that was an experience. We always eat in the temple on the floor. Food is served from big buckets and eaten out of tin plates. I tried to find a spoon yesterday, but the office was already closed. I managed just fine with my fingers, but eating a stew of potatoes and vegetables with just fingers is not that easy. A good thing there was some thin wheat breads served with the meal. It wasn't the tastiest Indian cuisine I've had, but it will keep the hunger away for sure.

That"s it! I've survived my first day in India.

First Day Impressions

I've heard people talking about getting a cultural slap on the face. Now I've experienced it first hand. Nothing could have prepared me for that.

Airport and Delhi

Delhi airport was very uncomplicated actually. All the formalities were over very quickly and before I noticed I had gotten a ride to the train station in a taxi... I have absolutely no idea how much more I paid than I should have, but it was all ok from my point of view.

The train station is where my problems started. My train was cancelled because of heavy rain up north and all the other trains were completely booked. I went to a tourism office and they offered me a taxi instead. The price was of course something else than the train, but I accepted the offer anyway.

Home in Vrindavan - Vrinda Kunja Ashram

I arrived in Vrindavan about an hour ago and then searched for my first home away from home for almost an hour. The taxi driver left me out "close " to the place. It's clear to me now that he had no idea. I asked directions five times and took two rickshaws before I finally got there.

Now I'm sitting in my bed and getting to know this place. There are some other volunteers here as well. I got briefly introduced to some of them, but I have yet to meet my roommate.

I'm going to have a shower next. Walking with my 17 kilo backpack in +32 degrees makes you sweat.

I was too stunned with everything to take many pictures. I also didn't feel comfortable taking pictures of people. I already was looked upon strangely. (And I also was a little afraid to take my camera out of my pocket at some times. I'll try to post some photos still so remember to check them out behind the link on the right.

And So It Starts

Saying Goodbyes
I'm sitting in a train, going to the airport.  I'm happy I'm going. This last week was full of goodbyes and to tell you the truth, I'm not a big fan of them. The last and hardest one was just 20 minutes ago. It was all much harder than I expected.

Vrindavan
Very early tomorrow morning I'm going to land in New Delhi. Then I've got six hours to get from the airport to the train station where my train to Mathura leaves.

My first station on my trip is going to be Vrindavan, a small temple city little over two hours south of Delhi. I need to take a motor-riksa from the Mathura train station. I'm going have opportunities to tell you more about  the town later, because I'm staying there for little over three weeks.

Change of Plans

Well, it seems I was too early with my last post. Volunteering in Sangla is not going to happen after all. The road is still completely blocked and there will be no tourists this fall. It really is a shame, but there's not much I can do about it.

Luckily there's Workaway! I've already contacted three other projects and it's looking like I don't need to worry about not finding things to do. I'll give you a little more detailed look into the three after I can confirm the dates with the organizations. It looks like I'm all planned until the Oct. 25th. Missing the Sangla opportunity hurts, but I'm trying to see things positively now. Instead of seeing just one place, I now get to see three projects in the same time. That makes me a lot less sad. I'm starting to feel like I might have to wait for the further planning (from November to January) until I get to India. I've got a bunch of things to do before India still and the clock is ticking.

A Long Break Posting - Time for Some News

I've been a lazy poster the last almost three months. The life sometimes has a way of showing you who's in command! As I booked my flight to India, I remember thinking to myself "Just keep yourself single!" It worked very well. For exactly three days... I met a nice person and fell in love in her. Even if this wasn't what I was looking for, I'm very happy! And nothing to fear! India will still happen as planned!

The visa regulation-jungle is frustrating to say the least. I gave up looking for alternatives and applied for the 180 day tourist visa. I think 6 months will be enough for this tour. The following six months I've got off work I'm going to find other things to do.

Latest updates on planning:

I'm still planned only for the first two months. The latest from Sangla is that they had some problems with rain (as most of northern India did). This is a part of a message from a contact of mine in Sangla:

"Wonder if you know that Sangla Valley received unprecedented rains in mid June and the only road leading to Sangla is close since then.
Power was restored almost after a week. We had full house and all the guests had to be evacuated by helicopter. Business is zero as the road to Sangla will take another month or so to open."

This of course was a shock to hear, but it seems however from mid August I can start helping out as planned.

The planning for the last four months of my stay is exactly there, where it was three months ago. I'm on holiday now and I'm going to contact some of the projects I originally planned on working for the next couple of days.I'm not worried about the further planning yet. There's still plenty of time and I need some flexibility anyway. I'm going to have a busy summer this year, but I hope to find time for some more updates before August 11th.

Vaccinations are almost complete. I'm getting the last shots missing next week. Until next time!