Last Day

This is it. My trip is coming to an end tonight. I just checked out of my hotel and walked through the Main Bazaar in Pahar Ganj and the New Delhi train station to the airport express line station. I left my bag in the cloak room here and now I'm enjoying a cup of coffee before I continue the last day's tour through the city.

The procedure of transferring the visa to my new passport made me a bit anxious, but fortunately it was not too complicated after all. It took me two days and cost me some money, but after just two visits to the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) I had a stamp in my new passport telling of an existing visa and an official looking piece of paper stating the same. I'm all set to go.

Otherwise, the last days I didn't do much here. I went for some walks and saw a few new parts of the city. I also bought some more spices and souvenirs. Yesterday I had a little fever again, so I stayed mostly in bed watching movies. It seems I've caught something that keeps coming back every two weeks or so. Today I'm feeling much better again. I'll visit a doctor when I get back home if the fever keeps coming back. It could be that I'm just literally getting sick of this country... No, it's not that bad, but I'm not sad I'm leaving either.

I'll write a summary of my impressions and experiences when I have had a few days of home environment.

Jaipur and Varanasi - The Last Stops

A week ago I arrived in Jaipur. I planned to stay for two nights, but on the second day I got sick and my stay was prolonged with two more nights. I didn't do many touristy things in Jaipur. On the first night I did a long walk from the hostel (yes, there's a nice real hostel in Jaipur called Zostel), but while walking I didn't really see much but crazy traffic, dust and too many people.

After I felt better, I took a ride to the old city and walked around for two hours. I didn't enter any palaces or temples, because I really feel I've had enough of those. The saturation point has been reached.

On the third day I decided that I'm going to Varanasi for a few days. I had already decided against it, but I noticed that I could get a train ticket for the following day. On Saturday morning I arrived in the “city of the dead“, Varanasi. It's one of the oldest, continuously inhabited cities in the world. It's also one of the seven holy Hindu cities that can free a person from the cycle of reincarnation. Some Hindus even believe that dying in Varanasi immediately brings your soul to nirvana and therefore many people come there to die.

The city is located on the bank of the holy river Ganges. There are at least 84 ghats from the city to the river. A ghat is a series of steps coming down from the city to the river bank. Most of them are bathing ghats where religious Hindus wash their sins away with the holy water of the river Ganges. There are also two burning ghats, where bodies are cremated on a pyre of 350 kilos of wood. The ashes are then thrown into Ganges. The bigger burning ghat operates seven days a week 24 hours per day. Only the men of the families of the cremated person are allowed to take part in the ceremony. I was told women were too emotional. Before the body is cremated, the family members carry it down the steps from the city, wash it in the river for the last time and then place it on a pile of wood. The burning ghats are operated by "professional burners", who see to it that all the body parts get cremated properly by adding wood and lifting fallen feet etc back into the funeral pyre. Believe me, it is quite a sight for a westerner not accustomed to see dead people. Photos from Varanasi here.

Now I'm back in New Delhi. Today I picked up my new passport from the embassy and started the process of getting an exit-visa for it. If everything works out like planned, I'll be all set tomorrow, Thursday morning. I really hope so, since my flight is in five days and I need it by Friday the latest. The official in the foreign registry office reassured me by telling me that with "101 percent certainty" I will have all I need by noon tomorrow. I'm still not completely convinced... Keep your fingers crossed.

Oh yeah, one more thing worth telling from my train trip to Delhi. I was really happy when I got a ticket for the fast 12 hr 25 min train from Varanasi to new Delhi a few days ago. However, the train started two hours late and we ended up being 9 hrs 40 mins late of schedule in New Delhi. It ruined my chances of getting the passport yesterday, which otherwise would easily have been possible. I guess I needed one bad train experience from India before leaving as well...

Kota - This Time on Purpose

Three months ago I spent a few hours in Kota train station after I had taken the wrong train in Mathura. This time I took the train from Mathura to Kota on purpose. I went to visit Khalid, the young man who helped me during the train trip to Delhi and in Delhi three months ago.

Kota isn't a big tourist target and I didn't expect to do much sightseeing. My friend and his friends took me to see a few things worth seeing in Kota. We saw a nice garden (where local young couples secretly go to hold hand and kiss), an impressive dam and a park with seven wonders of the world. They weren't exactly the seven wonders and nowhere close in scale, but beautiful for sure. The lighting was very nicely done. There are some pictures coming soon.

It was very nice to see my friend and "philosophize" with him. I also enjoyed getting to know his friends. The delicious home cooked food was again one of the highlights, especially the local dish dal wadi.

Something very special and important for me, a language freak, happened for the first time during the trip as well. I got the feeling that it is possible to learn Hindi. I managed to understand some discussions on a very basic level and I also learned a few more words and phrases. In this respect I'm going too soon unfortunately. Another month our two in an environment like the past four days would make a big difference. But I'm still very happy I'm going home soon.

Next Jaipur!

Closing the Circle

I spent the past two days in Vrindavan, where my trip started in August. It was very nice to see the city again, but even nicer to see my Indian family again. I don't know if you remember, but I met two brothers during the last week of my first stay in Vrindavan and I've been in contact with the younger one ever since I left. I knew I would have some time before going back to Europe and two weeks ago I asked my Indian brother if it would be possible to come and visit his family. The answer was a very definite and happy yes. It was nice to meet the whole family and taste the mother's lovely food. Two days went very quickly, but we will meet again, I'm sure.

I went twice to visit Vrinda Kunja ashram, the place I volunteered in, but both times most of the people I know were not there. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

I also visited the Yamuna river and was surprised how different everything looked. The water level was down approximately two meters from my last visit in the end of August. It still was very beautiful. I'll try to upload photos soon. I'll put them in a new folder inside the Vrindavan folder.

Now I'm sitting in a train again, but only for four hours. I'm going to the place where I already accidentally went to, when I took the wrong train in early September. This time it's a planned visit. More about it in the next post.

Hurrying to Delhi

Since Varkala, my plan has been to reach Delhi by or around the beginning of December. The reason for the early return is my passport - both pieces of it. I'm guessing during my trek in McLeod Ganj, the page with my picture on it came loose from the rest of the pages. I've been able to use it as an identification during my travels, but it would not be accepted at the airport. I asked the embassy what to do. They told me that the only safe option is to apply for a new passport. But more about that later. I've got a thing or two to say about Hyderabad.

Hyderabad is a crowded and bustling city of seven million inhabitants. It's the capital of the Andhra Pradesh state. I never really wanted to go there, but transport from Hospet directly to Delhi was not possible and I needed to split the huge distance in two anyway. Hyderabad was a good choice.

After arriving there early in the morning, I directly went to the reservation office to wait for the opening of the tatkal-ticket sales at 10 am. Tatkal means last minute and it's sometimes a real blessing for an unplanned traveler. You need to pay a little extra for it and be early the day before in the reservation office, but those two minor problems seem like small things in comparison to booking the trip two weeks or more in advance. Some trains still have regular bookable seats the same day, but especially for longer distances you need to be an early bird, or go tatkal.

I was again helped by a local man, who showed me a place to stay and also recommended a few places to see. The Salar Jung museum was one of them. Unfortunately the visit was just a continuation of my bizarre museum experiences in India. I'm aware that the museum is based on a personal collection of one man, but honestly, two rooms full of porcelain figurines and a room showing walking sticks (among other kitsch,) were not really that interesting. The collection has valuable items add well, but they were buried under a lot of junk.

I also saw the Charminar, the city's most famous landmark. It's name means four pillars and when you see it, you know why. It's built in the form of a square, with four big arches on the sides and four pillars on the corners. It has been looking over the city for more than 400 years already. Pictures from Hyderabad here.

After taking the longest train during my trip so far (26 hrs), I arrived in Delhi on Tuesday morning. As soon as I got to my room, I directly went to the embassy and applied for a new passport. Everything was done in less than 45 minutes. Since I came this early, I was able to apply for a regular five-year passport instead of an emergency passport for one year. It should be ready in a week or two at the most. Then I still have to get an exit visa for it, since my tourism visa was for my broken passport. I heard that this shouldn't be too difficult.

I did some sightseeing in Delhi on foot the next day. I walked a 15 kilometer tour from my hotel to Connaught place, then to India Gate, president's palace and finally Lodhi gardens. I enjoyed it very much, especially the beautiful gardens with old tombs. It's funny to think how much I hated Delhi in the beginning and how much I liked it now. Delhi pictures here.

Now I'm in Vrindavan, where I spent the first three weeks of my India tour. But I'll tell you more about it later, since I just arrived last night.

Ancient Ruins and Relaxing - Hampi

The past three days I got to know the reasons why so many travelers have told me to go to Hampi. The whole town is a UNESCO world heritage site. Absolutely amazing rough nature combined with impressive ruins of a 14-16th century Vijyanagra kingdom. As a bonus you can also add the relaxed accommodation that made me feel like I was on a beach again.
Two nights before arriving in Hampi I spent in transit. The first night was one of the worst I've had so far in India. I was in a sleeper bus coming down from Munnar to Bangalore. Three curvy narrow road coming down from the hill station was a real shaker. I managed not to throw up, but I also didn't manage to sleep a lot even after the better roads started. The second night was a much more pleasant one on a train from Bangalore to Hospet, the closest station to Hampi.

On the first morning I went for a walk without a plan. I met a man in front of the biggest temple in town, the Virupakshna temple, who asked me if I would like to take a bicycle tour around the town and the ruins. I hadn't really planned that, but I thought I'd give it a go. A good decision. The man guiding us told us many stories and legends in addition to the history of the ruins. Besides, pedaling felt so good after such a long break...

After the three hour tour was done, I kept the bicycle and went to see the Hanuman temple. It's located three kilometers outside Hampi on a hill made out of boulders and the view from there is simply magnificent. There were a lot of monkeys though and they came very close to you expecting to get food and grabbing pretty much anything they found interesting.

Today I'm leaving for Hyderabad where I hope to get a Tatkal (last minute) train ticket to Delhi.

Photos from Hampi are here and if you haven't seen the photos from Thekkady and Munnar yet, here's your chance.

PS. I'm posting this late, because I'm experiencing some serious problems with the battery of my mobile. I still haven't found a replacement, but I'm hoping Delhi solves that problem.

Sickness and Tea Hills

It's been a strange week. When I left Varkala early Wednesday morning toward Thekkady, I was feeling tired and I had a headache. The second part of the journey, five hours in a rattg bus, was a torment and before arriving Kumily I was feeling nauseous as well. I was offered a room the second I stepped out of the bus and I went to have a look. Since the price was ok and the room was spacious and clean, I said yes. I decided to have a little nap to revive myself from the travel stupor. The nap didn't help much unfortunately and later in the evening I felt the first signs of fever.

By the time I went to sleep, I had shivers and high fever. Especially the shivers gave me alarm, since I knew that malaria shows itself with a high fever combined with severe chills and shivering. The next morning the fever was almost gone and I started studying the symptoms of malaria (damn you Dr Google), and I was able to put every symptom I had under the description of malaria. Too much time to think, confined in a room with internet and a mild sickness can turn any minor thing into a massive death-bringing illness.

The high fever didn't come back the next night or day, but a mild fever, headache and some stomach problems persisted. On the third day I was still feeling weak and I made a decision: I was going to a doctor. The malaria troll in my mind had grown too big. After I told the doctor about my symptoms, he said not to worry, but he agreed to take a blood test for malaria and dengue. After thirty minutes the results were ready and everything was just fine. No malaria or dengue and my blood values were better than average.

On my way back to my room, I felt strength returning to my body. It is amazing how big the part of mind is in illnesses. I'm not saying I got cured by the negative test result, but I definitely felt much better afterwards than I did before going to the doctor's. After the doctor's I noticed my nose had started running at some point. It might have been happening a bit longer already, but since it didn't fit the malaria diagnosis, I had ignored it...

The main reason to come to Thekkady/Kumily is the Periyar national park and wildlife sanctuary. I was looking forward to doing some trekking there, but my sickness prevented me from doing that. The last full day of my stay, after the visit to the doctor, I decided to at least do something. I booked a tour that included a tour through a tea plantation, a tea factory and a spice farm. I learned a lot about tea and spices. Especially the spice tour was interesting. The same afternoon I took a boat tour on the Periyar lake and saw some buffalos, elephants and a lot of birds. The boats (yes, there were four of them) were loud and crowded with people and not really what I had expected. I was happy to see the elephants though.

Yesterday morning I left Thekkady and I arrived in Munnar, a hill station about hundred kilometers north of Thekkady. It's probably most famous of its tea. The last twenty kilometers of the bus ride were absolutely spectacular. Beautiful hills covered in green tea plants, some water in between and higher peaks in the background.

The town itself doesn't have a lot to offer. Since I'm still blowing my nose all the time, I'm not going to do a lot here today. I booked a bus to Bangalore for this afternoon and night. I'm only staying there for the day and in the late tomorrow evening I'm taking a train to Hospet, the train station nearest to Hampi, my next destination.

More pictures are coming as soon as I find a WiFi hotspot.

Back to Tourist Life

I'm done working in the Coffee Temple. Two weeks went by very fast. I enjoyed the experience very much, but I must say that I would be lying if I told you I was very sad not working. I'm going to miss the good coffee and food for sure and the nice colleagues of course. Still, working for fourteen days straight made me feel like I need a break. And yeah, I know, it was only five hours per day, so I shouldn't really complain.

Saturday morning I took advantage of my free morning and walked two hours north along the seashore. Simply amazing views along the way. The phrase tropical paradise now has a place I connect with it. I also found the spot, where I should have come surfing, but on foot with the board it would have been too far.

I managed to do surfing five times during the two weeks. Twice I rented a board from the local surf school and three times from a local Indian guy on the beach. The waves were mainly good for whitewater surfing only, but to be honest that's probably still the thing I should be doing anyway. It was a lot of fun and that's the main thing.

Saturday afternoon I took a train to Kanyakumari, the land's end. It's the southern most tip of Indian mainland and a very popular pilgrimage site. It's also a place where three seas meet, the Indian ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian sea. The city reminded me of Vrindavan, my first stop here in India. Many Indian tourists, lots of hustle and bustle and religion all over the place.

I just finished reading Gandhi's autobiography a few days ago and interestingly enough, Kanyakumari has an impressive Gandhi memorial, the Gandhi Mandapam. It's where Gandhi's ashes were kept until they were immersed the sea. The building is built combining Christian, Hindu and Moslem architecture to remind everyone of Gandhi's views of peaceful coexistence of religions. The height of the building is also exactly 79 feet tall, which represents Gandhi's age at the time of his assassination.

The main thing to do in Kanyakumari is to see the Sun rising from the Bay of Bengal and setting into the Arabian sea. The sunset last night was really nice, but the sunrise this morning didn't really happen because of clouds. I should have gotten up early yesterday morning, but I just couldn't. Pictures from Kanyakumari here.

Now I'm on the train back to Varkala. Two more days of beach holiday without working and then I'll start my slow journey to the north.

Working, Surfing and Sweating

My first four workdays as a waiter have gone by quickly. I've learned many things and my appreciation for the job has increased a lot. It's not always been easy and I've goofed a few orders up so far, but nothing too serious so far.

Yesterday I had the afternoon shift, so I used the morning for surfing. I chose the small beach closest to the board rental place. I'm now pretty sure that I could have chosen better. The waves weren't as big as they were the first two days of my Varkala stay, but they had enough power to throw me off the board more than often enough. The next time I'm going to be a bit more patient with looking for a spot. The interesting feature on this beach was that during the three hours I spent surfing there, at least a hundred locals gave their offerings and dipped at least their feet into the sea. The water on that beach is supposed to wash away your sins.

The next surf morning might be tomorrow, but I haven't quite decided yet. I'll have a look at the forecast later tonight and then see if I can have the afternoon shift again.

It's been extremely hot here. There has been some rain as well and the high humidity gives the weather an extra steaming feature. During noon and early afternoon it's difficult to enjoy outdoors, but luckily there's some hope for cooling down the next days.

Varkala pictures here.

A Working Man's Paradise

My first work day is over and it feels really good! Ok, it was just six hours and most of it that busy, but I still felt drained after I was done. But I'm going a bit too quickly for you now, sorry! I haven't told anything, except that I'm volunteering again. And this time it's not your regular volunteering job really. I'm working as a waiter in a cafe here in Varkala. For five to six hours of working, I get food and accommodation for free. Today was my first day ever of working as a waiter. I think I managed fairly well for my first day. I don't think I screwed up many orders and I didn't hear any complaints about missing money in the cash register. I learned many things today and I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow. 

I arrived yesterday evening and didn't see much of Varkala yet. The places I did saw, have a paradise-kind of flair. Palm trees, beaches under beautiful cliffs and a relaxed atmosphere. Forget about Goa, I say! Well ok, beer was cheaper there, but that doesn't change things much for me.

One thing that definitely makes a difference for me are the waves. In Goa the three hours I played in the water, didn't feel much like surfing, but here it seems I will have pretty much the perfect environment for my skills. I'll have a try on Monday morning.

The first photos from Varkala are here and there will be more soon.

Kochi - A Quick Stop

I'm sitting in a nice restaurant in Kochi, Kerala and waiting for my breakfast. I arrived here yesterday from Mangalore in the afternoon and I'm taking a train down to Varkala later today. I've got a feeling I should have stayed longer, but I'm sure Varkala will have a lot to offer as well.

My hostel is nice and its location couldn't be better for seeing the old part of Kochi, Fort Kochi. Yesterday I only went for a short walk, since it was raining a little. This morning looks completely different. Not a single cloud and it's already getting very hot. I've only got until noon before I have to start heading off to the train station again. I'll try to take a few more pictures and upload them soon. There's a nice atmosphere here and I do recommend visiting this place if you ever have the chance.

So, now it's time for some sightseeing.

Leaving Goa

I'm done with Goa. It was a beautiful place and my last week has been full of party, good food and interesting people. I'm ready to move on now. My body is strained by over-eating and to much beer and most of the other people I stayed with at the hostel have gone. It was time to move on. I've got a new volunteering project starting in two days in Varkala.

I'm now in Mangalore, a coastal city with a long history in the state of Karnataka. I chose to come here simply because I wanted to avoid doing another twenty hour train trip. I really might have chosen a different stop if I had bothered reading about Mangalore first. There's nothing much special to see and do here it seems, but I might still find some interesting things today. Very early tomorrow morning I'll continue down south towards Varkala.

But there are still a few stories untold about my week in Goa. In my last post I told you that I rented a scooter. Well, on Friday we decided to take a ride to Old Goa. We had been warned of the police controls in Panjim, the capital of Goa, on the way and we wore our helmets to avoid trouble. That and carrying a valid driver's license was supposed to be enough, but when we got pulled over and gave our licenses over, the faces of the officers turned into a wide grin. They told us that we need international driver's licenses and that they would take our bikes, charge us 1 250 and the bike rental agency 700 rupees. We were lucky to have an Indian guy from the hostel with us. He talked and talked and after about half an hour of convincing talking, he managed to bring the total sum down to 1 200 rupees per person with no other consequences for us. We considered for a while, but since we were pretty sure the officer was telling the truth about the international permit and since this was the only way to keep our bikes we ended up paying. We knew of course that we wouldn't get any official ticket stating our crime and that the money would surely end up going straight into the officers' own pockets, but we didn't have much choice really. On our way back we got pulled over by another group of cops, but as we were told by the first group, we told them the license plate number of the police vehicle that belonged to the first group and that we'd already paid, they let us go without trouble. But not after first asking how much we paid and blurting out loud "that means 900 for us and 1 500 for them" (two people paid 1 200). Not much ashamed of taking bribes it seems. Now I've experienced this (essential) part of Indian culture as well. Bakhshees, a "tip" or more clearly stated, a bribe.

Well, Old Goa was worth seeing, even after all that trouble getting there in the first place. The UNESCO world heritage site hosts three impressive churches and a couple of museums. One of the churches, the Jesuit Basilica of Bom Jesus, holds the mummified remains of Saint Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuit order, who is also called the Apostle to the far east, because of his "brave" work in converting Asians. The body is said to be miraculously well preserved, but unfortunately the next time the corpse is being brought down for show is in one year from now. I guess I'll just have to believe that's how it is without seeing...

Other than our tour to Old Goa, the already mentioned activities of drinking beer, eating well and simply having fun is what happened the last days in Goa. On Friday we went to a free concert sponsored by Red Bull. The music was very loud and strange (I'm getting old, I know), but otherwise I enjoyed it.

On Friday I'm going to start working in a cafe in Varkala. Three meals a day and free accommodation for five to six hours of working seems like a good deal to me. I hope I'm right, but I'll let you know how things are when I get there.

Vagator Beach, Goa - Hostel Life

I've enjoyed a relaxed beach environment in Goa since Monday afternoon. It's something very different from the places I've seen in India so far. More tourists than locals, cheap alcohol, cheap accommodation and of course beautiful beaches.

Monday and Tuesday I didn't do anything special really, except enjoying the company of nice people and relaxed atmosphere in the hostel. I did go to the beach in the morning yesterday, but just to have a look.

The first two evenings I spent playing Texas hold 'em and drinking chilled Kingfisher from the hostel fridge (50rs a bottle). I'm definitely winning so far, but not enough to cover my beer tap.

Yesterday I rented a scooter. I was trying to avoid doing that, I even asked around for a place that rents bicycles. I was unsuccessful with my search and I also realized that the distances here are much greater than I had thought. The rent for a scooter is two hundred rupees for a day, which really isn't much.
I took my scooter for a test drive to the Arambol beach with three Scottish guys, who live in the same hostel with me. It's a very nice looking beach and also the only location I was able to find in Goa that rents surf boards.

Last night I did not play poker or drink. I went to bed early, because I had decided to take the morning waves in Arambol. It takes about 45 minutes from here to the surf beach with the scooter, so I set my alarm for six and made it to the surf club that rents boards at seven. To my disappointment, the waves were much smaller than I had hoped for. It still was fun and I spent about three hours in the water before heading back to the hostel. The rent was 500 rupees for an hour, but the surf dudes in the rental place told me they'd be happy with a thousand for the almost three hours.

I also got some news about my further plans, but right now I'm too tired to put them in this post in more detail. I'm happy to tell you, I'm finally going volunteering again. But more info on that and about my next destinations in the next post.

Mumbai - Big City Feeling

My stay in Mumbai, the biggest city in India is over. Three days went by quickly. I was rather impressed about the city. It definitely has much more western feeling than Delhi does. I do need to spend a bit more time in Delhi to confirm that, but that's my opinion based on what I've seen so far. The skyline to the city from the Marine drive, a promenade on the western edge of south Mumbai, looks very familiar to a western eye. I stayed in a cheap dorm in the Fort district, which is just north of Colaba, perhaps the most famous area of touristic Mumbai. I was also surprised about the cleanliness of the city. Of course I'm referring to the areas around my hotel and not the big slums a bit further away. I saw garbage trucks for the first time in India.

I decided against doing a guided slum tour. I know I probably missed an opportunity to see different kind of living and to shed some stereotypes about slum life. I simply couldn't get rid of the idea of going around other people's homes as if I were in a zoo. It made me feel sick, even when others told me it was not like that at all. Instead I washed around the city write a bit. Chowpatty beach, was a surprisingly clean beach in a huge metropole the size of Mumbai. Also the Gandhi museum was more than with the visit. You can find my Mumbai photos here.

The day before yesterday I visited the Elephanta island, about ten kilometers ferry ride east of the Gateway to India. The caves in the island date back to the 5th - 8th century and especially the first one is amazingly spacious and beautifully decorated. It's hard to imagine how the cave looked like in its full splendor, but even now I was very much impressed. It's even harder to imagine the amount of years of digging and carving it must have taken to get something that huge done with the tools of that time. You can find some pictures from the caves here.

My plan was to go to Pune after Mumbai, but due to extremely costly accommodation, I decided to skip the city and head straight to Goa. There I can spend over a week with the cost of one night in Pune. I know it's strange that I've gotten this stingy being a rich westerner, but after some time in this country you really tend to get that way. I've heard this from others as well. I can't explain it, but neither can I shake the new habit off. It's not just happening with hotels but restaurants as well. I hope to be cured of this as soon as possible when I get back home.

Tomorrow at noon, I'm reaching Goa, a place I originally didn't plan to visit. So many people have told me that it's really with a visit, even though its very touristy reputation. I'm looking forward to some relaxed hostel life, western people and delicious food - maybe even the beaches.

A Quick Stop in Jodhpur

I arrived in Jodhpur late Monday night. My plan was to take an early bus to Pushkar yesterday morning. As so many times before, things didn't quite work out the way I had planned. First of all, I was unable to find a bus that would take me directly to Pushkar and the first bus available to Ajmer was at 1.30 pm. So, I made a decision to skip visiting Pushkar altogether, since I would not make it there before sunset and I would have to leave before nine the next morning.

I went to visit the Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur while waiting for my bus to Ajmer. It was well worth the visit. A home of the Rathore clan of the Rajputs, who ruled Marwar, a princely state in Rajasthan for more than seven hundred years. The fort itself dates back to the 17th century, when Jodhpur became the capital of Marwar.

The museum in the fort hill was the best organized one I've seen in India so far. The exhibitions were carefully explained and a good quality audio guide was included in the entrance fee. But the view to the city and its surroundings was still my favorite part of the visit. Old walls on the hills around the city looked really impressive from above.

Yesterday evening when I arrived in Ajmer, the tuk-tuk driver took me to seven guesthouses, but all were either fully booked or ridiculously expensive. Then I decided I would go with my original plan to spend the night in Pushkar. There I found the cheapest room I've had so far in India, only 150 rs. It was a small closet, but looked very clean. I took an evening stroll through the town and another walk early in the morning. The holy lake didn't give me any special vibes, but it looked very nice during the sunrise.

Now I'm back in Ajmer sitting in a train and about to leave to Mumbai. None of my efforts of finding a volunteering opportunity around here worked out. I've got a few ideas about possibilities around Mumbai and I'm, again, waiting for replies. Keep your fingers crossed!

Camels and Sand

Three days, two nights in the Thar desert now lie behind me. I suffered no permanent damage, but sitting does hurt a bit right now. I saw beautiful dunes, experienced the desert night sky and enjoyed the excellent company. Also, my respect for camels is now much bigger than before. They are such amazing animals in many respects. Carrying us, our baggage, bedding, food, water and cooking gear without much trouble through partly very uneven terrain was not an easy task.

I really do recommend doing something like this if you ever get the chance. It's definitely an experience you won't forget so soon. Riding a camel was a new and interesting thing to try out and sleeping outside under a beautiful sky was really something amazing. The first night was cloudy, but the second one very clear. The three quarters full moon made looking at the stars a bit challenging in the evening. When I woke up at four thirty in the morning, I wasn't able to fall asleep for some time because of the stars.

Riding a camel was much more comfortable than what I had imagined it to be. Yes, sitting hurts right now, but it's not too bad really. Also, camels don't stink nearly as bad as I had heard they would. Either very sensitive nosed people started this rumor, or I've been in India too long to notice.

Check out the pictures here.

Sliding from Volunteering to Tourism

I'm really slipping away from volunteering at the moment. I'm having serious trouble contacting new hosts. The farm up north that stopped answering my e-mails was just the first one. I've contacted two other opportunities though Workaway, but to no avail. One is located here in Jaisalmer. I'm still giving them until Tuesday. Then I'm leaving through Jodhpur to Pushkar and from there on Wednesday to Ajmer where my train to Mumbai leaves at 11am.

While I'm waiting, I'll do a two night camel safari starting tomorrow morning. I'm really looking forward to sleeping under desert stars. I've heard the starry sky is something special when the air humidity is so low. I'm not sure it's much different from the stars in Finland during the freezing winter nights, but at least sleeping will be a little more comfortable...

A little piece of disturbing news arrived me today as well. The golden temple pilgrim's lodge dorm apparently has bed bugs. There was some talk of it while we were there, but I didn't take it too seriously then. The three people I came to Amritsar with, have had bad cases of rash the last couple of days and they even had to throw away some of their things. They're still not quite sure whether they're clean or not. Strangely enough I haven't noticed anything so far. After I read the e-mail, I definitely felt itchy all over, but that's just a mental reaction I get from hearing stuff like that. I was using my own camping mattress on top of the dorm sheets and my sleeping bag on top of it. Maybe that's what kept me clean.

Chandigarh, My Experiences

Yesterday's post about Chandigarh was a quick info post. This one will be a more subjective one, about my experiences rather than about the city itself.

I already mentioned earlier that I decided to stay close to the railway station for the first night and try to scout for reasonably priced accommodation in the city for the rest of my stay. Well, I went looking on Saturday and was shocked. The cheapest room I was able to find was a small and run down closet next to a loud bus terminal for 800 rupees a night. The next cheapest one was 1300. I was slowly giving up on hope, when an elderly Sikh man came and introduced himself to me.

Mr. Narinder Singh, 77 - a one man tourist helping agency since five decades - told me that there are possibilities cheaper than the ones I had found so far. We stopped first in a fast food restaurant, where Mr. Singh showed me an article about him and a notebook full of tourist testimonials from the last two months only. After a few quick stops, he showed me a place called Panchayat Bhawan in sector 18, where a big room only costs 620 rupees (btw, Google maps finds it). I was really lucky to have met him just then, because I really was about to give up and take the terrible hole near the bus terminal.

This was just the beginning of his friendliness. The next day he took me to the famous Rock Garden. It a project that started as a one man's, Nek Chand's secret and illegal hobby of transforming waste into sculptures and landscapes in 1957. First eighteen years later, in 1975, officials of the city discovered his 49,000m² (12 acre) sculpture park. Luckily, even though it was on a land reserved for conservancy, it was not destroyed. The public opinion was so much on Mr. Chand's side, that he was appointed as "Sub-Divisional Engineer, Rock Garden", given a salary and a workforce of fifty people to help him with his project. Later he received the title of director of the Rock Garden. (See pictures of the Rock Garden here). My guide, Mr. Singh is a friend of Mr. Nek Chand's and he took me to his office next to the garden entrance, (which had a hobbit-house kind of look,) where I was able to talk a few words with him.

The next two evenings I met with Mr. Singh as well and he took me to nice, but affordable restaurants to eat. He also took me to a Sikh temple, where I made two chapatis (picture). This morning we met in sector 17, where he showed me a good place to have breakfast. Afterwards we went to a Haryana state office building to have tea and some sweets. His past career as a minister's secretary has left many doors open for him that for others remain closed. That's just another good reason to find this nice man when you're coming to Chandigarh. (I've got his contact details, if someone's interested).

Yesterday morning I did a cycle tour through Chandigarh (Pedal Chandigarh). The city's wide streets gave me an urge to get on a bicycle for the first time in India. It still was not very safe, especially during the morning rush hour. It was enjoyable and I saw many things I hadn't visited yet. The pictures are still only on my mobile, but I will try to update them into the Chandigarh folder as soon as possible.

Mr. Narinder Singh has an agenda that I tried my best to support during the four days in Chandigarh. He wants a low-budget hotel and a campsite to be set up in Chandigarh. He says that over sixty percent of all the tourists coming to Chandigarh are low-budget tourists and that the city has forgotten them. On Sunday, he showed me the day's newspaper and his letter to the editor concerning this matter. He asked me to write a supporting reply for his piece of writing. I did it, since in my opinion the cause is definitely worth supporting.

Now I'm waiting for the train to Ajmer, Rajasthan, from where I will continue directly to Jaisalmer. But that's going to be another story...

PS. I just found this on YouTube. (Credits to Alexander Small)

Chandigarh - Something Different

Since Saturday, I have been roaming the streets of Chandigarh. A very different city from anything I've seen here so far. It's also a city with a short but strange history. It serves as the capital for two Indian states, Punjab and Haryana, but the city itself is Union Territory and belongs to neither of the two states. This jumble got started during the Indian partition in 1947, when Lahore, the traditional capital of Punjab became part of Pakistan. Chandigarh was then elected as a new capital, but it needed to be modernized. For rebuilding the city, 6228 families had to be relocated, which not surprisingly led to wide protests. The final decision to "capitalize" Chandigarh took two years. After that several international architects took part in forming the city to its current splendor. The most famous one being a French architect called Le Corbusier, who formed the final city layout. In 1966, a new State was formed for the Hindi speaking minority out of the eastern region of Punjab, Haryana. This is how Chandigarh, located in between Punjab and Haryana, became the capital of both of the states.

The design of the city is very symmetrical. Each Sector has the same size, 800 x 1200 meters. Each unit is self sufficient, having a school, shops, health centers, recreations and places of worship in them. There are only four vehicular entries into each sector (one from the middle of each side). The streets are broad and well taken care of. There's more green park areas in the city than in any other city I've seen. In spite of all the differences to other Indian cities, it still manages to stay very Indian. It's the city with the highest per capita income in India and it was selected the cleanest city in India in year 2010.


 
(sources: http://chandigarh.gov.in/knowchd_gen_plan.htm,
map image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupVFJZNL6LjNnTZ6emT-9y9vsS79h6Rs1ZUXNxDV3c4NH0PwPNJAXOMqTu8Je_sCn3qcmcYfe57-Cs_J-vCfT_cJK6wfNhDtekIcGJAy68_WphDNwhitUPImglOklqofqZcyJ0RlNkiqf/s320/chandigarh_map_s.jpg)

Amritsar, Sikh Holy City

My three days in Amritsar are over. The stay in the pilgrim's lodge next to the Golden Temple was another unforgettable experience. The Langar, the huge and free dining hall was the absolute highlight for me. The incredible organization of every little detail makes the word chaos in the normal Indian "organized chaos" obsolete - this was pure organization. On the second day I was able to volunteer in the dining hall for three hours. My job was to make sure that people coming from dinner, left their spoons to the two bowls next to me. There were so many people going by, that even the four of us doing this simple task couldn't stop a few spoons from getting through to the station where bowls and plates were handed in. It was a job that in all its simplicity was extremely rewarding. Never in my life have I received so many smiles in such a short time.

I learned to respect the Sikh tremendously during the past three days. The helpfulness and friendliness towards strangers and non-believers is something I haven't felt with other religions so far.

Last night after dinner, I finally went inside the temple. The long waiting time had kept me away so far. This time the line was shorter and I only needed about 25 minutes to get inside. Taking pictures was unfortunately not allowed, but I can tell you that the name Golden Temple is justified also when looking from the inside. Also the marble carvings that are filled with semi-precious stones (similar to Taj Mahal), were impressive to look at.

Probably the biggest reason I enjoyed Amritsar as much as I did, was the good company I had. Thanks guys, first of all for telling me about the pilgrim's lodge and of course for the good times! This once again proves that traveling alone doesn't mean being alone. I'm positive it's easier to meet new people when you're traveling alone in comparison to traveling with someone.

Yesterday we left the temple area in the afternoon to go to the Pakistani border. Not to cross it, don't worry, but to see the daily ceremony of closing the border for the night. And what a surreal spectacle it was! Soldiers on both sides of the border did the same strange routines and funny walks and even a few handshakes over the border were given. If you are familiar with the Monty Python sketch "Ministry of Silly Walks", you have an idea how it looked like.

The weirdest thing for me was not the ceremony itself, but the hundreds of Indian spectators cheering and waving Indian flags during the ceremony. On the other side of the border, a clearly smaller crowd of Pakistanis was doing the same, but with their own flag of course. The strong nationalism exceeded my limits of healthy patriotism and bothered me a little. But the mere fact that two countries that still are enemies show this kind of cooperation and silliness, worked as a compensation.

This morning I traveled four hours in the "human Tetris" -compartment of the train from Amritsar to Chandigarh. Now I'm resting before taking off to the city. For the first night I'm staying outside the train station, but I will keep my eyes open later in the city for possible places to stay. I'm also searching for a possibility to upload some more pictures from Amritsar and from the border, so in a few hours there should be new stuff to see here.

From the Mountains into a Temple

My original plan was to volunteer on another farm, or more precisely on an organic orchard since yesterday. The last message I got from the farm contact person was over a month ago. There he says he would be in Delhi for business most likely  until the 29th or the 30th. I have written him three times after that, but there has been no e-mail from him since. Unfortunately I don't have anything but his e-mail address, so there's not much I can do, but wait. Last night in Bhagsu, I decided I would not wait for any longer in McLeod Ganj or the area around it. I've seen enough of it now. I had heard a lot of nice things about the city of Amritsar, about seven hours to the southwest, so I made a decision to go and check it out, since it's still a reasonable distance away from the orchard in case I end up volunteering there after all.

The bus ride was pretty awful, but that wasn't a big surprise. Bumpy roads, broken seats, dust and loud honking coming in through the open rattling windows really makes you consider choosing a train for the next trip. The connection was pretty good, only one change in Pathankot after four hours of coming down mountains and hills mainly.

There were five other western people in the bus, all with big rucksacks. We had to climb to the roof and fasten our bags on the rails there (amazingly enough, everything stayed there through all the bumps). In Pathankot we had to take them down and put them back on another bus roof. While I was on the roof taking the bags down with another man, the bus started moving. Luckily the driver heard our screams and saw people pointing at us, so he stopped driving after just a couple of meters and we managed to get down on our own terms, not on gravity's alone.

The bus arrived in Amritsar around six in the evening. Three of the western people who were traveling on the same bus with me had an idea about a place to stay and they asked me to join them. In the bus I was thinking about spoiling myself a little with a nice private room with its own bathroom. Well, it didn't happen... I'm now on my bunk in a dorm of seven beds, surrounded by three smaller three bed dorms. But I'm really happy I said yes to the three people after getting out of the bus, because this place is something amazing.

So where am I? The biggest sight in Amritsar is the Golden Temple, which is the most famous Sikh Gurdwara (translates: gateway to the guru,  their place of worship). It was built over four centuries ago. We're staying right next to it in a huge complex called, Shri Guru Ramdas Niwas Pilgrim’s Lodge. It accommodates pilgrims and guests from all religions and countries. It's also completely donation funded, meaning it's free if you decide not to pay in the end. There's a lot of hustle and bustle going on, but everything is very clean. For example, the toilets are the cleanest I've seen in India so far.

Even the food is free in a big dining hall, a Langar, where all the guests are served by volunteering Sikhs, who are learning to serve others according to their religion. Last night's dinner was rice with cheese with a very tasty dal and some sweet rice porridge as dessert. The serving itself is a spectacle, as the food is served quickly and from some height onto your plate on the floor. Still everything gets cleaned very quickly after a row of people is done with the meal. On an average day, 60 000 to 90 000 meals are served, but during bigger festivities the number gets much higher. Not only is the serving interesting to look at, so is the dishwashing and cooking. Everything works like a gigantic and well oiled machine.

The main attraction, the Golden Temple is definitely worth seeing. Today I only went there quickly after dinner, but today I'm giving it a longer inspection. Photos will follow soon.

The Trek

Before I start, click this link to see more pictures from the trek.

First day was rather easy going. We hiked along a small road first and then along a wide and travelled path. The difference between elevations was almost 1000 meters from the trekking shop to Triund, a popular mountain camping meadow in 2875 meters. We stopped twice during the way, once for a chai and once for a some instant noodles. When we got up to Triund, there already were at least twenty people up there. It was Saturday and a few bigger groups had decided to go up for a night. I saw a lot less westerners up here than I did in McLeod Ganj the past days. After a dinner of rice and dal I crawled up in a nice and warm sleeping bag in the tent, both of which were provided for me and were waiting for us in Triund. It was raining and really chilly outside, so there wasn't much else to do anyway. The partying students in the tent next to mine bothered me for the first two hours, but after that I was able to sleep well. The night was colder than I had expected though.

The next morning we didn't need to hurry. I got up at seven, because I could see it was sunny. When I opened the tent zipper, I was rewarded with an amazing view of the Moon peak (4650m), the highest peak in Lower Dhauladhars. Now I knew what I had missed because of clouds the day before. The next sleeping station was to be a cave in 3500 meter elevation. We started after a good breakfast and some relaxing at around 11 o'clock. The first stop was after about an hour of walking away, around the snow line, where the last chai shop before the pass is located. We had another instant noodle lunch followed by a mug of hot chai before we continued up the trail. Or rather down the trail for the next two kilometers. After that it was nothing but up all the way to the cave. Before starting the last climb of the day, we filled our water bottles from a mountain stream.

We reached the cave around three in the afternoon. Four other people were already there, but the cave is big enough to accommodate at least ten people. The word cave is perhaps not the best word to describe the place. It's a big slab of stone laying on another one so that in between the stones is a spacious area, higher in the front and lower in the back. It looked something like a Finnish "laavu", but made out of stone instead of logs. (picture 1, picture 2)

We had a packed dinner of rice and vegetables. around five and before it got dark and we crawled in our sleeping bags, we went down a few steps to see the waterfall. It was very beautiful, but it lost some of its beauty and appeal because of so many beautiful things around it. (picture)

The night was even colder than the first one, but the sleeping bag was up for the challenge. It was a new experience for me, but I have to admit I'm more of a tent person than a cave man. The cold damp air was not so nice and made the cold temperature feel worse than it actually was. There was some thunder and lightning during the night, but I was too drowsy and afraid of the cold air to get out of my sleeping bag to look.

Day three started early. We got up before six, quickly sorted out the things we would need during our ascent and left the other stuff in the cave to wait for our return. We only took my bag, because it was smaller, but I wasn't allowed to carry it. Ranu, my guide said he's so used to carrying a rucksack, he doesn't know how to walk without one. This of course was not quite the truth, but after about thirty minutes up the hill, I noticed that carrying anything extra, would most likely have been too much for me. At least without at lot more breaks on the way. We needed to hurry, because the clouds were chasing us from below and would soon block the best view.

Up to the cave, I hadn't noticed the thinner air, but during the last climb I sure did. Panting like a dog I took small steps towards the top. For a while the thought of giving up crossed my mind. It was suddenly so much tougher than the first two days had been. Thinking back, I think my brain went into a kind of survival modus, only taking care of movement and breathing. All the higher functions seemed to have gone to off-state. I felt like the good two hours went by in much less time and on my way back I saw many things that I had missed on the way up. I think I went into a kind of meditative state. Who would want to sit still for hours to achieve a similar state of empty mind when you can do something cool like trekking?

There's one thing that I experienced on this tough last climb up to the pass that I'm most likely not able to describe to you in any understandable way. It was probably the thin air or the low air pressure that were playing tricks on me. A few times I felt like my body kept going, but my mind wasn't there. After a few seconds, I felt like my mind, or my consciousness caught up with me and I suddenly was fully aware of myself again. First I was afraid of the feeling, afraid of not concentrating enough and tumbling down twenty or more meters onto a bed of stones. After a couple of these "fits", I felt more fascinated than afraid. I know that sounds weird, but there's no other way I can explain it. Maybe it had something to do with the meditative state of mind I described above. I had a few of these moments on the way down as well.

Okay, I know you're more interested in hearing what it was like on top. The pass was definitely worth trekking for four days. The Chamba valley on the other side was much clearer than the Kangra valley on the McLeod-side and the view was awesome. Mount Kailash, the Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Bön holy mountain (6638m) was clearly visible as were many other high peaks in the distance. The Moon peak felt almost reaching close, but of course there still were 300 meters to the top. We had a simple breakfast of bread, boiled eggs and the leftover rice from dinner in the pass. The Sun was warming us enough for taking an hour's break before we headed back down. Sitting down in the elevation of 4330 meters didn't feel any different than sitting anywhere else. Only when my body needed more oxygen, the difference was more than apparent.

Out of the four guys who shared the cave with us, two reached the pass just when we were starting our descent, third one we saw after an hour's descent and the fourth one we met just before the cave. He had given up and was on his way to the cave. He seemed to have shrunk from the night before, when he was rolling his cigarettes and telling me about his studies. I almost wanted to say that smoking is bad for you, but I figured he knew that much already. Later down in Triund I saw at least three others, who had given up the climb.

We took our stuff from the cave and continued to the last chai shop on snow line to have lunch. Now we've arrived back to Triund, the first night's camp ground, and we're spending the night here again. The easy nine kilometer part is still left for tomorrow to finish the total of approximately 45 kilometers.

To sum it up: a wonderful experience, but a harder one than I had imagined. I'm very glad I did it.

I really was lucky with my guide, Ranu. I feel bad the guy in the agency takes so much of the amount I paid without really doing much himself. I promised to send all the people I know, who happen to come to this part of India directly to Ranu. So if you need a guide, who really knows his business, speaks good English and is very friendly, please let me know. I'll gladly give you his contact details. Believe me, we saw a few guides during these past three days, who looked more lost than guiding. (PS. He's even got a small room he rents in Bhagsu, next to McLeod Ganj. I'm staying there for one night.)

Trekking to Indrahar Pass

I'm leaving for a four day trek in about three hours from now. The goal of the trek is the Indrahar pass (elevation 4320m). Today's part is only nine kilometers to Triund, but tomorrow will be a tougher day, if I understood the person who sold me the trip correctly. But I'll report the details after I'm back, makes more sense that way.

I postponed my trek with one day, because I was hoping to find some company. Unfortunately it didn't work out. It would have been nicer to share the trail with someone besides the guide and the price would have gone down as well. There's no complaining about the deal I made though. I'm paying 5500rs (about 70€) for three meals a day, three nights of tent or guesthouse accommodation depending on the weather, and a personal guide. Even though I was unable to find company, I'm very glad I waited a day. Yesterday evening a heavy thunderstorm hit us. I'm glad I was in my room, even though it was mostly in complete darkness because of power outages. It rained heavily as well and during the night the rain came back. I'm hoping that was enough for the next couple of days, but I'm not very optimistic. It's raining right now. No worries, I'm well equipped and won't get wet so quickly. What I'm more worried about is not being able to see much from the top. What I've heard, the view is breathtaking.

Wish me luck! I'll be back on Tuesday.

Tibet Awareness

I visited the Tibet museum today and it made me much more aware of the history between Tibet and the People's Republic of China. Not a very happy story, but a story that needs to be told more. Reminds me a lot of the exhibition I saw in the museum of occupation history (I think it was called) in Riga two years ago. The Soviet methods of relocating Baltic people to deeper parts of the USSR and sending Russian people to replace them seem strikingly similar to what the Chinese have done and still are doing in Tibet. Except that to my knowledge the Baltic states were never used as atomic test range, as nuclear waste dump yard or neither were their natural resources as ruthlessly harvested, with no thought of ecological values.

It is no longer as much an ideological issue as before, but more an economical one. The natural resources, especially the minerals in Tibetan soil are of great value to China's growing economy. Still the destruction of temples and sacred scriptures continues. Tibetans are fleeing over the high mountain passes to India to avoid detection from the Chinese military. Many are frozen to death while trying, some are captured, sent back and imprisoned. The waiter in the bar I'm sitting in right now, came to India nine years ago. He managed to remain undetected and warm enough and found refuge here in McLeod Ganj. He says, he wants to go back, but that it's impossible.

The international awareness of the Tibetan situation reached it's latest peak during the Beijing Olympic games. The news about people, especially Tibetan monks, setting themselves on fire got a lot of media coverage. The situation has not changed much since. There are still people turning to the most extreme form of protest, self-immolation. According to the July edition of the Contact Magazine, a free monthly publication for Tibetan issues & community information, the toll of self immolations has now risen to 120. After the incident, the Chinese police detained more than a dozen arbitrary Tibetans and the whereabouts of six of the detained people are still unknown. At least ten Tibetans also sustained severe gunshot wounds, when the police opened fire in Tibet when people were celebrating Dalai Lama's 78th birthday on July 6th. That's not something that the international community should ignore.

A side note. I decided to wait for another day before going up the mountain. I'm hoping to find some company tonight or tomorrow morning. If no one is willing to do a four day trek with me, I'm going alone on Saturday morning. That means tomorrow's another day to relax and enjoy the sceneries here in McLeod Ganj.

McLeod Ganj - Dharamsala

After 13 hours of train and almost four hours of sitting in three different overcrowded buses driving on terribly bumpy roads (the regular Indian travel experience that is), I finally made it to my destination just before noon yesterday. McLeod Ganj is located in the district of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh and it's ten kilometers of curvy, climbing roads away from the main city it belongs to, Dharamsala. The average elevation is just above two kilometers, but it varies because of the hilly landscape.

I was tired and exhausted when I got to the city and decided against a long hotel search. I walked for about ten minutes and found a hotel called Annex and after some bargaining, I booked a room for one night. It was more than I normally would pay for a night here (1000rs, around 12e or 15$), but a nice hot shower, comfy bed and a beautiful view from the balcony made the deal sound too nice.

After a two hour nap and a shower, I started exploring the city. I went to the Tsuglag Khang, the Dalai Lama's temple, but unfortunately cameras are not allowed there. I'll try to take a picture or two from the outside later today. Instead, I managed to take a few nice scenery shots yesterday. 

The town was a popular place during the British rule, but after an earthquake in 1905, the town lost most of its appeal. First in 1959, when the Tibetan uprising failed and the 14th Dalai Lama took refuge in McLeod Ganj, the town returned to the world history. In 1960 the Indian government officially granted him refuge and the town became his official residence and the residence of the government of Tibet in exile. Thousands of refugees from Tibet live here now and the town has become a pilgrimage site for Buddhists and tourists seeking enlightenment.

Right now I'm having breakfast in a nice cafe. I just found a hotel for the next night as well. I'm only booking one night at a time, because I'm planning to do a trek up the mountains, maybe tomorrow or the day after that. I'm still trying to decide, whether to go for a one night trek or a three night one, but the more I think about it, I'm starting to lean on the latter. How often do I get a chance to climb up to 4500 meters?

Today's plan still includes a visit to the Tibet museum and some relaxed looking around. Later I'm trying to find some Tibetan food for supper, which will not be to difficult here. I already had vegetarian Gyatog (soup with noodles and vegetables) and tsampa (porridge made out of roasted barley flour). The latter was worth trying out, but I think I'll stick to wheat and oats from now on. The first mentioned was something I definitely can recommend.

Himalayan Farm Farewell

Just like while writing the last post, I'm again waiting for a train. I'm leaving from Kathgodam, the station I arrived in just two days ago. I'm traveling through the night and early tomorrow morning I'm getting off in the Chakki Bank station. From there I'll continue to Dharamsala, or more precisely McLeod Ganj, the home of Tibetan government in exile. But I'll tell you more about it, when I'm actually there.

The two days at the farm went too quickly and I didn't really feel like going yet. I'm seriously considering a second stay there before leaving India. What made leaving a bit easier though, was the fact that four other people left yesterday. Only four volunteers remain now and Niraj was the only one of the four who was staying at the farm with me before our hospital touring started.

Even if saying goodbye to the people started on Sunday night already, leaving the peace, beauty and tranquility of the farm life behind today was still not easy. There is something magical about the place. If you are considering volunteering in India, you're physically fit and you're not too much of a hygiene freak, this is where you need to go. Ok, I admit, it's not as Indian as other places may be, but the welcoming and social commune atmosphere more than makes up for it.

Yesterday I did a trip further up the mountain to an abandoned farm with two others. It was again a combination of business and pleasure, since we had our axes with us for firewood collecting. The farm is not much more than a small hut, but you can still see the fields that had stayed clearer than I expected for not being taken care of for the last twenty years. The real sight for me up on the hill was not the farm itself, but the mountain spring where the water to the farm and to the villages below comes from (picture). I've seen springs before, but nothing comparable. The water gushes out of the holes between rocks and it almost looks as though the spring was a boiling pot of water. The picture of the spring doesn't show this as clearly unfortunately.

Please also check out the other pictures from the farm (and the hospital tour). This link takes you to the folder.

Rainy Delhi

The day before yesterday, when we'd left the hospital, we decided that Saturday would be our sightseeing day in Delhi. Well, this plan didn't quite work out as we hoped. Heavy rain made it almost impossible to leave the apartment. We still managed to get out just before three in the afternoon.

For me the most interesting thing to see today was a school, where Juneli, the granddaughter of the farm project starter, goes to. In the morning I read parts of a book that explains the school's view on learning. The book is called Psychic Education and it explains the pedagogical thoughts of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. I might order it when I'm back in Germany. It has many similarities to Montessori-schools and other reform-pedagogical concepts I'm familiar with, but it is spiced with (more apparent) Indian philosophy and spirituality.

The school building itself was something quite amazing. All the classrooms are open to the corridors. There are only a few doors in the whole big building and there are areas without a roof every now and then. Hanging plants are growing all over and the roofless areas have a tree growing in the middle. Here are three pictures: picture 1, picture 2, picture 3.

After seeing the school, we took a bus to Dilli Haat, a bazaar, where every Indian state has its own food and crafts huts. We weren't really hungry, but we had some samosas with coffee while waiting for the rain to stop. From there we walked back for an half an hour and then took a bus back to the apartment.

Back at the apartment it was time to say goodbye and thank you for our hosts. They will take care of our patient for at least another week. He is anxiously waiting to get back to the farm. Since I'm leaving the farm on Tuesday, I had to say bye to him as well. He was very grateful for me helping him. I told him that I was happy to pay forward the good things done to me by others during my stay in India so far and said that I saw many things that normally tourists don't get to experience.

It's now 5 am Sunday morning and Niraj and I are sitting in a taxi going to Anand Vihar train station. Our train departs in one hour and arrives six hours later in Kathgodam. I'm looking forward to getting back to the farm. It's a lovely place and I'm seriously considering coming back there for a week or two before I return home.

Hospital Inspector's Notes

Here's a short summary of my experiences in the three very different Indian hospitals I saw the past nine days.

Bhimtal health centre was not much of a hospital. It's state owned, so the only payment they took was a registration fee of 13 rupees. The town itself is to small to have a real hospital, but the health centre is enough for taking care of basic health needs. The hygiene was appalling, but a person only familiar with western hospitals could say the same about the two other hospitals as well. The doctor we saw there was very friendly and he spoke excellent English.

Krishna hospital and research centre in Haldwani is a private hospital. For three days there including all the medicine and tests, we paid around 15 000 rupees. The hygiene was better, but there were a lot of cockroaches as well. The room we had was a single bed one, but there was one berth for family members on the other wall. The doctors and nurses were very helpful, although the latter only knew broken English. It it's good that Niraj knew Hindi well enough to understand and to be understood.

The A.I.I.M.S. on Delhi was something completely different from the two other hospitals. The emergency ward alone is maybe twice the size of the Krishna hospital. Officially there are about hundred beds in it, but there area are always at least thirty or forty people lying on trolleys between the beds and on the corridors. There are always about ten doctors and ten nurses on duty and they are highly professional. It's mind boggling, how the doctors can treat as many patients simultaneously, especially considering that many of them are serious emergencies. In addition to the staff, a big responsibility for taking care of the patients falls on the one person allowed to stay with the patient. If the IV-drip needs to be changed, the nurses need to be chased and informed about it. When new blood results are due, the person has to look for the result slip from a separate table near the doctors' station. Then it's time to show the results to a doctor, who then decides on further treatment and medication. The newly prescribed medication then needs to be retrieved from the nurses' station and brought to the patient. There is a lot to do and nothing much happens to the patient, if the person with him isn't pestering the doctors and nurses enough. The most awesome thing about the A.I.I.M.S. It's that it is a state hospital, so we only paid the registration fee. The hygiene in the emergency ward was again not something to be compared to western hospitals. Mice and cockroaches running around, patients spitting and vomiting on the floor and blood and urine spilled on the floors and walls were things that I found hard to accept. Especially, because cleaning such a crowded place properly is nearly impossible.

As a summary I can say that I'm very much hoping to stay away from hospitals here. Of course I'm not so keen on being admitted to a western hospital either... I'm convinced that the staff is mostly just as competent here as in other countries, but the hygiene is something that scares me. I know it's probably for nothing, but I can't shake it off, no matter how I try.

Two Tough Night Shifts in the ER

Well, I'll book it as another experience. But it will not listed as a pleasant one. My friend stayed the last two nights in the emergency ward of the hospital. There's not really that much of an emergency for him anymore, he's there just for observation. The working diagnose was dengue fever, until this morning, because all the symptoms were pointing in that direction. This morning a doctor started getting other ideas, but whatever it is, the worst has definitely passed.

It may sound weird to say this, but after spending about 36 hrs in the ER of one of the biggest hospitals in the world, I'm happy my friend "just" has dengue fever (or whatever). In the first night, two people died inside two hours in front of my eyes in the same four bed cubical (in India it fits six people). I shared some of my water with the second one just an hour before he died. In addition to two deaths, I saw, heard and smelled plenty of other unpleasant things. I'm hoping to avoid places like this in the future.

I went to the apartment in the morning after my first night shift. I rested in the apartment (best sleep I ever had) and Niraj took over for the next twelve hours. I was hoping, that the two important criteria needed for discharging him would be met the second day but unfortunately the blood tests didn't come out the way we hoped and we needed to spend another night in the hectic of the emergency ward.

Right now I'm back to the apartment and almost ready to crash for some six hours. The patient it's doing much better, but they are still waiting for some test results before they let him out if the hospital. I'm not sure whether Niraj and I can leave back to the farm tonight or tomorrow night, but I'm guessing that it will rather be tomorrow.

Delhi - Always a Pleasure

You won't believe it, but I'm in Delhi again! The doctor in Haldwani told us yesterday, that we should take the patient to a bigger hospital. It all happened very quickly and without much time to spare. We got emergency train tickets for the three of us and took off at quarter to nine in the evening. We first went to the apartment of the farm owner's daughter and then after a quick breakfast to AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences). It's one of the biggest and best hospital in Asia, busier than Heathrow airport and it reminds me of an ant hill. People are going all directions, everyone is trying to get their or their patients' problems heard.

I'm not going to tell too much about the medical circumstances, but it seems to be a viral fever of some unknown sort. The patient is doing a little better than he was yesterday, but he's still very weak.

For me this means that my plans for going to Nainital tomorrow are not going to work out the way I was hoping. We're hoping others will take over the responsibility soon and we can go back to the farm for a couple of more days. The absolute deadline for me is my train on the 24th from Kathgodam, near the farm, to Chakki Bank close to Dharamsala, my next stop.

Visitors from the Farm

The patient is as yesterday. Some symptoms have changed to others, but there haven't been any big changes in his overall condition. Today's highlight was a visit from three other "Himalayan farmers" who came to buy some groceries and used the opportunity to come and visit the missing sheep. For all three of us here in the hospital, it was a nice break to the hospital routine.

I took another break from the hospital in the early evening. I went to a restaurant with Wi-Fi to check my e-mails and read some news. I also had two scoops of butter scotch ice cream with a cup of instant coffee. An hour away from the stuffy hospital atmosphere did me good. Otherwise there isn't much to tell. Last night went better than expected. We stopped taking turns at midnight and slept pretty much through the night. The nurses came in a few times to check on the patient and to measure his blood pressure and temperature. The coming night we've staying here as well and for tomorrow night, if needed, we'll see about other alternatives.

Another Hospital

Yesterday everything seemed to be going well for my friend. This morning brought some bad news. He was feeling very dizzy again and couldn't get out of his bed on his own. We were hoping that this wouldn't last long, but unfortunately things started going worse for him.

We went to the small hospital first, but the doctor told us directly that we should continue to Haldwani, to a bigger hospital. We did that and since this afternoon the room number 68 of the Krishna hospital has been our new home.

There hasn't been a breakthrough yet, but my friend is feeling a bit better. The hospital is much cleaner than the small one we visited a few times the last couple of days, but it's still no comparison to western hospitals. All three of us are sharing the room for tonight. It's going to be my turn to sleep soon, Niraj will take over watching over our friend. I'm really happy about it, because I'm getting really tired. In three hours, it will be my turn again. If we end up staying more than this one night, we might have to look for a budget room somewhere close, or maybe there's an empty bed somewhere here in the hospital. But we're still hoping that the test results coming tomorrow morning will bring a diagnosis. But we will just have to see how it goes.

Bhimtal

We're staying in Bhimtal for at least one more night. The patient is feeling much better, no fever and the dizziness has subsided at little. He might spend a few more nights here, but I think I'm leaving back to the farm tomorrow.

The house we live in right now, is the farm owner's home. A beautiful place, on a steep hill overlooking a lake. The whole area here is so different from Vrindavan. Much cleaner and quieter. Even in Haldwani, the main market town in the area, everything seemed less stressed than in Vrindavan.

I'm taking a walk around the lake later. Or at least half way around. We walked some distance next to the lake yesterday already, but on a rather busy road. I might skip that part today. I uploaded some pictures from the past week yesterday.

Hospital Visit

The long term volunteer came back from a shopping trip the day before yesterday and went straight to bed complaining dizziness and feeling weak. He got up once to go to the bathroom and passed out on his way back. We were seriously discussing of taking him to the hospital before sunset yesterday. He was against it, so we decided to wait. His fever was extremely high yesterday evening, but the night went well.

We started our slow trek down the path around nine in the morning. It took us more than two hours to get down to Do Gaon, where a taxi was waiting for us. It took us to a small hospital in Bhimtal and there the doctor prescribed an IV-drip. What it exactly is, I'm not sure, but I'm guessing just some electrolytes. The first 500ml were done in an hour but the second bottle took much longer. We're still waiting for it to finish. After that we'll see how our patient is feeling and decide the next steps. We can stay here in Bhimtal in the house of the farm owner. He's not at home, but a neighbor has the key and has already prepared beds. If the condition hasn't improved, we might have to change to a bigger hospital. Let's hope that's not the case.

The hospital makes me feel grateful of my health. The hygiene is something other than I'm accustomed to in Europe. I'm not sure what's more likely to happen here, getting well or catching another illness. I'll post a picture or two from the main ward as soon as I can.

Waterfall

Today we combined business and pleasure. The morning was very sunny and while having breakfast we decided it would be a nice day for a swim. There's a waterfall not far from here and it has got a small pool just under it. After breakfast the sun had gone hiding again, but we thought we'd risk it. If the plan is to get wet, it really doesn't matter much if we already get wet on the way.

Our supply of firewood was running low, so we took axes with us. Before we got to the waterfall, the local young man who was with us, found a dead tree that was waiting to be cut down. It was all but easy, but we managed to cut into carrriable chunks. In addition to normal firewood, we collected some "magic wood". It's the local equivalent for the Finnish "tervanen", meaning pine tree that has a lot of pine resin soaked in it. It's something that works as the perfect kindling since pine resin lights quickly and burns hot. Instead of waiting for years after the tree's been cut and then harvesting tervanen from the tree stump like the Finns, the locals here cut wedges on the living pine trees and wait for them to get filled with resin. Then they cut thin slices with the axe from the area. The effect is more or less the same.

After the work was done it was time for a swim. The water was cold, but not too bad. I didn't really think I would swim, so I hadn't packed my swimming trunks. My underwear served the purpose well.

The climb back to the farm with the firewood bundled on our backs pretty much cancelled the refreshing effect of the quick swim. The only thing I did after that was chopping some of the older firewood into pieces that fit the oven. It started raining soon after we got back so there was not much to do.