So at my last post I was at Pushkar, in Rajasthan. As said it is a holy town so I spent the first day looking at the various temples; it is the only place in the world to have a temple to Brahma, the creator of the universe and one of the three most important gods of the Hindu Trimurti. The next 2 days were spent walking round the hills outside Pushkar, it had dawned on me that I had not done any more exercise then sprint baywatch style into the sea at Goa and Varkala in the last month, and I was hoping to do the Annapurna Circuit, a walk over 300 km long and going up to 5416 m in the Nepalese Himalaya. These walks were fun, you could buy hobnobs in Pushkar (believe me, when your 1000's of miles from home, hobnobs are perhaps the greatest things ever) so I would generally take a packet of them and walk through scrub and clamber up steep rocky faces to have lunch looking out towards Pushkar and having a brilliant view of the Rajasthani planes.
After Pushkar, I travelled onto Jaisalmer, a 12th century Rajput fort in the middle of the desert. I met some Swedish girls on the bus on the way there, so we decided to do a camel trek together, and so we arranged a 3 day 2 night trek. Jaisalmer itself was amazing, a huge fort with elaborate ancient havellas inside. The trek itself was great, I rode on a camel called Raju, and the guides made roti (Indian flatbread) and curries for us, and we also slept out in the dunes. However, after three days my legs were ready to fall off - camels are not comfortable to ride on! Back in Jaisalmer, the next day was the culmination of the Indian Holi festival. This day involved having massive colour fights with bags of dye, as well as improvised water pistols with coloured water, think smingus dyngus on a massive, colourful scale! I got covered in dye, mostly red but with patches of greens, yellows and blues. It was insane, and when I got back to my hotel every Indian there was completely drunk (it appears that Holi is also a drinking festival). My waitoer saw me, managed after three attempts to pick up a menu, then stumbled over in my direction before crashing into a table on the way.
After Rajasthan I decided to go somewhere cooler, Shimla, a hill station in the foothills of the Himalayas would be good. A bus ride there from Delhi provided me with my first glimpse of the Himalayas, it was spectacular. I climbed up a steep hill (Shimla is just one huge hill with buildings on one side) to the YMCA and checked in, being told that only one of the bathrooms was working because "Monkeys got in and smashed the other one up".
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Long time no speak!
OK, apologies for the lack of blogging in the last few weeks, I have been too busy having fun, seeing amazing things and copiously drinking my way around the subcontinent! However, I'm now in Delhi with 3 hours to kill until my train to Mumbai, so will try my best to update you on all that has happened...
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Tedium, Taj and Temples
Its been a long time since my last post here, so apologies - this'll probably be a long one...
The train journey; for 589 ruppees aka 8 pounds I wasn't expecting luxury. I got the top bunk (there are three bunks) which was good, because in the daytime the bottom bunk becomes a free for all bench to sit on and the middle bunk is folded away altogether, whilst the top bunk is left alone. Still the 48 hours dragged by unimaginably slowly. I finished Shantaram in a stupidly quick time, and 20 hours into the journey I had nothing to read, and my iPod had ran out of batteries. It was far too cramped to play my guitar, so I had to make do with doodling my way through my notepad and occasionally dozing off, interspersed with periods where I would reread my India guidebook. Finally, at 3.00pm, 48 hours after I started my train journey, we arrived at New Delhi train station. I decided to stay in the Pahar Ganj area, a big backpacker centre - very noisy and congested, but with masses of cheap accomadation and resteraunts. I tracked down a dorm for 100 ruppees a night in the hope of meeting some other travellers, unfortunately, during my time in Delhi it was just me and one other person (a different one, always Korean though) in the dorm. Still, for under 1 pound 50 a night, I couldn't complain.
Delhi; Delhi itself is not a pleasant city. It lacks the upbeat, fashionable atmosphere that is everywhere in Mumbai, and has none of the charm of smaller cities like Kochi. However, there are odd places within the city that are interesting enough to warrant a visit. On the first day I walked from Pahar Ganj to the Red Fort in Old Delhi, an hours stroll through some of the dirtiest, loudest, most polluted, craziest streets imaginable. Tuk tuks and mopeds would regularly be mere centimetres from running you over whilst swerving to avoid something, whether that be a pothole, a food stall in the middle of the road or a holy cow. However at the same time it was fascinating to see tghe day to day life of normal Indians in Delhi - I was the only white person there it seemed, most others must have been sane enough to take a taxi. When I did get to the fort, I found out that it, along with most other attractions in Old Delhi, were closed due to it being a Monday. My morale temporarily crushed, I took a tuk tuk back to my hostel, and spent the rest of the day relaxing in Pahar Ganj. The next day I walked to the fort again and had a look around. It was certainly interesting, although most of the buildings were closed off so some of the more interesting bits were only viewable from a distance. After the Red Fort I walked to a Jain Temple complex to have a look at its bird hospital - Jains believe that they have a duty to help all life and so have set up this building for birds they find with broken wings etc - very strange, a sort of religious RSPB. I then walked to the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, and climbed its minaret, the views were breathtaking, and it was also nice to be able to sit down and relax in the shady arches with a book for a bit. It was now around lunch time, so I found a street stall selling Jalebis, one of the nicest foods I have tried so far - they are just twirls of batter dipped in sugar syrup and deep fried in big open woks - 2 usually cost all of 10 ruppees! Knackered by the mornings sight seeing, I once again relaxed in the afternoon, this time at a place called Sams Cafe, a rooftop bar that clandestinely serves beer! The next day was spent in New Delhi, which was a lot nicer then Old Delhi. It was built by the British, and so felt a lot like a European city with lawns and wide avenues. I went to the National Museum and spent twice the reccommended amount of time perusing through it. I then walked to Humayuns Tomb (a precursor to the Taj Mahal) via India Memorial Gate.
Agra; The next day I departed early for Agra, and arrived at midday, checking in at Shanti Lodge, a well established guesthouse recommended by LP with a rooftop resteraunt with amazing views of the Taj. I explored Agra (there isn't much) and had dinner on the roof of my hotel, watching the sunset against the Taj Mahal. I went to bed looking forward to my first lie in in days - the Taj Mahal is closed every Friday so I decided to sleep in and the explore more of Agra later on. It wasn't to be. At 4.30am after a virtually sleepless night of beig kept awake by a wedding procession and set upon by mozzies, I was woken up from my dozing by a deafening bang. People were shouting and I opened my door to see everyone running out the hotel. Not one to buck the trend, I joined in. After running a suitable distance, I found 3 people who were speaking English to find out what was going on. It turned out that there was a fire, which had started on the top floor, exploding a gas canister and spreading quickly. The firefighters turned up and an hour later the fire was stopped the floor above mine - very lucky for me as I had left all my stuff in my room. Some people had lost all there stuff, but thankfully no one was badly hurt. I checked into a new hotel at 6.00 am and promptly fell asleep, waking up early afternoon. I then visited Agra fort before making my way back to Agra central where I ate at Joneys Place, which had amazing Malai Kofta (deep fried potato and cheese balls in a curry sauce) and chatted to a German guy for a bit, who had been to Himachal Pradesh (an area in the North I was thinking about going to) and loved it. Later that evening, at another resteraunt (the name escapes me) I was talking to two guys, one a Canadian who had also been to Himachal Pradesh and highly reccomended it. The other guy was a Bristol graduate, and we got chatting about halls etc. He also said he may be in Nepal at a similar time to me, so we may meet up. The next day was Taj Mahal day. I had heard many opinions about the Taj, and people I had talked to were all unanimously convinced that it was amazing. I however wasn't impressed. Sure, it was a very nice building, and was certainly quite beautiful, but it lacked atmosphere, and it was very hard for me to get truly interested in it. It was not a fort, or an old house, or a temple where people years and years ago had come to live there lives - there were no personal touches or clues to marvel at that suggested that hundreds of years ago people had lived here. It was just a cold tomb. Some people have remarked on how beautiful it was, a building dedicated to love, but for me it was dedicated to a very megalomanic, obbsessive love that only a religiously fantical medieval tyrant could have possessed. I left after the sunrise dissapointed, and spent the rest of the day browsing round Agra, doing the nature walk which was fun, as well as visiting the baby Taj. I rounded off the day at a rooftop cafe. The next day I had been intending to leave to Jaipur, but my alarm failed to wake me in time, and so I was stuck in Agra for another day. I met with a guy who had been at the fire and we went to Joneys and had brunch before chilling for the rest of the day, swapping books (there isn't a good bookshop in Agra) and talking about travelling. It turned out he was doing my route in reverse, as such we both had places to reccomend to each other, and I got a ton of useful tips for SE Asia.
Pushkar; The next day I went to the train station at 6.00am to get the train to Jaipur. It was 4 hours late, but the journey itself was fun - I met 8 Indian guys my age, all students who were having a 1 week holiday around Rajasthan. They got me to play through my ever increasing repetoire of songs on my guitar, and after we talked through the journey about all sorts of stuff, they were pretty much like every other student, and we got on well. Once at Jaipur I got a bus to Ajmer, the transport hub that you have to arrive in to get to Pushkar. I got a tuk tuk to Pushkar, and checked in at Lake View. It was quite late so I went straight to bed. The next morning (this morning in fact) I woke up and stepped out of my door. On the massive balcony there was a beautiful view of Lake Puskar, surrounded by temples and hemmed in by huge hills on all sides. Exploring further afield, I found that Pushkar was a really cool place, there are streets lined with markets, temples and monkeys, and lots of other backpackers. I even found a place for breakfast that does Peanut Butter!!! However, it doesn't feel touristy like Varkala or Agradid - Pushkar is first and foremost a religious Pilgrim town (including strict rules on no beer, no meat and no eggs allowed) and so it feels very genuine and Indian. I think I'll like it here.
The train journey; for 589 ruppees aka 8 pounds I wasn't expecting luxury. I got the top bunk (there are three bunks) which was good, because in the daytime the bottom bunk becomes a free for all bench to sit on and the middle bunk is folded away altogether, whilst the top bunk is left alone. Still the 48 hours dragged by unimaginably slowly. I finished Shantaram in a stupidly quick time, and 20 hours into the journey I had nothing to read, and my iPod had ran out of batteries. It was far too cramped to play my guitar, so I had to make do with doodling my way through my notepad and occasionally dozing off, interspersed with periods where I would reread my India guidebook. Finally, at 3.00pm, 48 hours after I started my train journey, we arrived at New Delhi train station. I decided to stay in the Pahar Ganj area, a big backpacker centre - very noisy and congested, but with masses of cheap accomadation and resteraunts. I tracked down a dorm for 100 ruppees a night in the hope of meeting some other travellers, unfortunately, during my time in Delhi it was just me and one other person (a different one, always Korean though) in the dorm. Still, for under 1 pound 50 a night, I couldn't complain.
Delhi; Delhi itself is not a pleasant city. It lacks the upbeat, fashionable atmosphere that is everywhere in Mumbai, and has none of the charm of smaller cities like Kochi. However, there are odd places within the city that are interesting enough to warrant a visit. On the first day I walked from Pahar Ganj to the Red Fort in Old Delhi, an hours stroll through some of the dirtiest, loudest, most polluted, craziest streets imaginable. Tuk tuks and mopeds would regularly be mere centimetres from running you over whilst swerving to avoid something, whether that be a pothole, a food stall in the middle of the road or a holy cow. However at the same time it was fascinating to see tghe day to day life of normal Indians in Delhi - I was the only white person there it seemed, most others must have been sane enough to take a taxi. When I did get to the fort, I found out that it, along with most other attractions in Old Delhi, were closed due to it being a Monday. My morale temporarily crushed, I took a tuk tuk back to my hostel, and spent the rest of the day relaxing in Pahar Ganj. The next day I walked to the fort again and had a look around. It was certainly interesting, although most of the buildings were closed off so some of the more interesting bits were only viewable from a distance. After the Red Fort I walked to a Jain Temple complex to have a look at its bird hospital - Jains believe that they have a duty to help all life and so have set up this building for birds they find with broken wings etc - very strange, a sort of religious RSPB. I then walked to the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, and climbed its minaret, the views were breathtaking, and it was also nice to be able to sit down and relax in the shady arches with a book for a bit. It was now around lunch time, so I found a street stall selling Jalebis, one of the nicest foods I have tried so far - they are just twirls of batter dipped in sugar syrup and deep fried in big open woks - 2 usually cost all of 10 ruppees! Knackered by the mornings sight seeing, I once again relaxed in the afternoon, this time at a place called Sams Cafe, a rooftop bar that clandestinely serves beer! The next day was spent in New Delhi, which was a lot nicer then Old Delhi. It was built by the British, and so felt a lot like a European city with lawns and wide avenues. I went to the National Museum and spent twice the reccommended amount of time perusing through it. I then walked to Humayuns Tomb (a precursor to the Taj Mahal) via India Memorial Gate.
Agra; The next day I departed early for Agra, and arrived at midday, checking in at Shanti Lodge, a well established guesthouse recommended by LP with a rooftop resteraunt with amazing views of the Taj. I explored Agra (there isn't much) and had dinner on the roof of my hotel, watching the sunset against the Taj Mahal. I went to bed looking forward to my first lie in in days - the Taj Mahal is closed every Friday so I decided to sleep in and the explore more of Agra later on. It wasn't to be. At 4.30am after a virtually sleepless night of beig kept awake by a wedding procession and set upon by mozzies, I was woken up from my dozing by a deafening bang. People were shouting and I opened my door to see everyone running out the hotel. Not one to buck the trend, I joined in. After running a suitable distance, I found 3 people who were speaking English to find out what was going on. It turned out that there was a fire, which had started on the top floor, exploding a gas canister and spreading quickly. The firefighters turned up and an hour later the fire was stopped the floor above mine - very lucky for me as I had left all my stuff in my room. Some people had lost all there stuff, but thankfully no one was badly hurt. I checked into a new hotel at 6.00 am and promptly fell asleep, waking up early afternoon. I then visited Agra fort before making my way back to Agra central where I ate at Joneys Place, which had amazing Malai Kofta (deep fried potato and cheese balls in a curry sauce) and chatted to a German guy for a bit, who had been to Himachal Pradesh (an area in the North I was thinking about going to) and loved it. Later that evening, at another resteraunt (the name escapes me) I was talking to two guys, one a Canadian who had also been to Himachal Pradesh and highly reccomended it. The other guy was a Bristol graduate, and we got chatting about halls etc. He also said he may be in Nepal at a similar time to me, so we may meet up. The next day was Taj Mahal day. I had heard many opinions about the Taj, and people I had talked to were all unanimously convinced that it was amazing. I however wasn't impressed. Sure, it was a very nice building, and was certainly quite beautiful, but it lacked atmosphere, and it was very hard for me to get truly interested in it. It was not a fort, or an old house, or a temple where people years and years ago had come to live there lives - there were no personal touches or clues to marvel at that suggested that hundreds of years ago people had lived here. It was just a cold tomb. Some people have remarked on how beautiful it was, a building dedicated to love, but for me it was dedicated to a very megalomanic, obbsessive love that only a religiously fantical medieval tyrant could have possessed. I left after the sunrise dissapointed, and spent the rest of the day browsing round Agra, doing the nature walk which was fun, as well as visiting the baby Taj. I rounded off the day at a rooftop cafe. The next day I had been intending to leave to Jaipur, but my alarm failed to wake me in time, and so I was stuck in Agra for another day. I met with a guy who had been at the fire and we went to Joneys and had brunch before chilling for the rest of the day, swapping books (there isn't a good bookshop in Agra) and talking about travelling. It turned out he was doing my route in reverse, as such we both had places to reccomend to each other, and I got a ton of useful tips for SE Asia.
Pushkar; The next day I went to the train station at 6.00am to get the train to Jaipur. It was 4 hours late, but the journey itself was fun - I met 8 Indian guys my age, all students who were having a 1 week holiday around Rajasthan. They got me to play through my ever increasing repetoire of songs on my guitar, and after we talked through the journey about all sorts of stuff, they were pretty much like every other student, and we got on well. Once at Jaipur I got a bus to Ajmer, the transport hub that you have to arrive in to get to Pushkar. I got a tuk tuk to Pushkar, and checked in at Lake View. It was quite late so I went straight to bed. The next morning (this morning in fact) I woke up and stepped out of my door. On the massive balcony there was a beautiful view of Lake Puskar, surrounded by temples and hemmed in by huge hills on all sides. Exploring further afield, I found that Pushkar was a really cool place, there are streets lined with markets, temples and monkeys, and lots of other backpackers. I even found a place for breakfast that does Peanut Butter!!! However, it doesn't feel touristy like Varkala or Agradid - Pushkar is first and foremost a religious Pilgrim town (including strict rules on no beer, no meat and no eggs allowed) and so it feels very genuine and Indian. I think I'll like it here.
Monday, 23 February 2009
Pictures up!!!
Finally, I have got some pictures up for you all!!! Check my old posts, I'll be adding more pictures soon.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Cochin, Cliffs and Colds
Today I am writing from Fort Cochin, my last stop in the state of Kerala. A recap of Varkala won't be to long - there was literally just the one beach and lots of bars dotted along the brick red cliffs. It was really nice for a few days, but there is only so long you can do nothing, and so as of yesterday I moved onto Fort Cochin, a very old trading/fishing town that has been traded in or occupied by chinese, mongols, arabs, portugese, dutch, french and the British. As such, it is a very unusual town with architectural quirks from all over the world. I am staying tonight, then heading up to Delhi tomorrow, a journey which will take 48 hours (and has cost me 549 ruppees aka 8 pounds). As such, I have brought 2 new books, and have made sure that my iPod, guitar, pen and pad are all close by. From Delhi, I intend to explore the north of India, which will mean doing totally different things to the south. Southern India has been a very relaxing place, and most of my time has been spent lazing about somewhere with my book and guitar, or swimming in the sea. North India is bound to be more hectic - I want to cover a much wider area (meaning more long journeys) and will mainly be visiting historical sites. However, I am really looking forward to seing the Taj, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Amritsar etc etc. One downer is that my cold has returned with a vengeance, but luckily the place I stayed at in Varkala gave away rolls of toilet paper, so I have (almost) unlimited tissues!
Saturday, 14 February 2009
V. quick update
OK, so a v. quick note just to say I am at Varkarla not Ooty, due to a last minute craving for beaches. Its awesome, I've met up with three guys from yorkshire on gap years at the dorm I'm staying - one happens to have a eukalele, go figure... We spent today listening to iPods on the beach and bodysurfing HUGE (aka bigger than pont espagnol) waves.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Houseboats, hippies and hill stations
The last few days have been pretty crazy, so I figured an update is in order....
After Palolem we headed to the train station to catch a train to Kerala. The three of us put down our bags next to a pillar to wait for the 2 hour late train and pretty soon almost every non Indian in the train station had done the same (there is a picture that I'll put up sometime of me and Jules on top of a huge pile of backpacks plaing guitar/eukalele). We started talking and soon had arranged to share a houseboat in kerala with three guys - Danny (Canadian), Arie (Australian) and Christian (Chilean). The train journey was comfy enough (we were in the lowest class). We got off the train at Allepy at about midday and immediately went in search of a houseboat. A houseboat is an amazing construct - it is a large wooden boat with a motor, and a proper house complete with bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen (which comes with a keralan cook) and a dining room - all made out of bamboo and wood! Ours also had a second floor (not many did) with a balcony so you could sleep under the stars. We set off from Allepy jetty at about 3.00pm having paid about 20 pounds each for two nights on the backwaters complete with meals. The backwaters themselves were amazing - imagine a tropical version of the marshes just near to Blenac, but on a much larger scale and with a lot wider passages (in places). We spent the days listening to music, reading, talking and napping and the evenings drinking and playing cards (the 10 of diamonds has unfortunately met a watery fate). The food was amazing, the boat would pull up to fishermen and the crew would buy stuff freshly caught - it was the best food I've had in India so far (apart from maybe the fried fish in Goa...). On the last night I slept under the stars. I have 40 mosquito bites on my arms and counting.
After 2 nights on the houseboat, it was sadly time for me to part ways with Ellie and Jules, who were flying from Cochi up to Delhi and then onto Bangkok. I stayed with the guys though and we decided to visit an ashram on the backwaters which lonely planet describes as a fascinating place well worth a visit. That would only be if you enjoy staying at the headquarters of what is, effectively, a cult full of seemingly brainwashed hippies. There were pictures of the guru everywhere, and everyone was just so odd, you couldn't have a conversation with them. We left after 6 hours, and found our way to Kollam, which is where I am now. Arie and Danny have now also returned to Delhi to fly back to there respective countries, and Christian has an Iron Maiden concert in Bangalore that he has left to see. I am planning on heading to Ooty, a hill station in Tamil Nadu (the other far south Indian state) which is North of where I am now. I think I have gone as far south as I want, there isn't much of interest that further down, so from now on I will be heading upwards!
On a sidenote, my guitar has been an awesome buy. However I fear I may be turning into Mum - I have been giving a few lessons! Also, most resteraunts we go to want to hear me play something, not always a bad thing - my rendition of Remember Me by the Zutons earned me a free coffee today!!!
After Palolem we headed to the train station to catch a train to Kerala. The three of us put down our bags next to a pillar to wait for the 2 hour late train and pretty soon almost every non Indian in the train station had done the same (there is a picture that I'll put up sometime of me and Jules on top of a huge pile of backpacks plaing guitar/eukalele). We started talking and soon had arranged to share a houseboat in kerala with three guys - Danny (Canadian), Arie (Australian) and Christian (Chilean). The train journey was comfy enough (we were in the lowest class). We got off the train at Allepy at about midday and immediately went in search of a houseboat. A houseboat is an amazing construct - it is a large wooden boat with a motor, and a proper house complete with bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen (which comes with a keralan cook) and a dining room - all made out of bamboo and wood! Ours also had a second floor (not many did) with a balcony so you could sleep under the stars. We set off from Allepy jetty at about 3.00pm having paid about 20 pounds each for two nights on the backwaters complete with meals. The backwaters themselves were amazing - imagine a tropical version of the marshes just near to Blenac, but on a much larger scale and with a lot wider passages (in places). We spent the days listening to music, reading, talking and napping and the evenings drinking and playing cards (the 10 of diamonds has unfortunately met a watery fate). The food was amazing, the boat would pull up to fishermen and the crew would buy stuff freshly caught - it was the best food I've had in India so far (apart from maybe the fried fish in Goa...). On the last night I slept under the stars. I have 40 mosquito bites on my arms and counting.
After 2 nights on the houseboat, it was sadly time for me to part ways with Ellie and Jules, who were flying from Cochi up to Delhi and then onto Bangkok. I stayed with the guys though and we decided to visit an ashram on the backwaters which lonely planet describes as a fascinating place well worth a visit. That would only be if you enjoy staying at the headquarters of what is, effectively, a cult full of seemingly brainwashed hippies. There were pictures of the guru everywhere, and everyone was just so odd, you couldn't have a conversation with them. We left after 6 hours, and found our way to Kollam, which is where I am now. Arie and Danny have now also returned to Delhi to fly back to there respective countries, and Christian has an Iron Maiden concert in Bangalore that he has left to see. I am planning on heading to Ooty, a hill station in Tamil Nadu (the other far south Indian state) which is North of where I am now. I think I have gone as far south as I want, there isn't much of interest that further down, so from now on I will be heading upwards!
On a sidenote, my guitar has been an awesome buy. However I fear I may be turning into Mum - I have been giving a few lessons! Also, most resteraunts we go to want to hear me play something, not always a bad thing - my rendition of Remember Me by the Zutons earned me a free coffee today!!!
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