After Jaipur we took the train to Agra at 6:00 in the morning. In Agra we only had one day to have a look at the Taj Mahal before we had to take our train to Varanasi. And because we thought one day is soooo much time (our train was supposed to leave at 23:30) we did some other sightseeing before the Taj.... big mistake. First of all: we were tired from getting up early, being on the train and the heat, and secondly: we've already done sooo much sightseeing the days before that we neither felt like spending more money on old buildings nor did we really wanna see more old buildings. Only the Taj, because at least thats one of the Seven Wonders of the World. And also the other things are nice, buttt well. Not amazing.
And if one of you ever gets to the Taj Mahal, then only really pay the entrance fee, if you really have time to spend some time in there, because all non-indians pay like 36times as much as the indians: instead of 20RU 750RU. Ridiculous. And also: well the Taj is nice and stuff but.. ja. Dunno. 750 RU for going inside, saying "wow", taking pictures and going outside again is just way too much. The last 4 hours we spent in a restaurant.
Sleeping the the train from Agra to Varanasi was easier than expected: I just fell asleep ;) I was so tired that I didn't mind the smell, the bright lights, the noise or the movement of the train. When I woke up we only had like four more hours to Varanasi and arrived with only 3 hours delay.
Varanasi is a sacred pilgrim's city...they want to die here to exit the ever lasting circle of reincarnation. Since they burn the dead bodies at the Ghats of the Ganges you see funeral piles all over the Ghats and smoke and stuff....
Well and now we're sitting here on the rooftop of our hostel and do nothing but relaxing :)
Tomorrow we wanna get a massage somewhere...
Sonntag, 12. September 2010
Pushkar and Jaipur ("ich bin der koenig im affenstall, der groesste klettermax...... oooh schubiduuu ich moecht so gehn wie duhuuuhuuu, schubidubiduba...")
...in Pushkar we decided that we actually like our lives and DIDN'T rent the scooters. Instead we had a nice walk to the Ghats to watch the people bathing in the mornings. Was nice! Also we did a lot of shopping and had a look at temples etc and the monkeys climbing from house to house are also cute
After 2 1/2 days in Pushkar we took the Bus to Ajmer and from Ajmer we took the train to Jaipur, the "pink city". I don't know who gave Jaipur this name, but all I can tell is, is that its not pink. Its more... mnja... brown-greyish.
Also now that I recovered from my illness, David was lying in bed with fever etc.But luckily all the bad hotels were fully booked which means that we poor poor people had to take a more luxury one for 6 euros a night...room service, warm water, biiig bed, clean sheets, etc... and David could relax like a king.
On the first day (Tobi, another friend, arrived now too) Tobi, Julian and me bought a 5-sightseeing-premium-ticket and our sightseeing marathon began: first we went on the Hawa Mahal, a tower from which you could see whole Jaipur, the Jantar Mantar (an observatory) and the Fort Nahargarh, which was a very nice fort with a pretty amazing view.
But the coolest thing in Jaipur we left for the second day: The "monkey temple" in Galta :)
The riksha driver dropped us off at "Surya Mandir" (another temple) from were we walked up a hill, and around corners, a little bit more up, and further and down again, until we arrived in a valley which was fulllll of monkeys :) well and indians. If anyone of you has seen the Jungle Book then he can imagine how it looked like :) an old temple-complex, green mountains around it, trees etc, two old water pools and MONKEYS. On the temple, in the temple, on the streets, in the trees, and jumping into the pools. Thousands of them. So if you planned to go to India: visit Galta, its very nice!
Also we went onto another fort, but I forgot the name. ... but it was pretty :)
After 2 1/2 days in Pushkar we took the Bus to Ajmer and from Ajmer we took the train to Jaipur, the "pink city". I don't know who gave Jaipur this name, but all I can tell is, is that its not pink. Its more... mnja... brown-greyish.
Also now that I recovered from my illness, David was lying in bed with fever etc.But luckily all the bad hotels were fully booked which means that we poor poor people had to take a more luxury one for 6 euros a night...room service, warm water, biiig bed, clean sheets, etc... and David could relax like a king.
On the first day (Tobi, another friend, arrived now too) Tobi, Julian and me bought a 5-sightseeing-premium-ticket and our sightseeing marathon began: first we went on the Hawa Mahal, a tower from which you could see whole Jaipur, the Jantar Mantar (an observatory) and the Fort Nahargarh, which was a very nice fort with a pretty amazing view.
But the coolest thing in Jaipur we left for the second day: The "monkey temple" in Galta :)
The riksha driver dropped us off at "Surya Mandir" (another temple) from were we walked up a hill, and around corners, a little bit more up, and further and down again, until we arrived in a valley which was fulllll of monkeys :) well and indians. If anyone of you has seen the Jungle Book then he can imagine how it looked like :) an old temple-complex, green mountains around it, trees etc, two old water pools and MONKEYS. On the temple, in the temple, on the streets, in the trees, and jumping into the pools. Thousands of them. So if you planned to go to India: visit Galta, its very nice!
Also we went onto another fort, but I forgot the name. ... but it was pretty :)
Mittwoch, 8. September 2010
Rubbish, poo and smell
Everywhere.
If you thought India smells like a mix of herbs, flowers, trees and rain, then you were wrong. Somebody told you a big lie...
You have to go somewhere far far away from any kind of city or place where people live, to not find rubbish. And I mean FAR away. Its incredible.
Indians chronically don't have rubbish bins. They just throw everything on the streets; sometimes the cows will eat it, sometimes not, or maybe some adorable person will sweep it to a little hill. Or not. The hill would stay on that place anyway, so in the end its all the same. The rubbish is eeeverywhere.
Then most people don't have a toilet here. They just pee and shit in the streets, which doesnt matter THAT much, BUT they also don't have canals or drains (at least not many), which means that all that pee and shit either stays on the roads or just dries into the ground. Mmh.
Next to the humans there are also cows, dogs, cats and lots of other animals that do the same thing.
And don't forget the ill people and the homeless ones without showers etc.
Then there are markets with some herbs, old oil and fried things...
And AAAAL TOGETHER sums up to a smell, which is so incredibly strong that I probably wont get used to it; even during 4 months. Or maybe Mumbai smells less...who knows :)
If you thought India smells like a mix of herbs, flowers, trees and rain, then you were wrong. Somebody told you a big lie...
You have to go somewhere far far away from any kind of city or place where people live, to not find rubbish. And I mean FAR away. Its incredible.
Indians chronically don't have rubbish bins. They just throw everything on the streets; sometimes the cows will eat it, sometimes not, or maybe some adorable person will sweep it to a little hill. Or not. The hill would stay on that place anyway, so in the end its all the same. The rubbish is eeeverywhere.
Then most people don't have a toilet here. They just pee and shit in the streets, which doesnt matter THAT much, BUT they also don't have canals or drains (at least not many), which means that all that pee and shit either stays on the roads or just dries into the ground. Mmh.
Next to the humans there are also cows, dogs, cats and lots of other animals that do the same thing.
And don't forget the ill people and the homeless ones without showers etc.
Then there are markets with some herbs, old oil and fried things...
And AAAAL TOGETHER sums up to a smell, which is so incredibly strong that I probably wont get used to it; even during 4 months. Or maybe Mumbai smells less...who knows :)
1st illness
After only 1 week in India I had my first illness: 39.6 degrees as a max and diarrhea. Plus weaknes, shiverings, vomiting and stomach cramps. Butttt! Its over now, only the diarrhea stays, but what did Collin say before I left Breda?
"Nothing is easy, if it was easy it would be nothing."
:)
"Nothing is easy, if it was easy it would be nothing."
:)
Montag, 6. September 2010
Indias traffic
amazing.
no lanes (and if there are some then they are strictly ignored). trucks, busses. cars, motor rikshas, bika rikshas, bikes, cows and people just exist next to each other and manage to get from a to b without any accidents...little scratches or pushing each other out of the way doesnt count.
if you overtake somebody, or anyone is in your way, then just honk. eventually either the one in front of you goes out of your way or you spontaneously decide to drive another way around this ignorant person.
when your side of the road is too busy then its totally fine to drive on the side, which was originally ment for the other direction. if there are cars etc coming up to you, then just honk, or use your flashing lights.. they will go out of your way.
red traffic lights are to be ignored. just honk before you cross it.
all in all you dont have to be scared as a pedestrian. generally the traffic is so flexible, that they will all manage to drive around you without anything happening to you.
"HORN OK PLEASE" :)
no lanes (and if there are some then they are strictly ignored). trucks, busses. cars, motor rikshas, bika rikshas, bikes, cows and people just exist next to each other and manage to get from a to b without any accidents...little scratches or pushing each other out of the way doesnt count.
if you overtake somebody, or anyone is in your way, then just honk. eventually either the one in front of you goes out of your way or you spontaneously decide to drive another way around this ignorant person.
when your side of the road is too busy then its totally fine to drive on the side, which was originally ment for the other direction. if there are cars etc coming up to you, then just honk, or use your flashing lights.. they will go out of your way.
red traffic lights are to be ignored. just honk before you cross it.
all in all you dont have to be scared as a pedestrian. generally the traffic is so flexible, that they will all manage to drive around you without anything happening to you.
"HORN OK PLEASE" :)
Delhi, jodhpur, pushkar
sooo, finally i know the adres of my blog again and am able to update it :)
to make it easier to follow, i decided to split my stories up into chapters about the cities ive visited, my expressions, etc. so first delhi, jodhpur and puchkar:
after i arrived in mumbai at the 1st of september, i flew to delhi one day later. there i met david, julian (potter) and andrea. friends from berlin. the hotel room daid and i shared was...interesting. it smelled like toilet, the walls were wet enough to make the wallpaper and even some parts of the wall itself come down, the bed was dirty as hell, the shower didnt work and the air had appx a humidity of 100%. but besides that delhi was good! very busy, but the main bazaar was good for shopping :) ...next to the shopping we did some sightseeing and ate in rooftop restaurants, from were we could see the smog above the city perfectly.
After two days we went on to jodhpur.
we went there by a sleeper-bus over night, which was ment to take "11 hours"... after 16 hours we arrived. the busride was exhausting: it was warm, but with an open window too windy and the wind was cold. also it started raining and my widnow didnt close very well, which ment that i was pretty much wet all the time.
from jodhpur i didnt see that much, because after the trip with the bus i was sick: diarrhea and 39degrees fever. i still tried to have a look at the fort, which is very very beauiful with a nice view over the "blue city", but i spent most of my time sitting on the chairs, waiting for the other guys to be finished and go back to the hotel.
the rest of our time in jodhpur i slept.
after only one day in jodhpur we went on to pushkar. since i was still very weak, david carried my backpack, julian took care of finding the right train and andrea walked next to me (thanks guys!). The train took us 6 hours before we arrived in pushkar...i slept all of those.
puchkar is beeaautiful tho! first we went to the hotel and then to a restaurant called "lake view". from this restaurant we had an awesome view over the lake (as the name of it says..), pushkar itself and the surroundings... unfortunately it was prohibited to take pictures...maybe because the lake is holy. i tried to eat something....nooot good :D
yeah well and now the guys are on some hill with a temple, from were its supposed to be very nice to see the sunset, but i couldnt go with them :( . hopefully im fine again tomorrow and can also do cool stuff, like renting a scooter, as caro recommented for example ;)
to make it easier to follow, i decided to split my stories up into chapters about the cities ive visited, my expressions, etc. so first delhi, jodhpur and puchkar:
after i arrived in mumbai at the 1st of september, i flew to delhi one day later. there i met david, julian (potter) and andrea. friends from berlin. the hotel room daid and i shared was...interesting. it smelled like toilet, the walls were wet enough to make the wallpaper and even some parts of the wall itself come down, the bed was dirty as hell, the shower didnt work and the air had appx a humidity of 100%. but besides that delhi was good! very busy, but the main bazaar was good for shopping :) ...next to the shopping we did some sightseeing and ate in rooftop restaurants, from were we could see the smog above the city perfectly.
After two days we went on to jodhpur.
we went there by a sleeper-bus over night, which was ment to take "11 hours"... after 16 hours we arrived. the busride was exhausting: it was warm, but with an open window too windy and the wind was cold. also it started raining and my widnow didnt close very well, which ment that i was pretty much wet all the time.
from jodhpur i didnt see that much, because after the trip with the bus i was sick: diarrhea and 39degrees fever. i still tried to have a look at the fort, which is very very beauiful with a nice view over the "blue city", but i spent most of my time sitting on the chairs, waiting for the other guys to be finished and go back to the hotel.
the rest of our time in jodhpur i slept.
after only one day in jodhpur we went on to pushkar. since i was still very weak, david carried my backpack, julian took care of finding the right train and andrea walked next to me (thanks guys!). The train took us 6 hours before we arrived in pushkar...i slept all of those.
puchkar is beeaautiful tho! first we went to the hotel and then to a restaurant called "lake view". from this restaurant we had an awesome view over the lake (as the name of it says..), pushkar itself and the surroundings... unfortunately it was prohibited to take pictures...maybe because the lake is holy. i tried to eat something....nooot good :D
yeah well and now the guys are on some hill with a temple, from were its supposed to be very nice to see the sunset, but i couldnt go with them :( . hopefully im fine again tomorrow and can also do cool stuff, like renting a scooter, as caro recommented for example ;)
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