In 13 months through Asia: temples and forts, beaches and volcanoes, mountains and gorges… India Landing in Mumbai ⋅ Goa ⋅ Kerala ⋅ The Indian Restaurant ⋅ Temple, Temple, Tamil Nadu ⋅ Give me school-pen! ⋅ Hampi ⋅ Hyderabad ⋅ Ellora and Ajanta ⋅ Gujarat ⋅ Udaipur ⋅ Mount Abu ⋅ Jodhpur ⋅ Jaisalmer ⋅ … Continue reading “13 months as a backpacker through Asia”
In fact, my train from Varanasi arrived in Kolkata 10 hours late. So I didn’t see much of this city, which seems pretty dilapidated to me. At least I had my beard scraped off my face and got a “modern hairstyle”, so now I look more normal (boring?) again. The flight to Bangkok (after the … Continue reading “From India to Thailand”
In the holy city on the Ganges (India)
Thoughts on India and Tourism
This small village, completely removed from any city, is home to some of India’s most exciting temples – known mainly for the many erotic depictions dating back almost 1000 years. Better than the Kama Sutra. All the possible and impossible positions stand in stark contrast to modern Indian society, where (except perhaps in Bangalore, Mumbai, … Continue reading “Kama Sutra in Stone: The Temples of Khajuraho”
Temples, a river and pleasant tranquillity (India)
There is a striking disparity of poverty in India: the South is clearly richer, perhaps most clearly shown in the fact that almost everyone here has a mobile phone. There are slums, but in the north even “normal” parts of the city look almost like slums and poverty is obvious. Everything is much dirtier, more … Continue reading “Disparity of poverty in India”
A stark city, packed with people, an unbelievable chaos. The best thing is to sit on a cycle rickshaw and watch people go by. It’s hard to move forward, sacks of chili or whatever are being unloaded from other cycle rickshaws or bullock carts everywhere, men with all kinds of beards and headdresses, women in … Continue reading “Delhi”
On some days I hate India. Yesterday the day started with me having to wait an hour for my cereal because it had been forgotten. Then I went to pick up the laundry I had dropped off the day before. I had stressed that I needed the bag again – “yes OK, no problem”. Of … Continue reading “Getting into a paddy about India”
In the fog – quite frustrating after weeks of cloudless skies. The Taj Mahal is really not without reason the most famous building in India, built by a Mughal king for his 2nd wife. The best of the 20000 workers had their fingers or hands amputated afterwards so that something so magnificent could not be … Continue reading “Agra”
Safari im Ranthambore Nationalpark
Cinema has always been celebrated in India and the Bombay film industry is older than Hollywood. I see a dramatic love story rolled out to epic length. The fact that I don’t understand a word of Hindi only adds to the exoticism. Highlights are the elaborate dance interludes, partly shot in Switzerland. In these, mostly … Continue reading “Bollywood”
The pink city in Rajasthan (India)
Oasis in Rajasthan, India
Sacred rats at Bikaner (Rajasthan, India)
In the Golden City in Rajasthan (India)
In the blue city in Rajasthan (India)
Mount Abu is a kind of Indian honeymoon resort. We didn’t come here for that, though, but for the impressive Jain temples nearby. These temples, almost 1000 years old, are carved out of marble in such detail that it’s hard to believe they took only 14 years to build. LP aptly writes that it looks … Continue reading “Mount Abu”
How fabulously beautiful Udaipur must be when the old city and palaces are reflected in the lake! It’s just too bad when, in a dry year like this, all that’s left of the lake is a sad puddle. The City Palace is nevertheless impressive, the rooms grouped around beautiful courtyards. The rooms themselves reveal that … Continue reading “Udaipur”
Ahmedabad is a rather noisy and smoggy city. Well, some interesting mosques and pretty old houses between Le Corbusier concrete, a fascinating fountain house, but never a quiet place to linger. The bugs I discover in the morning when I take down the mosquito net finish me off. But I only get one bite and … Continue reading “Gujarat”
Cave temple in the basalts of the Deccan Traps (South India)
Between two trains and alone again, I am in Hyderabad, where I didn’t really want to go. At least time passes faster here than in boring Bangalore. The Golconda Fort is interesting, however “… is a must-view” (Lonely Planet) is exaggerated. Nearby are some royal tombs, somewhat similar to the Taj Mahal – but with … Continue reading “Hyderabad”
Wonderful temples in a wonderful landscape (South India)
It’s fascinating that the kids in India beg for a school pen (or chocolate or Rupee if need be) just as insistently as those in Africa or Latin America. The only way I can explain it is that decades ago, good-natured tourists travelled the world handing out pens to assure the children will have a … Continue reading “Give me school-pen!”
Around 10,000 pilgrims scurry through the temple in Madurai every day. They walk in circles around the pillars whose reliefs depict some god or other, pour oil and pile coconuts on the Nandir (Shiva’s buffalo) or throw butter at one of the larger statues of the gods – accordingly, it smells slightly rancid. In the … Continue reading “Temple, Temple, Tamil Nadu”
Sure, there are exceptions. Nevertheless, the rule seems to be that the more staff there are in a restaurant in India (preferably with their backs to the guests), the slower the service. And so you wait half an hour for a Coke after you have finally managed to order… Read on 13 months as a … Continue reading “The Indian Restaurant”
A man who comes to Kochin immediately forgets his wife, because of the beauty of the city. So they say. Indeed, there is something about the cosmopolitan flair with a mix of Portuguese, Dutch, British, Jewish and Indian culture. The city, situated on a narrow peninsula, is very green and the best thing is that … Continue reading “Kerala”
The beach vendor looks at me incredulously: “why do you come to the beach if you don’t want to buy anything?” Well, why? To forget the stress of university, to swim, relax in the sun or read a book in the shade. Eat delicious fish in the evening… And just in time for the European … Continue reading “Goa”
So I landed in Mumbai (Bombay). The culture shock wasn’t as severe as I expected and I quickly got used to the “Hello my friend”. Fatigue was a bit more of a problem on my first day: I fell asleep on the boat to Elephanta Island. I still found the cave temple on the island … Continue reading “Landing in Mumbai”