A short summary where I was and where I am at the moment…
Started in Delhi and went to the top of North-India - Kashmir. Then Jammu, Amritsar, Chamba and Daramsala. Then one day Delhi. After that Varanasi and Kolkata. Now I am staying in Darjeeling.
Next stop is Kathmandu, then Delhi - Agra - Delhi - Vienna.
Currently I am having about 4.500 km behind me.
My next steps
In McLeod Ganj I prepared the next steps. This night (from 11.05. to 12.05.) I am going by sleeper bus from McLeod Ganj to Delhi.
Tomorrow (12.05.) I will visit Old Delhi and at 6.30 PM the nighttrain is leaving to Varanasi. I am very much looking forward to Varanasi. It is an old, but - as told - very, very dirty city. I am looking forward seeing the Ganga and the Ghats. Trying to stay at a place called Hotel Alka.
I will stay there one night to continue my trip to Kolkatta. Again by nighttrain, which will take me 10.5 hrs from 14.05. to 15.05. In Kolkatta I am going to stay for 2 days.
I will decide in Kolkatta how to go on: Either going to Darjeeling and then to Kathmandu or directly to Kathmandu from Kolkatta. So many possibilities… :) Super…
It seems, that my original plan is working + some more.
India and some inputs
Time is running very fast and every day is a real adventure. Varanasi, Kolkatta and the rest will be very interesting. India is very interesting. It is one big states, with many smaller states in it. Those states are very different, even the people there are different in their behaviours and looking. Religions… Hindhu, Sikh, Muslim… A lot of different things in a complex setup which is running more or less “peaceful”. Some states are wanting their independency (Kashmir, North-eastern-states and so on) and are having mixed emotions with Pakistan. People differ from every region. Sometimes friendly, sometimes rough. Kashmir people are very friendly as well as the people in Amritsar. Delhi is a hard place lets see, what the other regions and cities bring. Punjab people are having their turbans, with their hairs in front of their head. The people in the north are more Hindhi, wearing their colorful Saris and having a good makeup with kayal and so on…
The trip in the “mountains” of north-india so far on Google Maps…
Delhi - Srinagar (Kashmir) - Jammu - Amritsar - Attari - Pathankot - Dalhuisie - Chamba.
So, after spending two amazing days in Amritsar, I went by bus to Pathankot and then to Chamba. It took me a litle bit more than 10 hrs. Drive was interesting, stopped two times eating some dal with rice. Had some”fruit cake” in the bus and a lot of chips… The bus-drive cost about 140 Rs (about 2 EUR).
Found an accomomodation in Chamba: Hotel Aroma Palace with a real nice view to this village in the valley. So it’s a little bit like “Heiligenblut“, as you are starring out to another hill out of your window.
Had some interesting conversations with locals and learned a lot about Hindu and the history of India. Did not know so much… Very interesting… f.e. Pakistan was part of India 60 yrs. ago, then splitted u. Bangladesh was formaly known as “East-Pakistan”…
Before going to bed I watched TV (there is a TV in every room I slept…). Did not found CNN but many sports channels. “Cricket” is very popular in India… So teams like “Kalkutta Knight Riders”… btw, I like this name…
OK. Today had some recent walks to some temples and ready to leave tomorrow early in the morning to Daramsala, where the exil-government of Tibet is located.
My stomach-barometer… If it was 50 % yesterday on a scale from good - bad, it is now going up to 70 % in direction of “bad”. Lets see… :)))
Internetconnection is very bad here and found a lausy internet-business near the market. So lets see, how I am succeeding in uploading some images and some GPS-routes…
Afterstaying in Kashmir and visiting city and Gulgmarg outside in the mountains I went down to Jammu in a Jeep for 10 hours. It was the most exciting drive ever. Through rough mountains, a lot of trafic jam the whole way: Jeeps, Busses, Lorries, Rikshas, Sheeps, Goats, Cows, Bikes. Exciting and the local next to me was always crying “Allah” (Kashmir is Muslim). The drive was very dangerous. It was raining and there was a thunderstorm all the time. It was along journey through the mountains where itwent down meters on the right side all the time. We had twice stops where we had dal with rice and the next time salted tea.
The first days I had everything: heat and cold, freezing and sweating, hail and rain and sun, snow, thunderstorms as well as big big desert-storms with broken trees on the “roads”… Amazing.
We had to sop many times im between and saw a lot of accidents, b roken cars and strange things.A lot of military (of course, Kashmir) and dead cows which felt down into the valley on the right side of the street. It was very much exciting and made me feel how i could be in Afghanistan.
At about 11 PM we arrived in Jammu, the other part of Jammu & Kashmir. We stpped there and hwent searching an accomodation. We decided to search for another jeepwhich drives us to Amritsar in Punjab. We found one and left at 0 oclock.I was very tired and was sitting in front next to the driver, left to me was Mehmet.
The drive was crazy again. I felt like in another movie. The street was big, then thin. Then tared, then not tared. Then splitted, then together. Then absolutly no street and then a big big big space, then separated by tons or broken up by military. On both sides next to the streets I always noticed lorries parking - mazbe having a rest. It was a crazy drive, horning all the time and shaking up and down. I trusted the Punjab driver. A lot of strange cars where heading or in front of us. Strange vehicles where I do no know, what they should be for. Strange lights, strange colored cars with strange sounds. Very extraterristic. Very interesting.
We arrivved in Amritsa anb 4 AM in the morning. There was high/life at the Golden Temple and we decided to go there to have a short sleep. I slept there on the floor outside and - as we have checked a hotel before - we went to this hotel after a couple of hours to go to sleep.
The Golden Temple was amazing. Never seen such a building and such an athmosphere before. So. More tomorrow, I have to leave…
OK. And eve somewhere on this road, between Jammu and Srnagar I found the even most most most terrible toilet until now :)
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