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.
From Varanasi to Calcutta taking the night-train from 6 PM to 7 AM. Took the cheaper sleeping class (450 Rs, about 7 EUR) and a seat on the top bed. Talked with some local students and learned something about india in the sleeping train by speaking with the local guys.
I slept 10 hrs although it was very hot and loud…
Arrived fresh in Calcutta!!
I am going to stay today (Wednesday, May 14) in Varanasi and visiting old city and some ghats. It’s now 10 AM and already very very hot in Varanasi.
In the evening at 6 PM I am heading off to Calcutta by night-train in the sleeper-class. Arriving there at around 8 AM next morning. In Calcutta I am going to stay three days.
“Innorama”: twitsay.com
I am trying to use twitsay.com for some Audio-Updates. Just found out, that this is quite new… Let’s see how it works - you can easily check my voice-updates on my twitter-account twitter.com/sugarmelon in some hours…
Varanasi is one of the oldest and most spiritual cities in the world. Varanasi is famous for burning Hindu people next to the Ganges when they died.
I had a walk the whole day on the ghats of Varanasi. Ghats are places, where people can bath in the Ganges or where Hindu people are burned after their life. I went up and down and was breathless.
In the morning I first went to Manikarnika Ghat and saw many people getting burned. Impressive and cold shower on my body. Impressive. This was the place, where life ends. This was the place, where Hindu people are “reincarnated”. I have not seen this before and have to digest the seen things. Very interesting… Very different.
I went through all ghats, saw people bathing in the Ganges, people washing their clothes, cows bathing, many small boats, saw ash flying in the dirty, dirty Ganges and a lot of other things. The water in the Ganges is at the moment very very low. You can see it in the pictures, that it looks like a “desert”. In July, when the monsum is coming, the water rises up to 12 meter (!) and everything gets flooded.
Lonely Planet says, that there are 1.500.000 bacterias on 100 ml in the Ganges. Everything, which is above 500 bacterias/100 ml is dangerous. Ganges is really a dark soup and very, very dirty. Very dirty.
In the evening I went by boat to a ceremony on one ghat. It was very interesting - also did Pooja. Will see if I will get up tomorrow at 5.30 AM to have a morning boattrip.
Everything is fine… Weather is quite hot, it’s about 40 degrees Celsius. I drunk about 7 liter of water, good so.
Just read on CNN.com, thanks Markus for your info. I’m now in Varanasi.
DELHI, India (CNN) — India is on high alert after a series of near-simultaneous explosions killed at least 60 people and wounded 150 others in the northwestern city of Jaipur Tuesday night, government and local officials told CNN-IBN.
One of the wounded is helped in Jaipur.
Bicycles were strewn about the streets near some of the blast sites, with pools of blood nearby.
There has been no claim of responsibility, but Indian government officials — including Home Minister Shriprakash Jaiswal — were quick to label it a terrorist attack.
The seven explosions started at about 7:30 p.m. (1400 GMT, 1000 ET) and detonated within 12 minutes of each other, police said.
The bombs exploded within about 500 meters (0.3 mile) of each other in Jaipur’s old city, which is frequented by tourists.
More on CNN.com
Mehmet has arrived Thuesday morning in Jaipur. Hoping, that everything is OK…
After visiting Delhi (New and Old) I took the nighttrain to Varanasi (6.15 PM to 7.45 AM). This time I took 3AC, this means three beds in a row and aircondition. Delhi - Varanasi is about 771 km and this class was up to 1.200 Rs (app. 20 Eur). Tomorrow night I am going to take the normal sleeper class to Calcutta for 400 Rs (app. 7 Eur) for again 770 km. I took some Dal and rice for eating it in the train, as I was not sure, if everything is going smooth on the train-station. Many people… Many….
The train itself was quite comfortable and I felt asleep suddenly as I was very tired… and woke up at 7.30 AM. Before this I had a short talk with an Indian Doctor, who was in the bed under me. I asked him some indian related things… About Calcuta, Politics, Varanasi, Cricket, Internet, Food and the future of India… Very interesting…
So I am going to have a walk through the Gates in Varanasi. It is very hot here… people say up to 44 degrees.
Arrived in Delhi at 9 AM. Then had a decent coffee and went by riksha to the Jama Masjid, an old temple in old Delhi. Jama Masjid is the biggest mosque in India and offers place for about 25.000 prayers. I went up the minarett and had a nice roundview on Delhi.
After that I bought some bananas (3 bananas for 5 Rs - 55 Rs is 1 Euro) and had a walk through the old part of Dehli.
After that I took a riksha to the new part and went there for eating something and had a coffee at Coffee Place in an airconditioned room. Perfect, as it is very hot outside.
Now I am waiting for the nighttrain which will take me to Varanasi from 6.15 PM to 7 AM. I have a booking in the sleeping-waggon with AC. So, lets see :))
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…
I am now in Chamba and after having a breakfast (some bread, coffee) I visited some old temples and the city. Interesting village, as it is quite clean compared to the rest i have seen until now. The weather is OK, as it is also raining a little bit. Temperature is OK here in the mountains, can’t wait the heat in Varanasi, Lucknow, Agra… :)
It’s a funny thing, as people are always want to get photographed…
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