Tansen and journey too Pokara

Tansen was really nice. The 1 day and 2 nights we spent there we only saw 3 other Westerners. It’s a lovely medieval market town and you can see some buildings are like our tudor architecture but with tin roofs and other modern additions.
It’s hard to believe this place was the scene of one of the major battles of the civil war just 5 years ago.
We Hiked across the big hill behind the town which had some awesome views and the occasional random temple.
Then we got the bus to Pokara. The roads somehow cling on to the sides of the mountains as the bus constantly swings left too right, thowing you a few feet in the air every few seconds, always with sheer drop on one side. The seat wasn’t attached to the bus so it was a case of wedging yourself in and hoping for the best. The second half of the journey was particularly scary and the first half I had a nepali guy next to me throwing up out the window. Still we got here ok and found a guest house and got rooms for £1.50 a night. The town looks nice but really touristy.
Will write more in my next entry.

Loads of old buildings like this

View from the Budda at the end of the hill (shame the backround mountains didn't come out)

The Town from just above

Journey to Nepal

I’ve just arrived in Tansen, in Nepal. And am sipping Everest beer and waiting for my momos. I’ve headed up here with Jon, A Spaniard from my guest house in Varanasi who needed to jump the border to renew his visa.

On the first day we had a 16 hour bus journey to the border which we passed with a few movies on the laptop. Luckily the bus wasn’t full so we had room the move about.
We crossed the border at about 9pm. It is the slackest border I have ever seen. Hell even going to Wales the stop you and demand £5.40. Here you can just walk straight through. In fact I had to wander around in Nepal for 30 mins before to get a photocopy of my passport (with no currency) before returning to the border to get the visa.
We found a nice hotel for about £4 each. In the restaurant we met a couple of Germans a bit older than us and I stayed up drinking a few beers with the German chap.

He grew up in East Germany and was studying near Berlin in ’89 so was there when the wall came down. Having been there last year it was really nice to get a personal account of the events. The first thing he and his friends did was to go to the most famous drinking street in the West, negotiate a rate for east marks to Deutsch marks in a bar and got a beer. He still has the glass it came in to this day. Was really touching, he even had a tear in his eye saying what a happy day it was. He dislikes what Berlin has become now. But I think it’s recent history has given it a culture with a reverence for authority and rules, which is one of the things I liked about the place.

This morning I tried to use the only ATM in town again, but it was still out of order, so I wandered back into India but there isn’t one on that side of the border either so I was beginning to think we’d be stuck here as Jon was running out of Indian rupees and I had none left at all. Finally the ATM started working so by midday we could leave.
Tansen is off the beaten track so we had to get 3 busses to get here. The first 5km hop we where on the roof of the bus with all the luggage. Was loads of fun but I’m glad it was a good road.
The Third bus took us finally off the great Indian plain and into the Himalayan foot hills. I say foot hills, but these things make the black mountains look like mole hills. I’m (only!!) at 1400m here. It really is spectacular. Although the visibility is quite low. There was a delay when we ran out of diesel but a passing lorry let us siphon off enough to get to a petrol station.

Now we’re here enjoying food and beer.
The people here seem much more relaxed than the Indians it feels weird walking down the street without being hassled to go to a shop
or something. It’s really nice.

Life is good

Jon on top of the bus

Lazy Days in Varanassi

Hi All

I’m still in Varanasi.

Enjoying lazy days. Visiting the odd site, relaxing by the Ghats.

Saw an awesome Indian classical gig, with a world renowned Indian flutist.  

A few of us went on a day trip to Sarnath where Budda gave his first lecture after attaining enlightenment. There are temples there from all over the Buddhist world and a tree grown from a cutting of the Bhodi tree he attained enlightenment under. Twas all very interesting.

Also this evening I had an interesting trip back along the main road. First there was what looked to my Weston eyes as a carnival, with floats load music and kids dancing. Apparently this was a festival of road cleaning and they were cleaning the road as the went along it!! Then a few hundred meters further up the road was an amazing wedding procession with a ornate horse drawn carriage with the groom and some family in. Then 2 rows of 20 kids in each holding lit florescent tubes, other kids dancing in-between and a marching band at the front.

This as all on the main road so all the cars, bikes, lorries, auto and cycle rickshaws and cows trying to squeeze past.

Of course have been playing a lot of chess too. Mainly at a guest house run by a farther and 2 sons who all play, there’s also load of other Indians who play there. The 3^rd best guy (although I think he’s being modest) is only 19 and is fide rated at 2200 and plays for the state!!! I loose a lot but am getting some respect off the lesser players now.

We had a great thunderstorm yesterday but other than that it’s getting too hot here now so I am leaving for the Nepali border tomorrow. I’ll miss this place.

I have heard of a guy in pokera with a paraglider and a hawk he follows to find thermals in the mountains. So I might have a go at that. But my first stop is the less touristy area of Tansen.

I will let you know how it goes and will blog from Nepal in a few days.

-Dan

 Standing Baba, Has been standing or leaning on his pearch 24 hours for 3 years

View From the roof of my guest house.

 Chess at Eden Halt Guest house

The Ghats from the other side of the river.

 

Now I could have a Full Toss or Gaylord. Humm, what to do ;-)

The Varanassi Trap...

Hello all,

Still in Varanassi, In fact everyone I meet seems to of been here for weeks or months, having arrived with the intention of a few days. I’ve moved to a cheaper guest house, £4.28 per night was too rich for my blood so I found one for £1.43, with free internet, some times, if I sit at a tiny desk with a dodgy wire and the electricity lasts for more than 5 mins, with the wind coming from the south and Jupiter is rising. It also has a really nice court yard I am in now sipping a beer. I think tomorrow I’ll go buy a long good network cable for them. Humm suddenly I feel a long way from maplin. They don’t seem to have chains of shops like back home. Just lots of places selling random unrelated things. Ill ask the kid in the net café by the last guest house where to get one I think.

The first night here I must of got 20 mossi bytes on my head and face. I look a bit Klingon. But the couple that run the place are really nice and got me a mossi net and some coils to burn so last night I didn’t get bitten at all.

I’ve been going off to see something each morning then spending each afternoon playing chess by the chai stall on one of the ghats.

It’s pretty idyllic there and there’s always people playing music and stuff. I think if you sit by a chess board in a public enough place any ware someone will eventually sit and play you. The chai stall guy is pretty handy but can only play speed when his mate is there to make the chai. Playing about 50/50 indians and westerners. The Indians are a lot stronger but I’ve still only lost 3 since I’ve been in india, 2 though my own negligence, and one to a guy who’s younger brother is 2200 and plays for india under 18s. it was a close game and I felt I could of stepped up a gear if the stakes were high. But I have the feeling he wasn’t trying too hard either. Still I can see my game is getting sloppy.

I’ve also spent some time teaching one of the postcard selling kids (about 7-8) how to play his mate is even younger but has a really good understanding not only of how the pieces move but how to protect them. So I’ve had them playing pawns and pawns + bishops.

They still keep trying to sell me postcards still so yesterday I bought one and wrote it to them J

I was a cycle rickshaw driver briefly, on the quiet roads around the university I swapped with the driver for a couple of km.

Really odd not leaning to steer and also the don’t turn much if your peddling but as soon as you lift off they suddenly turn. (no diff but a freewheel I guess)

I have found out that my Indian multiple entry 6 month visa will only let me re-enter india 60days after I leave. So I either need to spend 2 months in Nepal, do my trip in a different order or find some other way around the problem.

More research needed me thinks.

Some Jamming in the market outside a dosa stall...

Varanassi

The sleeper train was rammed and my bunk had been double booked. Luckily I got there first and by booking long predated the other so the inspector lady sorted out something else for the other guy (I hope he was ok). I was lucky as one of the ladies in a bunk near spoke good English to translate. I even watched a couple of movies (with headphones) on my top bunk before dropping off.

When I woke up the whole train was empty. Panic set in a little, could we of passed Varanassi an hour early? I found some people a few bays down who assured me not. In fact we arrived 2 hours late, just like home then.

Been here 2 days now and have been getting to know the place. To Hindus this one of (if not the) holiest place in India. This is for lots of reasons but not least of which is it is the only place the Ganges flows back towards the Himalaya. Today I walked the whole length of the ghats up the river to the bridge then meandered back through the streets stopping for food, refreshments and even a shave and beard trim from a street barber. I also saw a fresh water dolphin!!! Really rare now. The chap I was sat next to hadn’t seen one for 10 years. I think there’s only two species in the world in the Amazon and Ganges (tho there may be one in the Yanksee or Yellow rivers).

The Burning Ghats are strange places where people’s bodies are burned on funeral pyres and then there ashes put in the Ganges. This is going on 24 hours a day with some times up to 20 pyres at once. George Harrisons ashes were scattered here apparently.

Tomorrow I may rickshaw around some temples and start to plan the journey up to Nepal.

Laters

Dan

Ps I've added some photos to previous posts.

Washing on the Ghats:

Taj Mahal

I got up this morning and walked to the Taj Mahal, Taking some time to get thoroughly lost in Taj Ganj again. Agra is quite intense with people hassling you all the time for rickshaws or to visit there shop ect. I’ve having a bit of a laugh with them but some are so persistent you have to be a bit short with them to make them go away. Once you get out of the bit with all the tourists tho the people are really nice and just want to say hi and point you in the right direction. It is a really depressingly poor area tho.

I got to the taj gate only to find the ticket office was 1.2 km away so I hiked there and back. The Taj itself is amazing but not just the the building we all recognize the whole compound. It’s a shame due to corruption very little of the entrance money goes to the upkeep. The whole compound is symmetrical with the exception of the coffin of the guy who built it (Shah Jahan) who was laid to rest there next to his favorite wife he built it for.

From there I got lost in Taj Ganj again and found a ferry man who punted across the river so I did a return trip and got some good photos of the Taj from the water and of the colorful locals on the boat.

Eventually I got a rickshaw to Agra fort. Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son and imprisoned here for the last 8 years of his life in a beautiful palace with in the fort, overlooking the river and the Taj 7km down stream.

Now I’m on another rooftop in Taj Ganj and have watched the light fade on the Taj with a nice curry.

Got to get a sleeper train to Varanassi tonight so will let you know how that goes.

-Dan

The Taj:

From the Water:

 Agra Fort:

Ranthambhore & Keoladeo national parks

So much since my last entry. We got to Ranthambhore in the evening and went into too the fort. Unfortunately the park gates close at 5.45 so we didn’t have much time. By the time I got up to the fort (which is perched on top of a huge rock sticking out of the jungle) it was time to come down again. From what I saw on the map there’s about 10 temples and 3 big lakes up there. And the views were amazing, I could of easily spent the day exploring it but sadly 15mins had to do. On the way out of the park there was loads of jeeps parked up as there was a tiger in the bushes. We waited for a few mins but cars had to get out of the park or get fined so off we went. I found out later that a tiger strolled across the road between two jeeps just after we left. And there were two leopards in the trees we missed.

The next morning at 6 am i got picked up by a 20 seater jeap thing for a 4 hour tour. After picking up for lots of other hotels we only got into the park for 1.5 hours. Our group was about 50/50 westerners and a group of Indian women, some of whom just wouldn’t shut up even with guide and everyone else repeatedly shhing them. One of them even got quite indignant about being shh’d and had a go at the guide.

We saw a few crocs and dear, and there were some birds that would eat out of you had that were cool (well until one poo’d on me). It turned out none of the groups that morning saw anything much.

I was tempted to stay and try again on the evening trip but we pushed on to Keoldeo (a wetland bird sanctuary, that also has the odd tiger sighting).

Once we checked in Rana and Raju disappeared, I went for a wonder around the town (a real concrete dump btw) and picked up some rum.

Upon returning to the guest house I met a group of Swedes who were also enjoying some rum. After a few, we decided to go to the brightly lit guesthouse across the road for some food.

As it turned out it was a wedding, but they were very keen to invite us in and give us a delicious meal. They had people cooking stuff in big pots on every side of the place. Quite and experience really as lots of people wanted to talk to us. One kid had really good English and was telling us lots about the customs and traditions. He was very keen to hear what we honestly had to say about India and wanted me to repeat it to everyone when I said it was lovely but too polluted, particularly the litter. I think he was a bit of an environmentalist.

Eventually we escaped and polished off the rum back at the hotel.

This morning we hired bicycles and cycled around the park for a few hours there are some huge stalks and cranes (I liked the sign that said ‘be quiet, in the next life you might be a crane’) and an eagle was perched on a rotten tree that must have had a 6 foot wingspan when it took off.

I’m now in agra and saw the sunset on the Taj Mahal from a rooftop restaurant in Taj Ganj a really poor area around the Taj Mahal. I’m going to have a look around properly tomorrow as my trains not till 21:15

I’ve said goodbye to Rana and Raju this evening. We went out for a meal but even tho I offered to pay they still went and ate upstairs tho rana did come down for a beer. They are heading back to Delhi very early in the morning. It’s been an interesting 10 days with them but I’m now looking forward to setting my own pace and moving a bit slower.

Will tell you about the Taj tomoz

-Dan

The Bird which poo'd on me:

(left to right) Raju, Me and Rana (looking a bit scouse):