My last few days in India

I arrived back in Delhi after a nice train ride from Mumbai and made my way into the backpacker area of Pahar Ganj, where I proceeded to find accommodation. I ended up staying in a nice little place off the main bazaar where the staff were really friendly and I managed to get the room very cheaply for Delhi.

By this time I must say I was exhausted by India and ready to leave - though I will definitely be back one day! So I spent the last few days just organising myself, buying some last minute things, chilling out and chilling out some more. I could not get myself to do any sightseeing and am happy I didn't as the temperature and humidity would have made that almost unbearable.

Pahar Ganj itself is an interesting area, full of backpackers and definitely the place where I've seen the most westerns since my arrival in India - it was almost like a bit of a culture shock! It is the place where everyone stays when in Delhi, due to its central location. As a result everything in the area is catered towards backpackers - with souvenir shops, cafes, bars, guest houses, travel agencies (whether dodgy or not) etc., whatever you want, there's a way to get it there.

I left India exhausted by it, but definitely happy I spent the time that I did there. It's a diverse country, where every place is different and interesting. It's a country which throws the unexpected at you and honestly, where it's just best to go with it. If you want to do something, then just do it - if you don't then don't (using sound judgment of course). You have to bargain for everything, from hotel rooms to cigarettes and this is draining, but you get used to it. The colours are overwhelming - you will see it all. The smells are as intense as you will ever smell - both sickening and heavenly. I think these contrasts just show what India is, a diverse country in terms of people and places and full of extremes and contrasts next to each other unlike any other place I have ever seen.




I think the advertising slogan for Indian tourism is probably the best way to desbribe it: Incredible India!

Touching the surface of Mumbai

Just flying into Mumbai airport is an experience in itself, the contrast between the high rise buildings of the business district and the great view of the slums around the airport is already impressive. Being on the coast Mumbai is extremely humid and rather uncomfortable in terms of the weather at this time of the year. It’s a huge city, but somehow it seems more manageable than New Delhi, though after some time not having been in a huge city, it was something to get used to again.

We only spent two nights in Mumbai and most of the time was dedicated to shopping – but since that involved a lot of wandering around and getting bearings I think we saw a lot. The old colonial style of the architecture is relatively well kept, especially as can be seen from the University buildings and those around it. The train station is definitely a must see, but extremely crowded!

In the heat of the day the best place to be, if you’re going to be outside in the first place, is on the sea front, where at least the breeze is slightly cooling. We had ourselves a good time in Mumbai though, eating some nice food and enjoying cocktails with a great view of the Mumbai skyline and the sea. It’s a shame I didn’t have more time to explore the city, but my time in India was nearing its end and I had a train back to New Delhi to catch. The train back to Delhi was probably the nicest train I took and made for a good last train journey in India. The train was clean and I shared the cabin with interesting and friendly people, and as an additional bonus tea, dinner and breakfast were served free of charge (which I hadn’t experienced yet on the Indian train network).

Gorgeous Goa in the Monsoon

As I decided to stay in Orissa for a few days longer, I cancelled my trips to Hyderabad and Bangalore – on the one hand a shame, because I would have loved to see them both, but I’m also glad I did not go because I needed the rest. So I flew straight from Bhubaneswar to Goa where I had arranged to meet some friends who happened to be travelling in India too! We all met at the airport and then made our way to Panaji (or Panajim) the capital of the tiny state of Goa.

It being the off season, everything in Goa – which is already known to be a relaxed and sleepy state – was even more relaxed and sleepy. We quickly found a place to stay, relaxed for a bit and then went out to do a little exploring and grab some food. It was great to be hanging out with friends (i.e. people I’ve known for a while) again and we had a good time just hanging out.

Mapusa and Calangute

After sleeping for approximately 15 hours, and extending our stay at the hostel we made our way to the little market town of Mapusa taking the easily accessibly public buses. The drive through the countryside was beautiful, with everything being lusciously green due to the monsoons. We arrived in Mapusa and quickly found the market, which was a market for everything from chickens to random artefacts. Walking around here was quite comfortable and it was easy bargaining with the stall owners, as they clearly did not have the customers like in the high season – so they’re happy to sell anything and getting the prices of things down significantly just involved saying that you were not interested in the first place.

I went to look at some wall hangings and asked the lady out of interest what she would sell it to me for, of course she started at something like 2000 rupees, but I just said no and kept looking at others and without my even saying anything she kept lowering the price until at the end she was willing to sell them to me for 300 rupees, which is a fair price. Compared to the bargaining in more touristy areas, this was quite fun and easy.

After walking around the market for a while we went to get a drink and then took a bus to the beach at Calangute, one of the popular beaches of northern Goa. We chilled out there for a while, people watching and got ourselves a bit food and drink and just relaxed until a huge rainstorm just came our way. It was beautiful to see it coming in from the sea and everyone rushed to find shelter. Our waiter took our things and ran inside, boxing other people out of the way so that we could have a nice table in the tiny indoor part of the bar – we all found that rather amusing.

So we waited out the storm in the tarpaulin covered beach bar hut and when it stopped people started to go outside again, just to turn around as one and come rushing back in, because another wave of rain was coming! When the storm finally subsided we made our way back to the bus station to catch a bus back to Panaji where we had dinner at a very nice little Portuguese restaurant.

Old Goa

After another good night of sleep and prolonging our stay in Panaji yet again, we took a bus to Old Goa, the old capital of Goa, where now hardly any people live. The city is quite small but full of old Portuguese churches and monasteries. There are three main churches there: St. Francis of Asissi, Se Catherine and Bom Jesus. Se Catherine is one of the main pilgrimage sites for Indian Christians, and is considered a very important church. My favourite church is the now unused St. Francis of Asissi church which had some amazing intricate detailing which I found beautiful.  There were also some amazing ruins in Old Goa of a Church and convent that had been destroyed and is now totally moss covered and looks like something out of an Indiana Jones movie – quite cool.

 

Palolem

After finally checking out from the hostel in Panaji – where every day they asked us if we were going to check out, and we just responded with “no, one more day extra”, it kind of became a running joke – we made our way to Palolem in southern Goa, where we found a nice guest house right on the beach and we just relaxed there for a few nights, enjoying the sea, the food and the quiet low season atmosphere – perfect relaxation.

Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Konark and Puri (Orissa)

My initial plan of staying here in Bhubaneswar for four days to just relax, ended up in a week staying with a wonderful family, relaxing, enjoying family life and food and seeing a part of India I would otherwise never have gone to – and probably not even read about.

I arrived in Bhubaneswar station after a long and not so comfortable train journey – which was surprising, as my experiences with Indian trains have been rather positive. But ok, what’s a backpacking trip without the odd delayed and dirty train right? Amrita picked me up from the station and took me home where in the course of the evening I met the whole family, a bubbly, happy and fun family that made me feel at home straight away. The children, one boy and one girl aged 14 and 16 respectively were both really good fun and I enjoyed just living the life of a 16 year old (though at times I did feel like I was just getting too old).

During my time in Bhubaneswar – which ended up being over a week, instead of four days – I found that I was eating a lot, relaxing a lot, enjoying family life and actually seeing very much too! I went to see the school that Amrita and Baby Sonu (that’s what I called the boy) go to, which has an amazing campus and is a renowned school. It was a weird feeling being back on a school campus with so many children, rather overwhelming to a certain extent.

The national museum in Bhubaneswar has, amongst others, some great displays of traditional clothing, archaeological artefacts and traditional drawings depicting important religious stories. My story of that day was that I bought the ticket at the museum and got it for the price of an Indian!

Bhubaneswar itself is a very green city, with some beautiful parks, an innumerable amount of temples and a nice market. Since it does not attract the amount of foreign tourists as can be found almost anywhere else in India, it is a really comfortable place to walk around in without being hassled unnecessarily, and that really makes for a nice change. I spent a lot of time just strolling around the market and picking and choosing cloth to have tailored into Aladdin trousers and obviously I bought a ridiculous amount of glittery and colourful bangles.

During my time here I also met the extended family which was also very friendly and hospitable. I had the opportunity to attend a religious ceremony in remembrance of one of the grandfathers that had passed away. The whole family comes together to pray and all the grandfather’s favourite food dishes are prepared, offered to the Gods and blessed and then eaten by the entire family sitting together. Also, anyone else that happens to be at the house (e.g. the driver), will get some food and be asked to come inside to eat – though not at the same time as the rest of the family. The reason behind the ceremony is to remember this family member and to get the feeling that his spirit is still present in the household, quite a nice tradition in my mind.

Cuttack

From Bhubaneswar, we made a half-day trip to Cuttack, the old capital of Orissa. It is quite an interesting city if you will, in that it has the hustle and bustle of a small city, but is surrounded by greenery, two rivers and villages. There are lots of small streets in the centre and some larger ones on the outskirts. Amrita’s friends took us around the city and its surroundings, giving me a great impression of what it’s like. What I found most interesting was the urban/rural mixture of the place that was evident in the manner of the people and the vibe of the city.

Konark

This little village is where one of the most amazing temples stands, the sun temple. It is built like a huge float on wheels – like the carnival floats in Rio – the reason for this being that there is a yearly festival in Puri where these floats are made and paraded through the city to the huge Jagannath Temple. It can be imagined as huge floats of temples being paraded through the streets.

Anyway, the temple in Konark is architecturally stunning and built in such a way that the first rays of sun in the morning light the entrance to the temple, hence the name sun temple. The wheels of the float are chakras and each one tells a different story, for example, one was a depiction of the circular nature of daily life – with a person waking up, washing, eating, working etc. until he went back to bed. The detail of the sculptures, as on almost all temples and many buildings, is insane! Of course there are the odd kama sutra sculptures too and the question arises as to why it is permitted for naked bodies in the most twisted and unnatural positions to be depicted on temples, where they are seen as beautiful, but society as a whole is very conservative and nudity and sex is a huge taboo. This is a question that many seem to wonder, but due to the constrictions in society, it is something that many cannot and would not ask their parents (who knows if they even know). This is something I will try to find out about.

Puri

After seeing the sun temple, we headed to the beach in Puri, a seaside resort town on the east coast of India. It used to be one of the areas often frequented by western hippies, but now it just seemed rather run down and desolate. This feeling was probably enhanced by the fact that it is the monsoon season and it rained quite a lot. We did manage to chill out at the beach for a while though, in what Indians call perfect beach conditions – cloudy, high waves and a chance of rain. Coming from the western world, it is not the ideal beach day, but honestly, it was a great day! Mixing a bit of culture and a bit of beach was the perfect combination, and the company was great too!

Varanasi - a once in a lifetime experience

Varanasi, one of the oldest - if not the oldest - cities in India, situated on the Holy Ganges river is a favourite among Hindu pilgrims, western and Indian tourists. The city is full of little streets and beautiful, if dirty and old, buildings - which, however, you don't really get to appreciate, since you're constantly having to watch your step when walking there.





For all it's holiness, it is the dirtiest place I have experienced in India so far (and by all accounts, probably the dirtiest I will experience). Walking through the streets you have to dodge puddles (of what I don't want to know), rubbish, cow dung, dogs, cows, monkeys and people. Since the streets are so narrow the dirt just piles up and there are flies everywhere and the smell in some parts is unbearable. Belief is that the reincarnation cycle ends if one passes away by the Ganges, so you find very many sick and sickly people roaming the streets of Varanasi - many living on the streets, having either donated all their belongings or used them to be able to get to Varanasi in order to die there.



The Ganges itself, is such a dirty river and it did not fail to astonish me that all these devout people take baths, swim, brush their teeth and even drink this water - all to be purified (I found this rather ironic). After all, the river is where ashes of the dead are strewn after their cremation at one of the burning ghats next to the river; or, if cremation is not done - to those who are pure enough, such as pregnant women, babies and brahmins - the body is covered, tied to a carrying device and thrown in the river weighed down by a stone, which sometimes comes loose - so seeing the carrying devices floating around the river with the knowledge that there is a dead body in there is not an uncommon sight.

Varanasi, is definitely a place that I found worth seeing, though I must say I would not return. I took an amazing walking tour of the city on my first day and saw many of the temples strewn across the city, most of which I would not have known about otherwise. Also, every evening there is a river worshipping ceremony at one of the main ghats, where you can be part of/view Buddhist priest students performing prayers in worship of the river.

An early morning (sunrise) boat ride on the Ganges is a must! This was definitely the best part of my stay in Varanasi. From the boat you can see the locals and pilgrims performing their morning puja on the river bank, doing the laundry, burning corpses, meditating and many other things. Also, the photos of the ghats from this perspective and in this light are just amazing and that alone is worthwhile waking up for.

The cultural experience of Varanasi is next to none in India and definitely a must see (once), though it really is a shame that the city is so dirty. If the ghats are not interesting enough, Varanasi is also famous for its silks, which come in all qualities and colours and really are worth looking at and/or buying. So yea, definitely an experience for all my senses, which I'm glad I've had, but one which I do not intend to repeat.

Relaxation in the village of Orccha

Heading to Orccha after the hustle and bustle of Agra, I did not really know what to expect of this small village which has some nice heritage sites. I just wanted to relax for a few days before continuing my trip though India.

I took the train from Agra to Jhansi, from where I had to take a tempo (rickshaw for lots of people) to Orccha which is about 15 km away. Usually there are buses, but during the monsoon the bridge is closed and the only way to get there is with these rickshaws. It's quite amazing how many people manage to fit into one of these small rickshaws! 

Jhansi looked like a dump and by all accounts it is the type of place just used as a thoroughfare to places such as Orccha or Khajurao (where the main kama sutra temple is). Upon arriving in Orccha - which is about 3 streets big, I found a place to stay and just relaxed. 

The next morning I set out to explore the area; there are some beautiful temples and a huge palace complex. You can tell that it was grand and wonderful when all was still in a nice state, but unfortunately the buildings are not maintained and the state of disrepair diminishes the grandeur of the place. You do, however, get beautiful views over the country side and the greenery! 

After dinner, I went to see the square around the main temple in Orccha - and was shouted at to get away from the door (which I had not noticed) because I had my shoes on and my bag with me. They probably called me an infidel or something of sorts - sometimes ignorance is bliss. I just really did not notice that it was the entrance already! 

Anyway, so I made friends with this really cute little girl who owned a souvenir stall - obviously she just wanted to sell me things.. but she was selling them to me at really cheap prices cause she liked me; I ended up not buying anything but a small bracelet, but she was still so cute, and every time I passed by she would be so happy. 

After two days of relaxation in Orccha I then left and made my way back to Jhansi from where I had a night train to Varanasi. At Jhansi station I had the most surreal experience in the waiting room and I just could not help but laugh at the scenes unfolding in front of me. 

I went to sit in the airconditioned ladies waiting room, where the woman in charge wanted to charge me 5 rupees for using the toilet, which I did not agree to. Then she just gave up, because her english was not good enough to argue with me. Then I was sitting there and some guy walks in to use the power outlets to charge his phone - obviously he's not allowed to be in there, so he asks me to watch his phone. He leaves and 10 seconds later is dragged back inside by the woman in charge and she's shouting at him to take his things and go etc. etc. 

10 minutes later a group of maybe 10 - 15 people, men women, children, bags, suitcases everything just piles into this waiting room and installs themselves all over the place. I was just a fixture in the middle, around which they just put their things and continued on with their lives. I found it rather fascinating. Suitcases were opened, clothes taken out, put everywhere - people went to take showers one by one, food was eaten, laptops taken out, music played. More people entered - they seemed to know each other and started talking about bargain shoes at the other end of the platform. Men walking in and out etc. Then the caretaker woman comes in, just as the like 15 year old son comes out of the shower - remember this is a womens' waiting room - and she just starts shouting at these people, who clearly are not taking her seriously at all. She's telling them they have to pay a fine, and they're just basically laughing in her face. At this point they are half a meter away from me and I just cannot stop laughing, I'm really shaking with laughter at the scene unfolding in front of me. The boy is kicked out of the waiting room basically in his underwear and the caretaker is just totally angry - trying to get them to pay for their showers, which they don't do, and then she wants the fine to be paid. One of them just gives her 20rps and basically tells her to just shut-up! Then the husband of one of the women, who had just gone to take a shower in the mens' room comes in.. and everybody just starts shouting "oh look! a man! fine fine fine!!!" and the caretaker just does not know what to do with herself! I was just dying of laughter and the others just continued on as if this woman just did not exist! Some just left their luggage and towels hanging around to go shopping, others stayed there surrounded by clothes, towels, shaving creams and soaps etc. and yea life just continued. 

In any case it made my waiting time rather amusing if I could have, without being too rude I would have filmed the whole thing - it was just proper comedy. Other than that my train ride was uneventful and I arrived in Varanasi safely the next morning, where I had arranged a pick-up from the hostel at which I was staying. 

Taj Mahal

The day has finally come, when I get to Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal! I left Jaipur in the late morning and made my way, by bus to Agra. The usual hostel searching was done upon arrival and I found a nice hostel, close to the Taj entrance gate.

Once I had settled in and taken a much needed shower - as is always the case in India - I went out to find some dinner on a rooftop at sunset with a view of the Taj Mahal. It's quite a nice thing to be able to do! Dinner was nice, I learnt how to play an Indian game - I don't know the name, and I'm horrible at it - then went back to the hostel with the intention of going to bed. Once there, however, I met a nice Canadian couple and ended up going out for dinner with them again. We spent the evening together, exchanging stories and then headed back to the hostel, I with the full intention of getting up at 5 a.m. to go see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. 

I didn't quite make 5 a.m., but did get to the Taj Mahal before the first rays of sun hit the building itself, at around 5.45 a.m. (quite impressive I think). The Taj Mahal, like many buildings, cannot be fully appreciated until seen in reality. It's huge! The symmetry of the architecture is amazing and the detailed decorative designs are really impressive. I was not expecting to be so awestruck by the Taj, especially after having seen so many pictures and heard so many accounts of visits there; surprisingly it is a building that does not fail to live up to its expectations.

The pillars of the Taj, when looking straight at it, are built slanted slightly away from the main part of the mausoleum; this was done as a precaution, in case there is an earthquake, then the pillars will fall outwards and not onto the main building itself.

I stayed in the complex until about 9 a.m., watching the sun rise over the Taj. It was such a serene experience! The added bonus being that the masses did not come to the Taj before 9.am., so there were really a maximum of 30 (?) people there when I first arrived. 

I returned to the hostel, rested for a while and then went to have breakfast where we somehow grew to a substantial group of people and we spent most of the day hanging out together. 

A group of us went to see the Agra fort also - which was quite nice, and after that went to grab some beers on a rooftop overlooking the Taj. We then ended up having dinner all together, had another drink and then all parted ways (some taking the night trains, others having to catch early morning trains/buses). I was off in the morning on a train to Jhansi, and from there to Orccha - a small village where I intend to sleep a lot.

Jaipur for a day

After a nice and relaxed day in Pushkar, I left this quiet place towards the big city of Jaipur – the capital of Rajasthan. Here I met up with the two guys I had met in Pushkar and the girl they were travelling with and we spent some time wandering through the old town, known as the Pink City, surprise surprise, because all the buildings are a reddish-pink.

We all arrived too late to do any real sightseeing, but one of the people I was with knew someone who lived in Jaipur, and he showed us around a bit in the car and took us to Naharangar Fort. This fort is on the top of a hill overlooking the entire of city of Jaipur. We arrived there before sunset, so had the opportunity to walk around some of the open areas of the fort and admire the view over the city. We then went to the fort restaurant/bar, where we had a few beers watching the sunset and listening to the sounds of Jaipur. Funnily enough, the view always seemed to change, between broad daylight, then at sunset and once it was dark, the city was just lit up by all the lights. It was truly a wonderful thing to see, especially in good company and some beer after a long day travelling and walking around Jaipur.

The Naharangar Fort was built in 1734 and from it and possibly attached to it, one can see a huge wall (something like the great wall of China – obviously on a different scale though) winding through the hills connecting various forts and palaces around Jaipur.

On our way to dinner we passed by the Hawa Mahal (the wind palace), which one cannot enter, but it is in the old city and was built in such a way, that no matter where one stands in the building, there is always a breeze – I imagine this being quite nice in the heat of the city.

There is also a lake palace in Jaipur, though it does not seem to be as nice as the one in Udaipur, which I am slightly upset at not having gone to – oh, well more reason to come back to India. The past two weeks have gone by so quickly, I did not realise that I’ve been here for so long already! India is a crazy country with so many things to see and places to go. It seems that the more I do and the more people I meet, the more I find that I want to discover and see. I think that even if one spends a lifetime here, there will always be new things to discover; it’s such a varied place as well – no place is like the other and the people are also different everywhere (except for the rickshaw drivers who will always try to rip you off no matter where you are), but if you’re aware of it, it’s fine.

After dinner, we wanted to go clubbing, but unsurprisingly got rejected at the door, with all of us wearing flip flops, shorts, or light trousers and clearly in our travel attire. It was worth a try though ;) In any case, I ended up at home at around 1 a.m. had an amazing shower did my emails and crashed. The next day when I woke up, I checked out and braved the 6 hour journey to Agra – where the Taj Mahal was waiting.