Kolkata (Calcutta)

Garbage collectors - Calcutta

Victoria memorial - Calcutta

The ghats - Varanasi

Varanasi

My guesthouse-Varanasi

Varanasi

Wood vendor near Manikarnka ghat (burning ghat) - Varanasi

Varanasi

Varanasi. It's one of the oldest inhabited cities on earth, the city of Shiva, and the center of the hindu universe. It's an impossible place to describe to someone who hasn't experienced India. Cows, dogs, monkeys, people, bicycles and motorbikes share the narrow maze of twisting alley ways of the old city. Ancient trees grow literally into and out of the walls of ancient buildings. People are publicly burned at the cremation ghats on the banks of the Ganges. It's full power India. Despite the absurdity and craziness (to western eyes) of various activities that occur here, I've found the general atmosphere to be quite subdued, especially while wandering the ghats (giant staircases descending into the Ganges.) Apart from an unpleasant exchange with an aggressive scam artist near the burning ghats, and the usual offers of drugs, trinkets and boatrides "very cheap! you first customer today, I give good price!" I've been left very much to my own devices to discover the city.

Laxmanjhula Bridge over the Ganges - Rishikesh

Rishikesh

Hanuman(the bodybuilder monkey) and Rama (Blue), two important hindu gods. - Rishikesh

Lightning in Rishikesh


Rishikesh was.... ummmm... ok, I'll admit it. Rishikesh was a bit of a disappointment. It sounds great to hear it described: a town tucked into the foothills of the Himalayas along a clean and beautiful stretch of the Ganges where yoga is offered just about everywhere.
To me, it felt like a giant new-age shopping mall, full of western cafe latte wannabe yogis, hippy clothing shops, and broadband internet cafes. I did some yoga, but the market is so flooded with instructors (virtualy every hotel offers a class) that it is difficult to know where to start looking. The classes that I attended in Rishikesh did not begin to approach the quality of instruction I recieved in Arambol.
I went to a consultation with an ayurvedic doctor and got myself analysed. Apparently I'm batha-pitha (composed of fire and air.....) Interesting. I watched a crazy lightning storm and went for some walks up the Ganges.
Don't get me wrong, it was nice. It just wasn't that nice.

Sarnath

There's always something interesting to look at while traveling by train in India.

Tomorrow morning I will explore Sarnath (10km north of Varanasi), the place where the Buddha gave his first sermon. In the evening I board a train for Calcutta. Next stop, city of joy!

Holy Holi!

hahaha! some sucker tourist getting powdered.

CRAP.

Hmmmmmmm.....


It's quite interesting to see how one's perceptions of a place can change over time. Delhi once seemed crazy, noisy, dirty, full of hassles and a little out of control. Now, a little under four months later, it's clean and nice and easy to get around in... I've changed.
After an epic 42 hours of train travel (there is never fear of boredom when riding second class in this country), I arrived back in the capital on the day before Holi, a water and colour festival. Those who wish to remain clean during Holi had best stay inside. Gangs of kids armed with dye filled water balloons and water pistols attack anyone who looks remotely clean, while everyone else walks around throwing brightly coloured powders on everything that moves (and lots of things that don't move too.) I threw myself into it and had a great time.

Welcome to the jungle...

Kerala Backwaters

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking... I did my backwater cruise on a local ferry for 10 rupees (25 cents.) It was a great way to see how people live here.... very not touristy... it was like a typical indian bus, but on water.

Periyar was sweet. They've got hills... and tea, and it rains! (first I've seen in 2.5 months... this is indeed something to be excited about) and elephants and wild boars and bison and monkeys and.... alas, there were no tiger sightings.

On the road to Periyar



Tea plantation near Putady

Periyar

Touch me not plant

Kochi

Chinese fishing nets


Chinese fishing nets

Driving Piles - Keralan style

Chacko is clearly the man

Protesters in Bangalore, followed closely by armor-clad riot police.

It's interesting to observe how the type of traveller present in a particular area changes as one moves throughout India. My initial impression of Kochi is that it appeals largely to affluent short term term tourists... El-cheapo dhaba rats such as myself are less well represented. Makes sense too, I've found the south of India to be much more relaxed than the north. Of course there are still scams... but it feels much more like a game here. People will more likely try to charm you out of your money rather than use any other method.

I spent a day in Bangalore enroute to here from Hampi. It's a big city, and parts of it are shockingly westernized: Air conditinoned malls full of western stores, english spoken everywhere by everyone..... And there are massive protests happening there. The state of Karnataka is on strike. I wish I could say what it is all about. The best I can do at the moment is pass along the word of mouth explanation given to me by a fellow traveller: Apparently it has something to do with a dam being built or some water being diverted, and certain places in Karnataka are suffering because of it.

Regardless of the reasons behind it, the end result is that Karnataka ain't working. Many shops and factories aren't open, and the buses don't run. Fortunately for me, the railway is a national resource and was running normally.

Added a couple of extra pictures to the "Hampi photos" post.

Hampi photos

Added a searchable map link to side bar menu. Type in the name of the place you're interested into the search bar.
Example: Type "Karnataka, India" NOT "Karnataka"

The dump or the zoo? Lots of places in India look like this.

Rural Karnataka road

Kids in Hampi bazar

Rice paddy

Sunset view from Hanuman temple

Bouldering

Carving on Virupaksha Temple

I decided to stay in Hampi for a couple of extra days. It's a fascinating area to explore either on foot or by bicycle (though cycling is a wee bit sketchy, for various reasons.) There are great areas for rock climbing (a bouldering film is being shot here) and a beautiful, clean lake for swimming.
I'm leaving monday evening for Kerala.

I added a couple of extra pictures to the "Hippy Life" post.

"Hampi is cool"

When I was researching this trip I came across a thread in a travel forum titled "Why should I go to Hampi anyway?" The replies ranged in length, detail, and eloquence, but the one that has stayed with me (and summed it up the best in my opinion) was "Because Hampi is cool."
It is.



I decided to return to India... sort of. Hampi (or Vijaynagar as it is also known) is pretty laid back... and ..... cool (though temperature wise it's fricken hot!) and it's easy to find seclusion if you want it. Ruined temples and palaces sit among gigantic heaps of granite boulders haphazardly piled on top of one another. The rocks in turn jut out of the dense green coconut palm and banana jungle and rice paddy. Sadhus sit on the paths and in the temples. Foreign tourists and pilgrims alike walk around with red dots on their brows.


I have just over 2 months remaining before my flight home leaves Bangkok. It sounds like a long time but I'm already starting to feel time pressure. There is so much that I would like to see but simply don't have the time for. I head south towards Kerala on thursday.

Hippy life

On a road near Palolem


Fishing huts - a few hours walk south of Arambol

About time for an update on my adventures (or lack thereof) don't you think? Yoga was great. Iyengar Hatha Yoga, the style I was taught, is basicly meditation in wacky positions. I was pleasantly suprised to find how compatible yoga and Vipassana meditation are. Many of the principles are the same; Awareness and non-reaction to sensation being the two most important. Arambol beach is a cool place. It's full of interesting people and there is always something going on. The beach stretches on for many many kilometers, some days I walked all day. Palolem beach, where I am now, is very beautiful but lacks the edge of Arambol. It's much slicker and the mix of people isn't nearly as interesting... no hippies :(. I'll be moving on shortly.

Beach cricket

My favorite breakfast: Chai, 8 kinds of fruit mixed with muesli, served with curd (yogurt) and honey for $1.50. Yes I know, not very indian, but soooooo very tasty and healthy.