Luxury experiences in a rich man’s house, magical living root bridges, Meghalaya – the shockingly different India

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Living root bridge

06.11

A Guwahati MAPWe arrive at 4:20 a.m. at Guwahati’s railway station. The sun hasn’t risen yet and the weather is cool. We leave behind us the broken roads of West Bengal, the egg and beet rolls and the men wearing blue striped skirts. Assam State welcomes us with humid tea plantations and people with Asian features. Sadly we won’t have time to see much because traveling next to the border promises to be slow and extreme and our visas will expire soon.

Assam is famous for its black tea, which is exported all over the world and with its extremist groups, communists and strange tribes. The situation in the north states is pretty insecure, but Guwahati is safe. Continue reading

Bodhgaya – under the tree of enlightenment, Kolkata – clean but boring, first train experiences in India

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Victoria Memorial

23.10
MAP Varanasi_BoodhgayaWe head to Bodhgaya, Bihar State hitchhiking. This again is a place of great importance to Buddhist community. The distance we have to pass is 200 km. and we are not sure we will be able to reach the city today. I really want us to succeed because today is my birthday and I want it to be filled with the energy of the place as the whole year ahead.

We cross all the ghats on foot and we reach a bridge over Ganga. We catch a shared rickshaw to Mughal Sarai – a small town close to which the highway to Kolkata passes by. From there we decide to catch another one because walking in the dust and the noise is not pleasant. Continue reading

The caring truck drivers, the day of absurd hitchhiking experiences, the shocking city of Varanasi

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Varanasi

16.10

Map_OrachhaIn the morning we take a tuk-tuk for 15 euro cents per person to Orachha. The architecture of the town is amazing. There is an ancient fort with huge palaces for maharajahs dating back to 16-17-th century. Orachha used to be the capital of a local dynasty and the maharajahs used to live here. The ticket for entering the fort is 4 euro and doesn’t fit our tight budget so we take a path that goes around the palaces. Continue reading

Pushkar – raising up to the clouds, the people who belong to the military caste and have their own fort, adventures with the magic bus

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The ghats at Brahma Lake

10-11.10.

Pushkar – raising up to the clouds

Pushkar Pushkar is a small town in the semi-deserted central region of Rajasthan. The soil is sandy and there is not much vegetation. Small streets and buildings with ancient architecture surround Brahma Lake. Taking pictures, eating meat and walking with shoes around the sacred lake is strictly forbidden. There are artificial pools with ghats (stairs leading to the water). Dipping in the water is believed to be a blessing – to some it gives beauty, to others fertility and to some healing. Continue reading

Taj Mahal – the building that amazed us in an unexpected way, India – a world of wonders, Vrindavan – the town with 5000 temples, the clean and modern Delhi

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Taj Mahal

28.09

The family wakes us up at 6 a.m. with two cups of hot tea. After breakfast we take goodbye and go out of Fafunda Village. Shortly two strange guys stop. They are very silent, don’t smile at all and don’t seem like generous or nice people. We travel the record distance of 150 km. with them to Aligarh City. It resulted that one of the guys is not a bad person at all. He treats to rice biryani and buys us water and soda. When he sees that the seller at the shop doesn’t have change for our bill he buys us bananas too. While we are traveling he is all the time making funny moves with his head listening to the loud electronic music at the car. Continue reading

Venice of India, Kashmiri eccentricities, the lucky coincidence with the White Mosque and witnessing the climate changes in Ladakh firsthand

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Boat trip

07.08

We take off early with the same truck and we still have to cross the last pass Zonji La. The road is terrible and on one side of it there is a dangerous looking abyss. It takes us a lot of time to reach the pass. After it is the Kashmir Valley. The scenery here changes dramatically. There are pine trees everywhere around us now and all is green with many fruit tree gardens. We stop at a small snack bar for the truck drivers. There are many people bathing at the backyard. We eat omelet with Kashmiri bread and tea. Continue reading

The crazy, surreal wedding celebration that we witnessed, the old man who told us how people lived in this harsh places in the winter: Om mani padme hum

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Phugtal Monastery

27.07

Today we can barely walk, but we cook all the food food we had left and we head to Karsha Village. Two hours and a half later we reach it. There is only one shop in it and it is open which makes us really happy. We buy some lentils and pasta and find a place with no people where we can cook. The old man from the shop hasn’t obviously seen this kind of travelers  ever and is quite shocked that we go behind the shop to cook. Continue reading

The fearsome electric storm in the mountain, attending Buddhist celebration with the locals at a small village and epic passes with flabbergasting views

 

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Yaks under Singi La Pass

20.07

We wake up pinched with cold and with a headache that is probably caused by the high altitude. One of my shoulders is very stiff and hurts terribly which is coupled by the headache. The weather is still cloudy and rainy. Continue reading

Mystic rituals at amazing monasteries, golden Buddha statues, secret magical temples and sleeping on the swampy wet ground before Sisir La Pass

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Views from Kashmir

14.07

After some intense cooking and a freezing bath in the river (it is absolutely necessary to wash oneself even in the cold water – 4-5 degrees Celsius (39-40 Fahrenheit) where I almost got hypothermic) we are ready to start hitchhiking. We go to see the monastery for one last time and we find a room with some very old writings on the wall which up to now was always closed. Continue reading

The hitchhiker’s luck, mysterious caves for meditation surrounded by wild roses and visiting the incredible Hemis Monastery

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Kanda La Pass – 5000 m. (16 405 feet)

04.07

We get up at six in the morning, boil 15 eggs, have breakfast and pack our things. The people from the guest house turn out to be really nice and don’t want to take our money for the yesterday’s breakfast. In addition we used their bathroom, took a hot shower everyday and laundered some clothes. The guesthouse is called Zal Guest House and if you pass by Leh and want to stay in authentic home-like atmosphere this is your place. Continue reading