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Exploring India 2009 – Kolkata (Calcutta)

me — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:00:58 +0000

So here I am in Kolkata, the last city before I leave India. Unlike other major cities in India namely Mumbai and New Delhi, Kolkata has a distinctive feature as arts and cultural centre of India.

Even though I was going to leave the country very soon, I still have to endure few challenges. When I was there, India was hit by heat wave. In some parts of the country, the temperature rose as high as 46 deg Celsius and Kolkata was not spared. To make things worse, the whole city blackout from early evening until midnight making the heat became more unbearable. I strolled along the streets in darkness looking for a place to escape the heat. Luckily few big shops and restaurants have their own power generator. I ended up having my dinner in KFC and spend the rest of my night buying Hindi musics and Bollywood movies in an entertainment store. Both have air-cond. The power finally resumed around midnight. Hoping that I could finally sleep comfortably, but I still sweat on my bed even though the fan was on full blast, windows opened and I was shirtless.

The next morning in the guest house, I bumped into Marcel whom I met in Mumbai. We were surprised to see each other again. Together, we explored the city little bit, enjoyed some cultural shows, indulged in some Bengali food and shopped for some souvenirs. During one of our exploration in a crowded local bus, I was almost became a victim of pick pocket. Luckily, I was alert and caught the man red handed. I let him go with a warning. Some of the passengers were very concerned and let me have their seat. The bus conductor even gave me advise to be careful.

It has been a long journey for me. More than one month ago, I stepped into this country expecting the worst. Well, it was indeed the worst but it was also the best place I have visited. Aside from losing some weight and got plenty of sun tan, I’m glad I have survived the journey. Now I am heading into Bangladesh to catch my flight back home. I hope everything will go smoothly.

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Exploring India 2009 – Varanasi (Benares)

me — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:00:31 +0000

As I was getting nearer to the end of my journey, I thought I have seen it all until I reached Varanasi. Where else can you see dead people burning around the clock on a river bank and human cleaning themselves in the same river. Dead bodies aside, the sacred Ganga is indeed a very spiritual place for the Hindu. Life and death seem to revolves around the river. The river sustain the life of people living around it and when they die, their body is return to the river. Even though I dare not touch the water, but millions of people believe that bathing in the river will cleansed their body and wash away all their sins or something like that. The river bank is always full of life and activities. The best way to witness it is to take an early morning or late evening stroll along the river bank or by human powered boat ride. Before I left, I did a quick excursion to Sarnath via a local bus. This is where Buddha gave his famous first sermon to a handful of followers in a deer park.

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Exploring India 2009 – Delhi

me — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:00:50 +0000

When I reached New Delhi, I felt like vacation was over. No more peaceful surrounding, no more cold weather and no more clean air. I was back to the India I know; car honks everywhere, dusty air, rubbish strewn all over the place, hot weather and beggars lined along the streets. I have one full day in New Delhi before my next train departs. I did not wish to spend too long here. In fact, I did not plan to stop here at all. I had no choice because New Delhi is the most convenient place to get another train to Varanasi. Without wasting any time, I left my backpack in the cloak room at the train station and began my exploration in the city and visited some famous landmarks such as Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, Jama Masjid and India Gate.

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Exploring India 2009 – Shimla

me — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:00:12 +0000

Shimla is one of the three hill stations in India. The other two are located in Darjeeling and Nilgiri. All three are listed as UNESCO world heritage sites. The only reason I wanted to come here is to try out the narrow gauge toy train from Shimla to Kalka. From Kalka, I can take another train to Delhi. Like any other state capital in India, Shimla is a little bit crowded to my liking. I explored the town a little bit before I began my journey to Kalka via the train on the next day. I must say the train ride was the most memorable train ride I ever had in my life. It feels more like an amusement park’s ride than a public transport. Although it didn’t move as fast as those conventional trains in India, the journey was very enjoyable with beautiful scenery along the way. Meal was included in the train ticket. Having my Thali meal on board as the train slowing chugged downhill passing through hundreds of tunnels with cool breeze and sunset view from my window was indeed an unforgettable experience.

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Exploring India 2009 – Manali

me — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:00:23 +0000

After enduring almost 8 hours of van ride through the mountainous region of Himachal Pradesh, I finally reached Manali safely at the break of dawn. I didn’t have proper sleep during the bumpy journey. Instead of sleeping after checking in to my room, I decided to do a 4-hour trek up a mountain to realize my dream of touching a real snow. I was totally flat after that and slept like a pig that night. I spend the next day all by myself, relaxing in the cold and peaceful valley. It was blissful sitting there and do nothing but enjoying the beautiful scenery. The people are very friendly too. There was one guy who gave me a free ride to the bus station because I couldn’t get any auto-rickshaw during early morning. Otherwise, I would have missed my bus ride to Shimla.

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Exploring India 2009 – McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala

me — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:00:41 +0000

As I moved further north, things began to change. When I arrived at McLeod Ganj, I didn’t feel like I am in India anymore. In fact, I felt like I was in Tibet. The climate, the landscape, the people, the food and the culture are everything Tibet. Why Tibet? OK, here is some brief history lesson:

Because of the unrest in Tibet during 1950s, more than 250,000 Tibetan refugees have made the decision to flee their homeland, on foot over the Himalaya to seek sanctuary in India, led by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, who was granted asylum in Dharamsala in 1959 (excerpt taken from Lonely Planet).

The weather in McLeod Ganj was very cold when I was there. It rained few days before I arrived. However, it was a good thing because I heard from the Korean couple whom I met in Amritsar that McLeod Ganj was facing water shortage because lack of rain.

There, I met Sonam, Dawa, her cousins and other volunteers from all over the World. Dawa and Sonam are Tibetan descendants. Like Dawa and Sonam, many Tibetan descendants in Dharamsala were born and raised there. Most never stepped into their homeland before. Even though they are qualified to become Indian citizen, many refuses and choose to remain as refugees. This is to remind them the struggle they are fighting to free Tibet from China. The opportunity to become a volunteer in McLeod Ganj are plenty. For example, Dawa’s cousin is running Tibetan Women’s Association and Sonam is involved in a charity project that helps children of slums around North India. Perhaps this is his way of saying “thank you” to India for allowing the Tibetans in exile to live here. Other than that, there are many places you can volunteer such as at Tibetan Children Village.

I really enjoyed the mountain views, the peaceful valley, the cold weather or simply having tea in cafes chit chatting with my new found friends. Before I know it, I had spent 3 days here; longer than I initially planned. I wish I could stay longer but there are more places waiting for me to discover.

It was indeed a break from a break.

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Exploring India 2009 – Amritsar

me — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:00:59 +0000

I continued my journey up North to a city named Amritsar. I arrived with a couple from South Korea who was on their way to Pakistan. After Taj Mahal, I felt like there was nothing else I wanted to see. What else could be more interesting than the seven wonders on the World? I was so wrong. India is more than Taj Mahal. There are many more interesting places and the Golden Temple in Amritsar is one of them. In fact, Golden Temple is more than a tourist attraction to me. It changes my whole perception of India. Before this, I see suffering, desperation, hunger and poverty. But here, no one is hungry and everyone lives peacefully. Honesty and generosity are abundant. On the first day I arrived, I met a good Samaritan who offered to be our tour guide around the temple for few hours without asking for any money. Even though we insisted on giving him some tips, he declined politely. Everyone can sleep and eat in the temple for free and they are also encourage to contribute to the temple by volunteering or donations. Separate dorms are provided to foreign travelers. For food, everyone eats on the floor in a huge dining hall. Only vegetarian foods are served.

Golden Temple is the most important and holiest temple for the Sikhs. As the name suggest, the temple is covered in gold, which is also its most distinguish feature. To enter the temple, everyone has to cover their hair and remove their shoes. Priests will keep up a continuous chant from the Sikh holy book and this is broadcast around the temple complex by loudspeakers from dawn to night which can be seen in the following video…

Click here to view the embedded video.

I shared a van with some travelers to Atari to witness the India-Pakistan border closing ceremony around sunset. It was one of the most bizarre ceremony I have ever seen. Before the ceremony begin, patriotic songs were played loudly and every spectators cheers like it is independent day. Some spectators can be seen dancing in the middle of the road. It doesn’t matter young or old, every spectators displays an incredible show of patriotism. It was very funny to see how the guards marched toward the border gate during the closing ceremony. Unfortunately, I was too far to see the whole process clearly.

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Exploring India 2009 – Agra (Taj Mahal)

me — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:00:55 +0000

Oh my god. I can’t believe I am finally here. As soon as I check-in to my room, I rushed to the roof top of my guest house to catch a glimpse of Taj Mahal. However, it was too dark to see anything. So I woke up the next day at the break of dawn and I was rewarded with this view;

My first view of Taj Mahal

That’s how eager I was to see the greatest monument ever built for love. Together with a lively and funny French couple, Ben and Ariane, we savored the magical sight until the opening time of Taj Mahal which was around 6am. In my haste to beat the morning crowd, I forgot to leave my portable tripod in the room. You see, all visitors are not allowed to bring in any food, electronic devices and tripod. Phones are allowed but it has to be switched off. In the end, I had to rush back to my room not once, but twice because they didn’t allow me to bring in my Ipod Touch which I tried to convince them that it was an Iphone. Damn, they didn’t buy it. To make it worse, I haven’t had any breakfast. I began my tour in Taj Mahal exhausted and hungry. Luckily my guesthouse was just a stone throw away.

Even though I had to pay Rs 750 (the single most expensive entrance fee I ever paid in India), it was worth it for every first timer. The Taj is located inside a huge and well maintained courtyard surrounded by high walls. Stepping into the courtyard was like entering a different World. The surrounding was so peaceful and beautiful; a sharp contrast to the chaotic city outside the walls. There were nothing much you can do inside there other than marvel at the magnificent Taj and take tonnes and tonnes of pictures to your heart’s content. We spent whole morning in Taj Mahal and left around noon for very late brunch. We continued our journey to Agra Fort, yet another UNESCO World heritage sites. However, it wasn’t as impressive as Amber Fort in Jaipur. Before we end our day, we went to Mehtab Bagh; a garden on the Yamuna riverbank directly opposite the Taj Mahal around sunset for one last view of the Taj. Somehow the view of the back of the Taj is quite stunning. Best of all, it is free.

~~Ah… I can die peacefully now.~~

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Exploring India 2009 – Jaipur

me — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:00:19 +0000

After 2 weeks in India, I have finally reach the golden triangle of India’s tourism which consist of Jaipur, Agra and Delhi. Being the capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur is not surprisingly chaotic and congested. It was a big big mess and it was not something I enjoyed very much. Arriving in the city alone during night time didn’t help much. I wandered around clueless looking a place to sleep in this unfamiliar city until I finally gave up and let the auto-rickshaw took me to his “associate” guest houses. One thing that annoyed me the most during my stay in Jaipur was the persistent hard selling from the auto-rickshaws. Even though I have turned down their offer, they still followed me until I reached my destination by foot. It must be tough to make a living in India. After the initial shock has subsided, I began my exploration in the Pink City and visited some famous landmarks such Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds). The old city of Jaipur is called Pink City because the buildings were painted in pink to welcome the Prince of Wales in 1876. Other than the Pink City, Jaipur has a few stunning forts particularly Amber Fort. Of all forts I have visited in India, this fort is the most impressive. I explored the fort alone (without any guide) and lost for more than 2 hours in its countless rooms, tunnels, halls, chambers, dungeons and towers. I enjoyed it very much. Just remember to bring a flash light. It can get very spooky in a dark dungeon all by yourself.

Now my heart is jumping up and down in joy because another dream of mine is about to come true. I’m heading to Taj Mahal!

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Exploring India 2009 – Mount Abu

me — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:00:31 +0000

Being in the dessert, the heat can be unbearable sometimes. The nearest place to escape the heat is Mount Abu. It was only 5 hours of bus ride from Udaipur. When I reached the peak of Mount Abu, it was already night time. Together with David, Stefano and his sister Giulia, we lunged our backpack looking for a room in a chilly night. After a short walk, we managed to find one. To cut cost, I shared a room with David. Even though I cannot recall the name of the guest house, I remember that it was the only guest house that provide WiFi facility throughout my journey in India. However, like everything else in India, nothing is free. Mount Abu has some remarkable sights especially Dilwara Temples. It is a Jain temple and famous for its intricate carving. Too bad, cameras are not allowed inside the temples. Otherwise you will be amaze as much as I did. Other than that, I had some crazy experience when hordes of local tourists surrounded me to take photograph with me when I was waiting for sunset at Sunset Point. Ah… my 10-minutes moment of fame.

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