Hi All,
In an earlier post I told you about the border ceremony of the closing of the border and the lowering of the flags of India and Pakistan at Attari-Wagah.
Monthy Python's Ministry of silly walks must have been inspired by this ceremony. I found this movie on YouTube. Please watch and judge by yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVLfibEp1Pk
Enjoy,
Arjan
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Sunday, 12 August 2012
India 2012 (20120810)
Hi All,
Actually I am writing this post on the 12th as I am already home now for 2 days. The last post I wrote in Manali and since then we visited McLeod Ganj, Amritsar and again Dehli.
If you think McLeod Ganj? Have I ever heared of this town, I have to add that it is close to Dharamsala. As it is well known that the Dalai Lama lives in Dharamsala, I can now actually say that he does not! His Holy Temple is situated in McLeod Ganj, which is a very small village just a few miles besides Dharamsala. The Temple is not one of the nicest Bhudist temples I ever saw. A quite new building made out of concrete with two large halls where the meditation sessions are held.
The best comic I ever saw was the local policeman who managed to get the traffic completely stuck. And that in a village of only 5 streets. i managed to see it all while having a drink (a nice sweet lemon soda) on one of the roof terraces, so I had a good view of it all. A lot of noice (blowing hornes), yelling Indians and a policeman trying to arrange the traffic, but no one took notice of him.
Amritsar: The capital of the Sikh community with only a few highlights. The Golden Temple is the absolute highlight of the city. In a very hectic city this temple is an absolute oasis of peace and rest. The centre of the temple is the Hari Mandir, which is surrounded by water named Amrit Sarovar (Pool of Nectar). The Hari Mandir does have a golden roof in the shape of upside down lotus flower.
The temple is a lovely place to come to rest and enjoy the ceremonies.
In and around the temple you are constantly addressed by the Sikhs asking you where you are from and saying that you are most welcome in their temple.
In the evening we went to a nearby city (Attari) to the Waga border, to watch the ceremony of lowering the flags of India and Pakistan. I have seen many military ceremonies in my life, but I really do not know what to think of this one.
On both sides of the border platforms are build to watch the ceremony. On the Indian side a few thousand watchers (mostly Indian people), the Pakistani side could not be seen very well by me, but also a crowd was gathered.
During the time we had to wait for the ceremony on both sides of the border loud music was played. Probably patriotic songs. So it was a real lot of noice.
A local celebrety was agitating the public to get them dancing, singing and waving the Indian flag. If I did not know better I could be watching a football game with a fanatic crowd.
The ceremony itself took only about 15 minutes. A lot of marching, saluting and of course the lowering of the flags. Both the Indian and Pakistan flag are lowered at exactly the same time, the same speed, etc....
Dehli 8 and 9 August
By train we travelled from Amritsar to Dehli in about 6 hours. We travelled 2nd class so no hanging on doors or sitting on the rooftop :-)
In the afternoon I went to the Bahai Temple. A temple build in the shape of a huge Lotusflower ( http://www.shalusharma.com/lotus-temple-must-see-bahai-temple ).
The last day in Dehli I went on a bike tour through the old town.
From DehlibyCycle:
Took the nightflight back to Amsterdam where I arrived after a deep sleep at 06:00 in the morning. Got the weekend to rest before going back to work on Monday.
CU,
Arjan
Actually I am writing this post on the 12th as I am already home now for 2 days. The last post I wrote in Manali and since then we visited McLeod Ganj, Amritsar and again Dehli.
If you think McLeod Ganj? Have I ever heared of this town, I have to add that it is close to Dharamsala. As it is well known that the Dalai Lama lives in Dharamsala, I can now actually say that he does not! His Holy Temple is situated in McLeod Ganj, which is a very small village just a few miles besides Dharamsala. The Temple is not one of the nicest Bhudist temples I ever saw. A quite new building made out of concrete with two large halls where the meditation sessions are held.
The best comic I ever saw was the local policeman who managed to get the traffic completely stuck. And that in a village of only 5 streets. i managed to see it all while having a drink (a nice sweet lemon soda) on one of the roof terraces, so I had a good view of it all. A lot of noice (blowing hornes), yelling Indians and a policeman trying to arrange the traffic, but no one took notice of him.
Amritsar: The capital of the Sikh community with only a few highlights. The Golden Temple is the absolute highlight of the city. In a very hectic city this temple is an absolute oasis of peace and rest. The centre of the temple is the Hari Mandir, which is surrounded by water named Amrit Sarovar (Pool of Nectar). The Hari Mandir does have a golden roof in the shape of upside down lotus flower.
The temple is a lovely place to come to rest and enjoy the ceremonies.
In and around the temple you are constantly addressed by the Sikhs asking you where you are from and saying that you are most welcome in their temple.
In the evening we went to a nearby city (Attari) to the Waga border, to watch the ceremony of lowering the flags of India and Pakistan. I have seen many military ceremonies in my life, but I really do not know what to think of this one.
On both sides of the border platforms are build to watch the ceremony. On the Indian side a few thousand watchers (mostly Indian people), the Pakistani side could not be seen very well by me, but also a crowd was gathered.
During the time we had to wait for the ceremony on both sides of the border loud music was played. Probably patriotic songs. So it was a real lot of noice.
A local celebrety was agitating the public to get them dancing, singing and waving the Indian flag. If I did not know better I could be watching a football game with a fanatic crowd.
The ceremony itself took only about 15 minutes. A lot of marching, saluting and of course the lowering of the flags. Both the Indian and Pakistan flag are lowered at exactly the same time, the same speed, etc....
Dehli 8 and 9 August
By train we travelled from Amritsar to Dehli in about 6 hours. We travelled 2nd class so no hanging on doors or sitting on the rooftop :-)
In the afternoon I went to the Bahai Temple. A temple build in the shape of a huge Lotusflower ( http://www.shalusharma.com/lotus-temple-must-see-bahai-temple ).
The last day in Dehli I went on a bike tour through the old town.
From DehlibyCycle:
| |||
Took the nightflight back to Amsterdam where I arrived after a deep sleep at 06:00 in the morning. Got the weekend to rest before going back to work on Monday.
CU,
Arjan
Friday, 3 August 2012
India 2012 (03082012)
Hi all,
Boring day today. Cancelled a 5 hour walk through the woods because of the rain. Manali is well known because of the rains, but so far it rained only in the evening. Now almost the whole day. This morning i looked around in Old Manali and found a good place for breakfast where an excellent espresso was served. Stayed a long time over there. In the afternoon I spent some time reading and listening to some music on the balcony of my hotelroom.
Tomorrow morning we'll leave for Daramsala. No change to see the Dalai Lama as he is on a tour through Ladakh at the moment. Just missed him as a matter of speaking.
Learned on the news that in Holland some messages were about power downs in India. So far we hardly noticed that. Power over here goes down all the times, but most of the hotels have their own generator.
Going off for dinner now,
CU,
Arjan
Boring day today. Cancelled a 5 hour walk through the woods because of the rain. Manali is well known because of the rains, but so far it rained only in the evening. Now almost the whole day. This morning i looked around in Old Manali and found a good place for breakfast where an excellent espresso was served. Stayed a long time over there. In the afternoon I spent some time reading and listening to some music on the balcony of my hotelroom.
Tomorrow morning we'll leave for Daramsala. No change to see the Dalai Lama as he is on a tour through Ladakh at the moment. Just missed him as a matter of speaking.
Learned on the news that in Holland some messages were about power downs in India. So far we hardly noticed that. Power over here goes down all the times, but most of the hotels have their own generator.
Going off for dinner now,
CU,
Arjan
Thursday, 2 August 2012
India 2012 (020812)
Hi All,
It has been some since my last post, so here I go again. Right now I am in Manali and as to speak in the real world again. Yesterday when we arrived it was rainy, but right now the weather is fine although rain is expected every day around here.
The hikingg around Leh was fabulous. For five days we walked between 4 to 6 hours verey day through the mountains and it looked loike we were walking on the moon. Heavy mountains to climb and no vegetation at all.the route we walked:
Day 1: Basco to Likir (3500mtr). Bikir is a very little village at the beginning of the indus river and has a nice monastary to visit with a Buddha of 30 mtr. The walk was very heavy because of the temperature of about 40C and because we had to cross a desert, so we had no protection against the sun at all. In the evening I felt a little sick, probably because of the heat. At the end of the walk I had finished my complete storage of water for the day (5 liters)
Day 2 Likir to Yangtang (3600mtr)
We have 2 passes to cross today: the Pobe La (3550mtr) and the Charatse La (3630mtr). A walk of appr. 4 hours through beautiful colored mountains. At night the sky was really clear and I cannot imagine to have seen so much stars. Even the Galaxy (Melkweg) was very clear to see.
Day 3 Yangtang to Hemis Shuckpachan (3700mtr)
A heavy steep climb to the Sermanchan pass at 3750mtr. I get really used to the walking through the mountains and developed a steady slow step. Going up your own tempo and enjoy the surroundings.
Day 4 Hemis Shuckpachang to Themisgang (3200 mtr)
Although going down for the day we have to do the first pass at 3750 mtr (Lago Meptekpass). I am getting used to the altitude now and the walking goes smoothly. The surroundings keep amazing.
Day 5 Themisgang to Ulitokpo via Lamayuro.
The last day of the hike and a hard one. First a tough climb to the Bongbongpass (3650 mtr) and then a slowly decent through a moonlike landscape to the mainroad where jeeps are waiting to take us to Ulitokpo.
In the evening we say goodbey to our crew who took care of building our camp every day, prepared oud good (vegatarian) meals and moved our lugage (by car). We had some drinks in the evening and gave them their tips. They all looked happy.
Then back to Leh for a day to have a shower and clean up from the hike.
Went to DakhTok to see the Buddhist festival. A day full of dances, music and a lot of local people who visited the festival. We stayed near the monastery at a campsite.
In the morning wed visited the second day of the festival. After lunch we left with our bus back to Leh.
In Leh we had to do some shopping as the next 2 days we are only on the road and it was not sure whether we would find a decent place to have lunch.
Leh to Sarchu (4100mtr)
The road is dusty and bad. It is a lot of driving today (10-12hrs) as we have to cross some very high passes.
1) TaglangLa (5350mtr), which is the 2nd highest pass in the world which can be driven by car.
2) Lachung La (50656)
You cannot imagine that all traffic have to go through this road to reach Leh. All goods (oil, food, etc) has to pass this bad road.
We sleep in a permanent campsite with luxury tents at 4100 mtr altitude. Around the campsite huge marmots live and are easy to see and also al lot of Edelweiss grows here. The Swiss would be jealous, because it is almost impossible not to step on it.
Sarchu to Keylong (3350 mtr)
A 6 hour drive. Still no vegetation accept some moss. The mountains are coloured from yellow till red and covered with snow.
An easy ride with only one high pass (Baralacha 4880mtr).
Keylong to Manali (2050mtr)
First part of the trip goes all well. Good road and fast driving. After the pass the wheather turns and it is raining (first time during the trip). The road turns into a slippery way of mud. Driving goes slow and a few times traffic gets stuck as cars and trucks gets stuck in the mud. A lot of yelling and waiting, but this will always be solved. Costs some time :-)
And now 2 days in Manali. Went to a barbershop this morning to have a good shave. Feel like a babyskin again :-)
CU,
Arjan
It has been some since my last post, so here I go again. Right now I am in Manali and as to speak in the real world again. Yesterday when we arrived it was rainy, but right now the weather is fine although rain is expected every day around here.
The hikingg around Leh was fabulous. For five days we walked between 4 to 6 hours verey day through the mountains and it looked loike we were walking on the moon. Heavy mountains to climb and no vegetation at all.the route we walked:
Day 1: Basco to Likir (3500mtr). Bikir is a very little village at the beginning of the indus river and has a nice monastary to visit with a Buddha of 30 mtr. The walk was very heavy because of the temperature of about 40C and because we had to cross a desert, so we had no protection against the sun at all. In the evening I felt a little sick, probably because of the heat. At the end of the walk I had finished my complete storage of water for the day (5 liters)
Day 2 Likir to Yangtang (3600mtr)
We have 2 passes to cross today: the Pobe La (3550mtr) and the Charatse La (3630mtr). A walk of appr. 4 hours through beautiful colored mountains. At night the sky was really clear and I cannot imagine to have seen so much stars. Even the Galaxy (Melkweg) was very clear to see.
Day 3 Yangtang to Hemis Shuckpachan (3700mtr)
A heavy steep climb to the Sermanchan pass at 3750mtr. I get really used to the walking through the mountains and developed a steady slow step. Going up your own tempo and enjoy the surroundings.
Day 4 Hemis Shuckpachang to Themisgang (3200 mtr)
Although going down for the day we have to do the first pass at 3750 mtr (Lago Meptekpass). I am getting used to the altitude now and the walking goes smoothly. The surroundings keep amazing.
Day 5 Themisgang to Ulitokpo via Lamayuro.
The last day of the hike and a hard one. First a tough climb to the Bongbongpass (3650 mtr) and then a slowly decent through a moonlike landscape to the mainroad where jeeps are waiting to take us to Ulitokpo.
In the evening we say goodbey to our crew who took care of building our camp every day, prepared oud good (vegatarian) meals and moved our lugage (by car). We had some drinks in the evening and gave them their tips. They all looked happy.
Then back to Leh for a day to have a shower and clean up from the hike.
Went to DakhTok to see the Buddhist festival. A day full of dances, music and a lot of local people who visited the festival. We stayed near the monastery at a campsite.
In the morning wed visited the second day of the festival. After lunch we left with our bus back to Leh.
In Leh we had to do some shopping as the next 2 days we are only on the road and it was not sure whether we would find a decent place to have lunch.
Leh to Sarchu (4100mtr)
The road is dusty and bad. It is a lot of driving today (10-12hrs) as we have to cross some very high passes.
1) TaglangLa (5350mtr), which is the 2nd highest pass in the world which can be driven by car.
2) Lachung La (50656)
You cannot imagine that all traffic have to go through this road to reach Leh. All goods (oil, food, etc) has to pass this bad road.
We sleep in a permanent campsite with luxury tents at 4100 mtr altitude. Around the campsite huge marmots live and are easy to see and also al lot of Edelweiss grows here. The Swiss would be jealous, because it is almost impossible not to step on it.
Sarchu to Keylong (3350 mtr)
A 6 hour drive. Still no vegetation accept some moss. The mountains are coloured from yellow till red and covered with snow.
An easy ride with only one high pass (Baralacha 4880mtr).
Keylong to Manali (2050mtr)
First part of the trip goes all well. Good road and fast driving. After the pass the wheather turns and it is raining (first time during the trip). The road turns into a slippery way of mud. Driving goes slow and a few times traffic gets stuck as cars and trucks gets stuck in the mud. A lot of yelling and waiting, but this will always be solved. Costs some time :-)
And now 2 days in Manali. Went to a barbershop this morning to have a good shave. Feel like a babyskin again :-)
CU,
Arjan
Friday, 27 July 2012
India 27072012
Hi all,
After a five day tracking through the highlands I am back in Leh again.The last 5 days I spend walking through the " moonlandscape of Ladakh". Further details will follow as I have no notes with me right now.The tracking was absolute fabulous, wonderfull landscapes, good weather (sometimes even too hot too walk and climb, good vegetarian food and a fantastic crew too take care of us.
Tomorrow we leave for a festival at TakTok and we will spend a full day over there.
I will come back with more deatils later.
CU,
Arjan
After a five day tracking through the highlands I am back in Leh again.The last 5 days I spend walking through the " moonlandscape of Ladakh". Further details will follow as I have no notes with me right now.The tracking was absolute fabulous, wonderfull landscapes, good weather (sometimes even too hot too walk and climb, good vegetarian food and a fantastic crew too take care of us.
Tomorrow we leave for a festival at TakTok and we will spend a full day over there.
I will come back with more deatils later.
CU,
Arjan
Friday, 20 July 2012
India 2012 (20/07/2012)
Hi All,
18/7 Dehli
Flight to Dehli went smoothly and I arrived around 2:00 am in my hotel. Afeter a short and bloody hot night I made a city walk around the slopes of old Dehli with a guide from the Salaam Bakaar Trust. A trust which takes care of the streetchildren of Dehli. They give them a shelter and some education.
In the afternoon I hired a taxi with 3 other members of our group to do a quick tour through Dehli. In a rush we passed the Red Fort, The park where Ghandi was cremated, The India Gate, the houses of Parlement and made a visit to the Laksmi Nayaran Temple.
19/7 Leh
An early rise to catch the plane to Leh. Again a smooth flight and at the end it became claer why this flight only leaves when Leh is not cloudy. The pilot has to make a few hard turns between the mountains to reach the lane to land.
Earlier still on the airport in Dehli I learned from a local newspaper that it had been over 40C.
Grapped some lunch and walked into the city of Leh, which is very small and easy to walk around. Tried not to move to fast as Leh is situated at 3500mtrs altitude. You really have to get used to that. Little less air and if you move to fast your hart beates like hell.
Dinner in a garden restaurant where I had my first Thali. A vegetarian dish containing rice, several curries and bread. Delicious food.
20/7 Leh
Climbed up to the Palace of Leh where we had a look around. It was my first serious climb. A steel path going up for a few hundred meters. The palace was old and is still being renovated, but you have a nice few over the city.
After the palace another climb to the high above the palace situated Gompa. Some king of monastary. A real nice building on top of the mountain with even better views and statues and wallpaintings.
For the afternoon some shopping for the trecking is planned and some further relaxing.
In Leh the weather is much more pleasant than in Dehli. It is around 25C and a few cloudes.
CU,
Arjan
18/7 Dehli
Flight to Dehli went smoothly and I arrived around 2:00 am in my hotel. Afeter a short and bloody hot night I made a city walk around the slopes of old Dehli with a guide from the Salaam Bakaar Trust. A trust which takes care of the streetchildren of Dehli. They give them a shelter and some education.
In the afternoon I hired a taxi with 3 other members of our group to do a quick tour through Dehli. In a rush we passed the Red Fort, The park where Ghandi was cremated, The India Gate, the houses of Parlement and made a visit to the Laksmi Nayaran Temple.
19/7 Leh
An early rise to catch the plane to Leh. Again a smooth flight and at the end it became claer why this flight only leaves when Leh is not cloudy. The pilot has to make a few hard turns between the mountains to reach the lane to land.
Earlier still on the airport in Dehli I learned from a local newspaper that it had been over 40C.
Grapped some lunch and walked into the city of Leh, which is very small and easy to walk around. Tried not to move to fast as Leh is situated at 3500mtrs altitude. You really have to get used to that. Little less air and if you move to fast your hart beates like hell.
Dinner in a garden restaurant where I had my first Thali. A vegetarian dish containing rice, several curries and bread. Delicious food.
20/7 Leh
Climbed up to the Palace of Leh where we had a look around. It was my first serious climb. A steel path going up for a few hundred meters. The palace was old and is still being renovated, but you have a nice few over the city.
After the palace another climb to the high above the palace situated Gompa. Some king of monastary. A real nice building on top of the mountain with even better views and statues and wallpaintings.
For the afternoon some shopping for the trecking is planned and some further relaxing.
In Leh the weather is much more pleasant than in Dehli. It is around 25C and a few cloudes.
CU,
Arjan
Monday, 16 July 2012
India 2012 (16-7-2012)
Ready for take-off
Almost anything I might need on the way to India has been packed, my ticket is confirmed and the boardingpass has been printed. Tuesday morning I will leave around 7:30 to Schiphol and I will be airborn at 11:30 on my flight KL871 to India (New Dehli).
The map below will give an estimate of the planned route.
CU,
Arjan
Almost anything I might need on the way to India has been packed, my ticket is confirmed and the boardingpass has been printed. Tuesday morning I will leave around 7:30 to Schiphol and I will be airborn at 11:30 on my flight KL871 to India (New Dehli).
The map below will give an estimate of the planned route.
Arjan
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