India+Nepal

Family trip through South-East Asia

2009-05-20T21:15:00.033+05:30

For the last month of the trip my family came around. Natalie and Martine came along to get me back home. ;-) No! We first had nearly 4 weeks of adventures and fun traveling and discovering Thai culture. Here we are on one of those slow boats which bring you nearly everywhere in Laos.

A Temple complex with monks housings in Luang Phabang, Laos

All three below a Boddhi tree

Martine on her way to loose height sickness

This is the view from Luang Phabang to the "other side"

Who would have guessed it?!?! Lao people are great boule players! Some reminders of the french colonies?

Landscapes like in travelbooks

On our way to Muang Ngoi to a small fisher village only accessible by boat in the middle of limestone hills.

What a scenic view every evening. Lucky people who could tay longer.

We went on to Muang Kwa further north for a 7 hour boatride.

Water Buffalos

Virgin forests along the nam ha river surrounded by limestone cliffs

Only very few people live over here and the villages always seem to be in the middle of the forest

Ok! Let's have a funky bus ride to Luang Nam Tha...

...in a cramped bus.

A big noise and the bus had to stop... "Just few little things to repair", says the driver. We had time to do a game of boule and find another way to get the last 10 km to the city.

This is the area of Luang Nam Tha surrounded by a plain of rice fields and a NP inhabited by many different hill tribes.

To discover this beautiful area, we had a fun bike tour through wet paths as it rained every single day.

We had a guided tour to several Hilltribe villages and had a traditional Lao workers lunch.

This is the spiritual gate which connects the dead and the living people of the animist Akha tribe.

That's how simple they live

Jump cut to Chiang Mai where we spent a week during the Songkhran festival. At this place we had a chat with very friendly buddhist monks...

...which were celebrating the New Year around a fully decorated sandy stupa

I'd like to ride this bike!

Let's go on a Thai market...

...where you can find all kinds of sweets...

...and salty stuff like fried caterpillars or other insects...

...still we needed some vegetables for...

..our cooking course!!

With some fresh herbs and roots from the garden.

Let's smash these chillies to a curry

Here the chef making some Chicken with Basil

Mmmmmh!! If you'd like to taste one of these, just ask me and I'll come around and cook it for you

Sacred temple on a hill close to Chiang Mai, where people come to absolve from their sins and get some good luck wishes for the Thai New Year.

Here we are at one temple getting blessed

Still, Songkhran was one of the main cause why we came here. So let's get started

Traditionnally the Buddha gets watered to bring good luck and for a good rainy season

But it got popular to splash anyone with ice cold water as it is pretty hot in April in Thailand

As an example, you take an open-topped tuk-tuk and have a ride through the city.

It doesn't last long until someone sees that you are still completely dry

and that's how we looked like afterwards

Koi fishes in the hotel pond asking for more food

In between that there are heaps of temples in Chiang Mai

and strange creatures around the temples!

...and in the zoo as well. What's this dino?

He is the most popular animal in the zoo

We took the plane from Chiang Mai to Trat in the east of Thailand to get to the island of Ko Chang. The smallest and simplest airport I've seen so far. The terminal "building" is made of Bamboo and Palm leaves...

Here we are on Ko Chang enjoying the heat while locals go collecting crabs and mussels on the shore!

Not far from paradise.

Some hippie shacks left on Whitesand beach, most of the island is build up by big resorts...

A banana flower, it's edible and has an interesting taste

The national symbol: Lotus flower

Here we are on our first elephant safari into the jungle.

Let's wash the elephant...

...or was it: the elephant will wash us?!

Food break

Back to our bamboo huts on the water

We did a boat trip to several islands around Ko Chang. This is Ko Khlam, an island bought by a rich guy who make a resort on it...

Ko Khlam lava stones

All those lamps are used as a lure to catch heaps of fish during the night

We got stuck in the bay and we needed to get towed out by a fishing boat

Some scientists are trying to repopulate the snorkeling area with nemoes.

Sergeant Majors and Rabbit fishes

I think I know this fish

Üüüfff!

Hanging around on a lonely tropical island

There is a small temple full a phalli which are thought to protect and give luck. We have seen a guy wearing a belt with about 30phalli on it... Lucky man!

That was our trip and my Asia tour, we head back to the mainland

Taking the transfer shuttle from the terminal to the plane

Bye bye tropics, see you soon again!

Diving the Similans!!!

2009-05-20T21:01:00.005+05:30

I went on a 4-day liveaboard with this good sized dive boat...

...with a great crew and very nice fellow divers.

On this beach, I felt the the softest sand ever, like flour while dry and similar to soft dough when wet.

Here the artistic masterpiece of the dive crew drawing the Richelieu Rock, the most famous dive site in Thailand.

Isn't this harmony?
A turtle came and let her feed by bananas...

One fish like was also once sucking on my forearm while doing my safety stop...

On my way to Burma for a visa run...

Thai people know how to tune a bicycle!

Back in Bangkok in a completely different atmosphere. I am at Martin and Tik's place and am enjoying morning tennis matches and afternoon swims in the pool.

Last days in India...

2009-05-20T20:55:00.003+05:30

I came back to Ellora to visit Vijay, a funny man with a big heart and a very relaxed attitude.
He showed me those temple caves which are not usually accessible for tourists.

And I was accompanied by two Australian pirates!

I took some cooking lessons in this proper kitchen

Here we are, this is the last day in India, on the balcony of Dennis where I met this wonderful Spanish couple!

Welcome to crazy Thailand!

2009-05-20T20:33:00.006+05:30

This is what you have to be prepared for when you arrive at the backpacker part of Bangkok...

Let's have a nice little tour through Bangkok! Fast boats are so efficient!

A little bit of sightseeing as a buffer before changing completely lifestyle after my settled Indian habits

Modern temples...

The big foot of Buddha with offerings.

That's it. From there on I won't spend any time alone anymore! I met some couchsurfers and had a funny city tour, first by rickshaw
After a long day of walk, there is nothing better than a tickling foot massage.

Pierre and on an old rickshaw

That's the crazy guys I was running around in Bangkok with.

A city tour with a longtail boat this time which shows the variety of Thai housing.

A land of extremes...

Jungle in the city!

Market woman selling all kinds of tourist stuff

OK! Let's enjoy Bangkok for it's mythical nightlife!

An elephant in the red light district, what is he doing here?!?!? Bring him back into the hills, poor animal.

Ko Lipe

2009-03-11T16:59:00.010+05:30

So I got to Ko Lipe where I will do a divemaster course.

Straight away I got a nice sun burn...

Testing my new underwater photography skills with this juvenile Batfish

Nemo as you now is a Clownfish or Anemonefish: to the Symbiosis freaks ;-)

I met Kevin and Daria which work on Dolphins and other marine mammals in Scottland, Slowenia and soon also in Thailand

Hin Song, one of the postcard pictures to show around.

Hey it's Christmas! The colours of the hard and soft corals are stunning

A beautiful Sea fan in the current

The powder blue surgeon fish dance

My favorite: the pufferfish

Look if you find the intruder in these Sea urchins... It's a Lionfish!

This is the day the Princess of Thailand came for a very short (less than 24 hrs) visit on the island. Unfortunately, the Thais had cleaned the beachfront she shall come and a heavy rain made that beach look like the worst on Ko Lipe... This is to show how sustainable their build and keep their nature... Most fishes are gone due to fishing along the coast, ankering and the sewage which flows directly into the sea, in front of each bungalow. It's always nice to know what is in the water before you say "this is paradise"...

These are the first three divers on this island: Barry (my dive instructor), and two German tourist which came together for the first time to Ko Lipe coincidently 11 years ago... and a Chao Ley ("people of the sea") skipper handling the boat.

A Moray Eel checking out what I am doing looking at it all the time

Short stop on a small island on the way to the mainland where I have to get a visa extension and go to the doctor as I got an Otitis media. No more diving for the next 5 days...

out...

and back again for 15 days!

A scorpionfish right a the sandy beach front! That might hurt pretty much if someone would accidentally step on it!

What a fantastic place!

That's my "little" hut I lived for 6 weeks in (with an awesome sea view).

A last one... Of my favorite beach spot Viewpoint on Lipe.

2009-01-29T18:31:00.011+05:30

We have seen a Kathakali classical dance drama performance in Kochi which dates back to 1500. This is a stunning show with make-ups made from natural stones mixed with coconut oil, funny face expressions accompanied with percussion and singing.

Santa Claus on a scooter on its way to a kids street show.

Chinese fisher nets on the coast of Fort Kochi where Lara and me helped to lift one load with a catch of 2 little fishes...

Ready to go for a 5 day road trip on Bullet Royal Enfield in countryside of Kerala.

One many times we got a bit lost. I proudly present Lara which has the courage to jump on my bike and bear my driving style.

First breakdown of Korbi's bike on the way to Munnar. About 10-20 guys helped us to get the bike running again and after 2 hours a miracle: it's ready to go again.

Lara and me got invited for lunch by this lovely family from Munnar.

Korbi's road trip ended up here after just 1 day of driving... This man is the mechanic who tried his best to make it run again, but this bike was not possible to be repaired in Munnar. Korbi continued the trip by bus...

The charming family of the mechanic.

Landscape of tea plantations which looks like the world of the Teletubbies between Munnar and Periyar NP.

Pretty and me on our way to Periyar NP.

One more, it's just so beautiful!

We stopped in a small village where we met some curious kids.

Lara with husband and kids ;-)

Thats one of the most beautiful villages I have ever been. Just wonderful

One chapel perched on a big rock. Kerala is mainly Christian and this makes the roads safer as there no cows on the road.

Lovely!!

Open air cow transportation, Europe should look up how simple and animal friendly this can be organised.

Driving licence question: What's wrong in this traffic situation?
Little circulation problem in Kottayam gets resolved on its own... The opposing traffic doesn't have much space anymore, but they are less than us.

That's how I thought we might discover the beauty of the Backwaters.

Finally we got a houseboat with full service and lived for 24 hours like Maharajas over Christmas Eve

Juhu!

Santa Claus and his friends drumming on the road wishing everybody passing good luck

These are the originals on their way to deliver many many presents: Santa Aral and Santa Claus

Scene change: Kudle beach close to Gokarn where we lived in huts made of mud covered by cow shit and dried palm leaves on the roof. These are the kids of the host family with their pet

A very authentic way of life we had there. Getting water from a well and washing clothe on a stone as wash board.

How to make a cover of palm leaves workshop

What a life of misery...

Those eyes make anybody soften

Lara in a poi flow after a short workshop on the beach

"der hollaender", one of the mates from Traveler Cafe in Kudle with whom we spent 10 days hanging around together. They stay the whole winter in that place and have their little shiva altar with a trident, candles, statues and a swastika and a Om sign on the ground made of a mix of cow shit and mud...

Umesh, one of the two guys working in Traveler Cafe, behind the counter with the DVD player which played regularly Indian World music

That's the German-speaking crew 'meditating'

let's check the other beaches around and have a boat ride passing Om beach and Half-Moon beach to...

...Paradise beach where we chilled out the last day of the year at Shanti (peace) Garden where we tried slacklining, but Lara was by far the most talented of us

Puja from a Saddhu who wished me good luck and happiness for the year 2009

It works!

Last sunset of the year 2008

North Indian Fast Track Tour

2009-01-14T13:03:00.011+05:30

Bye bye Nepal, Hi back in India... And the stress starts. We got nearly into a fight half an hour after entering India.

Korbi and I lighted up this candle and left it flowing with the Ganges which gives you long life and happy family.

Typical morning boat tour with Marc our friend which we met in Delhi before going to Nepal...

Mighty Varanasi and its never ending Ghats along the Ganges

A good shower which relieves you from the bad experiences in life and gives you new strength and luck in life.

Massive morning washing

Laundry please! In one of the dirtiest and most poisonous river in the world.

It's cold in Varanasi and the goats also need some warm clothes.

Some buffalos at the local restaurant eating rubbish from the bin.

Tried the best Lassi in the world! Thanks to Marc

Let's go for a complete different trip and let's have a jeep tour in the Bandhavgarh National Park

First traces of a tiger in the near surrounding and the hope to see one is not gone

Let's go hunting! Arms ready! Shoot!

There is a Kingfisher hidden in this picture, the national beer is called after this bird. Very important bird ;-)

Incredible India! (India's advertisement slogan)

Poor elephant is towing a long chain which is also his big leash

Finally here he is! A bit far, but I am kind of happy for this...

Ok let's move on to a different place by night train. Indian train station are always crowded like this with people sleeping on the floor and waiting for their train connection

This is Khajuraho village where I got invited for food (Dal and rice) in a family...

...and afterwards for a bike tour around the temple site

Hundreds of temples like those were build in this area, but only about 20 survived the Moghuls brutality. Still those which are left, are in very good shape. Maybe they liked it...

The temples are surrounded by scenes of everyday life of the common Indian from that time displayed through small statues which show musicians, maharajah, war and...

...sexuality. Which is shown pretty clearly and with a little bit of exaggeration in the details...

A facade of one of the temples with some generously contoured nymphs having a good time. Statues of Hindu gods are surrounding those main carvings. The guys who sculptured those walls must have been very funny guys.

Ganesh, one of the favorite gods, the elephant headed god, son of Shiva and Parvathi (you remember?!). He's the Lord of the Beginnings and will bring luck to any new completion.

Mustard fields in Khajuraho

Two Lotus flowers, symbols of Hinduism and of peace and beauty.

Some meditative words from Osho the worldly known and controversial sex-guru

The air in Agra is so dusty and full of smog that the sky always seems to have a grey colour. Still this building is stunning, but the degradation is visible and most of the money tourist spend for the entrance gets into the pocket of some corrupted men.

Amazing what the builders made possible, with full marble embroided with other gemstones

That's another way of traveling India

Hey Sugarman! We moved to Jaipur the capital of Rajasthan and did a market day, with full flavours all around!

Spices, full flavour!

Flower man is very important in Hindu culture. Flower are put nearly everywhere for good luck.

He's preparing wedding gifts. Those crown of money are given as gift to the other family during wedding. MONEY, MONEY!!!

Saree (traditional woman's wear) shop

My favorite wedding car ;-)

And don't forget the good old Indian dirt

this bike seems to hang around here for a while...

Jaipur and the forts and long walls in the back

One of many Maharajah water palaces on the way to Amber fort

Amber palace, I think the most enjoyable monument we have visited so far. Every door is open, you can go on roofs and enter all corridors which makes you feel like a kid playing in a big labyrinth.

Monkeys like ice cream and eat it not the biting way but licking like they are really enjoying it

Life on the roofs and in the sky

Mirror palace.

Streetlife of Jaipur

Construction in Sarees. Women have to work as hard as men. Next step: train to Bombay where we will meet sweet Lara for three magic weeks.

Up high in the mountains

2008-12-04T21:08:00.063+05:30

Ok, let's move on to the mountains over a colorful windy road

Interesting way to collect stones for house building

My favorite jeep in the Himalaya, it might be a bit slow but in reality the roads don't allow much more than that

Hey ho! That's the trekking crew surfing on the roof of a jeep on it's way to the trekking starting point

Khudi: that's the first part of the valley we will have to climb

First lunch - best lunch! I ate one of those strong black chillies from the tree in front of the "hotel rooms" and I got really angry on myself the next day on the toilets... The landlord was also a good trader, we exchanged some good brown stuff from Kathmandu against his freshly dried green stuff from his garden. Following that we had a very relaxed walking day ;-)

I love Nepal! Compared to India this is a heaven for ecologically aware people. They use solar power to bring water to boil, rooftop black water heater for warm afternoon showers and solar panels for electricity. And 30% of its electricity comes from hydropower.

I present Deepak (guide), Milon (porter), Korbi (lazy trekker ;-)) and... donkey (porter)

My first contact to people of Manang and unfortunately only one of the few not seeing a dollar bill on my forehead.

Buuuh... This is the last picture of me with those beloved glasses which I lost later on in the waterfall behind during a bath

Milon is a happy porter with "just" one big backpack of 15 kg. The proper professional porters carry about 50-70 kg up the hills!

Tashi Delek (Wel Come)!

Those are carved and painted Tibetan stones and while walking left of these mantra inscriptions, you get power for continuing your way up the hills.

That's how you could spell it in our alphabet. More often you see it like: "Om Mani Padme Hum". It doesn't have a direct translation, but each syllab has a significance and many meanings. You repeat this silently as a way of meditation. Om: sacred exclamation "like" Amen. Mani: jewel; which symbolizes the method of an altruistic mind to help to remove poverty, cyclic existence and solitary peace. Padme: lotus; symbolizes wisdom, realized through creating emptiness. Hum: final syllab which symbolizes indivisibility of method and wisdom to finally achieve purity. Saying this helps you to transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha. What makes actually Buddhism so interesting in my eyes is that blessing and power does not come through praying and hoping that god will hear us, but it is believed to be innate and to be inside of our own true nature.

Ouah! Big plants of Marijuana around!

That's how your hands look like after clapping a lot of Marijuana flowers

And this is my first self made hash!!

That's a Mani, with cylinders where Om Mani Padme Hum is inscribed. By turning them you get power

Enjoy Nepal!

Tea break after a steep 400m climb

Annapurna III (about 7500m)?!!?

Typical Nepali kitchen with some dudes drying the goods found on the way ;-)

Also non Buddhist can turn the wheels and feel the power of this ritual

This bridge has been build in 2062 and is 3 years old...

I had nearly most of those symptoms while at 1800m... Strange thing because they didn't reappear anymore while going higher up.

This is a Mani with a huge wheel inside decorated with colorful Tibetan prayer flags bless the surrounding countryside

Fabulous view over Manang valley and the Gangapurna on the left

A little Stupa in Humde

I like how Nepali express them self, it's so full of joy, happiness and peace

This is one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries still in use and one of the cutest villages I've ever seen

Manang... we are at 3600m! In summer all the surrounding of the village turn green while the rice is growing

Turquoise Gangapurna glacier ice lake

Oh what an easy day! We left the backpacks in the hotel and did a little tour to acclimatize to the altitude (3500-4000m). Everybody looks very relaxed and enjoys the cool breeze ;-)

Gangapurna and its glacier and a Tibetan prayer flag in my back

I like this picture. Deepak in his universe

The small village in front is nearly only used for the sheep in summer... the houses roofs are just 1m high

The beautiful ice lake (3600m) and Gangapurna (7500m)

Not much happening in Manang, just some Yaks hanging around on the streets

Let's go up to the highest lake in the world!

It's like walking on the moon! After a very hard steep climb, the steps on the snow/ice were now easy and gave us a big smile

Korbi is hanging our Tibetan prayer flags as a souvenir! Every year they put them all down for a new season... Too many people

Tilicho lake (4900m) and double Dpak

Amazing how people can go diving in these extreme conditions!

Always happy and smiling!

A lot of avalanches around!

On a steep landslide area

Some snow!! but it melted away as soon as the sun came out...

Buddhist fill the air with incense to make the environment convenient for spiritual contemplation

Another really beautiful lake but with green and yellow waters (for the microbiologists ;-))

Be careful we've seen a lot of people being sent down

Feeling like in a fairy tale

We made it! More prayer flags up here...

The highest joint in my life ;-)))

Golfing the Himalayan avalanche melt downs

Oh Tibet! No this is lower Mustang, but a valley with mostly Tibetan as since many centuries Chinese continuously push this peaceful population over the Himalaya

A visit to Saddhus in a temple area. Those guys practice yoga and meditation to achieve liberation and renounce the three Hindu goals of life: enjoyment, practical objectives and duty. The only thing they won't give up is smoking pot out of chillum all day long...

Tibetan stone graffiti

AH!!! Finally meat again! The Tibetan don't kill, so we didn't have any meat for the last 10 days, but where hiking up to 5400m!!!

Those are cute dwarf donkeys carrying goods downhill

That's the way they still plow their rice fields. No cars or even jeeps can come up here, so they depend on the good old animal force for work

Just a little bit before we leave the Annapurna region. A very kind and beautiful women gave us this self made stuff. And just for 2 euros compared to about 50-100 euros at home... What a wonderful world!

This is not a easter tree with eggs hanging on the branches, that's a tomato tree with dark acid tomatoes

So much water in this country! They use it here to make millet or rice flour for bread and MoMo (Tibetan dumplings)

Nice bath and wash in a hot spring one night in Tatopani

Laundry after weeks of wearing the same dirty clothes

A little abstract how people here have problems to spell correctly words in our alphabet...

That's a cheap and easy fitness center

So many different colors of beans!

Nice and peaceful Nepali tags found all over along this part of the track

Panoramic view from Poon Hill (3200m) with Dhaulagiri (8167m) on the left and Fishtail (6993m) on the right and Annapurna I (8091m) on its left

We look very tired by now... This was one of the last climb along this long trek

Smile!

Beautiful Gurung village: Ghandruk

Amazing how steep they can build village with rice terraces around

Last picture is the best picture! All preparing their dirty hair for a picture before leaving on the bus to Pokhara

On roof of the bus

Cool final canoe tour on Fewa Tal at Pokhara and our last day with those fantastic two guys! See you again my friends!

Delhi to Kathmandu

2008-12-04T18:15:00.029+05:30

The Moghul Red Fort in Old Delhi with Korbi in this new traveling episode!

Some more sightseeing in Delhi. That's Qutb Minar, a watch tower from the 12th century build by the first but not last muslim ruler in Delhi.

That's... Humayun's tomb, pretty impressive! I get even more curious now to see the Taj.

Hey, Hey!! On our way to one of the best muslim restaurant in Old Delhi with a whole leg of lamb waiting for us! It's Thejas on the Rickshaw behind who so kindly hosted us and brought us deep down into Delhi nightlife.

That's Pan the biggest mix of sweets and other stuff I've ever seen. Still, it's very tasty but difficult to eat, as you're supposed to chew all in one go to taste all the flavours at the same time...

Can you see the mountains far in the sky, higher than the clouds?!?! That's the Himalya, with Dhaulagiri (7th highest mountain in the world, 8167 m) on the left and the Annapurna range on its right (where we are going trekking around!!!)

Just arrived in Kathmandu and I run into Ruben and his spanish crew! Unfortunately, they are already leaving the next day for a camping trek in Langtang... I was later on happy not to have decided to jump on their tour as I got pretty sick.

This is a mysterious place where a chosen little girl is kept as a goddess and is only allowed once in a year to show herself to public at this window during a big religious festival

This is Durbar Square, where Hindu and Tibetan religious architecture meets Nepali culture

Thamel is wonderful for not normal sized (at least in Asia) people like me, you can tailor made jackets, sleeping mats and bags at a good price but medium quality...

A cow with an extraordinary fifth leg on the back which makes her a special holy cow. Poor beast is standing all day in this small carrier to get stared at by passers-by.

Little monkey at the... monkey temple!

The monkey temple which is actually THE place of cremations in Nepal. One man is taking care that the fire starts with burning the head and the rest of the body of a high cast corpse. At the back a low cast body is burning already...

This is a scary place, but which is thankfully no more in use. 150 years ago when a person got caught having two or more partners, they were put in this "temple" and their head was chopped off! Also another ritual was: when a man died her widow jumped alive on the fire and let herself burned together with her husband.

On the right there is a washing ceremony to prepare the body for the cremation. On the left an important (high caste) person is getting burned. All around are monkeys fighting, screaming
and jumping around.

Korbi and our guide observing the happening securely on the side of the fertility temples.

Those are temples dedicated to fertility, symbolizing sexual interaction of the god symbols Lingam (Shiva) and Yoni (Shakti). Couples come to follow a tasty sweet ritual when they wish to get kids

As a holy man, this is the way to follow for meditating years and years in the dark of those caves. After each reached step towards the nirvana they get into a higher cave and teach newcomers to find their way to achieve the state of being free from both suffering and the cycle of rebirth

Pushkar

2008-11-08T17:28:00.012+05:30

First things which blows to my eyes in Pushkar are the narrow streets and that cows share the same living space as people, very bulky pet.

It's Diwali, the festival of lights. People put deyas all around their house to symbolize the victory of good over evil in each individual of the family. I participated by playing poi on the roof top of my hotel where I met a lot of other interesting travelers.

This was in front of most houses... I don't want to write what this is made of. Quiz: it is made by a cow and modeled by kids.

The big and beautiful Sikh temple on the left and the smaller Hindu temple in Pushkar. I total there are 518 temples for 17000 inhabitants.

View over the blue houses and temples around the holy lake of Pushkar. Did a great motorcycle tour on an Enfield around Pushkar over two days, but forgot my camera...

I stayed in a guesthouse close to where the smoke comes out...

Sunset over Pushkar.

People learning to play drums in front of the lake. Was kind of annoying and did not really fit to the atmosphere of this amazing place.

That's Pappu, my friend of the Bopa caste which are Gypsy people who play Rawanatha and sing traditional Rajasthani songs. But as modern industry made the tape and CD decks popular, this group of people cannot live from their destined talents anymore.

I helped his family to have a descent tent made out of an old Coke advertisement canvas.

His two cute daughters with the most crazy hairstyle. Hair as dry as the desert surrounding their home.

Ellora/Ajanta caves

2008-11-03T02:28:00.023+05:30

First monkey I see in the wild! They look so smart and relaxed.

Moghul watchtower in Fort Daulatabad from the 14th century.

India is a very dusty land... That's the clearest sunset I've seen by now.

My favorite Rickshaw! I want one cabriolet like this to cruise along the Maximilianstr

This is the first of 34 temple caves which which symbolizes Indian rock-cut architecture build between the 5th and 10th century.

That's me on the 3rd floor balcony of a Buddhist temple.

Nadia, Milos and Sam in front heading to the next cave.

Shiva (the god of destruction and rejuvenation, transformation... and smoke) and his wife the mother goddess Parvati (both are the parents of the most worshipped god Ganesha, the god of science, arts, intellect and wisdom) seated on the sacred mount Kailash, while the arrogant and superpowerful god Ravana tries to lift it... understood?!?!?! That's how you get introduced to Hinduism... Very confusing, but wunderfully passionate.

This is the most stunning temple in Ellora, the Hindu Kailash temple.

All those temples were cut from one single rock!

Funny Indian sign. There are errors on nearly each sign here, but you get used to it and it is often a game to understand what they should mean.

The site of the Buddhist Ajanta caves from the 2nd century.

A big Buddha at the back end of a temple. Walk around the statue three times and it will bring you luck.

A cute little chipmunk having rice.

Me in the teaching position in front of a Buddha. Om...

A Buddhist Cathedral with a Stupa and a Buddha in the center.

The lying Buddha at the Ajanta caves

More monkeys!!! I'll bring them bananas next time.

Looks like a paradise for a swim... I didn't want to put my feet in there, rubbish and strange smells where abundant all around those waters. Actually in any Indian waters which is close to humans, so basically everywhere.

Best taxi ride ever in the Ambassador (old official governmental car). On my way to Rajasthan where I will leave Milos, Sam and Nadia. A 48hrs trip by car, train and several buses.

Goa

2008-10-31T16:21:00.014+05:30

The nature in Goa is outstanding! Full green jungle forest and the water is never far.

Breakfast at Arambol beach. I love this fantastic place and those fresh fruit juices. But, shhht, keep it secret ;-)

My American friends Sam and the Israeli Michael playing poi in the sand.

My turn...

German influence seems to conquer Indian wildlife

Sam in the gate of an old portuguese fort in Vagator looking far out on the sea.

Nadia on another gate at the opposite of the fort with a temple in the far back.

Crazy party spot Anjuna beach in the low season...

There are also some humans around at this nice spot in Goa ;-)

Typical Indian sunset scenery

Ruben and Luisfer. Will hopefuly meet them again in Kathmandu for the Annapurna Base Camp trek.

Typical situation at Anjuna market. A cow just drops by to check out for some good deals

1st stop: Bombay

2008-10-10T15:51:00.021+05:30

Taxi ride from the airport into downtown... very cosy 1h30 ride

Preparation for the festival dedicated to Durga who symbolises power and the triumph of good over evil

Everybody is dancing and celebrating the Durga Purja festival. Denis my russian friend is in red.

Men and women dance separately...

Two cool guys full with the red powder which I don't remember the meaning, but it is somehow related to Durga and finally for a colourful and cheerful festival

My favorite place to be after having drunk a sip of tap water, because of stupid second of too much thirst... I'll think about it twice next time ;-)

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai. The busiest train station in South Asia... Still it was impossible to find a seat in one of the trains :-(

Air trains are so cool! Everybody is "fighting" to get a door spot!

That was very close! You always have watch out for coming pillars and branches. A lot of fun!

Here I am also hanging out of the train. Everybody is wondering what this big european is doing here!

This was the most amazing train ride ever! Fully packed train back to Bandra from Mumbai center, with a group of people playing traditionnal music in the back which the whole thing chaotic and enjoyable at the same time. India is the crash of humanity. My two American travel mates are also here. On my left is Nadia and the guy with the cap is Sam.

Normal traffic situation in Bandra where I stayed with Denis in the hotel.

Amit my friend and me on Chowpatty beach during the finals of the Durga Puja festival, where wooden sculptured statues (around 100) where sunken in the sea. What a mess!

Dabbawallahs at work. They deliver freshly made food to business men. In the higher caste, it is a tradition to eat only freshly made pure vegetarian food prepared from people of the same caste i.e. from their wife or mother. An amazing logistic without any computer and only one error in a million! They deliver 100000 lunch boxes every day all over the city!

Britidh colonial style buildings all over the city.

Am I in India???

Yes I am! And I love public transports over here!