I'll be spending Christmas eve.. on a sleeper bus to Agra :(

From India Dec/08

Lord, almighty! How i miss not being home for Christmas. There, I said it. I confess: there's nothing like celebrating my birthday with friends in Brussels and then spending two days with both sides of the family - the mouthwatering food, the old wine, the entire family, being all together.. Gosh, how i love that stuff! Oh, well.. Next year i'll surely make up for my absence! It's a promise.

I want to thank everyone for their lovely mails. I only received one sms (Ine and Michiel were the lucky ones). Some people wrote me that they tried to sms or call, i'm sorry if you couldn't get through, the connection on my mobile comes and goes in Udaipur. Maybe there's also too much (international) traffic in this period. I dunno. In any case, I wanna give everyone who did (attempt) to text, call or write me a super big hug! I'm so grateful to you all. Heartfelt thanks.

From India Dec/08

A quick update of what i've been up to these last days. From Pushkar i moved on to Bundi, another lovely Rajasthani city with its beautiful palace, fort and old city walls. Bundi, however is a bit different from most other places, like Jodhpur the majority of the city is painted blue to ward off the mosquitoes. In Bundi i met up with Nicolas, a proudly unemployed guy about my age from Ardeche. We met back in Amritsar and had been trying to meet up again for a week or two, so we both relished finally seeing one another again. That first evening sitting on the rooftop just chatting away till late at night (1 am ;=) was quite a blast. The next day we walked past Nawal Sagar Lake and the 'erstwhile luxurious summer palace of Sukh Mahal' where Rudyard Kipling stayed and supposedly found some inspiration for a number of scenes in 'Kim'. Then on towards Khshar Bagh, an abandoned plot of land walled off and watched over by an errand guard, who just as we were planning to climb over the wall took us along and unlocked the gate. Hiding inside were more monkeys and the most beautifully sculpted cenotaphs of the kings and queens of Bundi, each ruler wanting to outdo their predecessors.

From India Dec/08

Next i went to see the city palace (not as impressive as Jaisalmer but nice) and we had dinner with two girls heavily into yoga, massage, ayurvedic medicine and on their way to Goa to teach some classes there, that i met back in Pushkar. Afterward we took the train to Udaipur, spending half of the journey in the 'luggage room', where there were no smelly feet or Indians hassling us. 'On the road' stuff, with the door flying open once and again, the landscape whizzing past, 'comme dans les westerns' - to quote Nicolas.

From India Dec/08

The next days we met up with the Australians (Jacob, Tim and Cam) i also met in Amritsar (some days before Nicolas arrived), and with their friends Alex and Owen, an identical twin, also from Melbourne. Quite a different approach to traveling altogether: a lot more partying! Which was brilliant, especially when you're in such welcoming company. Too bad they had to catch a plane to Goa and we couldn't celebrate my birthday together. Which was a damned shame. Bit of heart breaker that.. Damn you, Jacob! ;=) But we had loads of fun all the while we were together, sure enough.

From India Dec/08

So, yesterday, my birthday, i just spent wandering around town some more with Nicolas and meeting Alex for a while along the way to sunset point, which was nice. But just as those last days with Rosie, the British girl i traveled along with to Haridwar and Rishikesh, again with Nicolas - yesterday and today - i find myself in the company of someone who just can't stop complaining about India, people, little things that annoy them, nonstop, quoi! And when you say something, no matter what, in no time they start aiming their negativity at you as well. God, how tiring! So, in the end i just shut up and sorta try to steer them/their discourse to less troubled waters. A near impossible job, that! Really makes one think how awful such complaining is to be around, and if i made my fellow human being suffer much of the same. Hope not. Jeez! The horror, the horror! :)

From India Dec/08

So, yes, we (Nicolas et moi, Alex didn't have the money to come along) did go to a fancy restaurant yesterday night, lovely surroundings (the batteries of my camera were down so no pictures, might get some later on this afternoon). But except for one dish: nizami handi, a real specialty made with (semi)dried vegetables, the food wasn't that special. Oh my! There i go - complaining as well. Contagious, i better watch out. Therefore, i'm getting on a bus to Agra (+14h) and from there to Bruno's ashram (another 5/7h) so i can at lest spend Christmas eve in loving surroundings. And so i can say goodbye to Bruinoogje before he heads off to more temperate climes (i.e. Belgium).

From India Dec/08

Well, a very, very merry Christmas to you all!
Loadsa 'cacao deprived & more than just a lil' xmas/homesick' luv,
-hx.

Back in P-P-Pushkar / You don't know how lucky you are, boy..

From India Dec/08

And... we're back in crazy ol' Pushkar, which is now so quiet and relaxed. Amazing what a difference a Mela festival/camel fair makes! :) They're digging out the lake now, cleaning up the place with bulldozers and cranes. Yup, the big Pushkar make-over, i guess..

From India Dec/08

Met up again with Bruno and Karolien this morning. Came into town with a direct 'luxury' bus, which of course dropped us (Gerome, very relaxed, amply pierced and tattooed guy from Nancy and me) off at the bus station in Ajmer, but we were supah-doopah lucky in having a bus leave for Pushkar in the next 15 minutes. The roads being pretty deserted at 5 something in the morning, our driver didn't mind showing off his rally driving skills, which were damn fine - though a bit scary when speeding into blind turns, dippers flashing happily.. :)

From India Dec/08

Would have loved to stay a bit longer in Jaisalmer. Brilliant place. Absolutely fascinating to walk around town and to be surrounded by those splendid havelis and to see new houses, hotels and hostels being erected with the same/similar traditional balconies, overhanging canopies and other ornamentation.

From India Dec/08

And just as i was walking up to the bus station i ran into Cam, one of my Australian buddies, who i hadn't been able to reach since they had run outta credit on their mobile. Gonna try and meet up with them in Udaipur in a couple of days..

OK, suppose now is about as good as any time to report some more on what we did in Pushkar 'bout a month ago..

From India Nov/08

Remember having a good time running along with Bruno and meeting up with some of his friends from back when he spend half a year in Pushkar. Also greatly enjoyed having a bit of time to sit, hang around and read (AFTh. 'Advocaat van de hanen' - superieure beschrijvingen, af en toe beetje gezochte/degoutante beeldspraak, maar fascinerend boek, zeer zekerst ;=).

And erm.. Apart from going to the Camel Fair..

From India Nov/08

..and having a general stroll or two, three around town, we only once got up early in the morning to have a look at the procession of pilgrims bathing, brass march band and protesters carrying Hindu inspired political signs all included in the mix.

From India Nov/08

Oh, and on the eve of the full moon, the proper time to have a dip and wash away one's sins, or say, accumulation of bad karma, and to receive blessings outweighing the regular everyday Pushkar dip by a 1000-fold (not bad, ah? :) - on that very moonlit night we did a-mix with pilgrims many and pushy. Verily we did, get slightly trampled, nearly slip and have a dip ourselves, shake many a stranger's hand till the sun arose and away we went heading back to snuggle up nicely in our warm bed shared with big butch Bruno, the rugged outdoor mensch/creature.

From India Nov/08

That evening Radee arrived just as we were getting ready to head for the bus to Agra. The bus, however, was so incredibly uncomfortable that after a couple of hours we all (excepting three utter outdoor nutters ;=) decided to just spend the night in Jaipur and continue our journey in a proper sleeper bus the coming night.

From India Nov/08

Wandered round Jaipur's many bazaars, past it's palaces and the odd grand observatory of old, in an all together enjoyable, though be it a bit short day.

From India Nov/08

The bus for once arriving as scheduled, we had all the time in the world to go and watch the sun rise from the opposite river bank. And after visiting the Taj Mahal (free entrance, but a maddening 750rs for a complimentary water bottle and compulsory shoe protection kit;=) and Agra's Red Fort..

From India Nov/08

From India Nov/08

From India Nov/08

..we only needed to board another auto riksha, train, bus (which took forever and was being driven by an absolute madman, who had a ball crashing full throttle into potholes, consequently catapulting the back seat, being us, towards/into the roof) and finally, a mini van (which we managed to fill up as the proverbial sardines) to get to Bruno's and Radee's ashram.

From India Nov/08

Enough for now.

Loadsa 'Pushing our luck in Pushkar' Luv,
-hx.

In Jaisalmer, a fairy tale kinda place - straight outta a thousand and one nights..

From India Dec/08

Imagine an old city with gobsmackingly pretty city walls and defenses, an absolute gem of a fort and plenty of Havelis, ornately decorated residences, all lusciously carved out of golden sandstone. Welcome to Jaisalmer, a place i find hard not associate with Aladdin & co.

From India Dec/08

From India Dec/08

Arrived here very early morning after yet another freezing cold train ride (have remember to buy a woolly hat and a blanket, maybe). Think i'll be staying here another day or two.

From India Dec/08

In comparison Bikaner..

From India Dec/08

..was 'alright', this, however, is the real deal.

I cannot upload any pictures to this pc, so i'll add them next time. Oh, but i have added caption to the following pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hanzuman/IndiaNepalOct08

Loadsa 'messed-up-sleeping-pattern' luv,
-hx.

A quick word from 'Semi-Enlightened' monkey capital Rishikesh

Right, another quick one today..

From India Dec/08

Finally left Amritsar and the Golden Temple behind and i am now in Rishikesh, 'yoga capital of the world'. :) Not that i've already jumped in and have started stretching-breathing-humming-buzzing like i should, sadly none of that stuff. :( But i had a great day wandering round the place, next to the river bank. Met some more Ozzies and sorta locals: two Sadhuesque guys; one from Agra, the other from Assam. Ah, and a very nice, bit older Italian guy from Milan, who spoke no French, English (or Hindi for that matter) whatsoever and who was here with a friend of his who's completely into Krisha and has been coming here on and off for some 30 years.

From India Dec/08

Yesterday and the day before i spent in Haridwar, one of the top seven holy cities of India, and home to the next Kumbh Mela in 2010, a religious festival that goes on for some months and draws a couple of millions of pilgrims. (There's also the Maha (Great) Kumbh Mela, held in Allahabad, and that one drew 100 million celebrants in 2001. Nearly makes the annual haj to Mekka look like a smallish pilgrimage, doesn't it? :)

From India Dec/08

Haridwar is also home to a hilltop Mansa Devi (a wish-fulfilling goddess) temple which you can via a cable car. The way to the cable car is lined with prasad/souvenir (food/flower offerings used in religious ceremonies) stalls and souvenir/prasad stalls. Once off the cable car, the way to and from the temple is lined with all sorts of food stalls, two cafeterias and more prasad and souvenir stalls. Great fun, walking up to a Hindu temple and feeling like entering a theme park.

From India Dec/08

From India Dec/08

OK, gotta close off. Tomorrow i'm taking the bus back to Haridwar and a night train to Bikaner, Rajasthan. There'll be meeting up with my three favourite Ozzies and a couple of friends of theirs, even more Ozzies! Woooha!!!

Loadsa 'semi-enlightened' luv,

-hx.