I hitchhiked between 1969 to 1976..
twice overland to India..whole of Europe..
and finally West Africa...they told me to write a book..
but I was too lazy..shame on me
tiger
So..in this journal...you will all be able to travell with me...
my mood,happy thoughts,unhappy moments..
everything will be related..hope you all enjoy..
in these days...i had a beard as well...
nowadays...i still have a beard..
I had to switch bus there direction Erzurum(Anatolia)it's a long journey from
Istanbul..but one advantage was..no hotel necessary..because these buses
go day and night..I missed some scenery between Istanbul-Ankara-Yozgat-
perhaps..but once Erzincan-Erzurum in reach it was O.K..loveley scenery..
Erzurum smaller bus to Agri..then a shared taxi towards(dolmus)to border
town Dogubayazit..here an overnight stay in a sleazy hotel...
I had met a French couple going to Afghanistan..this area of Turkey is very remote and backward..
maybe nowadays they have seen more weird travellers there
they could not understand that 2 guys travelling with a chick was possible?
we had to lock our hotelroom doors..real paranoid situation
Dogubayazit is near Mount Ararat...according to the legend the Ark of Noah stranded there..well..
I've never been a religious fellow..so..i didn't care..
but the Ararat mountain range looks nice though..
it flirts with the border regio of Iran-Armenia-Turkey..
Mount Ararat is bit over 5000m high
i believe the bible legend says that the ark stranded here(Urartu)
some mountain climbers have gone in search for the ark..without result..
next morning I took a dolmus to Bazargan together with these French..
border is called Bazargan..not to much hassle on the Iranian side..
but the Turks gave us a thorough rucksack search..
we took a shared taxi to Mako if I remember well??first place in Iran..
better roads then in Eastern Turkey.next town was Tabriz..
so..I'll tell more later on..O.K?
http://www.allaboutturkey.com/ararat.htm
between Tabriz-Qazvin-Tehran..but I must say..buses well organised,
comfortable travelling..now Tehran..I stayed 4 days there..because I had
to make visa for India etc..in these days Amir Kabir hotel was the place
to be to meet hippies travelling..but i didn't stay there..found a little hotel
in some side street..where it was full of only foreigners as well..great people..
Tehran is surrounded by mountains..and lies at an altitude of 1200m..
big wide streets..mostly paralell pattern..in these days the Shah was still
ruling..shops were filled with French perfumes..foreigh stuff as well..oil money..
you know..I think today it's a total different picture
The big bazaar of Tehran is absoluteley fantastic to stroll through..
lots of curious Iranians wanted to know whether I was American,English??
I got invited for tea and abgoust...now..this abgoust..is served in a pot and
it's some stew like mixture of chickpeas etc..it was very cheap...and tasty as well..other type of food is pillav/nan/mutton..which is a rice dish with flat bread..Iran was very cheap..
next days I spent my time going to the embassy of India..
no problem for a visa..but it took 2 days..
Tehran is a hectic place..lots of traffic..it's a central point for all traffic to
any destination in Iran..my itinerary was Qum-Yazd-Kerman-Bam-Zahedan..
never went to Isfahan..and that's a pity..beautiful mosques there..
just ask Dharma(Kevin)he has been there very recently..
i picked up a few words of Farsi..real nice language with strange sounds..
gar kodjast??meant where the railwaystation..I did travell by bus all the way towards Zahedan...
will tell you more later on...
via Qum..which is an important stronghold of pilgrimage(religion)
the trip to Kerman was loveley..very hot...and very arid landscapes..
specially around Yazd..Kerman is a small and very ancient city..
in the middle of nowhere..big and very interesting bazaar..I was the only
foreigner on the bus..but the people were extremeley friendly..
I stayed overnight in a small hotel..now..the bazaar of Kerman..you should
not miss..very hectic..Kerman is famous for carpet weaving...nice designs..
Kerman-Bam-Zahedan..is still a nice stretch by bus..
we got frequent control points from Iranian police..
the Shah in his days had a secret police force called savak..
but these checkpoints were probably only ordinary traffic control..
I came 2 days to early in Zahedan..train to Quetta runs only once a week..
so i stayed at a sort of campsite run lodging...there were other foreigners
waiting for the iron horse(train)to Baluchistan..I remember I stocked up
food..mostly sardines..and fruits in tins(peaches,cherries)
it was a rough desert train ride to Quetta..a trip I remember well till up today..
finally the train came..got my ticket 2nd class..I guess 1st class was
not available..lots of funny folks to board this train..Baluchi tribals with a
very big knife on their belts..they were using a compartiment of the train
as a cooking facility..made their own tea..food etc..they smoke a lot of weed as well..
but I didn't liked to get high there..tell you more later
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html
border town for Iran was Mirjaveh..lots of hassles..waiting..hot sun..
border town for Pakistan was Taftan if I recall well..this train trip goes through
desert arid area..little outlets like Nokkundi-Dalbandin-Nushki..
I recall mostly as stopping places to get a tea or some snacks for this difficult journey..
in Nokkundi villagers wait 1 week to meet this train...
to sell their stuff eggs,vegetables..fruits..snacks..tea..biscuits..
the whole thing..i remember..the train had to stop in the heat of the desert..because..there was sand on the tracks..which had to be shovelled away...sandstorm..it was terrrible hot as well..but still..what an adventure it was..a real desert trip..I remember it vividly still now
Finally we reached Quetta railway station..wandered into town..and met..
to my surprise a Swedish missionary living on the outskirts of Quetta..
he took me in..for 2 days..I guess he felt left out in this damned town..
he was a protestant..loveley wife..I recall his daughter as well..teenager..
he told me..it was very hard to live in Pakistan to win souls..religion..oh my..oh my..
in a Muslim conservativ place like Quetta..he said he had to deal
with lots of corruption..easy game in this part of the world..luckily he got financial aid directly from Sweden..this fellow dropped me into Quetta next
morning..wanted to see what this town was about..nothing special really..
I bumped into a Californian guy..together we had to go to the local police station to get registered for entering the area..lots of tea..waiting..
and Paki bureaucraty..well..well..still..Quetta town got some charm..
you see tribals in turbans..in traditional dress..with these funny trousers..
I went to the railway station to get information about travelling towards
Lahore in Pakistani Punjab..long train journey..will tell you later on
soon after Quetta..comes Kolpur and the Bolan mountain pass..
rough country..wooh..almost 100km.of mountain scenery...
then Jacobabad-Sukkur-Multan...pfft..it was so bloody hot..
train travelling can be quite a hassle sometimes..people constantly
bother you..they're so damned curious..hundred times..
what's your name,mister??where are you from??are you English?
do you like Pakistan???well..this area is reall countryside Pakistan..
I felt once I reached Jacobabad..I reached the Indian subcontinent..
the rivers Indus and Sutlej cross there..real nice little dormant villages..
typical scenery..forever grifted in my mind...the paddy rice field with the
farmer in loin cloth..pulling his cows..so..primitiv..but so nice though..
Multan-Sahiwal-Lahore...booh..very hot..lots of tea...and drinks..
finally reached Lahore...capital of the Pakistani Punjab..
very interesting city...bit dirty around railway Station...noisy..
overpopulated...beggars..hassles..pickpockets...a test for nerves..
got a room in the fucking Youth Hostel of Lahore..bit out of the city..
but quiet..I had nearly the whole hostel for myself..helpfull warden..
will tell you folks more later on...about my adventures in Lahore
I don't know about the situation nowadays..but in the time I was
there..i got a warning in Istanbul from travellers who passed here..
to be extra careful for theft,rip offs..some crooks went that far to hide
dope in someone's rucksack in a hotel..then the police..hassles etc..
it was a corruption game..that said..no doubt Lahore has got history..
the Badshahi mosque is worthwhile..it dates from the Moghul period..
the old part of Lahore is worth a stroll..Anarkali bazar is full of shops..
where you definiteley smell Pakistan..if you ever have the chance to listen
to a real performance of qawali music..you should visit some tombs where
a pir(Sufi holy man)is buried..there are several in Lahore..it's music where
the performers almost get in a trance..often religiously inspired..
The Mall is a nice avenue to stroll trough as well..lots of Victorian style buildings like Faletti's hotel etc...someone had recommend me to visit the loveley
Shalimar gardens..so I did..it was O.K..but I think it was not worth the taxi
ride to the outskirts on GT road towards the Indian border..
these Mogul style gardens are a marvel of irrigation techniques..
flowers and trees..Shah Jehan certainly was a fellow with great insight how
to make gardens worthwhile looking at..after 2 days in bustling Lahore..
I had enough of it..I was gonna move into India..via Wagah border..
now..INDIA..is some place I can write stories about..I hope I'm not boring
you all for me just writing this down..brings back my gypsie heart
is something to remember..Pakistani side is called Attari,I believe??
Indian side is called Wagah..in between every morning a whole ceremony..
by Pakistani/Indian border patrol..well..well..changing of the guards??
I believe my friend Spacer(Ireland)got some pics of that..Spacer..HELP
India/Pakistan are playing cat/mouse games for decades..finally if you put
a Punjabi from Lahore..next to a Punjabi from Amritsar..they look bloody the
same..wooh..why this hate??long story..which I'm not going to tell here
border crossing through this border was a real hassle for me..it took me 2 hours to walk trough both borders..bureaucratic behaviour??my ass..
It was a relief for me to reach India..Amritsar..now..about Amritsar..
I can write some pages..Punjab..golden Temple..you all should SEE it..
The Sikh religion..well..very good..they are NOT allowed to cut their hair
woooh???hippies??they follow the 5 k's..I'll explain in a link below..
just have a look at these links first..
http://www.sikhphotos.com
www.sikhs.org
towards the Golden Temple..stayed in Gurdwara Ram Das Niwas..
as said before..free food and lodging..don't expect too much..
from free food..these people serve dal out of a bucket..
served on leaves..you get some chappatis(flat bread)as well..
it's called langar... http://www.sikhs.org/gurdwara.htm
I recall I got the shits in Amritsar..nothing serious really..
beware of eating in cheap roadside stalls..
I left my chappals(sandals)outside Golden Temple..and went in..
woooh...real life time experience..
you must cover your head with some scarf..
very nice entrance towards the Temple..
inside is the Grant Sahib=holy book of the Sikhs..
chanting and reading all the time...you'll get some prashad as well..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmandir_Sahib
so..this was my first impression of India..I damned liked it..
I like speaking to people..about life...about anything..
and these Indians..were so damned curious...woohhhah...
I got myself some dahi(fresh curd)in the morning around the temple..
I met a couple of hippies..the fellow was really sick..got dysenteria..
they stayed in the gurdwara as well..and I felt sorry for this guy..
beware of your health conditions while travellling in India
After 2 days..i booked a ticket to New Delhi(train)damned cheap..
will tell you later..New Delhi is quite a hectic place...
I booked a retiring room in Old Delhi railway Station..dirt cheap
Old Delhi is crowded,dirty,full of beggars..one has to get used to it..
of course Jami Masjid and Red fort dominate the scenery..never went
into Red Fort..but I went into Jami Masjid..Moghul architecture by Shah Jahan
Chandni Chowk and Kinari Bazar are a maze of streets and little alleys..
to noisy it was but still..it's an experience to see all these colours..
smell all these unknown herbs etc..most of the foreign travellers stay either
in New Delhi Paharganj area or closer to Connaught Circus..so..
i took a riksja to New Delhi..one of these crazy scooter 3 wheelers..
they drive like mad..these riksja wallah's know their way..
but..quick...and efficient..they take you where one wants to go..
Connaught Place...consists of 2 ring roads around a central park area..built by the British..I guess by Luytens??architect??or was it Russel?anyway...
Janpath Road is where the tourist office is situated..I picked up a free map..went to GPO..and found a Gurdwara Sikh temple there..to stay for free..so next day..I moved back to the hospitability of the Sikhs
and yes..that day..I had a lassi..kind of refreshing drink..
later..i heard..sometimes they put bhang in it(hasj)woooh...
they didn't that day..usually on Holi festival etc..they do..
Spacer(Ireland)had a bhang lassi in Varanasi
more later on...stayed 4 days in New Delh..
http://delhitourism.nic.in/delhitourism/index.jsp
before I moved to Agra..
real big network..divided in parts like Eastern railways..etc..
in beginning 70's..tickets and reservation was sometimes a real hassle..
you could book a berth in 2 tier..3 tier..A/C class..2nd class..1st class..
i always went for 2nd class...and these passenger category trains...
wooh..real adventure sometimes...Agra from Delhi is only a few hours..
I recall reaching Agra Cantonment Railway Station early morning..
directly a load of riksha wallah's offering a ride to Taj Mahal etc..
a real hassle sometimes these ricksha folks..
even if you don't want a ride with them..they keep on bothering you..
they get commision from certain hotels and shops..
if they can get you there..I decided to walk to the Taj Mahal..
in railway Stations in India they really serve good breakfast..
mostly toast/eggs/tea..very cheap..
I first dropped in at the tourist office on the Mall..
booked a room in a cheap hotel..for 2 nights...
Agra is a city from more then 1 million people now...it's crowded..
So..this Taj Mahal..deserves some attention..
it certainly strikes everybody if you see it for the first time..
it's such a beautiful building really..coming into via the archway..
you see this marble mausoleum..really wonderful architecture..
I'll tell more later on...and try to find some links on Agra..Taj Mahal...