old tiger's Blog

So..bus trip went smooth..but..I never could sleep in a night bus..
Jaipur..well..I stayed there for a long while..I knew that place..
the honeymoon couple=my brother+wife..put up for 1 night in
the most expensive hotel in Jaipur these days=Rambagh Palace..
they moved out to another place next day..luxury costs money..
http://www.hotelsjaipur.com/hotel_rambagh_palace_jaipur.htm
we visited the classical touristical sights day 1==Hawa Mahal,
City palace,the Jaipur bazars,the streets...the hectic flow of folks
in colourful dresses..Jaipur is a delight for photographers..
I stayed at a cheap tourist place..this first day was hectic..
the walking around in the heat of this place..gets on the nerves..
I saw all these things before...but my brother/wife liked it..
lots of tourists in Jaipur...it's a very popular place to go..
day 2...we went to Amber fort by local bus..my brother/wife..
took that elephant ride up..that rawanahatta playing old villager..
still went along the elephant..for the bribe(baksheesh)
I walked up to the qila..I don' like to pay..for a picture on an
elephants back..just to prove..I did it..it's tourism..
but anyway..it was Jaipur again..third day in Jaipur..
was spent on shopping in the local bazaar..
sending postcards home etc..buying handicraft souvenirs..
I'll keep you informed..we were gonna take the pink city Express..
from Jaipur towards New Delhi..then 2 days Delhi...and back home..
what an adventure this trip had been..involved lots of airline flying..
in my old days early 70's..I never put a foot into an airplane..booh..
Tiger..

so..we flew to Agra..in U.P.=Uttar Pradesh state..
I had been there maybe 3 times before..but still..
Agra..got that different feeling each time one visits..
in these days..the Taj Mahal...was not subject to pollution..
nowadays it is..due to some factories on the Yamuna river??
the smoke..should affect the marble of the Taj??
http://www.ccds.charlotte.nc.us/History/India/02/mauney/mauney.htm
Agra is always a hassle for touts,silly rickshaw drivers..
who wanna take you from point A to B..for a tourist price..
I say..tourist price..in India..one always gets cheated..
it's part of travelling through India..take it..or leave it...
my brother+wife took a posh hotel..honeymoon,you know..
I stayed at a much cheaper place..I was always pleased..
with a clean bed...a shower..a simple meal..we went to see..
the Taj Mahal..it's an amazing building..it really is..it's astonishing..
my brother told me next day..they were so impressed..
they went back..to see the Taj in moonlight..I never did..
maybe I missed something..next day..we still stayed in Agra..
visited the red Fort..very impressive..a huge qila(fort)
we decided to take a deluxe bus from Agra Idgah to Jaipur..
it was about 240kms from Agra to Jaipur..about 5 or 6 hours..
night bus=would save us..a night of a hotel..we were gonna stay
3 days in Jaipur..then by train to Delhi...and fly back to Belgium..
my wife was gonna come back home 1 month later on...
Tiger...

So...we took a guided excursion..to view the mount Everest..
I don't recall the name of the place we went..but..
it turned out to be a bummer..it was bad weather..clouds..
and we could not view mount Everest like we should have..
the ride by a minibus..was fantastic..we crossed little Nepali villages..
where time seemed to float by...for the folks who lived there..
we were tourists..these people live from hand to mouth..
they are pleased with little things in life..they tend to their paddy
rice fields..their self grown vegetables..they still smile naturally..
we did not..we came from a materialistic society..where money rules..
sometimes during my travells..I felt very little..in the simplicity of the
people I encountered..Nepal..is a nice and simple place..the capital..
the trekking routes towards Mt.Everest,Kanchenjunga,Annapurna.
are pulling sportive tourists from all over the world..the mountains..
are a challenge..these *sherpa's*..I saw some in Nepal..damn...
they walk barefoot..into these mountains..with heavy loads..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest
in the late 60's..early 70's..lots of hippies crossed from Patna..
via road to Raxaul-Birganj..and discovered Katmandu..
the hippie trail Europe-Katmandu became a classic for hippies..
I was once..a traveller on that road..I did it twice..towards India
on overland basis..I met some nice folks..and some bad ones..
life is like that..we got to accept it like it comes...in India it's called
*karma*so..enough ranting..we went back to Katmandu..
had an evening meal...and were ready for flying towards Agra..
ahah..the Taj Mahal was waiting for the honeymoon couple..
my brother and sister in law simply loved it..they still remember..
up till today..when I took that snapshot of them..on the Taj Mahal..
will tell you crazy peeps later on..what happened..
Tiger

So..we rented 3 bicycles..and set off after breakfast..
it's fun to cycle around Katmandu..we reached Patan..
locked our bikes..and went exploring this temple town..
they told us more then 50 temples in this place..
that's a lot..we went to Durbar square..it's amazing..
to see the architecture..how could they ever built all this??
there are Shiva and Krishna dedicated places..
some souvenir shops with nice Nepali art like Buddha statues,
thangka's=Tibetan religious paintings,local handicrafts etc..
we wandered around about a few hours in this place..
cycled back to Katmandu town..damn..cycling gave us a healthy
feeling..we went further on to have a glimpse at Pashupatinath..
it's along the Bagmati river and known for cremation *ghats*
one finds the Shiva temple..the sadhu's..looked bit like the Nepali
Varanasi to me..typical Hindu religiuous feelings..
will see if I can get a link for Patan...or Pashupatinath..
http://www.artmoment.com/kailasyatra/Pashupatinath.shtml
http://www.artmoment.com/kailasyatra/Kathmandu.shtml
next day we planned a bus excursion to view Mount Everest..
Tiger

After a night in Patna..flight to Katmandu..
this flight..was an experience..while we were flying..
the captain announced the following message..
ladies and gentlemen..look out of your window..
for a glimpse of mount Everest..this was really amazing..
we were flying just above a misty cloud bank..and saw..
a mountain top in the distance..it was a fabulous sight..
landing in Katmandu airport went smoothly..
my brother was there..we took a taxi to the hotel..
nice cosy hotel..we stayed 4 nights..Katmandu town..
was full of foreign tourists..very popular destination..for hippies..
they came together in a street named chicken street...
first day..we went exploring the city by foot..Durbar square..
it's full of temples..shrines..souvenir stalls..we loved it..
it's the spiritual heart of the city..every morning..devote Nepalis
offer puja...aarti...flowers to the gods..it's amazing to watch..
we took a cab to visit the Swayambhunath stupa...about 3kms
away from the city..it's located on a hill..about 400 steps to climb..
lots of bandar=monkeys..watch out for these buggers..
the stupa itself..is amazing..nice view..over Katmandu valley..
Buddhist chanting..prayer wheels..very impressiv..
we went back to town by cab...found a nice restaurant..
and had a rice dish with chicken..after that..we went to see..
a cultural show..fokloristic dances of Nepal..very interesting..
lots of different tribal folks live in this landlocked country..
I recall the dance where the girls have to jump between wooden
bamboo poles.which are opened and closed...not easy to do..
the costumes,jewelley and outfits were extremely colourful designs..
next day..we were gonna rent a bicycle..to cycle down to Patan..
I'll try to find a link about Katmandu town..
http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Nepal/The+Essentials
Tiger