old tiger's Blog

I've been few times to Benares=Varanasi..oh yes..
I like to call this place Benares..it's a very spiritual place..
for Hindus certainly a point to die..on the Ganges riverside..
Benares looks like an old people's home..you would be surprised..
how many old devote Hindus..wanna die in Benares?
as told before in my journal on a previous visit here...
it's full of *holy* cows,little back alleys,ghat's,sadhu's..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varanasi
my brother+sister in law stayed in a posh place..I believe Clark's??
I stayed in a less pricey hotel..but it was clean enough..
they could not believe their eyes..wandering through Benares..
it's a typical Indian town..with all its facets..that means..beggars..
tourists,crowds,noise,heat,dust..can be nerve wrecking..
I'll see if I can get a good link on this place...
I bet there are some links in other postings...
after this..we were gonna fly to Kathmandu via Patna..
and believe it or not..I got stuck in Patna for a night..
my brother+sister in law..flew alone to Kathmandu..
I was put up for 1 night in a 3 star hotel..
on behalf of the airlines..we were on request quota..
for the flight..I got my flight next day..
my brother was waiting for me at Kathmandu airport..
Tiger..

From Kaziranga..we went by bus to my inlaws place...
we stayed there for 3 nights..visited the Bramaputra river side..
a busy bazaar..a tea planters estate..they live like princes..
my brother+sister in law got bored a bit..of Assam..
our new target was Guwahati-Calcutta-Varanasi..
ex Benares on the Ganges..speaks to the imagination,you know??
so we took off and went via Jorhat..back to Guwahati..
one of my Indian brother in laws drove us to Guwahati airport..
bad thing was..we got a car tire puncture before that..
we nearly made it in time..for that Fokker Friendship plane..
the usual stuff..on behalf on Indian airlines..
we do welcome you aboard our flight..
a few nice looking airhostesses..presenting safety measures..
my wife stayed in Assam with her family..
flight took off..few hours to Calcutta..
bit later..notice from the captain to all passengers...
would you please fasten seat belts again....uhuh??
all of us..wandering why..we knew soon enough...
suddenly this bloody plane..took a dip down...
my stomach..was in my mouth..shit...it felt...
like we were going down..plane shaking..
went on for 5 minutes..but damn..scary stuff...
it was an air sack...a turbulence...happens there..
damn...we landed in Dum Dum Calcutta..
the 3 of us..were happy to touch ground..I can tell you..
stayed in Calcutta for 1 day..then were gonna fly to Varanasi..
will tell you peeps later on what happened...
Tiger

We went back to Guwahati from Shillong...
that damn winding road again..not one stretch is straight..
damn..wanna pick up my motorbike and drive it...ahah..
we stayed 1 night in Guwahati again..booked a bus trip..
to Kaziranga..and 2 nights in the tourist lodge there..
so..next day..bus..ahah..better then in the rest of India..
usually a driver..with the windows open..and ghettoblaster music..
there's a boy who serves at stops+deals with the luggage,passengers..
not an easy job to drive a bus in Assam..the roads were terrible..
it rains a lot in upper Assam..potholes in the road..bumpy ride..
the nature we saw out of our window..was amazing..
it was my second visit here..but still..I watched with awe..
the flora/fauna of Assam is very varied..so we drove to Kaziranga..
we were welcomed by the warden of the hotel..nice clean place..
we booked 2 nights..the watching of the rhino's is done on elephant
rides..they can come very near to these large rhino's..the mahut on
top of the elephant.talks to his elephant..taps with a stick..
I guess it's for directions..my brother+wife were hilarious..
honeymoon,you know..we spotted one rhino..
they usually hide or wander around a bit..
I would not have one of these fuckers charging me..
one has to stay quiet to watch them..amazing animals..
but I found them ugly..they looked like harnassed..
there are birds,deer,and many other animals to watch..
the parc is run very well..I loved the tourist lodge..
it's so damn peaceful..one thing bad..some folks..let's say bastards..
poach and slaughter rhino's..it's much more on the increase..
then in 1979..the rhino horn..is cut out..and sold to high price.
usually China etc...the horn..got powers..have to look for links..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6564337.stm
have a peep at this link what Kaziranga is concerned..
the day after we went to my in laws..stayed 3 days..
and went back to Guwahati by car..then flew to Calcutta..
I'll tell you about that flight in a friendship Fokker..
something scary happened...we really got the fright of our life..
what a honeymoon for my kid brother..air turbulence....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaziranga_National_Park
Tiger

So..from Dum Dum airport..ahah..dumdum bullet??
we flew early morning to Guwahati..often these flights..
are deleted..because of weather conditions..
we got no delay..reached Guwahati airport..
one of my 6 brother in law..received us..
Guwahati was busy..i love Assam..no beggars..
but the real Assam..is in the other places..
we stayed at an uncle's place of my wife...
nice dude..my brother+wife..into a hotel..honeymoon,you know..
next day..that crazy busdrive to Meghalaya(Shillong)
damn..I see that Bird Migration was there too..great dude...
great place..in these day...Bara Bazaar..Umiam lake..
still O.K.nowadays..polluted city..
bazar gone dirty..I was there in 1999 again..
the Khasis tribals are still there..lovely people..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khasi
in Shillong..It can get cold..hillstation,you know..
my brother+wife stayed at Pinewood hotel..
http://www.magiccarpetjournals.com/shillong.htm
we visited some relatives..my brother did not know..
the customs of Assam..I did..they offer a gamusa..
kind of a towel..it's a sign of respect..
then on a bhanbatti...they offer tamul pan..
or a horai??these are Assamese signs of respect..
I'll try to find a link..tamul pan..smells horrible..
it's mildly intoxicating..but not like qat of Yemen...
uhuh..I got stoned...in Assam..uuhuh..
sometimes...in wedding ceremonies..they put hasjiesh(bhang)
into the guests tea..stoned wedding ceremony..ahah...come on..
next day..bus trip to Guwahati again+Kaziranga nature reserve...
Tiger

oh well..we set off for this bus trip for tourists..
called conducted sightseeing tours..my broher and his wife..
got the shock of their life..they NEVER saw misery in real form..
here it was displayed..one whole afternoon..on this trip by bus..
we stopped at botanical gardens...nice banyan tree..
we went to Belur Marh,Kalighat..and to the lovely Jain temple..
called Pareshnath..what a display of baroque architecture...
we saw some other things as well.I don't recall...
in the evening we went to visit the extensive Calcutta bazar..
called New Market..near Lindsay street.more then 2000 shops..
so..beware for hustlers..it's a very interesting colourful place..
larer on..in 1985..there was a big fire reported which destroyed lots
of the original bazar..but I went back there twice..the next day.
we were gonna fly to Assam..to stay at my in laws place..
Assam=one of the most beautiful states I've seen in India what nature
is concerned..Kerala tops the list for me..more follows in later postings..
http://www.indiatravelite.com/calcutta/calsightseeing.htm

Tiger