old tiger's Blog

for the city of Jaipur=see link on page 25 of this journal..
as said before..Jaipur looks pink..because of the buildings
in the old part of the city..behind the old entrance gates..
a whole world opened for me..this city with wide avenues..
was planned and built by Maharaja Jai Singh 2..between
1699 to 1744..he used to reside in Amber fort these days..
from the Railway Station Mirza Ismail road goes down to
Ajmeri gate-which is the entrance to the old part of town..
so..i decided first to walk around a bit through Jaipur..
Ruby had class every day..mostly for 4 or 5 hours..
I decide to take a scooter ricksjah..time enough to bicycle..
the ricksjah dropped me at the entrance of Sanganer gate..
Bapu bazaar and Johari bazaar...well..well..what a crowd..
Ruby told me to go to LMB restaurant...an institute for Jaipur..
concerning sweets like *kulfi*and other vegetarian food..
I always enjoyed these Indian sweets like rasagulla..ladu etc..
will tell later about sweets..Niro's on M.I Road=Mirza Ismail Rd..
is another famous eating place...went there once with Ruby..
to tell you the truth..food was excellent..but inside..it looks..
like a dimmed disco bar...one can bareley see the menu..ahaha..
airconditionning restaurants in India..are excellent ways..
of cathing a cold..you come from extreme heat..into cooling..
then again extreme heat..I sniffed my nose sometimes..
I liked M.I.Road a lot..handicrafts..G.P.O..oh..about sending..
postcards..letters etc..go to any post office..put stamps...
and ask them..to stamp them..otherwise..your postcard might stay
in a post officer's hands...stamps taken off again...
and used for own profit...oh..these scams in India..
one learns of them..well..
so LMB's...nice kulfi I had there..it's pistache flavoured icecream..
loved it...good to release the heat of Jaipur..that day..
i got my share of walking..from G.P.O to Johari bazar..
then to Ram Niwas Garden...and ricksjah back to teachers hostel...
Ruby made a good biryani rice dish..mmmmhh..
oh yes...before I forget..in some roadstall..
I talked to some young Rajasthani hotheaded youths...
hating Pakistan..silly..the old cat/dog argument..
If I see HATE..I attack it..with sarcasm..I told them..
hippies..the true ones..CANNOT hate..they spread love..
well..I think they understood the message I gave them..
hotheaded folks..are big in group..big mouths...
alone..they often are very small..and I don't like politics..
this topic Jaipur will go on for a while..
I stayed more then 1 month??can't recall everything..
I'll try to tell you peeps..what happened..
Tiger

Delhi-Japiur was called Pink City express..
night train..so..saves 1 hotel night..
I never could sleep well on Indian trains..
too much noise..every stop inbetween..
these noisy hawkers...chai...andhe..mumphalee..
reached Jaipur early morning..cup of tea in the railway station..
then I had to take a 3 wheeler ricksjah..towards Moti Doongri..
teachers hostel of Rajasthan University..got there safe..
these ricksjahs go fast..Ruby welcomed me with a good breakfast..
nice woman..she stayed at flat 11 of a block of Univ.buildings..
2 rooms..small bathroom..I got my own room..she used to keep
a white labrador dog called Bing..loveley dog..good safeguard..
bit later the doodwalla came(milkman)he was a typical Rajasthani
villager in loincloth,turban..and typical big Rajasthani moustache..
I was tired from the train trip...took a shower..and while Ruby..
went for her teaching job...I took a nap..she always went by bicycle..
she was a damn intellectual woman..is that why I married her later??
ahah..no..love..has to grow..it's mental..as said before...
I intended to stay 3 days..but stayed 1 and a half month..
so..time to discover Jaipur in all its aspects..
I went to movies..cultural events..the Univ..where Ruby teached..
giggling Indian shy girls...wondering what this long haired..bearded..
came to see in their Univ..Ruby was a good teacher...
her students had high respect for her..she spoke 4 languages fluently..
English,Hindi,Bengali,Assamese(mother tongue)
I think she was teaching in English or Hindi..I got myself a book..
in a jaipur bazar..to learn Hindi...I mean the spoken sentences..
i love that language..it sounds very funny..Jaipur was hot..
it almost NEVER rains there..if it does..
the kids..dance around like fools..because it rains very seldom..
so..first day..I just washed some clothes...took rest..
tomorrow..I was gonna attack Jaipur by bicycle..
i believe I've put some links on page 25??
in that 1 and a half month..I bareley spend money..
food I got free..sleeping accomodation as well..
when I cycled around..or visited touristical attractions..
musea etc???I spend some money..that's all..
I'll tell you all about Jaipur city..it's hot..crowded..
but..it got lots of character..I loved my stay there...
fabulous city..will tell you crazy peeps later on..
Tiger

so..New Delhi again..big and widespread city..
I liked Connaught Circle..and the shops of Janpath...
in the 70's..lots of touts,beggars on Janpath..
because..every tourist passes there..tourist office,shops etc..
I went back to India to Delhi again..much later...in 1990..
the govt..cleaned away..beggars..touts from these streets..new policy??
anyway..read about Delhi in my link on page 25..
Delhi..is overpopulated..the crowds in Old Delhi..are amazing.
watch this video about Chandni Chowk(Old Delhi)
http://www.geobeats.com/videoclips/india/new-delhi/chandni-chowk
nerve wrecking in fact..Delhi got it's slums as well..
this city got such historical value..ruled by Moghuls,British empire..
in the 70's..it was a polluted place...to many car fumes..
watch out in Delhi for scams...very tricky stories..
it's all about folks getting commissions...hotel full story??
and you're booked into another one..I did not get that problem..
because I stayed in a cheap place in Paharganj..
second day...went into the Railways to get info on trains to Jaipur..
I was gonna meet Ruby again tomorrow..I was curious..
will tell you peeps about my trip to Jaipur..
I thought I was gonna stay 3 days in Jaipur...
I ended up..staying..oh well..from august 3th till 26th of september..
in Jaipur alone..got my own room..my own bicycle..
I can tell you peeps..I know Jaipur very well..
crazy Tiger

So..a train trip in India..an adventure..
it's a real vast and huge network..
one needs to reserve a seat..not easy sometimes.
lots of peeps are travelling around in India..
different classes as well..in India..I met the rich..
the poor..the middle class...they were all Indians..
so..I got my seat booked in a 3 tier..they were O.K..
you first have to see the TTE=conductor..
not easy to find your right boogie..and confusing as well..
Indian railway platforms..are vey hectic..you need..
to keep your mind..at the subject..your train..
TTE stands for travelling ticket examiner..funny..
that day..I got my boogie and seat..without help of the TTE..
these TTE's..can be influenced..sometimes..they can arrange a seat..
which is NOT even reserved..for a small bribe fee..
at least..it was like that..in the early 70's..
I guess now..computer age..no way...ahah..
so..the bloody train moved to Old Delhi..via Punjab scenery..
like Jullundhur..Ludhiana..Patiala.Ambala..New Delhi..
rolling country side really..in one of these Punjabi towns..
Hero bicycles are produced..ask any Indian??
so..i reached Delhi again..see for a link on page 25 of my journal..
Delhi..is very confusing..hectic..overpopulated...
it's a bustling city..but..it overwhelmed me in a sense..
but not like Calcutta ever did..I got a connection with that place..
its poverty..but most of all..the Bengali's..they hit my brain..
I stayed this time in a small not to clean hotel in Paharganj district..
i recall an American hippie couple...who had taken drugs..
and got bit of a bummer...if you smoke shit in India..
do it in the countryside..not in a city of 10 million people..
I recall..I was once stoned in Khajuraho..little village..
known for its erotic temple art..I recal sitting on a water tank..
and suddenly..this huge elephant came around the corner..
can you imagine yourself stoned..smoking peacefully..
suddenly this giant...elephant..with tattooed forehead..
flowers..like rangoli...boem..boem..step...step..
oh my God..what a sight..but..it was funny..
I did not get trampled...bwaaahahhh??
Delhi,well peeps..I will tell you later on..
i'm even stoned if I type this now..
old hippie dudes???never change..can't think clearly..
listening to 40 licks from the Rolling Stones..
any other hippies out here???or just posting blabla freaks??
sorry..I'm stoned..keep on track with this crazy Tiger..
that is..if you're into adventures..isn't life an adventure??
woooooaahhh..
Crazy Tiger...

so..next day..hectic day it was...crossing into India..
from Lahore transport towards Wagah border...took a while..
I kind of enjoyed this ride..most Pakistanis never go to India..
it's the old cat/dog game of hate between these 2 countries..
even up till today..they are still at daggers over Kasjmir..
politics,you know...as I said before..no interest..
we passed Shalimar gardens on the way to Wagah..
Mughal designers were masters in garden structures..
on page 25+26 you can read something about this stretch
about Wagah+Amritsar...the crossing into India was bit of
a hassle this time..one has to get exit stamps from Pakistan..
entry stamp for India..visa control etc..takes time..
it depends on the mood of the custom officials as well..
finally crossed again for my second time into India..
awww...I liked this country..it's so vast..so diverse..mystical..
the hippie freaks in the late 60's+beginning 70's..saw in India
sometimes an answer to their mystical/filosofical search..
I guess Ravi Shankar and Woodstock..had an influence on that..
I was a gypsie in hippie shoes...but later on..I developped hippie
beliefs...and I valued them ever after...not easy nowadays??
so..taxi from border to Amritsar town..nothing special really..
one sees these big coloured Indian trucks..masters of the road..
they often brake down...same with all vehicles in India..
roads are full of potholes...mostly in bad condition..
the Indian state of Punjab is a very fertile piece of India..
the Punjabi farmers work hard..get good crops..
it's said..their cows..produce the best milk in India..
Amritsar is a Sikh town..because of the Golden temple..
see links on page 25..lots of hippie freaks stayed in the
free gurdwara there...I went back there..by cycle rickshaw..
oh...cycle rickshaws..another typical thing India..
they all will try to cheat you of course..I spoke enough Hindi
to hassle them in a bit lesser price..kya baat hai??
means something like *what's the matter*
Amritsar town..got history....founded by Ram Das..a Sikh guru.
in 1576 or 1577??there has been lots of gurus..I believe 10??
so..I stayed again in the gurdwara..and I got the shits..bwaah..
i had eaten some cheap food from a roadstall..I had my pills
with me..from Belgium..they were called reasec...
and they worked...next day..my stomach was O.K again..
watch out what you eat in India...and where as well..
the Ram Niwas gurdwara got the langar system..
that means free food+lodging..many travellers took that chance..
so did I this time..I met some old Sikh guards..
funny..but they all recalled British rule as better organised..
the Sardaji's(nickname for Sikhs)made very filling curd..
the langar meals are served out of a bucket..dal/chappati..
Indians make jokes about Sardaji's..but I don't wanna go into that..
I respected these Sikhs very much..it's a good religion..
they all have long hair..in fact..they may NOT cut it..
there woman(sarani's)are very friendly..
beautiful in their salwar kameez as well..
they usually wear..a shawl as well..dupatta,I believe..
the Golden temple..one good advice??
if you cross overland into India.....
just visit this place..it's so nice..
very mystical experience..I believe..I've put links
on page 25 of my journal..check them out for pictures..
Sikhs are fierce people..they were a kirpan(dagger)
reminds me of Baluchi's..don't get into a fight with a Sikh...ahah..
no wonder that they make career in the Indian army..
it was a Sikh guard who killed Indira Ghandi..
their temple was believed to be a center for extremists..
Alkali Dal..it's a group...who fight for independance from India..
they call it Khalistan..will they ever get it??
http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/02guest.htm
well..India gets its fights..look at Kasjmir,Assam nowadays..
killings..bombings..where has this world gone to??
well..i don't know..hippies fought for peace..
make love..not war??they lost their battle as well..
I think in my opinion..they dug their own graves..
drugs??peace??was an utopia in the 60's-70's..
the big political guys..played their games..
just like today..it has worsened in fact..
but...the hippies...it was a group...of folks..
like a family almost..same beliefs..drugs,sex,rock..
that was it,folks...no more then that..some dudes..
went to India...and got so influenced...
ever heard of Ram Dass??just google then..
dope was easily available in India..
they called it bhang..sharash..just name it..
later on in my life..I believe in 1980??not sure??
i made a trip to Kathmandu..a flight from Patna..
in fact with my brother+sister in law..
culture shock for my brother and his wife..
i guess when they were in India with me..they hated it..
they could NOT take the heat..corruption..overpopulation..
well..I could..to a better degree then them..
and I don't regret that..India marked my inside..my soul..
just go there yourselves..then talk to me..you will understand then..
now here..it's only a ranting about names..cities..sights..
India..you got to go there..smell it..absorb it in your soul..
oh..well..get on to your P.C.screens..and type something..
either worthfull..or bullshit..it's all up to yourselves..
chatrooms are nice to..just explore them...and talk sense..
I'll let you know about my train trip from Amritsar to New Delhi..
crazy tiger