March 29 to April 5, 2001 - 8 days in Himachal Pradesh |
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Back again in hot, stinky Delhi! After 8 days in the fresh, cold climate of the Himalaya Region, Delhi seems hotter than ever before…
Our (Prachi, she is a colleague of mine, and I) trip started in the early morning of March 29. We took the Shatabdi Express - 1st class a/c, pure luxury *g* - from New Delhi Railway Station to Chandigarh. There Pratab and Jagdish from the Snow Farms team already waited for us. Oh yes, I think I should explain you before the purpose of this business trip: Snow Farms is a relatively young team that specializes in off-the-beaten track tours through Himachal Pradesh, an Indian State north of Delhi, next to the Chinese border of Tibet. Our, or better Prachi's assignment was to check out their camps, various farmhouses, experience a Jeep Safari with them and then write about our experiences in the Outlook Magazine and publish the necessary facts for this trip on our website. So, it's more or less advertising for them, that's why the expenses for our trip were paid by Snow Farms and my company. I didn't spend even a single rupee - really a nice way of travelling.
We arrived in Chandigarh at 11:15 a.m. and drove directly to Shogi, where their main camp is located. The drive to this camp was really adventurous - we got into a real heavy hail- and snowstorm - it was really amazing. And it was even more amazing for Prachi as this was her first encounter with snow. When we arrived at Snow Farms we were already quite freezing, as we didn't wear proper clothes. They instantly gave us warm winter jackets, winter pullovers, woolen hats and Chai (tea) - it was a very warm welcome and I instantly felt comfortable there. Afterwards we went to our tent and took a small nap, as our trip from Delhi to Shogi was quite exhausting. In the evening, they served us really yummy, excellent Indian food… actually, they always served us excellent food (for breakfast, lunch and dinner). A big compliment to our cook Rakesh - he really did a good job! The best Indian food I've ever eaten… I'm still deeply impressed.
It was ice-cold outside (approximately -2 (night) to +5 (day) degrees Celsius), therefore we wore 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of trousers, 2 short-sleeves shirts, 2 pullovers, 1 winter jacket and most important our woolen hat *g*. With all these clothes on, we first slipped into our inner (of the sleeping bag) and finally in our sleeping bag. I'll probably never forget this procedure. Actually, Prachi and I laughed every evening / night like crazy about this… it must have been really funny to watch us how we slipped into all this stuff… but probably the most memorable thing was our inner - we spent a lot of time talking and laughing about this inner, hopping around in it and feeling like a kangaroo - crazy!
I never had such a deep, good sleep before in India - I guess it was because of the fresh cold air.
On the next day, we drove via Shimla, Fagu and Narkanda to Thanedar, where we checked out our first farmhouse. The farmhouse was nice, big and clean; next to it there was huge apple orchard. Thanedar is actually quite famous for its apple orchards. We spent two nights in this farmhouse, visited a temple, took long walks… we really had a good time there.
On April 1, we again packed our things together and drove via Narkanda to Ani. There we bought Winter Trekking shoes (for 250 Rs) and woolen socks for our upcoming Snow Trek. We continued our journey passing by wonderful nature, great mountains and the second fastest river in the world, the Sutlej River. Approximately 16 km away from Ani, we found a nice place in the woods for our tents. Actually it was a perfect place for us - enough space for our tents, a small river nearby, a good spot for making bonfire,… it was great! We stayed in this little paradise for two days.
On the next day, April 2, we did a 14 km trek through snow, woods and meadows… although this trek was quite hard, as it was a steady up- and downhill trek and you had to be really careful with your steps as the ground was very slippery, it was fantastic! I was very impressed of the great view and the unspoiled nature. After 7 km we stopped at a small lake (actually we thought it's the lake on the map but later we found out that it wasn't this particular lake. That means we discovered a new lake - what an achievement *g*), making a small break. After a bit of relaxing and eating, we went back to our starting point.
As this day was very exhausting, we did nothing but driving on the next day. Via Ani and Rampur we traveled to Hatkoti - an average town in Himachal but you find a very nice and a couples of centuries old temple there. This place was amazing - you could feel a certain kind of fascinating atmosphere there. Again I was very impressed and even more when I observed a prayer there. It was completely different compared to a mass in a catholic church.
The next day again was dominated by a long drive. We left Hatkoti at around 10 a.m., we drove via Theog and Fagu to Shimla, where we arrived at around 3:30 p.m. A bit later Prachi and I went down to Shimla's famous Mall - the big shopping street with lots of atmosphere. We strolled around and enjoyed the newly-won civilization (after nearly one week of being in the woods and small Indian villages, we kind of started missing people, certain conveniences, etc.)
We spent our last night at Anil's house in Shimla.
On the next day, April 5, we started our journey back to Delhi. Sonu and Anil's son, Sidharth, drove us to Chandigarh - an 4 hours ride by car. In Chandigarh we visited Prachi's uncle, aunt and cousin and at around 5:30 p.m. we got into the train to Delhi.
I don't know if I felt happy or not to be back in Delhi - it was a very mixed feeling: I somehow was glad having my bed, a shower and a proper toilet again, and no more of freezing, but on the other hand, I really liked this trip, especially the Snow Farms team - it was definitely a great experience which I'll never forget.
Last but not least, I want to thank Manju and Puneet for making it possible for me to take part in this trip; Prachi, for all those funny hours (in the car, in the tent,… *g* - we definitely had a good time); and a great thank you to the Snow Farms team: Anil, Sandhya, Pratap, Sonu, Rakesh, and Jagdish!
Weekend April 7 - 8, 2001 |
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Saturday morning before work I had to say goodbye to a very nice trainee from Bangladesh - I was very sad… Yaafi, I'll miss you. I hope I have time to visit you in Bangladesh while travelling around India.
On Saturday I worked till 2:30 p.m., afterwards I went straight to Sarojini Market - a great place to buy all kind of things (clothes, shoes, food,…). After purchasing an Indian-style bed cover I went home, as the heat was nearly unbearable. Back home, I washed some clothes, took a nap and after taking a cold shower, Gosia and I went to the trainee house. We sat together till Maren, Gosia and I felt a bit hungry, so we decided to have dinner at Wimpy's. The way to Wimpy's was ok, but the way back was really crazy (but also kind of funny) - at least, 10 cars stopped (mainly with guys in it - of course *g*), they wanted to ask us out. Anyway, we refused all those offers (what a surprise! I would never go out with total strangers).
At around 1 a.m., we (that means most of the trainees and some Indian guys) drove to a rave at a farmhouse. It was really great there, although I'm usually not very much into Techno music. The atmosphere was really unique and the people were very relaxed. We danced through the whole night, till the early morning hours. At around 7 a.m. Hiten dropped me and Gosia home; after an hour of chatting we finally felt asleep - till 3:30 p.m.
Later in the afternoon, we again went to the trainee house, watched some TV and later we went to Sami's house where we had really excellent Chinese food. At around 1:30 a.m. I finally felt back to sleep.
Although we did nothing special on this weekend (that means no sightseeing, travelling, etc.), we really had a great time!
Have fun,
April 9 - 13, 2001 |
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No major events this week… working, partying, saying goodbye to 4 trainees…
On Monday the new week started - I don't know why, but somehow I was already exhausted on Monday morning at work. Maybe the reason was that I was not satisfied with my work at outlooktraveller. Anyway, we found some new work for me during the week, so work makes sense for me again.
In the evening I went with some friends to the cinema and watched "Miss Congeniality" staring Sandra Bullock as an undercover agent. It was a very funny movie and a nice change in my everyday life.
What else did I do this week? On Wednesday, there was a farewell party at Marc's place - we said goodbye to Maren (a German girl who I liked very much) and to our 2 Wisconsin girls, who are currently traveling around Europe for the next 6 weeks. On Wednesday, we also went to "Djinns", a kind of dance pub - although it was very crowded, we had a lot of fun.
On Friday evening, we said goodbye to Jules from Great Britain, who is travelling through Nepal for the next 2 months.
This week, the heat struck me for the first time - I wasn't able to sleep properly for some nights, that's why I left work earlier on Thursday and had a good nap in the afternoon. On Thursday evening we turned on our room cooler (similar to an a/c but it works with water) for the first time. Actually, I didn't know that this machine is able to work, as it looks like a cooler that wasn't in use for the last 50 years. However, Amrita said that it would work … now I'm wondering why she waited so long to tell us that the cooler is still working. She should have told us at least 3 weeks ago - I could have saved myself all the sleeping troubles. Anyway, now I'm able to find sleep again during these hot days.
On Friday evening I went with Gosia to an Art Exhibition Opening of a German painter at Hauz Khas Village. I met Karsten on Monday on the streets of Safdarjung Enclave, after a short talk he invited me to his exhibition. The exhibition showed portraits of Indian people and scenes about their lives; the inhabitants of Safdarjung Enclave, and kids that may have cleaned your windshield today while stopped at the intersection. We really enjoyed his paintings and the good food there.
Weekend April 14 - 15, 2001 |
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This weekend I went to Jaipur with 13 other trainees, an Indian guy and an Australian girl - that makes 16 people!
The whole Jaipur thing started already on Friday evening. Franziska, a German trainee, was supposed to go with us but somehow her boss at office didn't want to let her go as some stupid work waited for her on Saturday. So we (Jason, Sami, Jens, and I) decided to go with her to her office and finish her work. That means we worked from Friday, 11:30 p.m. to Saturday, 2:30 a.m. on the 270 letters that had to be changed. Finally we made it and Franziska was able to go with us to Jaipur. I guess she was very relieved…
After finishing the work, we didn't go to bed anymore as we had to leave at 4:15 a.m. for the train. The Delhi-Jaipur-Express left Old Delhi Railway Station punctually at 5:15 a.m. - however, we arrived in Jaipur with an hour and half delay (at 12:30 p.m.). During our very pleasant train ride we adopted alone travelling Danielle from Australia. Still at the train station, we called some hotels, hostels,… for vacant rooms - finally we found 3 rooms at Shivam Guesthouse. We turned two spacious 2-bed-rooms into two 6-bed-rooms and one very small 2-bed-room into a 4-bed room.
After occupying our rooms we had lunch, and afterwards we drove to Hawa Mahal, also known as "The Palace of the Winds". The five-storeyed pyramidal building with overhanging latticed balconies is unique in conception and the most recognizable monument of Jaipur. The Palace borders one of the busiest thoroughfares of the city and was used by the royal ladies to view the activity of the marketplace and watch the royal processions passing through the bazaar below without being seen by outsiders. The top of the palace affords a beautiful view of the city.
Afterwards we drove to Jal Mahal, a small palace set in the middle of a small lake. At heart, this may be a nice place but unfortunately the surroundings were not really well kept (garbage everywhere, spoiled lake) - that destroyed the beauty of the place a lot.
Nevertheless, the next sight we visited was exceptionally beautiful. The temples of Royal Gaitor are made of perfectly carved marble and it served as the burial ground for some of the great Kings of Jaipur and their sons over the years. A fort surrounds the temple, which is devoted to Lord Shiva.
After this sightseeing we splitted up and went shopping in the various bazaars of the "Pink City". Gosia, Danielle and I had a good time until we got lost on our way back to our accommodation. We knew it was called Shivam Hotel or Shivam Guesthouse but we didn't know the address or telephone number (how stupid!). First, our Rikshaw driver said he knows where it was but the place he brought us to wasn't our Shivam Guesthouse. A long odyssey followed… however, after 1.5 hours we reached safely our accommodation. After this excitement we had our well-deserved dinner and afterwards we tiredly felt into bed - what a long day!
The Sunday started with a long time of waiting - it's really hard work to coordinate 16 people and make them move… Finally, we left our accommodation at around 10:45 a.m. However, as we didn't want to waste again so much time of waiting (like on Saturday), we splitted up. I spent the day more or less with Marc and Hiten - we had good fun during the day.
First we visited Amber (Amer) Fort, where the Jaipur royal house held court for seven centuries. It is remarkable as much for the majestic grandeur of its surroundings as for its sturdy battlements and beautiful palaces. Throughout the massive fort finely carved lattice-windows, exquisitely painted doorways and halls and finely sculptured pillars crave for attention. We spent around an hour in this great fort, enjoying the beauty of this place.
Afterwards we met Rick, Janne and Jackie for lunch. Strengthened by the delicious food, the six of us went to Jantar Mantar. This astronomical observatory is the brainchild of the builder of Jaipur. The huge masonry instruments were used to study the movement of constellations and stars in the sky. Enormous sun-dials still provide accurate time, and subject to daily corrections, which are displayed on boards everyday, one can set one's watch with precision.
Following, we actually wanted to visit the City Palace, but the high entrance fee deterred us. So we skipped this sight and went back home, where we met the others of our group. At around 3:45 p.m. we left for the railway station, from where our train departed at 4:20 p.m. Although it was very crowded, I had a very pleasant sleep until we arrived in Delhi at around midnight.
Although we wasted so many hours of waiting, especially on the first day, I really enjoyed this trip to the capital of Rajasthan. Another interesting piece of this diverse country, I discovered.
April 16 - 22, 2001 |
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If I could I would like to cross out the last week from my India experience. Unfortunately, the last week was dominated by troubles.
All the troubles started on Monday evening when I started feeling sick - I had headache, stomach ache and some other minor aches - my whole body was more or less in pain. So I went to bed quite early, hoping that this situation would change during the night. Sadly, it didn't. So I stayed in bed the whole Tuesday, feeling miserable. In the afternoon though, I felt a bit better so I decided to buy some food (as I didn't eat the whole day). I just slipped into my long pants and left the room as it was - that means I didn't put my cellular (which I used as an alarm clock meanwhile as Gosia dropped mine 2 weeks ago) into the safe what I usually did. I mean I planned to be back in 15 minutes, moreover Amrita and Deesha were watching TV - so I thought "no problem - I don't have to lock it away". However, when I came back my cell wasn't here anymore. We searched the whole room, every corner, we looked under the beds, and I looked through all my things - nothing, my cellular wasn't here anymore. It must have been stolen… So I asked the girls if they know something. They told me that they left the room for around 10 minutes to have a chat on the rooftop of our house. And somehow I trusted them and still do. I'm sure they didn't take my cell. After several talks to my landlord on Tuesday and Wednesday, I'm definitely sure that he has something to do with the whole incident. He didn't cooperate at all, he lied to me, and he didn't seem to care at all - although I think he should care. After all, it's his house and it must have been somebody from the house, as no stranger has access to this house with its thousand locks and doors. When I told him that I see myself forced to involve the police into the whole thing, he got kind of afraid and he nearly begged not to tell the police the truth as this might ruin his good reputation *hahahaha*. Moreover, he said that the police would come to the house and would investigate in this case and bother the girls… blablabla… I think he was just afraid that the police would find out. That's why I was convinced to tell the police the truth - why should I lie anyway? I've done nothing wrong. So I went to the police on Wednesday evening, Thursday noon, and Thursday evening again. Hiten was so kind to accompany me and do the talking - the police couldn't speak that good English, so I would have faced a language barrier without him. First we told them the truth and they said - as expected - they have to inspect the place, to question all the persons in the house and this could take weeks. So they started persuading me to alter my story (after all, I need the police report just for my insurance), what I finally did. Now, officially, my cell got stolen in the "very crowded market"… I'm not really satisfied with this solution, but glad that all this came to an end.
Due to all these problems, Gosia and I shifted house on Thursday evening - I couldn't stand the whole place anymore. Now I'm living at the trainee house with 6 other trainees - what a great feeling! No curfew, no stupid landlord, no separation anymore - fantastic! Somehow I feel I got my life back - a life without any restrictions… As you can imagine I started enjoying my life again - going out very regularly, sitting together with the other trainees, spending evenings with chatting and playing games,… I feel very good again!
Saturday, I again felt a bit sick, so I stayed home - eating soup and trying to get well again - and I guess I was successful, I feel very healthy again.
Saturday evening we went to an "Indian party" at Jackie's place - it was really great there, everybody was dressed in Indian clothes - both guys and girls. We all looked amazing, I guess *g*! As soon as I have the pictures I have to show them to you.
Sunday, we spent with sightseeing. We started at Raj Ghat - there a simple square platform of black marble marks the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948. The whole Raj Ghat area is now a beautiful park. Afterwards we visited the Gandhi Memorial Museum - there you can learn more about all the aspects of Gandhi's life; a macabre relic is the pistol with which Gandhi was assassinated. This museum is well worth a visit - very interesting.
In the evening, we went to the cinema and watched the French award-winning movie "Taxi". The story was not very exciting but the soundtrack, at least, was very good.
So, that was my week… troubles, troubles, troubles… It can only get better, and I'm sure it will, definitely sure.
April 23 - 29, 2001 |
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In my last diary entry I wrote that it only can get better - and it got better. The last week was great, and the weekend was the high point. Anyway, let's start from Monday ;-)
Monday, nothing major happened - oh yeah, something happened: Oli wrote an email to me saying that he wants to come to India. He already tried to book the flight but unfortunately all the flights back to Vienna in August and September were fully booked - so he's currently on a waiting list for August 16. If he doesn't get on to the flight he won't come - but I hope that everything will work out fine in the end.
Due to the flight problems Oli had, I went to the Austrian Airlines office on Tuesday morning, trying to change my flight - originally, my flight back to Austria is on July 26, but I definitely will not fly back on this date (that's far too early!!!). Now, I'm also on the waiting list for August 16, but if I don't get on to this flight, I will not care too much - I will just continue my travelling - and that's a nice perspective, isn't it?
While waiting for the Austrian Airlines Office to be opened, I got to know this guy called Abdul. I was sitting at Connaught place, reading a book when he came and started talking to me. After a short while, we went to his office that was located nearby and had some water and chai. We chatted like 45 minutes - he told me stories about his whole life and his thoughts. He was a very nice person and again, I was surprised by the hospitality of Indian people. I guess this would never happen in Austria - I mean that someone comes to you and starts talking to you.
On Tuesday evening, we went to "Moet's" - that's a pub in Defence Colony Market. There we celebrated the 25th birthday of our Spanish trainee Marc. In case you read this, Marc: Again, happy birthday and stay as you are! ;-)
On Wednesday morning, I had an appointment with the Austrian Trade Commissioner Dr. Dabringer. I asked him to support me when writing my thesis (about intercultural differences between Austria and India). He was very nice and promised me to help me and provide me with the necessary information. So, now it's my turn…
Wednesday evening, I went with some friends to "Djinn's" - we had great fun there (as usual *g*)
No major events on Thursday - work as usual and in the evening, we again went to "Djinn's" - spending the night dancing to 80s and 90s music and saying a temporary goodbye to Sari (she's currently in Bombay and will then travel to Goa, but she'll return back to Delhi for a few days).
Friday was great, as it was my last working day for the week. After work I shifted rooms in the trainee house - I shifted into Sari's (she left Delhi Friday afternoon) and Thomas' room, as their room isn't that hot as Henning's room. That means that Thomas from Switzerland is my new roommate.
Afterwards I packed my things for the weekend, we went to a rafting camp that is situated 35 km above Rishikesh on the banks of the river Ganges (260 km from Delhi). The whole trip was organized by North East Outdoors - recommended by Jackie, she has been there last year. So, what did we do there? Actually, it hurts to talk about the weekend as we had such a great time there and now I'm back to reality, back to hot and polluted Delhi - sometimes Delhi really sucks…
Actually, it was a weekend of rafting on the Ganges River, but we also played Beachvolleyball, went swimming, sunbathing, sitting around a bonfire, did some trekking, etc. The whole trip started on Friday night, 3 a.m., when we left to the camp (6 hours drive). When we arrived, the N.E.O. team served us a delicious breakfast (it somehow reminded me of my time in Himachal); afterwards we had a Beachvolleyball session on the silver-shimmering beach. At around noontime, we started - after a short introductory briefing - the rafting trip to Marine Drive. On this section of the Ganges we encountered rapids from class 1 - 4, amongst them, Daniel's Dip and The Wall - a good morning rapid session! In the afternoon, we relaxed on the beach, swam in the Ganges (the river here is very clean) and some of us, went trekking. In the evening, we again were served a yummy dinner, followed by sitting around a bonfire. What a nice end to this great day!
Sunday morning started at 8:30 a.m. After having breakfast, we packed our things together, said goodbye to our tents and beach - to our little paradise! Afterwards we drove to Marine Drive and started our rafting trip to Rishikesh. This morning we encountered numerous rapids ranging from class 1 - 4; namely, Sweet Sixteen, Thapar House, Three Blind Mice, Crossfire, Body Surfing, Shivpuri Minor, Return to Centre, Rollercoster, T-off, Golf Course, Club House, Cash Flow, and Double Trouble. My favorite was definitely the Body Surfing rapid. Body Surfing means that you get out of the boat and defeat the rapid by swimming and floating through it - that was such a great experience! I'll never forget this… but I also did like the rafting itself, although after 3 hours of rowing and paddling, my arms started hurting a bit. We also stopped at a rocky beach and did some rock diving - fantastic! I felt like a cliff diver from Acapulco (although our rock was just approximately 10 meters high), anyway, it was awesome!
At around 4 p.m., we arrived at the meeting point, where we had lunch. Afterwards, we drove to Rishikesh, to do some sightseeing. Rishikesh claims to be the "Yoga Capital of the World", the holy Ganges flows through the town - you'll find a lot of ashrams and bleary-eyed sadhus (holy men) there. On the banks of the Ganges, you can watch people washing themselves, make offerings of milk to the river and feed the surprisingly large fish. Another thing worth mentioning in Rishikesh is the large suspension bridge, Laksham Jhula. Unfortunately, we stayed in this lovely town for just a few hours - at around 7 p.m. we left for Delhi, where we finally arrived at 1:30 a.m.
We had such a great weekend and now it's even harder for me to stand the heat and the pollution here in Delhi! But somehow, I'll manage - don't worry!
All the best from the very relaxed
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