India
In and around India
January 11th, 2006
Tickets are bought. Vaccinations done. The Lonely Planet guide at my side. I want to say that there is no turning back now, but that is not true. There are still things that can happen that could prevent me from going. So far though, I'm going.
I don’t know where exactly I’ll go yet. India is so big that five weeks is barely enough time to see a small part of the country. I decided to concentrate on the North, but only time will show where I’ll end up. I have never traveled like that before - never for so long, never without a well-planned itinerary. Right now, I don’t even have hotel reservations.
Well, people - keep your fingers crossed.Well, people- keep your fingers crossed.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Pawel
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1
First Impressions
January 22nd, 2006
I arrive late at night. The airport is still very busy. Hawkers and touts descend on tourists as soon as we are... Continue reading »
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2
Jaipur
What did a camel say to an elephant in Jaipur?
“Watch how you’re driving, you moron.” Then, the elephant responded:
“Sorry,... Continue reading »
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3
Jaisalmer- a Golden City (1)
-My friend, how long you stay in India?
-Five weeks.
-My friend, so you came just for breakfast? Five weeks in India w... Continue reading »
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4
“Na bezrybiu i osioł ryba”- Tales of the Great Thar Desert.
“Na bezrybiu i osioł ryba” [Where there are no fish, even a donkey can taste like one.]
Polish proverb
Continue reading » -
5
Jaisalmer- photo journal
Here are some 20 pictures so you can get a sense of how Jaisalmer looks. I hope you enjoy them, because in the process of taking them I was roughed up... Continue reading » -
6
After a week in India- Lenin’s point of view and other reflections.
January 31st, 2006 10:00 p.m. On the bus to Bikaner.
I left Jaisalmer for the famous Karni Mata temple in Deshnok. Since I had alr... Continue reading »
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7
Karni Mata Temple
They call it the eighth wonder of the world. Karni Mata Temple - the only temple of its kind in India, and I am pretty sure, the rest of the world.... Continue reading »
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8
Rajasthani Wedding
After a week in Rajasthan, it was time to regroup. I was out of slide film, my camera was jamming from intrusive red dust and sand, and all my clot... Continue reading »
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9
Unhappy in Mumbai
I must say, I find Mumbai hard to swallow. It’s a bustling, entrepreneurial city, which is to India what New York is to the U.S. Mumbai is also the... Continue reading »
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10
Kathakali- Excuse me, which planet am I on?
Kathakali is Kerala’s classical dance drama based on Hindu mythology. I was fortunate to see Kathakali performed in Cochin, on my way to Kerala’s b... Continue reading »
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11
Allapey- finding peace and trying to see a larger picture.
I came to Allapey to photograph the backwaters. Imagine Holland in the tropics - a low lying country full of lakes and canals, where even the dry l... Continue reading »
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12
Blind Men and an Elephant
I’m in Varkala, on the southern end of Kerala. Varkala is a pleasant, laid back, little-known backpackers’ heaven. Fellow backpackers say Varkala i... Continue reading »
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13
The City of Joy
After a short flight to Chennai and a 30-hour-long train journey north, I arrived in Calcutta. I left this part of my trip for last, as I knew the... Continue reading »
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14
Nirmal Hriday
Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who... Continue reading »
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15
Where are the mountains?
Darjeeling, a mere 45 minute flight away from Calcutta, reminds me once more that one should not think of India as a nation. It's a world away from... Continue reading »
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16
This is it
This is it. I am sitting at the Delhi airport waiting for my plane to D.C. It means that, unless I choke to death on this last piece of Indian conf... Continue reading »
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