The last days in India I spent in McLeod Ganj and Chandigarh. I took a Tibetan cooking class and finished the website for the Tashi Choeling monastery. They even gave me a little farewell present. I still have not figured out entirely what it is, but nevertheless I was really happy about it! In Chandigarh I stayed with my friend Anuj again and celebrated Diwali with him and his family. That was awesome. The flight back Read more…
My India trip has reached the second half. I am in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala again right now. This is the place where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government live in exile. Unlike last time, I did not meet the Dalai Lama this time. Nevertheless, I absolutely love this peaceful place. I took a Tibetan massage course in which I learned a lot about the human physiology. Apart from that I explored some very Read more…
After Hampi I went by night train to Bangalore. I reached Bangalore early in the morning. I slept well on the train and was in a mood as good as one can be at 6 am in the morning. However, when I got off the train station and got the first impression of Bangalore, I was shocked. I have seen a lot of India, but Bangalore made me turn around instantly and buy another train Read more…
Sitting in an internet café on such a hot day is a relief – trust me. A lot happened since my last post. From Goa I went to Hampi by bus and surprisingly there were almost only foreigners on the bus. It was a nice change and I made some travel-buddies, because a lot of them just stayed in the same hostel as I did. That happens often during my travels, because everybody seems to Read more…
I am back in Goa again – finally I made it! Since I was here the first time in 2004, I always wanted to come back! After seeing the Ajanta & Ellora caves near Aurangabad, I went to Pune. Pune is a thriving IT city near Mumbai. Unfortunately the weather was really bad and it rained heavily. I only stayed 1 ½ days in Pune, but could not visit any sights due to the weather. Read more…
After participating in a Bollywood movie in Mumbai, I went by night bus to Aurangabad. I had decided to go there last minute. Thus, I only got a seat right in the front next to the driver’s cabin. Initially, I thought this is good, because I can see more of the landscape and have more leg space. I was right about only one thing: I saw more. However, driving up to the Deccan plateau at Read more…
I am back in India! I arrived last Friday night and instantly had a lot of memories coming back to my mind. The taxi ride from the airport to the dodgy hostel, where I stayed the first nights, was impressive once again. The diversity in everything is exciting. Not just speaking of poverty and slums, but especially of colors. It seems like almost everything that can be found in India, can be found in Mumbai, Read more…
The days I did not want to think of have arrived. Tonight I will arrive again in Chandigarh. Tuesday and Wednesday, I will have to pack all my stuff and say goodbye to everyone I have grown fond of. That will definitely not be easy! I cannot even imagine to be back in Germany in less than a week. On the one hand I am looking forward to coming back to Germany. On the other Read more…
The last nine days I have been far from internet and far from civilization at all. As I wrote in my previous post I joined a very international group for a trek to Goecha La. The group consisted of three women from the US, Great Britain and Switzerland and two other man from Canada and France. Together we went up to the Goecha La viewpoints at around 5.200 m. On the summit day we were Read more…
Unfortunately, my final vacation is over. I used the three weeks I had left for a trip to the northeast of India. From Delhi I want to Bagdogra / Siliguri by airplane. Then headed on to Darjeeling and Gangtok. There I arranged for a trek to Goecha La, from where I saw the Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. Last but not least I went to Kolkata. It is unbelievable that these three Read more…
Thursday, I had the opportunity to go to the cricket match between India and Pakistan. Here, this is more important than a football match between Germany and Holland! However, Indians do not really create a passionate atmosphere in the stadium. Thus, I took over the role of an animator. As a foreigner, especially white guy in an Indian cricket shirt, this is not very difficult. Just for fun I started a Mexican Wave with my Read more…
Since the big trip to Goa, I have not been on large weekend trips. Last Sunday a small group of us drove by bus to Kasauli. It is a very quiet place about two hours from Chandigarh. The town is not exciting, but very relaxed. As I have seen many of the big tourist spots that are within a weekend’s range, I start to like these small places. I went there with Rajes, Libby and Read more…
This part takes off exactly a day after part I. Old Goa – My Date with St. Francis Xavier The journey to the Dudhsagar Falls was great, but exhausting. Therefore, I decided to take a timeout and spent the next morning on my own. I went to Old Goa, which was once a thriving Portuguese city. Old Goa is still full of well-preserved Christian architecture. Of course, I did not drive there without a reason. Read more…
It is very difficult to get back to work in Chandigarh after being on vacation for 2.5 weeks. We went to Goa for Christmas and New Year. The vacation was great and there is a lot to tell. However, first of all, we were completely spared by the giant tsunami that hit the entire region in south east Asia! We are all ok and apart from several power outages nothing happened to any of us. Read more…
Last weekend we finally were in Agra. The entire time, Agra was the most important destination for me here in India. The reason is the Taj Mahal, which is located in Agra. As mentioned in the post on Jaipur ‘Mahal’ means palace. In Jaipur I saw the Hawa Mahal (Place of Winds) and Jal Mahal (Water Palace). In Agra the Taj Mahal means nothing less than ‘Crown of the Palace’. Although the name sounds big Read more…
Following the Beatles Last weekend we went to Rishikesh, which is well-known for being the birthplace of Yoga. Back in the days, the Beatles spent some time here. I assume for various reasons, but who knows. Today it is an epicenter for Yogis around the world. Indeed, we saw many ‘Hippies’ there. We, however, did not go there for Yoga, which I went to a couple of times in Chandigarh, but for rafting in the Read more…
Firing the Cleaning Guy A lot has happened here in the last two weeks. First of all, I asked our landlord to dismiss the cleaning guy. He had stolen at least 30 € from me little by little. That may not sound a lot, but is actually 20% of my monthly salary! The man was not stupid. He used to take only 500 Rs (10 €) at a time. In the beginning I thought I Read more…
Off to Jaipur for Diwali Last weekend was the Diwali weekend, which meant Thursday and Friday were off. Diwali is the biggest festival in the Indian culture. It is like Christmas and New Year’s Eve together. Since my work colleagues indicated that the best place in India to celebrate Diwali was Jaipur, we had to go there. Jaipur is a 12h bus ride away from Chandigarh. The bus leaves in the evening and arrives in Read more…
First Time in Delhi Last weekend we went on a trip to Delhi. Delhi is the capital of India and in terms of population one of the largest cities in the world. Officially, Delhi is supposed to have 12 million inhabitants, but unofficially Indians even speak of 20 million or more. My expectations of Delhi were not very high due to the stories of other people (some of whom also live there). In short, a Read more…
Last weekend was a longer one and so we went to Dharamsala, a town in the Himalaya foothills. A bit similar to Shimla, it is located 2000 m above sea level. There is the exile seat of the Tibetan government and especially of the Dalai Lama. After some struggle in the beginning it turned out to be an amazing weekend and we were extremely lucky to meet his holyness, the Dalai Lama. Queuing in India Read more…
Since many asked me, what I do at work, I want to tell you a little bit about it. In the beginning I had nothing at all to do, except to teach myself PHP. That was too dull for me, so I joined the only SEO person in the company. SEO means Search Engine Optimization. The whole point is to optimize websites, so that they are listed on top for certain keywords on Google or Read more…
Last weekend the time had finally come. Claudia and Ralf, my close friends from Germany, came to visit me in Chandigarh. It was not easy to pick them at the train station, because once again I was the only foreigner there. Of course, I was immediately spotted by a beggar boy. As always, I arrived much too early and additionally the train was late. Thus, I had to deal with the beggar boy for about Read more…
During this week I thought it was getting colder, but that was only because I was already at work by 8 am and came home by 7 pm. Yesterday and today I was finally outside during the day and it is still as warm as in summer in Germany. However, it is pleasant, because it is not so humid anymore. Rickshaw Experiences I want to tell you a few things about Chandigarh and life Read more…
Last weekend I went on my first trip in India. We went to Haridwar, a very holy city for the Hindi. It is dedicated to the god whose symbol is the swastika. It is very weird walking around a town where you see swastikas everywhere. Haridwar itself is not very beautiful. Actually, it is a typical Indian city – loud, dirty and hectic. I have to admit, I was happy to be back in Chandigarh Read more…
I just got back from some weird rickshaw ride. The driver had no hands on either arm! For those who do not know – rickshaws are bicycle taxis. I only realized the missing hands when we were going already. However, despite initial concerns, it turned out that it is possible to ride a bike or rickshaw without hands. My first week in India is over and I have to say that I like it here. Read more…
First of all, I would like to tell you that I am well. After quite a long journey I made it to Chandigarh in one piece! I arrived at Delhi airport around midnight and was picked up by an AIESECER named Anuj, who also helped me to collect my train ticket later. Before that we waited 10 hours at the airport, because the hall there had air-condition. Then we took the bus to Delhi. The Read more…