Uttaranchal

From Haridwar we took a bus to Rishikesh, which is known as 'yoga world capital'. There is indeed a huge variety of ashrams and schools for different kinds of yoga and meditation. The town itself is located on the Ganges, it's a holy place that attracts devoted Hindus, like Haridwar, but is more tourists-oriented, cleaner and greener. I took a yoga class and it was ok, but I felt like moving away from all the noise around. So, after 2 days we went north-east to a little place called Govindghat, a base for some nice treks. We made the trek to the Valley of Flowers, which is located in altitude of 3500 meters. People all along the way up told us it was closed, but we decided to check this out. The way up was a little hard, but there were amazing views all along. The valley was open, although most of the flowers were sleeping. The season is at August, when all the valley is covered with thousands of different kinds of flowers. However, now it's very nice also, some flowers are already flourishing, lots of birds, and the area is very calm and peaceful. Since there are no visitors, accomodation in the nearby village is very cheap. We had nice time there and came all the way down, to catch a bus to Badrinath, which is one of the most important places for every Hindu piligrim.














The town is very noisy. The temple has beatiful paintings, but there's a 200 meters line of people, waiting from the night to get in. Many baba.

May and June are the season for yatra, the Hindu piligrimage, so thousands of Indian tourists come there. The price for a room in hotel was ridiculous. We walked just 3 km up the hill and came to Mana village. Mana is a real beaty, so quiet and the views are breath-taking. Many tiny temples are hidden up the hills around. There are no formal guest houses, since Mana isn't discovered by tourists (yet). We stayed in a post office in a really luxury room. Just above it was a steep trail up hill, which lead to a little temple. Nice time sitting there, doing meditation, with an astonishing view to both sides of the valley. After relaxing for 2 days, we made a 3-days trek north to Sathwan lake. Mana is the last inhabited place in India before the Chinese border, and there's no food and accomodation on the way. The route is hard to follow this time, because of the snow. We had to take a guide and porter to carry the food. We left Mana at 8:30 at morning and walked along the river. The weather was foggy and sometimes it was raining. We stopped after 8 km in a cave. Inside it was colder than outside. We were sleeping tight together to get warm, but at 4 at morning I was already dying to get out and walk. We left at 6:30. Fog was all around, but around 10 o'clock the sun appeared and the view became happier. All the way was up, after passing some hills we found ourselves in plains covered with grass, flowers and rocks, with running streams around, that afterwards join to big rivers - Ganga and Jamuna. At 16:00, after a really tough way up we reached the hill above the lake. Its shape is triangular, it is believed that the Trimurti, 3 most important gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (reincarnation of Shiva) were meditating there, each one in other corner of the lake. Above the lake there are a few caves, with flags on them.














In one of these caves lives a real nice baba. Unlike most of babas I've met so far, he doesn't intoxicate himself with India's national herbs. His cave is warm, comfortable and peaceful. A really great place for meditation. He stays there for 6 months, and when the cold weather comes (I don't want to think what it means) he comes back down to plain side. We stayed with him for one night and next morning came all the way back to Mana. Now we're heading for next trek - to Pindari Glacier.
Good time, really :)
bom bhole !

Haridwar

I stayed in Delhi for one night on my way north. I liked it much better than Mumbai. It's very clean in Indian standards, much more Western. The roads are good, and that's probably why there's so much traffic. Very crowded in public places, train station in noon is like a huge pack of sardins. There are many parks, with few trees and huge areas covered with grass. Amazing architecture, the Muslims have done great job.

I went to Qutb Minar, some temples and museums, but took only a brief glance at Red Fort and Jama Masjid from outside, because there was blast there just a few days ago. The bazaars are very colourful and crowded, there's a huge variety of goods.

One day was just enough, it's too hot. Yesterday I've arrived in Haridwar, a holy city located on the Ganges, with thousands of piligrims, but a few tourists, most of which go to Rishikesh, just 15 km away. Haridwar is very nice. Although it's a very holy place and a big crowd of babas gather on the ghats, the city is very spiritual and it does not create pressure, like Varanasi. There are temples on hills around the city, a really convenient package tour includes cable car and a bus to travel between them. At evening time there's puja on the Har-Ki-Pairi ghat. Although it's still funny and strange for me to see all this idol worshipping, putting colors, flowers and sweets ahead of stones, and touching statues, I have to admit that it doesn't really matter and the most important thing is the faith the people share, which gives them power. Still, it sometimes seems ridiculous :)

Hot!

I'm back in Khajuraho, M.P. I'm hanging around with my Indian friends, by walking and by bike. There are nice places around I'm planning to visit, some of them I didn't manage to go to last time I've been here. It's very hot now, about 45 degrees, I think. I drink about 10 liters of water a day, and constantly wet my clothes, but all water just evaporates very quickly. At night time and early morning it's better. Now it's weddings' season, there is at least one every day. Buses full of people drive from the villages, bringing family and friends. I'm planning to go to one of these events next week, and then challo to the North.
Happy Independence, Israel! :)

Around Annapurna

Day 1. I've started the trek at April 5, the day before the big strike has begun in Nepal. I've arrived by bus from Kathmandu to Dumre, where I've met Saila (or Chris), a Nepali guide. At first, I was planning to go for an 8-days trek, to Manang and back. We took another bus to Beshisahar, at the east side. The ride on the roof was fun, seeing the villagers working on rice plantations...
Day 2. We started walking at 7 am, on the way towards the mountains, following a river and crossing it several times on swaying bridges. After 4 hours we stopped at Ngadi, and didn't make the way up, since it started raining and the place looked cheap. We went looking around, and I learned some Nepali songs (I was forced to sing).
Day 3. The day was beatiful, we got up early, walked fast, mostly on flat trail with a little bit up, with plenty of stops to rest. The trail is following the river, many waterfalls views on the way. We stopped in Jagat, a shower was a gift from the sky. When I was out, Chris said that there are Maoists who want money for pass. They even gave a receipt.
Day 4. At 5:30 we were on our way. We've entered the Manang district, and in a village named Tal we first saw snow. Although it was pretty hot, there was a lot on the roads and some on the roofs. We stopped in Danaque at 14:30.
Day 5. A relatively short walk with some steep ways up. We passed Lamjung mountain, and I made a picture of Annapurna just before the check post in Chame.


















There were 7 Israelis in Chame that night, as far as I've counted. Invasion :) I've decided to try going through Thorong pass, and complete the circuit.
Day 6. It was raining at morning, we started walking at 7:30. The plants changed, only pines left from the trees. We passed Pishang at 11. It started snowing, and it just became stronger as the time passed. At first, the snow was melting in the dirt on the road, but after a few hours all was covered with white, and it became very cold. Walking was very good, I felt full of energy. We stopped at Humde.
Day 7. We passed Manang, and walked for 2 more hours. We stopped in Yak Kharka, about 4000m altitude. All was snow around. Weather was nice, freezing at night, but at noon it was good to walk with T-shirt. Lot of hand made stuff sold on the way, but I didn't buy any, since there's a long way up :)
Day 8. It was hard walking in morning. Bells ringing in the ears, very difficult to get full breath. All the way is up, sometimes steep. We left at 5:40, stopped at 8 in a little tea shop. The prices in the mountains are very high, since it takes many days to bring food up there. The rooms are cheap, or for free. There's a clear difference between Nepali price and Tourist price. I'm lucky to have Chris, who made all the orders for me. I found out that I have no altitude sickness medicine. I wasn't sure that I had altitude sickness, but in any case I've decided to try some Nepali herbal medicine. Maybe the garlic soup helped, but I've managed to walk more for 2.5 hours, slowly, but confidently. The weather was beatiful, sun was shining and clouds seemed close enough to touch them. Mountain peaks around. From plants only some thorns left. We passed Phedi, and saved about 300 m from tomorrow's walk up, stopping at Thorong High Camp. I intended to make the pass tonight (Seder Night :)).


















Day 9. We started walking at 2:45 am. The weather was clear, no wind and not cold. After 1 hour walk we got up 200 m. It was hard, all the time I wanted to sigh. After 1 min walking we had to rest for 3 min. After drinking some tea in a tiny teashop, we walked up for 1.5 more hours. The moon has gone, it was dark and VERY cold. When we reached the pass, the sun was already up. I wanted to take some pictures, there was a sign there, saying 'You're now on Thorong Pass, 5400 and something meters', or something like that. I hardly managed to take out the camera, and had to remove my gloves with my teeth. After 3 attempts I've succeeded to turn it on, but setting the timer was too difficult for me. I made some pictures of the view, almost fainting, and used my teeth to get the gloves back on.
The way down was very beatiful and great fun. It was always a surprise to fall in the snow. Although the altitude was still about 5000 m, breathing came easily, so I guess everything is in mind. We arrived at Muktinath at 10:30. I have to say that it seems very hard to do the trek on the opposite direction, the way from Muktinath to the pass is steer up, and it's like 10 hours of hard walking... suicide, but there are people who do this. Muktinath was nice place to rest and buy some authentic Nepali stuff. Great apple pies, too :)
The next day, we went down to the valley, which is waste land with rocks, some villages here and there. Very strong wind. We continued walking for 2 more days on a flat road. Lots of trees and plants were around, the weather was hot. The strike was still going on, very much reminding of Yom Kippur - only ambulances and bicycles on streets. We managed to get to Kushma, and tried to bribe an ambulance driver to get us to Pokhara. The price he was asking was unreasonable, so we decided we would walk. On the way, a UN jeep caught up with us.
- Good day sir, - I said to the driver, - can you please give us a ride?
Inside the jeep, except the driver (who looked Indian), there was a Western couple (looking British).
- I'm sorry, - the driver said, - I'd like to, but it's not our policy.
- I see, - I said. - But there's no transportation, maybe you can help us?
- I'm sorry, - the driver said. - It's not our policy. I hope you understand. Please don't mind. - And he was gone.
It was easy walking on asphalt, but the boring road made me very tired. The roads were blocked by Maoists, trucks and buses that broke the strike were hit by rocks. We arrived at Pokhara at April 18. There was curfew in the city, although people didn't really take it seriously. When the soldiers appeared on street, they hided, and shops were closed (or half closed). On the Lakeside, the tourist area of Pokhara, business was almost as usual, I was able to change money. We stayed for 3 days in Chris' relatives' house, and started walking to Dumre, where the rest of my luggage was. The road took 2 days, we managed to buy bikes on the second day, so it was fun. I stayed at Chris's home, in Dumre, and waited for the strike to stop. There were big rallies and riots in Kathmandu, 20 people died. Meanwhile, we went looking around, there was a big cave on a hill near the village, can easily get lost inside. At last, at April 25 the transportation started, after the 7-Party Alliance accepted the king's proposal to re-establish the house of representatives in the country. However, the Maoists were still continuing with their struggle. I'm really doubtful if they will ever agree to a peaceful solution. As far as I know, a part of their idea is to come to rule with the help of civil war, and in no place in the world they did it other way. I left Dumre the next day, on a bus to Narayangad, from where there was another bus, to near the Indian border. The bus stopped after 2 hours. The road was blocked with 2 trucks and piles of rocks. I was really desperate. I had money for only 1 day, and I had no idea where to go. After 2 hours waiting, a message from God arrived in a shape of an old white Toyota, with 2 Austrian tourists. I couldn't ignore the message, so I joined them. The driver took us through fields of mud, with the help of local villagers who pushed the car out, and we managed to pass the road block. After that, the road was pretty easy. We stopped just to fix a tire-puncture and to attent a Maoist rally in some village. There were like 20 young soldiers, looking very serious and highly motivated. The Maoists were very welcoming, maybe because I clapped for some of the speakers. We got to Sunauli border at 6 pm.
I was so relieved I got out! I loved Nepal very much, but the current situation really makes travelling there a fucking mess. Next time it will be better, I hope. Now, I'm back to Varanasi, enjoying fast connection and a lot of transportation. One thing for sure, the strike was very good to the ecological situation in Nepal. Getting again into all the mess on the streets here was a shock, but I'll get used to it again :)

Thamel, Kathmandu

First two days here are good. Walking around most of the day. After 30 min walk from the center, arrived to the Swayambunath Stupa, also known as 'Monkey temple'. Long stairs up and there's a big pagoda with Buddha's eyes on each side in the center, and smaller and different temples around . Lots of people, monkeys, doves and dogs. Although it's a stupa, a Buddhist monument, lots of Hindus hanging around, making pooja, so it's very mixed up. Nice view on the city. I've got down the hill, following the tourist map they gave me at the guest house. Some walking and I've reached a big square, also many temples. Mui, mui...
Bus to Bhaktapur, village nearby the city. The entrance is Rs. 750, for his majesty's good life. He's not very popular. As I've heard, he shot to death all his family or something like that to make sure he's the real king.
Today at morning, when I saw a communist demonstration in the street, and also a big strike is about to begin.
But people are nice :))
In Bhaktapur there are many temples. Also a Tibetan painting school, people draw mandalas for meditation. Back to the city, and a bus to Pashupati, a very big Hindu temple. The amount of temples is depressing, but this one was really special. It's located on a river, and people cremate the bodies on the ghats. Many monkeys, bells and trees. Now back in Thamel, the center. Also a Chabad house here, with Bisly and Bamba and Israelis.
Les Israeliens :)

Darjeeling

I'm spending most of the time wandering around that little town. All the main streets are parallel, connected with stairs and steep lanes. The weather is chilly at morning, comfortable at daytime, and becomes cold afternoon and freezing at night. Carrying that heavy bag with me is starting to pay off, at last, all that thermal clothing really does a good job. The sky is very foggy, so not much is seen from above the hills of the city, of course not the snowpeaks.
Today, I went to the opposite side of the town. On the way there's a big combined Buddhist-Hindu temple, which gave the name to the town ("Dorje" is Tibetan for enlightment, "Lingam" is a symbol of Shiva). This was really beatiful and special - thousands of prayer flags surrounding Hindu buildings. People inside are repeating texts from scriptures, and ring the bells that hang from the gates each time they come in and out.



The park around is a really nice place, too. Lots of monkeys...
Tea plantations down the hill can be seen from the street. The town is famous for its tea, there are lots of shops offering different tastes and blends. The classic one was good for me :)



The zoo isn't very big, but very it's very clean and the animals look well-treated. (Although that jackal going from side to side in his cage seemed like he has more interesting things to do, but what the hell...)
Red panda:



In the end of the zoo, there's a Himalayan Mountering Institute, lots of material and exibits concerning the mountain climbing and Everest expeditions.
Yesterday, I booked a flight ticket for Nepal. Tomorrow I should go back to Siliguri and get on bus to the border, a town named Kakabitta. If everything goes well, I'll spend the night there and fly to Kathmandu the next day. I really don't have much information about Nepal, some stuff from the I-net... but as I've discovered, guidebooks don't help as much as local people and other tourists. Challo Nepal... :)

Nice !

Just saw a solar eclipse in Darjeeling :) Was it all over the world?
Also, I heard there were elections in Israel. What's going on?
Did the good guys win?
...
Anyway, today I've left Sikkim and came to Darjeeling, a pretty crowded place,
but tourist-friendly. Big market, lots of hotels and restaurants. Very European kind
of buildings, probably English. Very cold ...
...
first three weeks: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenchik

Tashiding, Sikkim

Sikkim is a beatiful little state, lying in mountains covered with forestes, that hide ancient monasteries, quiet lakes, small villages, hot springs and steep trails. The weather in the mountains is unpredictable, in the morning there's often sun, the sky is clear and the Himalaya can be seen.














In the afternoon it can suddenly change and become very rainy. The people that live here are different: many Nepali, some Tibetan-like, called Lepcha and Bhutia, all very friendly and calm, probably because of the mountains :)





















Travelling around is most comfortable by shared jeeps, walking allows to see beatiful views of mountains, rivers and waterfalls, but carrying a heavy bag really diverts the attention from the landscapes to the unpleasant body sensations.
Stopping from time to time is a big relief and after the breath and heart beat become lighter, the views around astonish with wild tranquility and peace.
India invests a lot in the infrastructure of the state - most of the roads are in good shape, hotels are being build in villages, and probably in a few years these isolated places will see many more tourists.
I am travelling around Sikkim for a week with a Dannish guy, named Per, whom I've met in Gangtok, the capital of the state, day after arriving from Varanasi. We moved by jeep to Pelling and stayed there for two days, went to the nearby Pemayangtse monastery and the ruins of Rabdentse, Sikkim's ancient capital. From Pelling we went by foot down the hill and up again, total 20 km, to the Khecheopari lake, which is believed to have magic powers. It was raining when we arrived, and there was no electricity. We stayed overnight in a little room nearby the lake. Next morning the weather became better, we walked to Yuksom, the distance was shorter, but the trail much steeper, so we didn't believe when we actually reached the place. Yuksom is a really nice place. There's a little lake, perfect for meditation and watching the snowpeaks. One of the village's sights is a coronation throne, made of stone, with three seats. It's located in a middle of a garden with gigantic trees, probably hundreds of years old. The other is the Dubdi monastery, the oldest in Sikkim, high above the village. There are so many colors inside the monasteries, not a single part of the wall remains unpainted or uncovered by miniaturistic paintings of lamas, demons, animals, saints, and scenes from the scriptures. Metal statues of Buddha and Tibetan lamas watch from behing the glass.
From Yuksom we took a jeep to Tashiding, a tiny and friendly village, and now we are here, resting from trekking. Many good places for vipassana here, too :)
bolenat...

Challo

Today leaving Varanasi, going north-east, town called Siliguri, from which it's possible to get to Sikkim state and also to Nepal and Bhutan. I'm quite bored here, so it's a good timing.

Rooftop

Chilling out in Varanasi.



There's not much to do actually, but it's a good place to relax. Staying close to the Ganges, wake up early, watch the river, people taking shower or burn bodies.



Then, take a walk on the streets of old city... It's becoming hot, so it's good just sit at rooftop or somewhere cool.

At afternoon, the sky is full of kites. They seem to be everywhere, sometimes fighting with each other or just stay high in the air.



Also, plenty of monkeys on the roofs. There are really families of them there. Sometimes they come very near, also want to have good time, some coconuts :) Yesterday these two took a pair of pants from the roof with them.



At 18:30 starts the pooja, everyday ceremony. Its purpose is to make the river stay in its borders and not come into the city. There are 6 brahmin men, who make it with incense, candles, fire, bells, and every night a lot of people come to watch this.



Also, many many tourists here... But it's much easier than Mumbai, people are different. Lots of Hebrew signs, and some Indians speak Hebrew as well.
Holi is to start today evening, and tomorrow it's colour time :)

bolenat sapkesat... :)

Varanasi

Our trip to Ajaigar and Kalinjar ended unexpectedly. The day we left Khajuraho on a motorcycle was really cloudy, and it seemed like rain was about to begin. We reached the Kan river, put the motorcycle on a boat, and went to the other side. That was fun :) Than it began raining, we stopped in a village where Govinda's (my Indian friend) relatives live. The people in this village have never seen tourists, so after I took out my camera, the whole village gathered around. For them, taking a photo is a big (and expensive) event, and developing it takes much time, so they were very excited seeing the result right after shooting. The Indian hospitality is really amazing, in many houses people asked us to stop, sit, drink chai and so on. We spent the night in the village, hoping the rain would stop in morning... but it didn't, it only became stronger. This is really bad for farming there, people are very dependant of the weather. We decided to go back, because climbing the mountains in this weather was impossible. Riding the motorcycle in rain in rural roads was not a pleasant experience, but a few times we just stopped in villages, asked people to sit by the fire, get some heat. In these moments it really became obvious how little a man really needs... Sitting by the fire is really great :) We returned in evening to Khajuraho, and the day after took a bus to Satna, from where there's a train to Varanasi. It's really great travelling with Indian people. After arriving to train station, we went to eat dinner, so they just went into some place, that doesn't look like a restaurant at all, no sign or anything, but the service was really fast, and the food was delicious. The train left at 21:00 (a hour late), so we arrived at Varanasi in 6:30, went to a really nice guest house, nearby the Ganges. Varanasi is a big city, one of the most holy places to the Hindu religion. The Holi festival is going to take place here in the 14th of March, meanwhile we'll travel around the ghats. There are also supposed to be many Israelis here, so I should expect many talks of the kind "where were you in the army."
Now I'm taking some rest from the trip, took a shower and did yoga on the rooftop, later we'll take a walk on the ghats.
Have a happy Purim and take care!

Ram ram!

Good morning :) Everything is good here. Two days ago, there was a blast in Varanasi, very lucky of me to delay the trip there. Here all is quiet, we're travelling around the villages, planning to go to Ajaigar and Kalingar, it's about 40 km from here, places where the maharajas lived in the mountains... Two days ago I've met an amazing man, his name is Rajendra, he's a master of wood carving. Hi sits in his shop, with his little son, working all day, making beatiful sculptures from avoni tree roots. The wood is very hard, it's a very dilligent work, each piece takes about 5 days to make, so he said. He works just like his father and grandfather did, although now he can sell his masterpieces to tourists and rich Indian people. In the old days, this art was used to religious ceremonies and dancing. We've also been to his house... Very nice man, quiet, smile's always shining on his face :)
Anyhow, still don't know about that Varanasi trip... Prefer to stay where it's quiet, although it's becoming really hot :) See you later!

Khajuraho

Namaste :) Took me some time to return to the net... I'm staying in Khajuraho, now for the fifth day. Khajuraho is a quiet village, pretty isolated, but it has one of India's main attractions - the erotic temples, so it's a very touristic place. The buses with groups come at morning, people go to see the temples (they have some really wicked stuff, wait for the pictures to be uploaded :), and leave afternoon. I felt like doing this also, stay for maybe one day, maybe two days, and leave to Varanasi... but then it hit me.. I'm not here to learn history and shoot pics (not only, anyway). I came to see the life around, learn the way people live, enjoy beatiful landscapes! I've met some really great Indian people, who show me places around. We come to these villages, where people don't see tourists at all, so it's a big event, but I just sit there and understand, that I am just like them, maybe different in color and language, but we share the same basic things... and village people know how to enjoy simple life, bathing in river, watching sunrises and sunsets, live in the nature... Being in these places really took me back to my childhood, when I was riding a bike in the forest, and there was just this enourmous big world, and me, a tiny part of it..
Anyway, no pictures yet... just got them all burnt on cd, just wait... meanwhile, I'm wandering around, drinking chai, eating chapatis, talking with nice people :) Tomorrow, I plan to leave this place and go to a village not far away, to which my Indian friend invited me, and from there, we'll head for Varanasi. I love India :)

Orchha

Yesterday was kind of a weird day. I was supposed to get on this really fast express train that should have got me to Jhansi, near Orchha, but it was late, and I got by mistake on an Indian passengers' train. This was because Indian way to say 'yes or no'. I'm used that 'yes' is knodding the head, 'no' is turning the head from side to side, but in India they have this light shaking of the head, which can mean 'yes', 'no', 'beatiful', 'get the hell out of here' and so on. They have also the same word for hello/good bye, tomorrow/yesterday, so go figure what they mean. Anyway, this train was really crawling and I had no idea where it was going. Luckily there was a guy speaking English, so he explained to me I should change trains in a station named Bina. So I did, and in the next train I got on, I had no seat reserved, so my destiny was travelling in the Indian style, between wagons. It was lovely, except of the smell. So, I saw some of India's countryside, and the whole journey to Orchha took about 8 hours. A guy named Vitesh sitting nearby, really got it shorter for me. He was really interested in how are things in Israel, and told me some things about the Indian ways. Indians, especially educated, really treat foreigners with respect, and do their best to make it easier for them. Eventually I got to Orchha at evening, booked a really great room in a hotel. It's like a palace, although the price is funny, and it's really in Western style (toilets, bathrooms, etc.). I shouldn't get used to this luxury though, it will spoil me.

Orchha is a really nice village, full of temples and palaces. Although it's a tourist spot, people don't make bad use of this fact. I got up early this morning, watched the sunrise over the big palace, called Jehangir Mahal, and then went to see all the interesting sights. The palaces and temples are from 16th century, some of them have very beatiful ceiling paintings. It's amazing that although there's really a lot of dust and garbage around (and probably was back than), all these places are very well preserved. The market in the village is full of life, there are stands selling flowers and sweets for people who come to the Ram Raja temple, optimistic beggars in orange clothing, that are willing to be photographed for a small charge and so on.
Today I'm going to stay here and find out about ways getting to Khajuraho, tomorrow.

Still in Sanchi...

At sunrise I went to the famous stupas of Sanchi. It's a beatiful, peaceful and powerful place. It has several stupas, but the first one is the biggest. It was built by emperor Ashoka, after he decided to follow Buddha's teaching. I guess this is the same Ashoka, that I heard about in evening discourses in vipassana course. He was called 'Ashoka the Terrible', and led a lot of cruel wars, but after learning vipassana he understood he's just harming himself. So his enlightment was so powerful, he then was called 'Dhamma Ashoka' (Dhamma is the teaching of Buddha). He sent teachers to spread vipassana from India to another countries and built this beatiful stupa.




















Except the big stupa, there are a few smaller ones, and also some monasteries.
After this site, I went to Sanchi market, hired a bike and made my way to Udaigiri caves (just can't get enough of them, I guess). The road is really tough, and also there are like thousand Indian people, mostly children that wave and cry out 'Hello' and expect to get feedback. Many of them love to be photographed as well.

This trip made me really tired, but it was quite an experience. So I went to these caves, did some climbing.















Actually, only one cave is worth visiting this place, but there's also a garden nearby, very peaceful. It's like a park, actually, lot of trees has signs on them, with their Hindi, English and Latin names. So, I found this rubber tree and laid down nearby for an hour. There was noone in this place, only birds, it was great.
Came back afternoon, really tired, and very hungry. Nothing compares to home-made Indian meal, with some banana lhassi after it!
Just found out that the express train to Jhansi is going to be here only at Thursday, so I'll stay for one extra day. Before Khajuraho I intend to get to Orccha, which is also a really cool place, as people say. Few tourists are here, very nice people. Yesterday I've met a British girl, a French guy, and even one Estonian girl. I haven't many any Israelis yet, except for the plane, and can't say I'm complaining :) Probably going to see a lot of them in Varanasi... They don't have a nice reputation, so I'm doing my best to change it.

Sanchi

We've arrived to Jalgaon by bus from Ajanta (me, an British girl named Jessica, and an Italian guy named Sergio), after travelling in the caves. The caves are really amazing, I've enjoyed more than in Ellora, also because we got to Ajanta early, so it was less hot, and also it takes less climbing. The caves are in different style, with wall paintings. They have so many details, there are hundreds of figures in each one, and every one has its part in the story. The guides in the place know all about it. There's this painting of Buddha, after his enlightment, coming as a monk to his wife and grown-up son, after not seeing them for years, begging for food. They were probably very surprised to see prince Gautama like this... We left the caves at about 15:00, and went to Jalgaon. My train was late at night, and so was Jessica's, so we decided to rent a room in a hotel and wait there, because waiting in the train station wasn't really pleasant. We went to this hotel, recommended by LP guide. The owner was so nice, willing to help in any problem.
So I left at nigt for Bhopal. Luckily for me, I looked in a train window at 9:00 am, and saw this English sign 'Bhopal' in the station, so I figured I should probably get off. I've went straight to the bus stand and finally, arrived here, at Sanchi, which is a quiet and peaceful village, located in a junction of two roads. The trip at bus took about two hours (it's only 40 km away, but the roads are not in the best shape).
It's so great to get out of the city mess at last. Although the facilities here are really basic, the "shanti" in this place really compesates for it. I have a room, finally did some yoga, first time since I've been in India. So good to hear all that KNACKS coming out of the back after the train and bumpy bus travelling! Today I won't to anything, just rest... Tomorrow at sunrise I'll go to see the famous Sanchi stupa (it's a pagoda, a place where Buddha's relic is), and maybe rent a bicycle and travel around a little bit. I'm going to stay here for at least two days, and then head for Khajuraho.

Aurangabad

I've been now two days in Aurangabad, which is eastern than Mumbai. Was very glad to get out of there, actually. After booking train tickets, I've spent the whole day in a taxi tour around Mumbai, and got to see some of the shocking stuff in the streets... Anyway, I've arrived in Aurangabad at 4am, and immediately taken by a riksha driver to some hotel not very far away from the train station. The next day my and an Italian couple made a tour in the city. It has nice Buddhist caves, which don't see many visitors. It also is very big industry of Himroo, which is kind of silk mixed with cotton. We were taken to see a Himroo factory, it was quite interesting.
I met a really nice auto-rikshaw driver, named Ashok, which was kind enough to give me some advice around the city, and helped me with planning my way north a little bit. He didn't want to take any money for that, either! In the evening, I've left this hotel and moved to a cheaper one. It's a dormitory, called Youth Hostel, and it is run by a very kind woman, named Frida. I got a nice sleep. Today, I went to see Ellora caves, which are 20km away from the city, they have Buddhist, Hindu and Jain carvings. Very impressive, very beatiful, although I've got really tired.
Tomorrow, I take a bus to Ajanta, which is known for its caves (yes, more caves!!), and from there, I'll continue to Jalgaon. From Jalgaon, I've booked a train ticket to Bhopal, which is in another state, called Madhya Pradesh (now I'm in Maharashtra). The computer I'm working is really slow, so I won't upload any pictures yet. See you around!

Namaste!

Finally, I've landed in Bombay! The flight was rough, so I'm very tired and not shocked as much as I expected... Everything is very different here, but it's not as horrible as I was told. Although they have like 20 million people here, absolutely no traffic rules, cows and goats on streets, very warm weather (35 degrees, no less)... I can manage it.














The first goal after arriving here was to get to the Chhatrapati Shivaju Terminus, or CST. That's a big railway station, from which I plan to take a train to Aurangabad. I took an auto-riksha, which is a funny vehicle: it has 3 wheels, but the maneuvering the driver does with it is unbelievable. Usually, there are no lanes painted on the road, and when there are, nobody gives a shit about them. Also, the drivers here like to use their horn very much, probably because most of the cars don't have mirrors at their sides. So, after going sometime on auto-riksha, I switched to a cab, and finally (after like 1.5 hours) reached the train station. This place looks very European, kind of Victorian palace :)














Luckily, there's counter for tourists, and I bought my ticket pretty quickly. I'm going tonight, on 21:05, in first class! There's not much to do until then. I dont wanna put my stuff in left luggage in the station, because it's closed in the time of my train. So, I'll hang around with the Lonely Planet a little bit ...

Hello, world!

I think this blog will be mostly dedicated to my upcoming trip to India. I'll try to write in English, hope this will work out ok :)

Happy Tu-bi-Shvat!