India V

26-9-2000

This time I'm flying with Kuwait airways (first time). The plane is an A340, which I never flew in before either. The audio and video are reasonable, a separate screen for each passenger, common in airbuses. The public announcements interrupt the shows frequently (they like announcing things at Kuwait airways, and preferably in many different languages also), but fortunately they pause the video while the announcement is playing, so you still don't miss any part of movies and such. Due to sound limitations at Schiphol there were again only two take off locations because of the sound problems that surround this airport. I'm worried because of all the things that can go wrong on this trip, even though it won't be that bad if it actually happens (the thing that worried me most at the time was the fact that I had a separate ticket for the flight from Delhi to Calcutta, and if I would arrive late in Delhi, then I would miss this flight, and since it was a separate ticket, Kuwait airlines would have no responsibility for it). The vegetarian meal was excellent, the video system works quite well (except for me, but since noone is sitting next to me, I'm still able to watch the things I would like to watch). The woman with the baby which was sitting next to me is gone elsewhere. There was an issue regarding the seats: she said the baby had also right on a seat (which was my seat). I'm not sure where she went.

The second part of the trip was done in an A310. They seem to like airbuses at Kuwait Airlines. Everything at the airport went ok, but I was unable to get a window seat for this flight. It didn't matter much, as it was pitch dark anyway.

Once in Delhi things got more funny. I exchanged money, but then discovered that even though there is one airport code (DEL) there are TWO airports in Delhi, and that the flight for Calcutta left from the OTHER airport (the so-called domestic one). So I had to go there. Fortunately the Kuwait Airlines flight was 30 minutes early, so I had plenty of time to avoid the taxi people and get to the Indian Airlines desk, who said they had a bus that would take me to the other airport at 5:00 AM (it is 27-9-2000 in the mean time). The bus to the other airport was quite luxurious, and I was the only passenger. Somehow very few people want to continue to Calcutta from Delhi. Or they fly with Jet Airways. Once in the domestic airport, it turned out that my flight to Calcutta was delayed for three hours. I immediately called Gargi-didi's sister (Gargi-didi herself was stuck in the floods in Berhampore) and informed her of this fact. She was still sleeping at the time. After various strange security issues (like `bagage identification') I managed to get on the flight to Calcutta. There was more food on board of the flight, and because of the delay I got a meal at the airport, as well as drinks. Indian Airlines is quite good, even though people claim they aren't. During these flights I read Tom Clancy's `Rainbow six', which isn't a really good book, but it passes the time. At Calcutta I read a book I got from Gargi-didi's mother, Arthur Hailey's `Overload', which was better written.

2-10-2000

I'm still in Calcutta, feeling a bit weak in the stomach, but otherwise quite fine. I still didn't manage to get the train tickets to go to Delhi or Haridwar. I did go to the millennium park, which turned out to be just a part of the edge of the Hoogly, but then with a slightly nicer atmosphere and a rather steep entrance fee for what was offered. But entrance fees had changed in the millennium year anyway, especially for foreigners. But more about those later. I'm enjoying all the strange foods that exist here, and also not enjoying some of them. There is now also henna in my hair, but it doesn't seem to give a really big difference in colour, as my hair is brown already. I think it should've stayed in longer before washing it out. Gargi-didi's sister's hair also got Henna. The Henna causes my shampoo to foam much more than usual. The curd tastes quite good, this time I discovered how easy it is to make your own `curd', even though I still wouldn't know how to do it myself. The air pressure is between the 1002 and 1006 hPa/mb: there are a few mosha, but only a few. Enough for horrible bites, though. I'm glad I have my malaria pills.

Today I again tried to get train tickets. It isn't a problem for me (it seems the foreigner's quota is very good for this) but it IS a problem for Gargi-didi. This is a weird kind of discrimination of the Indian government against its own citizens. We still don't have sufficient information, so we'll have to go back again. I wasn't too happy with going to Calcutta all the time for each time we were checking train times/tickets, and I tried telling Gargi-didi so, but with little success. However, it didn't matter that much either, as Calcutta isn't too bad (though a bit too hot). I walked in the surroundings of Garia, recorded many sounds and played them back (honking rickshaws, dogs) at the people making them. I also visited the upstairs neighbour, an older lady who has quite interesting bedcovers with telephones on them. My knowledge of Bengali is slowly growing: I can already follow most conversations and get the gist of some statements. However, I'm still very unable to make my own sentences, except for the simple ones like `ami jani na'. I realize that I forgot the vocabulary book, the traveller's cheques and the book on the Indian Himalayas (especially the latter was going to give some problems later on). Maybe I should start learning the vocabulary using the programme that I also use for my Arabic (I started doing this recently).

While once on the bus from central Calcutta to Garia, it turned out that the main road had been blocked, and that all cars were diverted through some small streets, including the bus. This was because some minister wanted to travel over the main road, it turned out later. All the auto rickshaws were travelling through the same road, and blocked it with their selfish presence. Eventually our bus driver got so upset that once a particularly annoying auto rickshaw got stuck next to the bus, the driver started revving up the engine incredibly, creating a thick black smoke that blew straight into the rickshaw for half a minute or so. The getting of the tickets to Haridwar has lead me to invent the new word `Horridwarable'. However, at the 6th of october we were finally able to leave.

6-10-2000

I'm now in the train to Laksar, from there there should be a train to Haridwar. Gargi-didi is travelling on a wait listed ticket, so it is still not sure whether we'll finish the entire journey. In Patna some people will be leaving, but undoubtedly more people will come in. I saw Durga-puja yesterday in Garia, with lots of people and panels of mixed quality (two very nice ones). I've got a bad cold and a huge head ache which makes travelling less pleasant. Most of the food is going quite well, and my belly isn't giving me any problems today. Gargi-didi is sitting elsewhere, on the TTE seat (ticket collector's seat). No ticket collector is to be found, mainly because it is puja. When he showed up later, he seemed decidedly drunk. The train is going reasonably fast, but will probably be delayed later on. It stops in a rather large number of stations. Now I'm going to drink juice and water. The train to Sealdah was quite exciting, much more so than expected. This because I had to take all my luggage with me (three bags) and it was the usual packed train. This meant in one station halfway, that I had to actually get off the train to let people out, and fight back on. People suggested that it might've been much easier for us to take the bus. But in the bus you'd have similar problems with your luggage.

7-10-2000

Things are slowly getting less pleasant. Because I got lots of food in Calcutta, for some reason I don't feel hungry at all, and haven't eaten much for quite some time. My water ran out (I only had one litre of water with me, stupid me: Gargi-didi had said that the train would arrive in the morning, but because of delays it seems to become in the evening instead). Gargi-didi also said it would be cooler near the window, but the heat in the train is horrible anyway. It slowly meanders through India, showing lots of interesting sights, but none of them Haridwar, where we are going to, or at least Laksar, which is the station where we'll have to change trains. The train stops at more and more stations, I'm sweaty and my headache is still lingering somewhere at the back. As you can see: these are obvious still my first days in India (if you read my other stories, you realize that these complaints are common in all of them, for some reason it takes some time for me to adjust to the various new circumstances). Now we are at the next station. Hopefully the chai-seller has a dry cup this time (I don't like wet cups, because I never know what kind of water was used to clean them). I did sing `En de boom stond op de bergen' in the train, though, as there were a reasonable number of Indian guys that were planning to trek in the Himalayas as well. They told about the Vasudhara waterfalls, for example.

And now I'm in the train to Haridwar (in fact, it is 8-10-2000 now). It left at 1:35, but it is later now. The problem was that in Laksar, where we planned to stay for the night, there were no hotels, and the train station didn't allow us in the rest rooms (claiming there weren't any, but later we found them at the back of the station). There weren't any good restaurants either, and the food at the station tasted bad. However, I did manage to buy water. I also sang `Er waren eens drie rovers', but it is difficult for Indian people to sing in Dutch (as it is difficult for me to sing in Bengali or Hindi). Let's hope there is a place to sleep in Haridwar. My belly is working quite fine now (I'm hungry). I saw a big bug on the wall, it might have been a locust or something else. It was green/yellow. The stations between Haridwar and Laksar are Pathri, Ikkar and Jwalapur. There were more stations, but this time I didn't manage to write them all down.

8-10-2000

Arriving in Haridwar, there were a lot of problems finding a hotel. Obviously Indian people prefer to sleep rather than to make money at 3:30 AM. Eventually there was a hotel for Rs.350 that allowed us to stay there, but we didn't get to sleep much (4:30 AM - 10:00 AM). We did some laundry, dried it on the balustrade inside the hotel, washed, and moved to a cheaper (Rs. 250) that was next door. It was obviously cheaper: the bathroom was full of mosquitoes and also had a wasp nest, though I didn't see any wasps. Gargi is tired (obviously) and I am hungry, so we're waiting for an uttapam. While walking along the Ganges, I saw a rather strange creature. Since it was just a glimpse, it could either have been a reptile or a squirrel (Gargi-didi insisted that it was a squirrel). Later I thought I saw it again, and identified it as a reptile, though the creature at Haridwar could've been something else. It lived near trees anyway.

In Haridwar we also saw the wishing-light-boats, made of leaves and flowers and an oil lamp, that are put into the water, and float down and sink soon. The longer they float, the more likely it is that your wish (that you make when putting the boat into the water) will come true. It is a pretty sight. One family decided to all put lights into the water, but only one survived the strong current under the bridge. At the other side of the bridge it still sunk.

9-10-2000

This day we travelled from Haridwar to Srinigar. The night had been full of mosquitoes. In the hotel in Srinigar (Hotel Alpine) this was arranged in a better way, they had screens in front of the windows to keep the insects out (though not the noise). The bathroom was the same, but the room was much cheaper. However, the places where they sell cold drinks and water are cheating, they add more rupees than is needed (especially if I go there alone). The trip in the bus was reasonably uneventful.

10-10-2000

Today we had the bus from Srinigar to Josimath, where at the hotel I already heard the disappointing news that Hem Kund (the place where Gargi-didi wanted to trek to) was closed. The hotel was quite good, but soon we left for the tourist office, where they told us that also the Valley of Flowers (where I wanted to trek to) was closed. They suggested some alternative treks, like Auli, but these didn't sound very enticing. Noone elsewhere (not even the guys in the train) told that the locations could be closed. So tomorrow we'll walk to Auli anyway. Gargi-didi wants to continue to Badrinath afterwards and go to the temple there, as well as view the mountains and visit Mana on the 13th, and the Vasudhara waterfalls. We rested a bit and bought provisions for the trekking trip the next day.

11-10-2000

Today we climbed to Auli, which is 900 meters higher than Josimath. It was quite a climb. My ankle hurts now (I twisted it) and Gargi is very tired. We saw lots of interesting things, though, like monkeys in trees. In total we walked about 10 kilometres through a forest to a skiing place, though there wasn't much to ski there, and also in winter it would eventually turn out to be quite boring, especially when compared to places in France and Switzerland. It was very quiet. There was a rope way, but we didn't take it, as you could only buy two-way tickets, which were quite expensive (Rs. 200). At the in-between place there was good tea at a tea shop (I had two cups). The views of the mountains were excellent and there was lots of wind. We had good food also: noodle soup and vegetable burgers.

12-10-2000

Today is the trip to Badrinath, but unfortunately the engine of the bus isn't 100%, and is leaking oil. As we are going uphill (now at 2665m) it is quite slow. The weather is good, though. The river is pretty, though deep (at 2000 meters, or so, but slowly rising as well). The rocks and mountains are higher than all this, difficult to imagine. I get dizzy looking at them, and should stay away from the edge when I do so. This effect wasn't there when I was travelling in Darjeeling. Once there we check into an dharmshala, a place where pilgrims normally rest. They don't ask for money, but appreciate a donation, which I gave them (twice). After that we went to the river and played there for a while in the water. There was also a good restaurant, with pleasant food, except for the hot and sour soup, which was really hot.

13-10-2000

Today we went to Mana. However, after setting off initially I forgot my camera and went back to the hotel. As I expected we would take the jeep, I returned to the jeep stand, but didn't see Gargi-didi anywhere. Then I looked over the road, but didn't see her there either. I returned to the hotel, but couldn't find her anywhere. After one and a half hour of looking I decided to leave a note and continue to Mana myself on foot, and found Gargi-didi there, she had already walked the entire distance and visited all the sights. Then we went to see all the sights again, but also to go to the Vasudhara falls. However, these turned out to be quite high and far away (3500 meters high). At some point it was almost dark, but I still wanted to see them, so I hurried on, as Gargi-didi decided to stay. I managed to get there and back in time, but Gargi-didi had turned out to have continued quite a bit herself as well, but had stopped at a place where the road had collapsed because of a river. All the horses and mules and most of the people managed to see the falls, though some of the group of students that had gone before us came back without seeing it, or only seeing it from a great distance. However, the waterfall wasn't as impressive as Bhim Phul, which was the fall at Mana itself. The restaurant at Badrinath was still quite good and fast, especially regarding the bill. Even before you ask it, they already have it ready. There are also warm water sources, but I didn't go in them, nor did Gargi-didi because she was told they were usually quite dirty. There were some drunk people, which is strange, because alcohol is forbidden, following us on the road, which wasn't really very pleasant. However, we walked faster. It is cold, but tomorrow we'll go elsewhere, though we don't know yet where exactly. It will also depend on the buses.

In Badrinathpuri I also saw a strange black creature and an orange creature. I did manage to take a picture of the orange creature, but haven't yet been able to identify it. I saw it while looking for Gargi-didi.

14-10-2000

We're waiting for the bus, as we missed the one at 9:00 AM, because people said it would leave at 9:30 AM. The bus will go to Rudraprayag. We ate in the restaurant again, but the food is getting slightly boring, so it is good that we're going elsewhere. It's not clear what will happen. The Dharmsala was pretty and cold, especially regarding the water that was there to wash oneself. There were many other Bengali people, sitting in the sun outside. The bus will leave at 11:30 AM. So we have to wait 90 minutes still.

And we have to wait 30 minutes still. It is hot in the bus, but Gargi-didi is complaining about the cold. Many people are entering the bus now. There are still many village in the environment, where people might go to, or get onto the bus at. There are also salespeople, selling all kinds of things, like plastic cameras, chains, blue lotuses, and strange books in Hindi, Tamil, Sanskrit and even English (occasionally). The sun is shining, you might even call it good weather. There won't be much "trekking" anymore, but that isn't very important, I'll see enough anyway.

The trip was long and ended in Rudraprayag, where many people had gathered to take examinations in some branch of education. This also meant that there were no rooms available in any of the tourist lodges, except in Monal (Rs. 1300). So we decided to go by taxi (Rs. 600) to Srinigal. There we went back to Hotel Alpine, with the many honks of buses and bangs of fireworks. The night in Rudraprayag was interesting: people that offered my soft drugs, tried to rent bad rooms at excessive prices, stayed in buses to sleep there... Also the jeep trip to Monal and Srinigar was exciting: there were no seat belts, and it was impossible for me to look outside to see what was happening. The idea that I might have lost one of the gifts of Gargi-didi and the fact that there weren't any rooms didn't make it any better. One of the most pleasant things was the dinner: the man that invited us in his restaurant was very friendly, and had very delicious roti, and aloo-gobhi sabzi. He was very friendly and talked a lot. Even though I had this good food, my stomach still feels a little upset.

15-10-2000

Now we're in Uttarkashi: they tried to cheat us again, with a room that suddenly was Rs. 200 instead of Rs. 150, so we settled for one that was Rs. 100. Uttarkashi has many shops, but they mostly sell the same things. According to Gargi-didi it is not acceptable to go to Uttarkashi and not go to Gangotri, where we'd trek to Gaumukh. I thought trekking in the environment of Uttarkashi might be nice as well (the booklet I had was quite positive about everything) but this was rejected.

17-10-2000

Yesterday we climbed to the temple of Kuteti-Devi. It was a walk of one kilometre, which gradually went up, until we were 150 meters higher than we started. There was a beautiful power station, probably using water, which didn't always provide enough power for our hotel. The temples in Uttarkashi are very pretty, and typically Hindu. There are also quite many of them. There are also many mosha and no good places to eat. There are many buses to Gangotri as well, in one of these we are currently sitting. It has just been hit by another car, resulting in violent discussions. Lots of damage to the car that hit the bus, I don't know whether there is anything wrong with the bus. This is the first accident I've seen actually happening in India, and this even while I'm sitting in the bus.

18-10-2000

Now we are in Bhojbasa, a few huts near the Ganges. It is still four kilometres to the source. It is cold and dark, but a single candle provides some light and warmth. The trip was long and heavy: 14 kilometres climbing. Now I'm tired, but I saw bharal, and we passed the tree line. Theoretically we are at 3790 meters, higher than I've ever been. In Gangotri we stayed in a hut also, where the electricity was only turned on after 18:00. Here in Bhojbasa there is no electricity at all. There was a GMVN hut, but it was very expensive (Rs. 450), so we are happy to be in this hotel for `only' Rs. 200. Of course, the tents were cheaper, but those would have been even colder. However, with the tents we wouldn't have had to go down to the huts, nor back up again to the trail tomorrow. We had dinner, but it wasn't very impressive either. The candles are fun, there are actually two. The hotel room is very big, and Gargi-didi suspects there are rats (there were mice). In the kitchen a group of Indian men decided to stay during the night, but the following morning we discovered they weren't supposed to be there in the first place. They made lots of noise and singing during the night. The actual path to Gaumukh (the source of the Ganges) is quite good, except at the places where it collapsed because of a river or land slide. None of these are bad, though. The worst part are all the pilgrims passing on horse back, who kick at the people walking along the road (not deliberately, I assume, but still). The path runs along the mountains, at a reasonable altitude above the Ganges. The old trail still runs down in the valley, next to the river. Gargi-didi preferred that one, but I guess it would involve a very steep climb somewhere at the end.

19-10-2000

The night was cold and I slept horribly little because of lack of air. I kept dreaming of drowning, and I kept waking up trying to get enough oxygen in my lungs. Obviously I should make sure that I practise more during the next trek above 3000 meters. I hope things will go better the next day, but this is quite likely, as I'll be very tired.

Now I went to Gaumukh and back also, and am back in Bhojbasa. The trip to Gaumukh was reasonably easy, first over flat terrain and then over the rocks next to the river. The glacier from which the Ganges comes was first mistaken for a mountain, but it turned out to be slippery ice. There is a trek that continues to the top, where you supposedly have a nice view, but with the lack of oxygen I already experience, I doubt this would be a good idea. Today there was a lot of wind, which made it even colder. The river was frozen at various places, which was fun to play with. Many people came and bathed or collected water. Not many people actually prayed (as my book said they would do). There were almost no plants, except some red shrubs and white stalks. There were, however, a few tea stalls, where they sold nasty tasting aloo parathas and chai. In Bhojbasa we still found all our things (we left them there in a `locked' room, as well as some things in Gangotri with the hut we were staying there. There they eventually charged us Rs. 50/night for them. In Bhojbasa it was free, but only because we stayed there another night). This time we had dinner in the GMVN hut, which was disappointing: Gargi-didi had a bad curry with the roti, and there were only very limited other options. It was fun to be among people, though. There was a group of, probably Jewish, people that used their rotis in the Mexican way, making them into rolls and eating them with contents. Maybe a very tasty thing to do.

The EMPTYness of Bhojbasa
to Gaumukh
is disturbed by pilgrims
on horse, on foot, carried
All go to the source
of the river:
a glacier, grey and green
where no plants are (or almost none)
where no animals are (or almost none)
Only a fence
for the tree growth
above the tree line

The plan is to return to Uttarkashi, from there to Haridwar or Rishikesh, from there to Delhi, so that we'll arrive there the 23-10-2000, in time to fetch my sister from the airport and plan trips for her.

21-10-2000

The trip back was slow buy went well. Today we are going by bus back to Uttarkashi. We are both having quite a cold. I am curious if this will improve (note: because of trips after my return, my cough is still partly there at the time of writing this, which is 15-12-2000. However, I can say that the cold itself is gone). I made a lot of pictures and now I'm waiting for my breakfast, which is vegetable chowmein.

22-10-2000

Now I'm in Uttarkashi. After the bus trip from Gangotri we both had a head ache. I called Wim, and Gargi-didi called Begum and Tatun (her bon). I read from `The City of Djinns', a very good book about Delhi (highly recommended if you ever consider visiting this city) and bought food for the trip of today: Haridwar or Delhi, depending on how things go. The bus will leave at 7:30. It is no 6:43, I'm waiting for my omelette to be finished preparing. Gargi-didi is still sleeping in the hotel, which is the same hotel and the same room that we were in last time we were in Uttarkashi.

23-10-2000

In the train from Haridwar to Delhi. The bus trip was quite easy with a goat and a family who had too much luggage with them, and had to pay Rs. 300 more. They decided not to pay this in the end, so the driver, the goods carrier and the ticket collector kept one piece of the luggage with them and drove off. I ate well in Haridwar and bought various items (another bed cover, chains, a statue of the Goddess Ganga) and bread with cheese for the trip. I also had various interesting snacks, one of which was made of potatoes. Unfortunately I had these only once, as they tasted quite good. There was no water in the Ganges (later investigation and inquiry told us that the water will come back, as the Ganges is now empty for cleaning). The hotel was very good, but Rs. 350 (the most expensive up to this point). In Haridwar they are very careful to put foreigners only in the expensive hotels. There are much cheaper hotels (Rs. 80) but I'm not allowed in those. The electricity failed while Gargi-didi was showering, which made the entire room rather dark. There was also a television in the hotel, and they were showing cricket, so I watched cricket a lot. India was winning from Zimbabwe (as they should). I got a horn from Gargi-didi which I used to honk back at the noise making traffic (the bells of the bicycles and the horns of the scooters and cars). The train that we're in is a passenger train, which means it stops at ALL stations that are there... These are the stations and their altitudes:
Haridwar (330), Jwalapur (326), Ikkar (309), Pathri (295), Aithal (281), Laksar Jn. (277, this is the place where we changed trains previously), Dausni (282), Landhaura (293), Dhandhera (300), Roorkee (306), Igbalpur (311), Chodiala (314), Sunehti Kharkhari (317), Bahakheri (316), Hindon (318), Jaharanpur (321), Tapri Jn. (331), Nagal (325), Talheribururg (319), Deoband (318), Rohana Kalan (313), Bamanheri (312), Muzattarnagar (313), ? (310, station of which I couldn't get the name), Mansurpur (311), ? (307), Sokhoti tanda (304), Pabli (301), Meernt Kantt (298), Meerut City (297), Partapur (296), Mohiuddinpur (294), Modi Nagar (293), Murad Nagar (291), Gukhar (290), Naya Ghariabad (288), Ghariabad Jn. (286, here the air pollution became more and more visible, indicating we were nearing Delhi), Sahibabad (282), Vivelvihar (280), Dshakdara Jn. (279), D. Delhi (286), Delhi Jn. (286).
As you can see this was a trip unlike any other... I doubt I've ever stopped at so many stations with a train.

The red glow
of a sunset
through air pollution
colours the pools of
dug landfills
meagre corn fields
buildings in the diesel of the train
water towers
and electricity poles
(with and without cables)
(with and without birds)

28-10-2000

The first thing we needed when we arrived was a hotel, so we got an auto rickshaw to take us to the area where the hotels were. Of course, he drove us to a specific hotel, where, after negotiations, we decided to stay one day, as it didn't seem to be suitable for us and my sister. It was, however, already late, and not really a suitable time to start looking for other places. The following morning we had food (there was a very good restaurant in the same street, called Pakwan) and looked for a better hotel, which we found. We immediately took the three person room, so that my sister could stay there as well. Then we looked around for possibilities of tours. Of course, there were plenty of opportunities, as the street was full with hotels, and each hotel had its own tour operator service as well. There were various possibilities of travelling, but basically the choice was between a taxi that would drive us everywhere, with separate hotels in Jaipur, Agra and Delhi, or to go back to Delhi each day. There was a cost difference (the taxi would be approximately twice the price of the separate trips), so we decided to look at the pros and cons. As the difference in distance was about 270 km, the option of returning to Delhi would be more hectic as well, though not overly so, and it would be compensated by the fact that you'd know in which hotel you'd stay, and the fact that Delhi is a malaria free area (my sister didn't have malaria pills with her, because she was only staying for a few days, though more than three). So we chose for separate trips. Then there was the choice if these would be regular tours by bus, taxi trips or train trips. After investigating, the train turned out to be quite expensive (especially the one to Jaipur). As you can see, much preparation was done.

At the 25th my sister arrived at the airport, and I advised her to reconfirm her flight immediately, but Gulf Air wasn't there. Kuwait Air WAS there, so I could reconfirm my flight. After this we went to take the trip through Delhi, using a taxi. I saw all the usual places. My sister liked the Qutub Minar a lot, and I saw Humayun's tomb, which I hadn't seen the previous time. We also went to the Jantar Mantar (the astronomical measurement centre made a few centuries ago), the red fort and the Lotus temple.

On the 26th we took a bus tour that was supposedly called the `Fatehpur Sikri/Agra' tour, but it turned out it was the same tour that I had been on last time, the `Agra/Mathura' tour. However, unlike last time, I got to see much more of Agra Fort as well as Mathura. I saw the two mosques at Agra Fort, which were small but beautiful, and many temples and cows in Mathura and Vrindaban, near the birthplace of Sri Krishna.

On the 27th we went to Jaipur by taxi. Also this time I saw more: I went INTO the Hawa Mahal, which was very beautiful as well. Near Mathura I took a picture of a lassi-selling boy (which I'm not sure worked out well, as it was on my sister's camera, and those pictures haven't arrived yet at the time I write this) who then asked me to buy a lassi, which I did. As Gargi-didi assured me it was safe, I decided to drink it. It was quite tasty, and I never got ill because of it afterwards either. I had aloo-ghobi curry again, this time in Pakwan, where it was quite good too. Gargi-didi now has an infected finger, because of needlework that she did, which looks quite bad. It is difficult to stop an infection once it gets started in India.

Today we have to do the following things:

  1. Get money
  2. Pay the hotel
  3. Discuss why the bus didn't take us to Fatehpur Sikri (this discussion eventually didn't get any results, as the hotel manager said he couldn't do anything about it. It was the first time I actually didn't get what I paid for in the end, which was a rather disturbing experience. Of course, this happens everywhere in the world, but it hadn't happened in India yet).
  4. Goodbye meal (in the Hyatt, of course, as my sister likes that restaurant a lot. Compared to the other days, she indeed ate much more there than she did elsewhere. We had a good time there).
  5. Walk through Delhi, including the Jama Masjid and Chadni Chowk. This also went quite well. My sister had a book that described the whole walk. We bought various items, like scissors, cards with the family of Shiva on them (and a calendar) and saw many buildings, though as a guide I confused many of them.
  6. Go to the Palika Bazaar again, where I again got a shirt, this time from my sister, which was quite nice, though slightly too small. I wore it in New York.
  7. Call Gulf Air. The problem was that all this time, noone answered (obviously because it was a holiday: Diwali, the festival of lights was going on during this time). Fortunately for my sister, we could reconfirm the flight in time, so she was home in time to give her classes again.
  8. Arrange taxi to the airport. Eventually we left this to the Hyatt, which saw us coming in an auto rickshaw, which, strangely enough, didn't cheat us at all (Rs. 50 only). It was an experience to drive to the Hyatt in an auto rickshaw.
And we actually managed to do all the things on the list within the time allotted. As you can see, these past few days were quite hectic, another reason why Gargi-didi wasn't quite happy about them.

30-10-2000

And now I'm on the airport. The only thing that bothers me is my backpack that I still have to identify, but I don't know WHERE I should go to do that. I did manage to get two window seats, though. Machteld's last day went quite well: Hyatt and much of Delhi. After she left, Gargi became more cheerful again. The day after that, 29-10, Gargi and I went to Tuglugabad, where a huge fort was, which was very impressive. The total content was about 13 square kilometres. There was also the tomb of Tugluk. Again they charged me `western' prices, $5 this time, but as I still had dollars in my wallet, this wasn't a big problem (Gargi only had to pay Rs. 5). I'm still worried about the backpack... But they all claim that all is well. I got to sit in business class in the A300, but I wouldn't get the food and the service. The space was nice enough, though. As it was the first row of business class, there wasn't a place to store my bag, but as I wasn't planning on taking pictures, that was OK. They didn't bother me about the batteries anymore either. It turns out that Kuwait airlines shares their codes with TWA, which means that they end up at the same spot in the list. The arrival in the Netherlands was a bit of a change: 10 degrees Celsius and rain (for the first time in more than a month). The landing had some troubles with the wind, but the pilot was better than the TWA one at the time. I'm now in `De Smidse', eating a New Delhi, though they spelt it wrong (New Delphi). Upon arrival there was no backpack, however, it turned out that they forgot to remove one of the boxes from the aeroplane, so when I got them to check again, the bags finally arrived.

Glossary