Newsletter 6
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The border of India is also a experience, little men waiting for Pakistan trucks to unload the truck and carrying in a queue all the goods across. This time the paperwork was again a hassle, stamps, different offices, back to the same office, the bikes to another office, check again the luggage and this time all the boxes and even the bags, get new papers and so on. So four and a half hour later we entered the perfect road of India. It takes so long that Martin and Alex on there pushbikes where earlier in the golden temple then we were!!!
Amaritsar, well-known from the Golden -Sikh-Temple. Is a good place to
be, we heard from other travelers that the Sikh Temple also provide sleeping and
eating place for everybody, they expected only a donation witch we gave them. They
sleeping place is perfect we could park the bikes inside and two bearded Sikh guarded
the bikes, they put a sheet over the bikes so the sticky touching fingers of the
other guest could not mess with our bikes. We slept dorm with another eight
people in our own sleeping bag.
The Golden Temple itself is a amazing place. The Indian Government attacked
the place in 1984 and there was a lot of damage now these days everything is
repaired. We left the shoes and the socks in the sleeping place and did the night
tour, the whole temple was lit up, and the shining from the gold in the
water was superb. At eight o clock a mass of people came to the temple to
see how the holy book was bringing back to the main building. The golden temple
is a small building compare to the buildings around that. It's laying in the
middle of a holy -square- pond it can be reached by a bridge. Indeed the temple is
from gold and by the attack of the Indian army the Sikhs had to replaced
the gold, they did not wanted the gold from the government, the gold what was
used came from the Sikh community in England.
We had a perfect time in spite of the non smoking area around the temple. The Sikh people
are really hospitable it reminds me to the Iran people. We slept for two nights and we gave them the donation. Keep up the good work.
The way to Bikaner was through the dessert again but this dessert was a green
one, lot of bushes and some trees what us amazed was the number of eagles,
vultures and antelopes. Also the cows, dogs -live or dead- on the road. The dead
latter ones we have seen from Turkey till here was sometimes to much nobody
cares after them and ones dead, the remains stay where they are.
Cows and sheep's don't pay attention to the horn -goats and dogs do- so we have to
be really careful, this is also the reason that we don't drive faster than 70 or
80 km. a hour max.
We heard from other travelers of the truck drivers how dangerous they will overtake
and we seen some terrible accidents along the way, so welcome to India. We
have to leave the road many times.
The last
part before Bikaner was a mud road we thought a while if we can continue the
speed of driving we will be in Bikaner round 3 pm. but that is a thing you never
can do, always something can happed to disturb you time schedule, and now it was
this road. It was fun driving it and especially with the Yahama's we have. We
entered Bikaner one hour later we found a perfect hotel called Harrasan Haveli
we could park the bikes in the not used dining room so they were save. The hotel
is only a few years old and the place is absolutely fabulous. The roof top has a
good restaurant and a garden to relax from the beggars and the rickshaw drivers who
can give you a hard time.
Off course they try to sell you a camel
safari and after we have been seen pictures we decided to try it out, we
booked a safari for 2 nights and 3 days. Because promises and the real thing can
be quite different we paid only a third of the price and together with a guy
from America we went with a jeep to get on the camels we get three camels -one
was pulling the card- with the luggage and the rest of the stuff- and the other
two were the driving camels.
George (the American) and Jolanda started with driving and it was scary
to see how the camels get to there feet's and went strait up. Jolanda and
George did quit well and stayed on the camel for almost one hour. Then Leon has
to go it was pretty high but that was also the reason you could see a lot off
the scenery it was absolutely not comfortable at all, no foot rest and almost nothing
to hold yourself and no experience make drive difficult, the constantly moving
with your but in the saddle makes it for Leon enough to sit on the camel
for only a 20 minutes.
We visit a few small villages and see how the
people are living there. Especially the women has a lot of work they walked four
hours with wood or water on there head. Then there are a lot -and I mean a lot- children
around, some of them have more than 10 kids to take care for. We could take as
many pictures as we want, and we will send them to them.
The camel drivers did a good job to get the food ready -everything fresh even
the peas- and they cooked on wood. We had chapatti, dal, fresh vegetables and
lots of fruit. After a good rest we went back on the camels and drove more in
the dessert. We stopped around 5 pm. and found a nice spot to sleep the camel drives
set up the tents and started to cook, during the night we warmed ourselves by
the campfire and started to sing Dutch and Hindi songs under the millions
of stars. We slept well, we were ready for another "busy" day. So it
was the price worth and we paid the rest of the money as soon as we get back in
the hotel.
The drive to Jaisalmer was again through the dessert. In spite of what we heard about driving in India we found this road very easy nearly no trucks and the dangerous overtaking didn't past at all. So there was time to look around on the bike and see the birds, the small clay huts and the animals on the road and in the fields. It was to bad to see so many dead dogs be side the road but on the other hand what could they do, the dogs crossing the streets without looking. Friends of us -driving in a 2 cv- had a accident with a dog -also crossing the street- they tried to avoid the dog but the dog stopped looked and walked the same way the car was going to bad for the dog and serious trouble for the car. But none off this happened to us luckily.
We arrived in Jaisalmer around 3.00 pm and the whole thing to find a hotel started again a rickshaw driver told us about a cheap and "perfect" hotel in the fort with a marvelous few over the city so we followed him in to the fort through al the narrow crowded streets and we arrived by the hotel the few was indeed perfect but the rooms where not ok no mosquito screen on the windows and a room was much to expensive, so without the rickshaw out of the fort to find a cheaper better hotel. We had a address and we want to check this one out. The rooms where indeed cheaper and better for the price they asked so we took this one.
The fort in Jaisalmer (Golden city) is a visit more than worth. The whole fort is build out of yellow stone and especially in the morning and evening sun it really looks as gold. In the fort you can visit the palace and the many small shops selling much to expensive handicrafts. Everywhere the cows in the streets, beggars and rickshaw drivers but the hassle is controllable and a few no's and turning the kids the opposite direction will help. The German Bakery is a good resting point with very nice food and reasonable prices.
Another sickness kept us longer in Jaisalmer diarrhea with blood and slime was this time the problem and after one week waiting we went to the pharmacy to get some pills, they has a big book with all the pills and with Jolanda's knowledge about pills we bought some pills and it was a very good decision after two days the problem was solved and we left Jaisalmer to go to Jodphur.
On the way to
Jodphur Jolanda get -al driving- a business card from a man in a Jeep, we looked
at it by a cigarette stop and we decide we could check it out.
Jodphur also know as Blue city was fun to enter for the first time people told
us the wrong direction and zigzagging from one street to the other we entered
the city along the fort and the palace.
We did have the address from the man in the Jeep but first we checked out some
other hotels, one of the hotel managers told Jolanda on the question do you have
a parking place for the bikes "But madam this is a hotel not a parking place"
So we want to find the address the man gave us. It turned out to be a wonderful
place with a courtyard and friendly staff.
The fort and the inside palace is a visit more then worth.
The road to Pushkar was more hard to drive this is what we think the Indian
traffic dangerous overtaking -here we have to leave the road several times- so chaos
al over and in spite of the falling of the road trucks we managed without
problems to arrive in Pushkar -the holy city-.
Pushkar is a place with a lot of tourist (Indian and western people) the place is
not big but have a lot of temples we slept in Hotel New Park for just $3,- and
the hotel was nearly new with good facilities include a swimming pool. It was
fun to walk in Pushkar the first day everybody want to sell you stuff but the
second day they know you and no hassle anymore.
By the time we were there -end
off 2000- internet and email was a disaster much to slow and thus expensive. We
stayed much time in the German Bakery in the garden to talk have nice food and
good coffee. It was kind of strange to spent New Years celebration in Pushkar no
cold days no family around and no alcohol, in a place like this you couldn't buy
it and would by fun to drink something to a special day like this. We asked
around but no was the answer, when we arrived in to the hotel the boys of the
hotel did a perfect job. The entire hotel was illuminated with small bulbs it
looks fantastic and they did the job in half a day we were surprised, and
we get more surprised when we heard that there was a possibility to drink a
beer with the guys from the hotel. So we were sitting round a campfire have a
nice talk and drink a beer.
The way to Jaipur was hard working for us lot of trucks and busses on the
road and the stupid, not necessary overtaking is something we never get used on.
So we took a lot of breaks to keep the concentration.
We arrived in Jaipur around three o clock but this time no trouble to find the
hotel at all. Jolanda met the owner of the hotel Evergreen and he showed us the
back entrance of his hotel, we parked the bikes downstairs in the parking place.
Jolanda could make a choice out of three rooms and she picked the one close to
the garden it was a nice room for a good price. Every morning we put out the
table and the chairs and spend the rest of the day sitting in the sun eat
breakfast, and when it get to hot in sun we moved back in the shade. The first
days we were quit busy, we visit it the tiger fort -nahargarh fort- (two and a
half hour walk to the fort and the same time back) and this is a real nice fort.
In the fort is the Maharji's palace located, inside this palace are more small palaces for
all the Maharadji one. In the night the Maharadja came to the palace to pick one of his wives
for spending the night with him. The palace is in pretty good shape and a visit worth.
Another day we spend in the area of the city palace, over here we paid a
visit to the observatory -Jantar Mantar- Jai Singh passion for astronomy begun in
1728. He build the observatory after he sent scholars abroad. The observatory is
full of sculptures to measure altitude and azimuths, positions of the stars and
so on. A good advise is to hire a guide for the explanations.
We had such a good time in Jaipur especially the stay in the Evergreen
guesthouse we found some nice company in other guest and we met our friend Lucas
again. The last week Jolanda get sick after we visit a restaurant with BBQ food,
five of the six of us get sick so it must have been the food from that
restaurant Leon was the only one who was ok. The sickness took a whole week and
in that time Jolanda felt so empty and weak everything she eat came out in
nearly the same moment. Lucas left us to go to Bhuj in Gujarat. And we left a
day later to go to Bharatpur.
We found ourself a nice guesthouse -Jungle Lodge- close to the bird sanctuary
-Keoladeo Park- The guesthouse is very good, a nice family runs the place they
have really nice rooms and the food is fresh and very tasteful and the place has
a peaceful
garden. We hired bikes to explore the park and see the birds, we finally could use
the binoculars we kept in the
boxes of the bikes. To bad that the water level was low -in two years no rain at all-
but we have seen the king fisher, the owls, the spoonbills, eagles, pelicans and
lots of other birds we don't know the names. We want to spend another day over
there in spite of the stupid high prices to go in.
The terrible policy of the Indian government that western tourist must pay more
than locals is a very bad idea, to give you an indication; for Indian people the
entrance price of the Thaj Mahal is only 20 ruppees (not even a half a dollar)
we have to pay 20 us. per person.
To go in the bird sanctuary we have to pay 4 us each and you don't have a
multiple entree they raised the price 8 times in just 4 years.
To go to Fatipursikri we took a bus from the guesthouse it was cheaper to go
by bus and no parking problems. The attached mosque is free and very nice to
visit, to see the palace you have to pay another 10 us each, a lot of tourist
getting sick of the too much to high prices and don't go in anymore and we
belong to the same group. We walked outside around the palace and it was worth it.
Many
ruins, empty buildings and a nice camel serai in a pretty good state. On our way
we crossed the silk route many times.
We stayed
there almost the whole day and we liked it.
The 26 of January 2001 was a horrible day, this was the day that Gujarat was hit by the earth quake and even 1400 km. away from the center we saw the fan dangle on the ceiling. A lot of people get killed and more where injured exact numbers we don't know and nobody knows.
Also from the guesthouse in Bharatpur we took a bus to Agra and we left
early in the morning. Many people told us already the shameful entree price of
the Thaj Mahal and we should have a good few from one of the many rooftop
restaurants close to the Thaj.. And again we were happy to have the binoculars
with us. A lot of riskja drivers complain about the money they lose because of
the less people visiting Agra.
What we could see: a enormous marble building with a lot of fine inlay work and
inside a lot of Indian people. The builder of the Thaj Mahal is the same guy who
build the mirror palace in Lahore Pakistan.
In Agra we met Mike again he is driving a Moto Guzzi 1100 al the way from
Germany we met him in Esfehan Iran and we make a appointment to talk with him
again in the afternoon. He told us that he took the western border of Nepal
without any problems and he gives us very useful tips over Nepal. Thanks for
that.
While waiting for the bus back to Baratpur a guy with a white collar bear approached
us, he had the bear chained and want us to pay for a trick the bear did, it was
to painful to watch. Because we don't want to pay for a stupid thing like
this, the man get angry and raised his fist. We were real pissed of and he
saw our faces and lowered his arm and went away, good for him.
For us it was time to leave the very nice place we had in Barathpur and get back on the bikes to the North. Bareily was the first stop and no tourist at all, what means no asking for rupees or rickshaw's. We just slept for one night in an old English army guesthouse. The next day we drove to Tanakpur near the border of Nepal and also here just one night. The day after we went to the border of Nepal this was a very interesting road no signs at all and the road doesn't look like a border road at al, many times we have to asked and al the people told us "this is the road to Nepal" we crossed a river, a gate was specially opened for us, we had to drive over a mixed bridge -train and cars- and we entered the exit border of India, but more of this the next Newsletter.
We have an visa till the beginning of April so post can be send to Kathmandu and after 15 march to Bangkok Thailand.