Kolakata, 2nd chance for Thailand and Laos

Muang Ngoi Neua

After two months without writing, I return to post the few pictures I took in Kolakata and to open a new section for Laos. In between I have been to Thailand, but this time if I have it clear, Thailand leaves me cold, I have not found anything in this country that I woke my curiosity, I think is the East Asian country more westernized, not even I’ve been wanting to photograph the temples, as meeting all alike.

As refers to Kolakatathe lack of photographs is not because I did not like, but just the opposite, of the big cities of India, at least for me, is the best by far, in fact I was almost three weeks, and a photo if I did, but not that he deserved, because it is very photogenic, as I took a creative slump and decided to leave the camera parked, here I leave the link of the latest pictures of India:

Kolkata

About 10 days ago, I cross the border of Laos, wanting to leave behind Thailand and know a new country, crossed the Mekong river I went to the bus station Huay Xai and buy the ticket to go to Luang Nam Tha, after three hours of delay and four of travel I arrive at my destination, the town is simple, no beauty, but with a fairly large market and economic places to eat. Around Luang Nam Tha are a few towns or settlements, living in the field of garment manufacturing and the local liqueur Lao Lao, which are the main attraction of the area. After a week I decided it was time to move my ass and went to Nong Khiaw. A village on the banks of the Nam Ou river and where I finally began to remove the camera from the bag to make some snapshots. This is a quiet village, although I have said Laos is a country full quiet even for some, of which at the moment I do not include myself, bored. Here you can walk or rent a bike to see the surrounding villages or a natural setting and is a stop required for all who want to go to Muang Ngoi Neua, like me. Anyway I decided to spend a couple of nights here, and is that the place has its charm, especially if you leave the street where are grouped all guest house and restaurant and cross the bridge to go to what I believe is the real town it has two main streets that converge on the bridge and in between these, are the simplest and typical buildings of the area, are wooden structures or also from billet, topped with a thatched roof that usually conceals a metal plate, which prevents in case of rain, leaks. Within this area are dirt streets, the people take the shadows of some large tree or some shed to meet, you can also find a small market to buy vegetables or test a noodle soup (I do not really know because they have this habit of eating soup with this heat).

After two nights, I took the only possible transport to get to Muang Ngoi Neua, some boats that make this journey every day, so at 11 am boarding and arrive matter of an hour, after giving up the stairs access to the jetty, I saw that the village basically had a main street and little else, after finding somewhere to sleep I went for a walk around the town, but end soon, I think it’s a good place to relax and meet people, perhaps also to make a tour around the villages nearby, whether on foot, bike or kayak, there is also a cave nearby, but seen the reactions of those who had visited I decided that if I did not visit, was okay.

This morning after 2 nights, I woke up at 6 to see them market that takes place every 10 days (all fortunate to have coincided with the market) and today whether the camera worked, I was waiting for a day like this, in this market meet people from neighboring villages and local, to sell their products either vegetables, sweets and clothes, but the most successful product or at least the fastest-selling was tobacco, sell it in bulk and rolled it with notebook paper, that if recycled, meaning that everything is written, so they smoke tobacco, ink and unsmokable paper. After the market, I did my bag and I took the boat back to Nong Khiaw, from where I’m finally writing.

Bodhgaya, Mirik, Darjeeling

Bodhgaya

Bodhgaya is a quiet tow. When we arrived, it does not look very attractive in general, but inside of streets many Buddhist monasteries and temples were hiden. The Mahabodhi Temple stands between them and many Buddhists pray every day since the doors open until the sun goes dawn. And around town it flows through the gardens  with people coming and going. This temple is next to a pedestrian street. Along this street life runs in Bodhgaya between vendors of flowers , bodhi tree leaves or momos, among others. Another thing that struck us was how easy it was to differentiate the Tibetan area of ​​India, just looking at the amount of trash that accumulates in the streets, while a part is remarkably clean accumulates in other roles , plastics and other waste to create small mounds that hinder the flow. By now I should surprise some dirt streets of towns and cities in this country, but when you are next to streets as clean again makes you realize what you have around.

The next stop was Mirik, a small mountain village about 1700 m where people starts a day slowly and there is nothing to do after 8 pm, where time stops between walks around the lake, the orange groves or tea gardens that are all over the area. The downside was the cold weather and how little we’re equipped to endure, so we decide to mouve on in three days , but with a somewhat unusual logic, because we decided to go up about 2100 m to Darjeeling.

Darjeeling was cold but not so cold as Mirik, so it was right decision to go to this town, the place is a pretty big mountain village due to tourism for all its streets passing jeeps carrying passengers or looking of them and the pure mountain air becomes smoke cloud following the route of one of those 4×4. Anyway views of the eastern Himalayas mountains compensate the car fumes. As Mirik morning start slowly and everything closes a few hours after sunset, but during the day a tide of people up and down the streets full of shops and restaurants and the activity is constant. Everything and the better temperature, after we slept two nights with dresses, decided to go to a warmer destination and now I’m writing from Calcutta and finally we have been able to remove the jacket.

4 nice places

Sanchi

In the end we were Omkareshwar five days. Is a quiet place where there are western tourism but not much. The local people are very nice in general. We are dedicated to stroll through the town, visiting the various ghats and cross the bridges linking the vilage area with the island to turn around visiting some other temple. The most beautiful for me is that it is located at the southern end, a ruined temple but in good condition.
After Omkareshwar went to Sanchi, a small quiet town known for having one of the oldest Buddhist monuments in India. There are a group of stupas, temples and monasteries, but what is best preserved are three stupas which stands out is the biggist one with four doors which support a carved porches with stories of the previous lives of the Buddha. It’s wonderful to see the sunrise from the ruins of the temple located east of the Great Stupa. Especially now that it’s cold, because around the town is filled with fields of crops from which emerges a thick fog every morning, creating an incredible spectacle. Here we were lucky to arrive on Thursday and enjoy the view of the market with all the people doing the shopping while the cows is waiting every time, when the seller doesn’t take attention fot them, to eat some fresh vegetables, not without taking after hitting strongly, but is that in this world everything has a price.
The next place was Orcha, a town where I was nine years ago. At that time it was a quiet place with a few tourists, but it has become a tourist attraction and figure even within the circuits of the tour operators. actually there were about three guest house before, but now there are more than twenty, apart from a couple of luxury resorts for people arriving by bus doing a tour of 10 or 15 days in India. However this place is still a pretty town with a fortress where there two palaces and several old buildings and lots of temples scattered around the village where one stands out a promontory large temple, it’s still not the most important but draw the skyline of this place along with palaces and cenotaphs or memorials located at south along the river.
Finally before arriving in Bodhgaya, which is where I’m writing now, go through Chitrakoot, a place where pilgrims come to bathe in the river water that wets the ghats of this place, here you can see many beggars asking for money or food. They take advantage the influx of local people coming for religious reasons. On the bank of the river there are full of temples, but also they spread through the streets for the vilage where the atmosphere is more relaxed and people is greeting all the time.
In summary, the four villages we have been, for one reason or another, are good places to stay for a few days. Yet I can not say much about Bodhgaya. Since we arrived yesterday and we have still time to make a visit as it should, for the moment I can only say that it is quite touristy but also very peaceful and it is easier to find tibetan food than indian. In the next post I will try to give a little more information about this place.

Nasik, a place to come back again

Nasik

It has been sevral days since I left Pushkar for Bharuch. In fact I stayed only one day in Bharuch. It was a bigger city than I expected and the area of ​​guest house and hotels was in the new part of the city. The new part is not very interested but just practical, because there are the train station next door. The old part of the city was too far, so I decided to go more south to Daman, which was a Portuguese colony like Goa or Diu. Actually I decided to go to Daman because it looked like Diu, but other than legal alcohol, drunks and a fort from the colonial era, not much more I remembered the vilage that I liked so much, I still remain three days before moving to Mumbai. And Mumbai … a big city, but I have to admit that it has a certain charm and tend not to like big cities, but unlike in Delhi Here you can see the sun and not just intuit through a cloud of pollution also has its interesting corners and everything and be an Indian city, is not nearly as chaotic as I imagined.
After four nights in Mumbai I and Seonghye, the company already with me, went  to Nasik. Nasik is a big city, but with a cozy historical center located around the river Godavari, there are the ghats where people make their prayers, ablutions and clean few clothes surrounded by temples and next to a vegetable market that gives more color than you have seen before. Even as a place of pilgrimage Western tourists do not usually go to this city. I really do not understand why, since not only the surrounding is nice but the people are lovely. In fact I wanted to stay some day more, but we wanted to see other places and so I have an excuse to return. Now writing from Omkareshwar, another place of pilgrimage, as it is an Om shaped island at the confluence of the rivers Kaveri and Narmada. The Narmada river turns out to be one of the holiest rivers in Hindu religion, is seen to be more important than the famous Ganges. So far today is the second day, and it is proving a very quiet and pleasant place where you can stroll through ghats bordering the river, or take a walk around the island that is full of small temples and occasional bigger. I guess we’ll be here even a couple of days of relaxation before continuing.

I’m leaving from Pushkar

Pushkar – Festival

The festival it’s over and almost two weeks I decided to go to another place, I must arrive at Mumbai on December 5, since arrives Seonhye with whom I am going to travel for a month, but before going to the capital of Asian cinema have decided to make stop in Bharuch, a village in the South of Gujarat which I don’t know great thing, but that is on the road, in fact in travel guides there is a brief comment, do not even have a point about restaurants or places where to sleep and that I like, because it is a sign that is not very touristic and now that I’ve already adapted me pace here need a little action.

I take this opportunity to let the latest pictures of the festival and the people who filled the streets of Pushkar, hope you like them.

Moustache competition in Pushkar

Pushkar – Moustache competition

I Know I tell you was a casuality if I write here, but if I don’t make this, the program don’t send any notice of the news pictures that I post, then I decide, although that isn’t my strong point, explain even it’s briefly the places how I will go and the strange situations that I can life.

One week ago I arrived to Pushkar village, one place that I know well, because it’s my fourth time here, and someones maybe thinking why you go many times at same place if India is so big as is? well… I don’t know, but I’m not the only one, here there are a lot of people how come back again, maybe this happen because the village are close to Delhi (7h by train or 6h by bus, and yes this is near here), and usually it’s a peaceful place and i tell you usually because this days there are the camel festival, and the village become ful of all kind of people, specially local tourist how come from all parts of India and also many western, who only you can see in the shows how are in the program or in the resorts how are to the outskirts, but never in the village.

Today in the program I see one interesting show, moustache competition, but many people are also interested for this event, I need fight nail and tooth to defend a little place where I can take pictures, not even when I worked in a newspaper I did’t fight like today to defend my position, but at last I can make the photos of contestants who showing theirs valued moustaches and I post in India section inside of photography because you can enjoy the best Rajasthan moustaches.