From the banks of the Sabarmati

Hogia

rohaninindia — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:26:51 +0000

It means ‘done’ or ‘finished’ in hindi.

Says it all really, see you soon!

Bengali Backlava

rohaninindia — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:05:19 +0000

Calcutta is famous for it’s sweet shops, so I’ve been a little disappointed with how few I’ve come across. Until today!
I was drawn in by some fresh jalebi, but then some pastries caught my fancy. No idea what they are called, but they taste like backlava without the nuts. Really good.
That’s all

Calcutta chalo

rohaninindia — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:30:38 +0000

After Varanasi (the town of fake silks and really, really annoying ‘guides’, with which I’m not even going to honour with a blog post), I went to the peacful pilgramage centre of Bodhgaya. This is where Buddah obtained ‘enlightenment’ (or so he said) and tourists and buddhists alike come to meditate and eat thukpa.
Saw THE bodhi tree that buddah stared at (well, it’s actually a cutting from a sapling of the original, but near enough) and ate very well, thanks to the number of Tibetan and other international buddhists that call the town home.
From here I tried to reach Shantinekitan, a relaxed place that centres around an arty university founded by a famous poet and artist (where many NIDeans have done their undergrad). Instead a thick fog decended in the late afternoon, and I missed my turnoff by about 30km. Remembering an average speed of 40km/h (small bike and regular traffic jams), this was a pain. I turned around but all too soon the sun had left me and I decided to find a hotel instead of bludering along in the darkness.
This was easier said than done, so I settled once again for a dhaba. The mosquitoes were ferocious (and I stopped with the anti-malarials long ago) so this was probably an unwise decision, but with copious amounts of aerogard and no exposed skin I only sustained a few bites. Besides, the room rent could hardly be cheaper (free) and the paneer masala I had for dinner was excellent.
I finished the journey to shantinekitan the next day, and though there was very little to do, I enjoyed the town well enough.
All of which brings me to today, where I sit in an internet cafe in Calcutta, writing to you and deciding my ‘last price’ for the motorcycle (as expected, within five minutes of parking the thing I had offers coming thick and fast, all of which were well below the belt).
Not to worry, as I have the luxurious option of sending it back to friends in Gujarat if I can’t get a decent price here.

Nothing to say about Calcutta as yet, because I’ve not seen anything, so I’ll say goodbye instead.

Flat

rohaninindia — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:04:42 +0000

I’m back in the dust, noise and diesel fumes of the plains, and it’s all a bit of a shock after the relaxed himalayan foothills.
The first town of note was Lucknow, which I quite liked. There was lots of Raj architecture scattered about, and the city was relaxed enough. The Residence is where the Indian Uprising occured (the ‘First War of Independence’, or ‘the Mutiny’ as the brits liked to call it) and the ruined buildings are marked all over with cannon and gun shots.
Continuing the historical theme is Allahabad, where I am now. Lots of stuff happened here during the independence movement which I won’t bore you with. I don’t really like the place much – the people here are, to make a grossly unfair generalisation, really annoying. The rickshaw wallahs are worse than Delhi, and the usual “Hello, how are you? Where are you from?” feels like an assult rather than an enquiry.
No matter, for tomorrow I head to Varanasi, where all the people hoping for a tourist dollar will no doubt be much worse!
Less than two weeks to go, and I find myself actually having to plan my journey more than a few days ahead so I can be sure to make my flight! I think after Varanasi I will go to Bodghaya, and then go flat out to Calcutta, where I’ll get rid of the bike and see the city before I leave.

See you soon!

Once again a while…

rohaninindia — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:54:42 +0000

So I left you in Kalpa I think. From there was a bit of back-tracking and a few junction towns to Uttarakhand. Managed to find myself in a town where foreigners aren’t permitted on the way, but that story deserves to be told in person over chai.
I’m a few weeks behind in relaying this story, so very briefly:
Mussoorie – very touristy, but a met a few local lads who were good value. Roads are excellent!
Dehradun – nice enough for a big city, but there is no hiding the fact it is a big Indian city (read loud, dirty, chaotic etc.)
Rishikesh – I ended up staying here for a week because I liked it so much. Had little to do with the town, although the food was good (if expensive) and the hills were pretty, and it certainly had nothing to do with yoga classes or ashrams. But I met a whole bunch of cool people, and it was just nice to eat and chat all day. We hired a couple of scooters one day, and seven of us (there was another guy with a bike) went for a jaunt in the hills. Twas nice to ride in a pack for a change, even if we were travelling at scooter pace.
And since then, I’ve been in the hills east of Rishikesh. I’m in Nainital now, which is similar to Mussoorie but I spent the day walking in the hills to avoid the tourist crush so it’s still enjoyable.
From now on it will be flat land and warm weather for me – tomorrow I should be out of the mountains and I might reach Uttar Pradesh, and it’s flat from there to Kolkata.
Perhaps I might even write frequently enough to remember something interesting?

I’ll see you all in three weeks anyway, so I’ll be sure to fabricate some wild adventures to tell by then.

It’s been a while…

rohaninindia — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:00:32 +0000

And I have travelled a fair way since last I wrote, so I suppose I had better get on with telling you about it.
From Vashisht in the Kullu Valley I headed into the Parvati valley. I spent a few days there, not doing much, then bbegan heading east towards Kalpa. I crossed the Jalorie Pass and had was excited to see snow by the side of the road and small creeks frozen solid, but I did begin to worry a little when I saw a few drops of rain on my visor. Anyway, it kept drizzling but nothing more, and I reached Rampur in time to find a hotel, dump my luggage and buy a decent rain jacket before dark.
Sarahan was next, only a short journey but it was made interesting by the rain of the past few days. The numerous sections of unpaved road had been destroyed by the trucks that service remote communities in the Spiti valley and the numerous hydro-electricity projects. I was riding in deep wheel ruts and slippery mud so the going was slow and draining, but rewarding.
The temple in Sarahan was nice, but didn’t live up to the ‘finest example of Himachali architecture’ claim in the Lonely Planet.
There wasn’t much else to see or do in Sarahan, so the next day I made for Sangla. The sun was shining but the roads were far from dry, but I was used to riding in the mud by then and still managed to have a good time. Sangla was super cold, and I awake to find puddles turned to ice, and frost covering the road. Even so, I set off for Chitkul, the last village in this little valley, and managed to stay warm enough with my new jacket. Soon I started to see a bit of snow by the side of the road, then some more, until all but the wheel tracks were white! About half way to Chitkul the road was completely blocked by snow, and some Bengali tourists that were staying in the same hotel had stopped their van and started a snow fight. I parked the bike to join in, and we wandered around in the snow for a while. I was going to press on, and did for a few meters, but one of the old guys warned against it and I decided he was probably right. Still, I rode on snow!
Kalpa was next, and I stayed there a few days. I didn’t really do anything except wander around in the snow and enjoy the lack of tourists. Was a nice if quiet way to spend christmas, wandering around a deodar forest with snow crunching under my boots.

I’ll leave the rest of the trip for another day, as the internet here in Dehradun is woeful (but cheap) and I can hear my writing becoming less of a story and more of a list by the minute.

Off to the tourist and yoga centre of Rishikesh tomorrow, where I hope to find some sort of bash to bring in the new year.

A belated happy christmas to you all, and I hope you have a smashing new year.
See you in a month!

Kullu

rohaninindia — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:39:34 +0000

Hello from the beautiful Kullu valley!
After having my head screwed on once again (the bike’s head, actually) I set off from Mandi to the small village of Naggar, on the east bank of the Beas river. It was perhaps the nicest ride yet, with good roads and majestic scenery. Deodar (himalayan cedar) trees line the rocky hills from the road to the snow line, whilst below the road in the valley are endless apple orchards. Houses by and large are in the traditional Himachali style, which consists of heavy timber beam and stone walls, carved timber windows and doors, and slate roofs.
Being winter, the small places are deserted and the deciduous trees are bare, and it makes for absolutely stunning views. The only low of the journey was a very long tunnel, which on the bike felt like a dark, polluted drainpipe that never ended.

I was going to visit Rohtang La, a high mountain pass that has closed until spring, but after speaking to a few people the journey would have me returning after dark, which I did not like the sound of, especially as the roads near the pass would be covered in snow and ice.

Instead I went to the Solang, which becomes as ski slope later in the winter, but is now home to paragliding and pony rides. I passed on both – the ponies looking mistreated, and I just don’t trust Indian safety standards enough for aviation! The scenery as I crossed the valley was fantastic though.

Even nicer was a walk I took in the afternoon above Vashisht. Small paths wind through houses and orchards and deodar forest, and the one I took passed a fantastic waterfall.

I plan to head back down the valley tomorrow, but I haven’t the foggiest idea where. Perhaps I will head up the Parvati valley, which sound equally nice, although it’s much narrower and so gets even fewer hours of warmth. Wherever I go, I’ll be heading vaguely towards Uttarakhand, the next state of my adventure…

Sorry for the consistent lack of photographs. I’ll try to be better, but it’s a pain to transfer them to public computers.
Besides, what will I show you when I get back if you’ve seen it all?

Just a quick one…

rohaninindia — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:30:23 +0000

Hello again,
I left Dharamsala yesterday, but unfortunately I only got a few hours away before the bike laughed at the idea of moving up hill and died.

**those bored by mechancal goings on can tune out for a while…**

In Ajmer a new head gasket was fitted to stop a compression leak. That worked fine until Dharamsala, where after a few day trips it became difficult to start, and finally stopped pulling. Another gasket and a new head stud (well, bolt to replace the stripped stud) and all was well, for half of one day. Baijnath was where it died, right near another mechanic (there are lots in India, could have something to do with the standard of work…). He tried a few easy fixes before resorting to drilling and re-tapping oversized threads and fitting oversized studs (the existing threads in the cylinder block were stripped). That lasted another half day before I heard the tell-tale snap crackle pop on trailing throttle, and if I got my hand close enough I could feel the leak again.
It still runs and starts easily (doesn’t pull very strongly though) so the leak isn’t as bad. Fingers crossed it just needs to be re-torqued (hahaha, I haven’t seen a tourque wrench in India yet!) after going through a heat cycle.

**Mechanical bits over**

Anyway, I reached Mandi again and I’m still having fun. Hopefully I’ll be able to get away tomorrow and see some sights once the bike is fixed.

Don’t really know where to next – maybe Manali, or I might head towards Rishikesh. Something will make my mind up for me I’m sure (a nice picture in the Lonely Planet, or the road I end up on after finding my way out of Mandi probably).

Tomorrow is a bit of a milestone – six months away, and seven weeks to go. So I’ll see you all soon!

Mountain Man

rohaninindia — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:29:28 +0000

After living in the hot plains of Gujurat for months, I was a very happy boy when I finally got to take a decent bend on the mighty yamaha! After Chandigarh, I made for the tourist town of Shimla, which has some beautiful Raj era buildings interspersed with shops selling counterfeit Nike and Adidas winter woolies. I stayed at the YMCA, which was built in the 20s and was deserted (it’s the off-season in Himachal). Felt like I had this mansion all to myself which was pretty cool. Felt like that place we stayed at in Tas (remember the name Dad?) only bigger.
I stayed there a day to recover a bit from my snuffly nose, and then headed to Mandi. The ride was fantastic, winding through valleys of blue-green rivers, breezy pine forests, open grassland, and even a few stands of some type of eucalypt. The road itself was often patchy, but the scenery more than made up for it.
From Mandi I made my way to McLeod Ganj, where I’m writing this. This is the home of the Tibetan Government in Exile, and so there is a huge refugee community (and good tib food!).
I’ve run out of time just for the minute, but I’ll hang around here a few days so I’ll write again soon.
Here are a few pictures to keep you occupied – the most recent are still trapped inside the camera. (Zo and Glenn love her new DSLR) (The Taj Mahal in all it’s hazy goodness) (the blokes from the Dhaba)

North India Is COLD

rohaninindia — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:02:01 +0000

I should have listened to those dozen or so touts that tried to sell me a sleeping bag. I’m sure they were cheap, and I’m sure they were warm, and they sure would have made last night a bit nicer!
I had intended to sleep in Kurukshetra – not much to see but it was a short days ride from Delhi, and the Hindus reckon that it’s where the universe was created, so it can’t be all bad (or so I thought). I arrived and checked every hotel I could find and came up with expensive rooms or zilch, so I summoned my best hindi to ask a chai walla where I could find a place to sleep. ‘Hotel, argay, paanch kilometer’ (hotel, straight, 5km) came the reply, so off I went.
After about 10km I saw nothing, so I stopped at a roadside dhaba (truck stop) to ask again. To my suprise, he offered me a bed himself, so I got off the bike and had another chai.
Now, when you get a bed at a dhaba, that is all you get. No room, no heater, no blanket – just a woven mat bed in the open courtyard.
Despite wearing everything I have, I was a little chilly. I survived, and the price cannot be beat but I might think twice before doing it again.

Anyway, I’m now in Chandigarh after a brisk morning ride – a town they say you love or hate. I might not go so far as to say hate, but I certainly couldn’t live here. Imagine your nearest shopping centre, take the roof off, change those pathways to very wide roads, and upscale it to full city size. Very interesting though – the city museum details the project (Chandigarh was built from scratch to form a new capital of Punjab post partition, as the original capial fell into Pakistan. Partition created a great many refugees – making a new city meant it could accomodate the numbers unlike any exising cities in the area).
There is also a rock garden that reminds me a little of William Rickets Sancuary. Stone carvings and winding pathways, but the one here also uses junk to make sculptures and mozaics – the result is not as bad as it sounds, and I’ll upload some pictures when I get to a net cafe that has usb.
Off to Shimla tomorrow. I’m going to freeze again.
Love to all, miss you even more than I did last time I said it