Location: Fatehpur Sirkri, Uttar Pradesh, India
We had a good night sleep in a very nice room. We had our breakfast and went to see what we came here for- the fort. The town used to be the capital of the Mughal empire between 1571 and 1585. It is also a World Heritage Site and a very charming and atmospheric place especially around the fort. The rest of the town is as any other Indian towns very dirty with lots of rubbish piling everywhere, cows and goats shitting on the streets and crossing your way, an open sewer running on the street and people full of despair.
So we made our way up the hill where we first visited Jama Masijd – a beautiful mosque, which contains elements Indian and Persian design. We were warned about people trying to be our guides and advised 
not to take one. Lots of local people were sitting on stairs socializing or selling some souvenirs. We entered the mosque at Victory Gate and found ourselves in a big enclosed courtyard. At the opposite side there was a white building within the courtyard with the tomb of some Sufi saint, who had predicted the birth of an heir to the Mughal throne. There were many more tombs and four long corridors around this square courtyard.On the left side of the main gate was the mosque. The whole complex was very nice and felt very ancient. We were constantly disrupted by guys trying to convince us we needed a guide and them being just right person for us and by the souvenir sellers pushing us to buy something. Just outside of this mosque fields were covered by a thick layer of rubbish greeting us –”Welcome to India the land of the rubbish. “It was pretty sad to see the World Heritage Site surrounded by fields of garbage and nobody cares.
After that we went to see the main part of the fort, which we had to pay to get in. The fort was a big complex of courtyards, gardens, buildings, towers and walls all of them built from a red stone. The emperor, Akbar, had actually three favourite wives, one of whom was Hindu, one Muslim and one Christian. His favorite one was said to be the Hindu one and we could see it, because he built for each of them palaces, where they lived. The house he built for the Hindu wife, was the most beautiful one and set around an enormous courtyard with traditional Indian columns, Islamic cupolas and turquoise-blue Persian roof tiles. This one 
was also the largest of the three. His least favorite was probably the Christian one, because her house was converted from a kitchen and was very, but very basic and also very tiny. The Muslim wife had a mid sized house with nice carvings around. There must had been lots of jealously and hatred among them three, one more favorite than the other. After that we entered another courtyard with an ornamental pool with a platform where singers and musicians were performing for Akbar, who was watching from a pavilion in his private quarter. These days it is only something looking like a maze. Just behind it 
there was his bedroom with an enormous bed looking like for four people, maybe for his three wives? On the grounds of the same courtyard there was a Hall of Public Audiences, where the emperor was orchestrating public executions carried out by his war elephants trampling criminals to death and also many other interesting buildings like the emperor’s treasury or a building where the emperor was debating with his ministers. There were many more scattered buildings around and many more courtyards. Before we left the complex we walked through the big complex of the royal stables. They must have had also camels and elephants over there, because individual compartments for animals were bigger than for horses. From there we strolled around the ruins and went down the main road, through piles of bricks and boys with goats.
We returned to the guesthouse and decided we don’t want to stay here another day, so we left and took a bus to Agra. There we waited for five hours to get an overnight bus to Rishikesh in Uttarakand, which was at least 500 kilometers north of Fatehpur Sikri, if not more. There we were planning to chill out and take a few days of yoga classes. My reclining seat in the bus was broken, which was fantastic, because it was nearly like a bed, which was a big advantage .
Location: Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
11-12.11.2009
Day 1
India is very easy to travel by train, but you have to book it at least four days in advance. We found a very good on-line booking website called www.cleartrip.com which takes the hassle out of Indian train travel (no more travel agents or booking at train stations). But because we didn’t plan anything we had a bit of problem today. Indian trains have got a few classes starting from a passenger carriage, which you can’t book on-line and you don’t get a seat. You can hop in to any train going to a city or town you want to go. The only problem is, that the carriages are mostly completely packed with people with their hands and legs sticking out from the carriages. The passenger carriages are super-cheap, compared to the other classes. Then you have got sleeper class, which we normally take and is quite cheap to, but still triple the price compared to the passenger carriage. After that you have got a seat carriage with a booked seat, sleeper 3 berth AC and sleeper 2 berth AC (air-conditioned). 
The last one would cost at least ten times as much as the passenger carriage. But to get to the point, we had to take the passenger carriage today because we were late with the booking. The first journey didn’t really bother me, because the train was starting in Khajuraho, which meant it won’t be full and we can easily find a seat. It was the second train from Jhansi to Agra, which I was scared of. We took a rickshaw at 11Am to the train station of Khajuraho. The station was very empty at first but later on started filling up. We still managed to find the seats, which was great. As usual the train left with one and a half hour delay. The journey was too long and exhausting. It supposed to take us four hours, but took eight hours instead. Wait wait, that is not all. The distance was only 100km. Yes, yes only 100 km in eight long hours. Amazing!!! The train was dirty full of peanut shells on the floor and other rubbish. People were getting in the train and selling foods and drinks (peanuts too). People were staring at us, as we were some movie stars. It was quite annoying. At a certain point there was a man, a very annoying man sitting next to us. He was staring at me all the time from about half a meter distance and talking in Hindi, which we obviously didn’t understand. At the end he was so obnoxious we couldn’t bare him anymore, so Arne kicked him, because we told him at least twenty times, that we don’t want to talk to him and he should stop bothering us. Of course all the people in the carriage were staring like cows at us. When we got off the train to have a cigarette break people were even turning back to take a look.
We finally arrived to Jhansi, which had quite a decent train station. We had a little dinner at a nearby restaurant and ran to catch the other passenger train to Agra. The first train terminating at Amritsar was completely full with people and bags and arms and legs sticking out. It was crazy, I couldn’t see us arriving to Agra tonight. Many people even didn’t fit inside, so they were waiting for another train and so we did. Except the people there were at least three cows at the station just on a platform between the two trains eating cardboard and one of them with her head in the rubbish bin just next to a snack stall. “Where are you travelling Mrs. Cow?” “ Moo I need to go to Delhi to buy some tasty and juicy clovers and after that I would like to see the Taj Mahal.” But anyway we had to take the next train, which was the same story as the previous one. There was a stampede of people with huge sacks on their heads trying to squeeze in the passenger carriage, all at the same time while the train was already full. We were very tired, because it was already 9:30 pm and we had another three hours to travel to Agra in a passenger carriage, which we couldn’t even fit in. We found some place in a sleeper carriage just next to the toilets together with another four men and several Sadhus. Despite we were next to the toilets the journey wasn’t that bad. Arne managed to talk to one of the Sadhus (holy men), who was very sweet and was giving free lessons of yoga and meditation near Rishikesh in Utarrakand, where we were planning to go later on. In the end we all got on very well and it was a very pleasant train experience for us. We arrived in Agra around 1am in the morning and took a rickshaw to a guesthouse we found in the Lonely Planet, which was just a minute away from Taj Mahal.
Day 2
We were planning to wake up at six in the morning today, but because we didn’t hear our alarm going off, we overslept. We first had breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel with a good view of the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan as a memorial of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. The death left the emperor so heartbroken that his hair is said to have turned grey virtually overnight. He started to built the Taj Mahal the same year and finished 1653. Not long after Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb and imprisoned in Agra Fort where he could only gaze at his creation of Taj Mahal through a window for the rest of his days. In total around 20,000 people were working on the building, which is made of beautiful white marble. It became a World Heritage Site in 1983.
It was cold and rainy day today, which we didn’t expect. It was maybe 18 degrees Celsius and it looked like a bad summer in England. We managed to enter the gates of Taj Mahal around nine in the morning. We paid a ridiculous 750 rupees fee a person, which is about 11 Euros. We thought it to be a very steep price, especially because the entrance for Indians is only 20 rupees. What a rip off. It seems Indian politicians and rulers found a nice new milking cow in tourist attractions and you can be sure that all the profits go in someone’s pocket and not to improving the cities. We also had to pay for the camcorder and we could only film from a distance, which was only two minutes of filming. I was very upset about it, very upset. First we passed a red gate and came to a square with another red gate in front of us. Behind the second gate we could see the Taj Mahal in the distance with the water and fountains in front. There were lots of tourists taking pictures and hanging around. Then we walked along the water and saw a mosque on the left side of Taj Mahal, which had beautiful detailed work and made from red stone. Then we took a look at some other buildings on the right side of Taj Mahal again made of the red stone very similar to the mosque on the other site.
After that we finally made our way to Taj Mahal main building. It stands on a marble platform with an ornamental garden and the Yamuna river at the back. There are four 40 meters white minarets surrounding the building. The central Taj structure is made of semi translucent white marble, carved with flowers and inlaid with thousands of semiprecious stones in beautiful patterns. Below the main dome is the Cenotaph of Mumatz Mahal , a fake tomb surrounded by an exquisite perforated marble screen inlaid with 43 different types of semiprecious stones. Beside it is the Cenotaph of Shah Jahan. The tombs of Mumtaz and Shah are in a locked basement room below the main chamber. The main Taj was truly amazing and very well restored, looking like a new building and not touched by the time. We had to put shoe covers on our shoes like in a hospital to enter it. The building has a surreal quality to it when you see it, like it is from a different reality.
After that we just strolled in a little park in front of the Taj Mahal and looked at stripy squirrels eating seeds. We spent around two hours to see the whole site and made our way back to the hotel. I thought the Taj Mahal was nice, but it 
wouldn’t be in my top list. Arne thought it was definitely worth seeing it though and thought it to be deservedly one of the world wonders. But anyhow, it was the famous Taj Mahal and we had to see it and tick it. Yes, we had seen the famous Taj Mahal. In Agra there were other interesting sites to see like Agra Fort and Mosque and many others. We didn’t see any of it, because they charged ridiculously steep prices to see them, so we left it to save our scrawny budget. From there we took a rickshaw to the bus station, from where we took a bus to Fatehpur Sikri, which was 26 km away from Agra.
Fatehpur Sirkri is a very dirty town with lots of rubbish laying around and an old fort dated from 16 century. Not that not every town in India isn’t dirty, but some are even more dirty. First we were brought to a hotel far away from the centre, which Arne didn’t like, so we came back and looked for something else. We saw lots of hotels and guesthouses before we chose one. Prices of meals in restaurants here were very expensive. Sometimes triple price of what you would normally pay. We certainly didn’t like it, because we are travelling on a shoestring. It took us lots of time to find a restaurant, which had kind of reasonable prices. It was still very expensive, but the meal was one of the nicest we had in India. But those places like Fatehpur Sikri, Agra and Khajuraho are normally full with day trippers coming from Delhi to see the sites around. They are here for two or three weeks and they pay lots of money, because they are on holiday and they don’t have any idea what everything costs in India. We are backpackers and we know the prices, so we look at it differently. I mean it is not very expensive at all when compared to Europe, but very expensive compared to the rest of India.
Location: Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India
10-11.11.2009
Day 1
We arrived to Satna train station at 5am, where we took a taxi to the main bus station. We had to wait for another two hours for the bus to leave. As any bus station in India this one was very dirty and shabby with people staring at you, like you just have landed from Mars. Indian people are very staring, which can make you very uncomfortable. They actually can stand in front of your face staring with open mouth at you for even a few minutes. You don’t want to be really rude, but sometimes you just feel to tell them “piss off “. I try to look elsewhere, otherwise I will probably get rude to them. But anyway at the bus station there was only one place open with food. It was some food stall where we normally wouldn’t eat, because India is a very dirty place and you never know if you are not going to end up in the hospital with serious stomach problems. But because we were very hungry we had some vegetable rice and masala tea over there. It was a super-cheap place and we ended up paying for our breakfast 14 rupees for the both of us, which is about 20 Euro cents. We didn’t know you can get even cheaper than what we already pay. On the way bus bus Arne tried more of those super-cheap places munching his way to Khajuraho. This province wasn’t as poor as Bihar and the houses looked neater and a bit more civilized. On the bus there was a guy who told us he knew about a good place to stay in Khajuraho. We agreed we will take a look at this place. When we got off the bus twenty hungry vultures attacked us with rickshaws rides and hotel offers. It was truly insane. They were shouting in our faces, waving with hotel 
leaflets, pulling our bags and had fights with each other. That was a real war zone over here. I had at least five leaflets of hotels in Khajuraho in my hands and Arne was smoking and hiding in a shop just behind the guy from the shop laughing. We didn’t know what to do it was just too much. We told them if they won’t stop we will walk away. I felt like my head was one big mad house full of screaming voices. At the end I made a decision to take a rickshaw and head to Yogi Ashram 1,5km from the town. The guy we promised on the bus to take a look at his guesthouse was literally running after the rickshaw and begging to take a look at his guesthouse with the words “please, please, please you promised to take a look. ..please, please …” He was so desperate. We felt bad about that, but what he will do when he would be in our shoes? It is just too much, twenty desperate locals attacking two tourists. We understand their despair, but you can’t please everyone!!! Yogi Ashram was too far from the town and it wasn’t anything special. We decided to go back to the town and look for a guesthouse over there. We asked the rickshaw driver about some cheap and decent guesthouse and he drove us to Chandela Hotel, which we liked and stayed. It was only eleven in the morning when we arrived to the hotel. We were too tired, so we fell 
asleep and woke up at four. After that we went to look for some restaurant to have dinner. All the restaurants were too pricey, it was ridiculous. They charge here triple prices compared to the rest of India. But we had to eat and we found some small eatery-restaurant with a local woman cooking and preparing dinner on the floor. We hoped we won’t get sick. On the way back to the hotel people were bothering us and pulling us to shops, selling tours and Kama sutra souvenirs. This place is crazy and you have got constantly people running after you asking you questions, selling you some souvenirs, pulling you to shops and kids begging for money and pens. It is very tiring just to walk on the street, we wished we would be invisible. In the evening just before sunset thousands of squeaking parrots were making their way home, which happened to be a few large trees just in front of our hotel. That was quite a surprise to us, because we thought we were already lucky to see a few parrots in Central America. But seeing thousands of parrots from the balcony of your hotel must be something very special. The evening we spent watching the TV and sipping rum with coke.
Day 2
Today we were planning to go to the temples of Khajuraho with the Kama Sutra carvings dating from the 10th century AD. These temples are a UNESCO World Heritage. The legend is telling that Kharujaho was founded by Chardravarman, the son of the moon Chandra, who descended on a beautiful maiden as she bathed in a stream. The Chandela dynasty built the temples, many of which rose up from a lake (as the story goes). Originally there were 85 temples, but only 25 remained. They were forgotten until a British officer TS Burnt discovered them in 1838. The temples are situated at three locations in the town- Western Group, and outside the town Eastern and Southern Group. The only ones you have to pay to get to is the Western Group and it cost around 250 rupees, which is just under four Euros.
The Western Group was just two minutes away from our hotel. It was a very hot day today. We got security checked and walked through a metal detector first. After that we visited the first temple of the Western Group which was Varaha, dedicated to Vishnu’s boar incarnation. There was a big statue of a boar in a small temple with people, gods and animal carvings. Next to that were the two shrines Lakshmi carved with elephants, camels, people, couples in love and couples and group sex poses of Kama Sutra. The carvings were immaculately preserved with very beautiful and fine work. Inside of the temple were carvings of naked women and men mostly standing next to each other looking in love.
After that we walked further through the very clean and maintained park and came to a complex of temples. They looked very beautiful already from the distance. First we saw Lakshamana Temple. It took 20 years to finish it. Except the carvings I already mentioned there were carvings of battalions of soldiers. There were also some horse-men orgy and other animal orgies. The temple was dedicated to Vishnu. Next to it was Kandariya-Mahadev Temple representing the highpoint of Chandelan architecture. They say this temple has the most representations of female beauty and sexual aerobics. Apparently there are 872 acrobatic statues, but I hardly had seen ten. Arne saw some handstand gymnastic positions, but I missed that. I thought I looked carefully, but never mind. Next to that was Mahedeva temple with a statue of sardula (mythical beast, part lion and even another animal and part human) stroking a 1m high lion. Next to that was Devi 
Jagadamba temple dedicated to Vishnu, later to Parvati and than to Kali. There were carvings of mythical creatures and people. The whole complex was truly impressive and seeing these old ancient temples centuries later was just incredible. I could imagine how grandiose it had been then. The whole complex of these few temples was built on one common courtyard with two statues of lions. There were a few more temples in the Western group with the same motives, very similar to the other ones, and equally impressive. There were two big statues of elephants guarding the entrance to one of the temples. Yellow monkeys with black faces were invading one of the temples jumping and sitting on the temple and watching the tourists.
After that we went to have coffee in a restaurant, where we could sit on a small platform in the crown of a tree and having a stunning view over the whole Western Group. It was like a child’s dream having a cozy and safe place in the crown of a tree.
From there we decided to walk to the Eastern Group, which was twenty minutes walking. On the way there we had lots of people coming and hassling us about buying things and kids asking about money and pens. Two young boys maybe ten years old leeched on us being very chatty. We knew they will ask for money later on, but somehow we didn’t bother anymore. We first walked through the old village of Khajuraho mainly consisting of farmers. Of course they bothered us to buy some odd souvenirs made from metal, which we 
didn’t need. It was very difficult to convince them, that we don’t need them. Then we saw some worse preserved temples, than the ones in the Western Group, but they were still very impressive. There were just behind the village surrounded by rice fields, cows and goats. The boy showed me a tree, which was good for treating malaria and fed me with another thousand bits of information I couldn’t process. He didn’t stop talking since forty minutes ago and it made me quite tired. When both me and Arne had enough of listening (Arne was listening for forty minutes to the other boy) we said we want to be alone. We gave them some money and continued by ourselves. The last group of temples was very nice again with two big statues of elephants, little temples with Kama Sutra carvings and a white complex of walls and temples looking like from a different era. We had some more people running and trying to sell us some metal nonsense. On the way back we walked through the village again, where people were making pots and plates from clay on the streets. Children were running around and playing and asking us for pens. We came back quite tired from walking in this heat. 
We watched the parrots again from the balcony of our room in the evening. The temples were really worth seeing, but the overload of locals asking for money, buying things and bothering us all the time was just too much. When we sat on the balcony we could see tourists passing and locals walking next to them with books, cards of Kama Sutra and other different souvenirs. We would really recommend everyone to go to see these gorgeous temples. It is something you will never forget and will remember for the rest of your life, if you can handle people constantly hassling you with no time left for yourself outside the complexes.
Location: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
5-8.11.2009
Day 1
So we got in the train and everything went completely smooth. We got in, fell asleep and woke up in Varanasi without any disturbance. The Lonely Planet warned about the touts bringing you to a guesthouse for a commission. We had quite a lot of work to do to find one, who kind of gave up the game about the commission. He still tried, but we were stronger. He took us to the Pandhey Ghat , where we wanted to find a guesthouse. The place was a maze of little streets with small shops, restaurants, guesthouses and cows wandering around and shitting on the streets. We saw several of the guesthouses, but in the end we decided for Visnu Guesthouse with a large clean room far away from the hassle. 
The front of the guesthouse was a different story- a big square full of shit and seven cows lying in it. Between these two worlds was a high solid wall trying to separate it. It worked for us, maybe because of the clean large room too nice for Indian standards. We were also very tired today as usual after we travel overnight. We took a warm shower (not the Indian standard) and went to eat something for breakfast. We met the 
Belgian couple we met in Siliguri a few days ago, so we ate together. We agreed to meet for dinner and went back to the guesthouse , were Arne fell asleep. It was time to meet them, but Arne was still asleep. I went down to the place we agreed to meet and waited for their arrival for 45 minutes. The Ganges river is a very calming place with large river banks, people walking around and boats floating on it. Whilst I was waiting , two Indian men from Kerala (South India) a
approached me to chat. They were on a pilgrimage passing by to visit several holy places. They were very nice and it was nice to talk to them. Some more people approached me only to sell me something- postcards, candles, boat trips… When the Belgians finally arrived, Arne still wasn’t here. He came later and all of us walked to the main Dasaswamedh Ghat, where apparently something was going on. As the sun came down people were starting to take boat trips on the Ganges. They also were buying little floating candles with flowers and put them on the Ganges. Hundreds of lit candles were floating downstream making the Ganges a very special river. Next to the main 
Ghat – Chausatti Ghat something was ready to start. People were preparing some event in front of the Ganges, just before the stairs descending to the river. We sat down and waited. Five young guys in white-orange cultural dresses were sitting in a row in front of us on platforms. When the music and singing started, they started to move. First they were dancing with a big shell and tried to blow on it. Then 
they started to dance with incense sticks and then chalice with a thick smoke of incense coming out of it. It was a very beautiful sight to watch. People taking the boat trips slowly started to come closer on the water to see this event. Later on the place in front was full of boats and people inside watching this show. Still candles were floating on the water making this evening even more special. After that the guys were dancing with a little fire, looking like princes from the far east. Here I realized, how deep roots the Hindu religion and culture has. Their movements, their faces, music, singing and seeing those Indian people watching transformed the whole world in front of us. I wasn’t in the real world, I was somewhere else. At the place where people live their lives very close to the nature, animals, earth and their Gods. They live in a completely different world from ours. It was magical. The five princes 
then took a burning chalice with flowers aside of it dancing with this big fire and throwing petals of flowers on their healthy and shiny black hair. I could imagine how it looked like a few hundred years ago with a big reaching realm of India and palaces, maharajas, poetry, singing and dancing. It must have been the most beautiful thing on earth. After that they took an artifact resembling the burning Christmas Tree and they danced with for a while. Those five princes started to dance with something like a broom, then with peacock’s feathers and finished their 
dance with the shell again. The audience was huge on the boats and also on the stairs. It was a really magical performance. Next to Chausatti Ghat, was the main Ghat where they performed the same dance but half an hour later. We didn’t watch this one anymore. But there were more people watching, begging and strolling. Few Sadhus (holy men) were walking around like creatures from a different world. White haired people were begging on the stairs hoping for some money. The cows and goats were watching too together with the people. The whole place was a big old picture from a different century. It was a pity, we didn’t have the camcorder with us. It would be incredible. We stayed there until the other show was finished and then went to the restaurant where we met with these two Belgians in the morning. We had dinner together and afterwards everyone went their own way.
Day 2
The next day we didn’t do that much. I bought some hippie clothes and Arne was looking for a day pack, because his old one had a broken zip. Arne was trying to upload our blog, but because the power here is cut off very frequently we couldn’t do it . We met some girls booking a train ticket online, but when the payment was processing the power went off. They were very upset, because they didn’t know if their payment was finished. That sucks! We went to take a look at a local market, which was very 
busy full of kitschy stuff. The streets were full of cows and their pooh and of course full of dirt. In the evening we met the Belgians and went to take a look at the main Dasaswamedh Ghat again to see if anything was happening today. They were performing the same ceremony, as yesterday, so we weren’t interested anymore. Just after the main Ghat there was a big event with some holy man talking and people singing and clapping their hands. We passed this holy event and went to see the main burning Ghat- Manikarnika Ghat. There were tons of different types of wood stacked up and bodies of dead people burning in the fires of maybe 10 funeral pyres. We watched this crazy place first from a distance 
and later on we came just above the burning bodies maybe 5 meters away. We saw people being brought on wooden bamboo stretchers wrapped in a big piece of textile. Apparently the married women are wrapped in red saris, married men in any colours, old men and women in white together with children. They don’t burn pregnant women, holy men, children, people bitten by snakes and people with leprosy. Those ones are released and submerged in the river, so if you walk along the Ganges you can sometimes see the floating bodies which emerge to the surface. We haven’t seen any, but the Belgians were so lucky to see it. Before the people are burnt they are first washed and massaged in fragrant oils. After that they wrap them and bring for a dip in the Ganges to wash their sins. Then they make a boat ride on the Ganges with their relatives. After they are ready for the burning experience. In a small temple above is burning a fire of Shiva, which they have kept constantly burning for centuries. They don’t use any fuel for burning just wood and this holy Shiva’s fire. They also use five kinds of woods for 
burning. The whole cost of cremation is around 2000 rupees, which is around 30 Euros. Poor people, who can’t afford this fancy funeral can be burnt in electric cremating ovens, which cost only 50 rupees, which is less than 1 Euro. We saw burning people with limbs sticking out from the fire and heads burning out. It was crazy to watch. A guy whose job was burning the bodies told us that hips of the women and chests of the men always remain the last in the fire. When those parts of the body remain, they take them from the fire place and wash them again in the Ganges. After that those parts are burnt to ashes. The ash is then scattered over the Ganges and the ceremony is finished. The people who burn the bodies are untouchables, the lowest caste of Indian 
society. Not far away from the burning Marnikarnika Ghat was a place where people come to die. Untouchables are looking after them until the time of their death arrive. They were bringing more and more dead bodies and setting more and more fires. The whole place was very smoky and gloomy. Taking pictures or recording was forbidden over here, so we didn’t make any video or pictures at the burning Ghat.
After that we went to eat in the guesthouse where the Belgians were staying. The guesthouse was just behind the main burning Ghat with a 
roof top restaurant overlooking the Ganges and smoke from burning bodies ascending to the sky. The food was good and after that we had to go back to our guesthouse, because the gate of the guesthouse was closing at 10 pm. It was already twenty minutes to ten, so we had to go. The electricity in the town was down that time and we didn’t have a torch. We found out that on our lighter there was a small torch we could use, so the problem was solved. The walk back along the bank of the Ganges in the dark only accompanied by a little light from our lighter was quite a spooky experience. Men were peeing everywhere on the stairs and the whole bank stank of urine. A man was 
cleaning the main Ghat with a pressure hose pumping water from the Ganges. We didn’t think it would help. The Ganges contains 1,5 million fecal bacteria per 100 ml and to be safe to swim the water should contain only 500 fecal bacteria per 100 ml. Still we saw people bathing in the Ganges, wash their bodies, teeth, clothes and even drink it. We don’t understand anyone could survive this lethal portion of bacteria, but they do (at least for as long as we were looking). We had missed our guesthouse and it took us quite a while to find it, but some good people on the way helped us.
Day 3
Arne wanted to upload the pictures to Flickr and I wanted to take a stroll around the Ganges to see different Ghats in Varanasi. I went down to the bank of the Ganges and Arne decided to go with me and have a cigarette. We sat on the stairs and watched people washing clothes in the Ganges. There were clothes lying everywhere, on the stairs, washing lines and pavements to dry. Hundreds of pieces of garments were moving on the washing lines with the force of the wind. Arne had changed his mind and decided to take a stroll with me. On the banks of the Ganges 
people were bathing in the river eliminating their sins they gathered during their life time. We saw more clothes washing places and people washing the clothes on stones descending to the river. We also saw water buffaloes swimming in the river cooling down in this hot weather. We came to the end of the main part of Varanasi along the Ganges and sat down in the shade to cool down. An Indian man in his early fifties arrived and started to talk to us. Arne was listening, but I wasn’t in mood to talk or listen to anyone. But Arne later told me that the guy was a supervisor of this area and was trying to keep it under control. He even put the signs with “no peeing on the streets”, to prevent people peeing everywhere around. But he said that the majority of the people here are illiterate anyway, so the signs didn’t help. At least he tried. He also told a couple of stories, one which was about the holy ponds in Varanasi. There are several holy ponds, where people coming to take a dip to get 
healed from diseases or just ‘marriage problems’ (infertility). Every single pond has got its own unique property and heals certain problems. In one of these ponds some king came with leprosy and when he took a dip in the pond he got healed. There is a pond of fertility, where unfertile people not able to have children come with their partners bathing. The guy said everyone gets healed, which we doubt. He also told us that Varanasi was born at the point where rivers Varan and Asi meet. Varanasi is the oldest city of India. And there were more stories, about the prime minister Indira Gandhi, who received a necklace from some holy man 
saying, that when the necklace breaks she will die. When she was murdered some years later, they found her necklace was broken earlier that day. And the stories went on and on. I strolled around and made lots of pictures of people, animals and buildings around. The whole surrounding looked yet again like civilisation 2000 years back with cows, goats and chickens strolling on the stairs together with crazy people bathing and washing the clothes in the Ganges. After that Arne bought a cream for his Himalayan-injured knee and we got back to stroll along the bank 
of the Ganges. We carried on passing the main Ghat arriving to the main burning Ghat. Fire and smoke was filling the place full of crying women, piles of wood, boats, burning bodies and people watching the funerals. We again saw flames of the fire licking and engulfing flesh and bones into their hot and hungry mouths, leaving nothing behind but ash. We again saw heads and limbs burning and new dead bodies arriving ready to be burnt. We sat down and watched at least for half an hour. It was of course a crazy place with an insane atmosphere. We were back many centuries back in a different world with different beliefs. The river, boats, people, ceremonies, buildings, stairs and streets holding the deep history of India, unchangeable even these days. There is no sign of progress, no sign of the modern world. Everything is so old, so stuck in the past.
After that we walked behind the burning Ghat where there were stables for cows, just in the middle of the paved street above the main stairs. We had to walk around the cows to carry on. We walked and saw more people bathing and drinking water from the Ganges and more people washing their clothes. There were some very old and impressive buildings along the river perfect for the camera. After that we made our way back to the guesthouse. In the evening we finally managed to upload our blog and pictures. I carried on writing the latest stories, while Arne was already sleeping.
Day 4
The next day our train to Satna was leaving at 7pm. We still had the whole day to spend in Varanasi. We had breakfast and went to the market to look for a torch and bought some fruits. After that we sat on the rooftop restaurant in our guesthouse. I was updating our blog and Arne read a book. We had a beautiful view on the Ganges with people strolling, bathing and washing. When we had a lunch we met Lou (we did the Goecha-La trek together) and had a five minute chat, because we had to leave and go to the train station to catch the train to Satna. The journey with the train was very easy of course with some delay.
Location: Bodhgaya, Bihar, India
2-4.11.2009
Day 1
We left Gangtok at 7am and took a shared 4wheel to Siliguri, which took us about five hours. From there we took a tuk-tuk to New Jalpaiguri train station, where we took an overnight train to Patna in Bihar state. In New Jalpaiguri we found a cute restaurant and had a lunch. The train station was very busy with lots of Indians travelling. We met a Belgian couple in their mid forties taking the same train as we did. We still had at least two hours before the train would arrive, so we had a long conversation with them. They were very chatty and Arne didn’t really feel like participating. It was a very hot day with little humidity. The train was half an hour late, so we left at around four in the afternoon. They stayed in a different carriage, so we didn’t meet them on the train. Getting into the train was very stressful. According to the rules, we supposed to have the number of the carriage and the seats printed on the ticket. Also the names of the passengers should be written on the paper attached to the outside of the train carriage. If your name doesn’t appear on the list you have to inform a conductor, who will check it and sort it out, otherwise your ticket is not valid even though you have one. What a strange rule. But the list on the carriage was from an old date and so we didn’t know if everything would be ok. The conductors said it should be ok, so we found our carriage S7, which they claimed was not the right one, because they had swooped S1 with S7 even though they still had S1 and S7 written on them. On the way to carriage S1 we asked another conductor about the carriage and they sent us back to S7. We finally came to our carriage and a guy from the food carriage asked us if we would like to have a dinner. We agreed about our dinner at seven o’clock. Then some Indian passenger with his whole big Indian family came from carriage S1 and claimed, that this is S1 and not the S7 because he was told that by the conductors. He was very rude shouting and sending us to the other carriage. Arne got annoyed and told him to speak like a normal person and not shout. We certainly are not used to this kind of manners in Europe. But Indians are like that, very short temper – hot headed. We were pretty fed up and moved again to the S1 carriage. When we thought it was all over a food department guy for the S1 came to ask us about the dinner. We told him we already ordered our dinner at the S7 carriage, but the guy from this carriage doesn’t know we moved. He assured us he will tell him and cancel our food at the other carriage , because now we are staying in his carriage. Right after that the food guy from the other carriage appeared bringing us the food, which we agreed he will bring at 7pm and it was only 4pm. We said we don’t want to have it, because we just ate and he supposed to bring it at 7pm. He got very aggressive and pushed us to get the meal. There was no way around when you looked at his completely mad eyes ready to kill us when we won’t take the food. We said we will take the meal when he will heat it for us at seven, because in three hours the food will be cold. We finally paid him and stuck our lunch boxes on the upper berth. One of the food men, I can’t really remember which one, left his wallet with 1000 rupees and his ID from the train department on the seat. I found it and we wanted to give it to him when we came back. There was one more guy serving a tea and he offered he will give it to him, so we handed the wallet to the guy. In one minute later the two food guys came running to our carriage shouting and asking for the wallet. We said we gave it to the guy with the tea. In the end we found out, that the guy with the tea doesn’t belong to the train food chain and he is just some guy jumping in the train at the one station and jumping off at the other selling his tea to the passengers. He obviously jumped off with the 1000 rupees and we handed the wallet to a thief. Shit!!!! Later on they came with four conductors blaming us for the wallet and investigating our motives. The guy who forced us to buy the food was pretty mad and Arne had the feeling he might even take revenge or steal something when we sleep. The conductor asked us what had happened and we told them the whole story about the tea man. The food people were still kind of chasing us, but the four conductors made it clear for them- stay away from these two foreigners otherwise you will get into big trouble. And they left us and we hadn’t seen them since. The one of the conductors checked our ticket and said we had to go back to the S7 carriage, because this one is S1. I think at this point we were pretty angry steaming like furious dragons ready to fight and shout. We told them, that we were shifted from one carriage to another since we got in and we are not willing to move anymore. But they were firm and persistent but also apologetic. I had enough and everything what has happened since we got in the train list, carriages, food, stolen wallet, investigation, anger, pushing, aggression so we just gave up and moved to the other carriage. We asked one of the conductors to come with us and explain it to the hot-headed guy with his big Indian family, because we didn’t want to get involved into a confrontation of any kind. Of course the guy got very furious shouting and screaming at the conductor. At least we didn’t have to do this. We finally got to the S7 carriage and stayed there until the end. We took a sleeper class which is a carriage with at least 36 berths, eight in each little open cabin. We took two upper ones and fell comfortably asleep with no more disturbances. And that was our first Indian train experience. I thought I don’t want to travel by train anymore!!!
Day 2
The next day we arrived to Patna train station which was full of homeless people sleeping everywhere on the floor outside and inside the train station. “ Good morning Ada and Arne, welcome to a brand new day”. Well I rather would be asleep, than at four o’clock at night at this place stinking of shit and people looking at us like we just landed on Earth from Mars. There were at least fifteen men around us in a split of second offering tuk-tuk shouting and fighting who will make it first. We were still half asleep, so we just wanted to punch them in their face so they could stop shouting and pushing us. But we were lucky enough to find a guy from Sikkim, who had to go the same way and spoke English and Hindi (Sikkim’s people speak Nepalese). He helped us with the whole journey to Bodhgaya. We took a shared tuk-tuk to the bus station and found 
the bus to Gaya. It was a very shabby, old, blue bus, ready to break down at any time. The amount of mosquitoes on the bus was unbearable, so we stayed out until the bus was ready to leave. I still needed to go to the toilet so I asked where the toilets were. People were pointing the direction at the end of the “bus station”. It wasn’t really a bus station just a square crowded with buses in the middle of fields with lots of people, dirt, tea stalls, a morning darkness and a dodgy feeling. I followed the direction together with Arne, because I really had to go to the toilet because it was a three hour journey without stopping. We couldn’t imagine any toilets there, but we carried on. We came to the end of this “bus station” and indeed there was a “toilet”. At least five men were squatting down and doing their morning poo in the middle of the field and showing their manhood tools to people who happened to be there. I stopped breathing being completely shocked what I saw. What the hell is that, how…how.. is that possible? How? How? I was standing there watching and not being able get it. Arne thought it was very funny. My urge to go to the toilet stopped, when I saw what they meant by the toilet. We went back to the bus with my mind shaking from this huge shock.
Patna is the capital city of Bihar, which is the poorest state in India and that’s what you could see everywhere. We got into the bus and were driving through Bihar we saw people peeing on the streets in front of many people and men squatting down next to the road in the grass field doing their “morning business” and showing their skinny bums, balls and willies to the whole world. I think this coffee is strong for even the strongest minds. Our minds were twisted in whole kinds of directions since we arrived to India, but this was just a brain fuse.
The countryside was quiet with rice fields and very poor villages. The houses were built from clay and straw with dirty people and children running around, goats and pigs and cows eating straw from big clay bowls. Inside the houses was nothing except clay tables, beds and benches. It looked like we were at the times of Christ in Jerusalem, 2000 years back. Everything was so surreal, so far away from our experiences of the world. I always dreamt to go back in time to see, how it was in the old days, but after seeing this I didn’t have to dream anymore. Everything was there in the clearest present. I would never think something like that could still exist in today’s world, but it does. Nothing has changed here, everything remained the same for another two thousands years. Crazy!!!
When we arrived to Gaya, things weren’t different just a bit better. Gaya was a very poor town with lots of poverty showing everywhere you looked. Again the same dirt, streets, people and animals. We took another tuk-tuk to Bodhgaya, which dropped us in front of a Tibetan monastery, where the Sikkimese guy was planning to stay for meditation. We didn’t really like it over there, so we looked further. We ended up staying at the Bhutanese monastery, which was ok except there were lots of mosquitoes coming from the bathroom. After that we went eating in Mohammad’s restaurant, which was in the Lonely Planet and didn’t look appealing at first. But the food was great and the prices 
also. From there we went to take a look at the Holy Tree where Buddha attained enlightenment. But before that we passed a long street full of beggars leading towards it. The place was beautiful, filled with Buddhist people meditating, praying and exercising. There were Buddhist from all over the world; Japanese, Vietnamese, Nepalese, Tibetans, Thai and others. We had to pay for the camera, but the entrance was for free. We first strolled around the main temple where we watched people meditating. Then we saw the tree where the Buddha became enlightened. The tree was actually cut by the jealous King Ashoka’s wife, who couldn’t bare Ashoka’s attachment to the tree. He was so obsessed by the tree, he didn’t pay any attention to his wife anymore. But one branch of the tree was 
saved and brought to Sri Lanka, where it was replanted again. After many years Indians brought the branch from the same tree from Sri Lanka to Bodhgaya and planted this branch on the same place, where the original tree was. So by now the tree has grown into a giant tree spreading its branches in every direction. Many people were praying and meditating 
in front of the tree. Then we took a stroll around the main temple and inside of it. The inside wasn’t that interesting. After that we walked around from the other side with a big pond and a statue of the Buddha in the middle of the pond. We met some local guy, who wanted to show us around. We were suspicious at first, but later on we gave up. He also showed us some different ruins very nearby. He even walked back with us to the monastery we stayed. But this kindness came with a price. Of course he was so kind because he wanted to sell us a tour. But anyway it didn’t matter and even he insisted to meet tomorrow. And we said maybe. The rest of the day we spent in the monastery, where I was catching up with writing our blog. Arne was planning our next move.
Day 3
The next day we went again to Mohammad’s restaurant where we spent three hours talking to a monk from England. He had been practicing meditation for twelve years and coming to India every year for several months. He was in his early forties, maybe late thirties. It was a pleasure meeting him, because he was a very nice guy. We were talking about everything from travelling, meditation and marriage to alcoholism. We really enjoyed this pleasant morning. After that we went back to the monastery to pick up the laptop to upload our blog. The local guy from yesterday was standing in front of the monastery waiting for us to blame us, that he had been waiting for hours because we agreed to meet around ten with him. We obviously didn’t, which we told him so. Good try, a guy who is studying history at the university and when he finishes his university he would like to sell motorbikes. Right!!! We took our laptop 
and headed to the internet cafe. There we found out that we booked the ticket to Varanasi one day earlier than we thought. It meant that we had to leave this evening, which we thought would be tomorrow. We even paid two nights in the monastery. We didn’t have that much time anymore, so we ran back to the monastery to ask if it would be a problem to return our money for this night, because we had to leave. How could it be a problem in a monastery full of kind monks? They even 
offered us to leave our bags inside of the room, until we needed to leave. Thank you very much kind monks, we really appreciate it. After that we had to catch up with the sightseeing. First we saw a Japanese temple, which was very basic. Arne really liked it because of the minimalistic design, for me it was nothing special. He made lots of pictures of the temple. After that we went to see a big statue of the Buddha, which was the biggest Buddha statue we have seen so far. He was gigantic with 
his gigantic body and his gigantic head. There were four statues of reincarnations of Buddha on each side of the main statue. They looked more like guardians of the Buddha, than his own reincarnations. We walked around and we saw that under the right eye of the statue of Buddha was a big nest of birds. It looked like a big mole, which I found very funny. But it was very impressive, at least for me. From there we walked to the Indian Temple, which we ascended up the stairs. It was a very simple temple, but the stairs and the atmosphere around them was just beautiful. There was so much tranquility and peace, so much beauty. For a while we sat down on the stairs and watched things happening around. It was well spent time. After that we passed the Tibetan temple, not going inside. We saw so many Tibetan temples and they 
all look the same, so we didn’t go. As we were on our way to the Vietnamese temple, which was quite far to walk we passed a very poor area with lots of rubbish, straw-clay houses and people looking undernourished. On the same way we passed fields of rice, straw-clay houses, tons of cows and date trees sticking out high. The Vietnamese temple actually appeared to be the Black Hat Tibetan temple and inside there were little 4-14 years old monks. They were singing and praying and also receiving 
donations. As we understood they were Tibetan refugees, who made this ceremony for Vietnamese tourist we walked inside with. So it looked like we were the lucky ones to see this little ceremony with hundreds of little monks singing and the Vietnamese giving donations to every single little monk separately. It was a nice ceremony. After that we wanted to see the Vietnamese Temple, but it was closed. We had to make a long way back through the rice fields, tons of cows, people and transport again. We met Andrew, Lou and David from the Sikkim Trek in front of the Thai Temple. We made an arrangement for dinner together 
at six and a minute later found ourselves standing next to some mad guy with a cobra in a basket. He was talking to a crowd of audience he had and then he was twisting his hands into fists and putting them in front of the cobra, which sometimes got annoyed and with a very fast movement lashed out and tried to bite this old madman’s hands. He had a very fast reflex too, the cobra didn’t have a chance against him. He certainly knew what he was doing. After that we ate some 
Momos (Nepalese dumplings), for which we had to wait one and a half hour. People who came after us ate before us. It was quite frustrating. Cows, chickens, goats, dogs, people, busses, motorbikes, bikes, cars were passing through this small bus station, which we saw from the restaurant. Everywhere was dust, smell and dirt. The Momos were nice, but too late. From there we went to pick up our bags and headed to the place we agreed to meet Lou, David and Andrew. They weren’t there yet, but they arrived a second later. We all went to eat to the Om restaurant, where we met a British-Dutch couple. We also 
arranged a tuk- tuk for 8pm, which was the latest you could get. It was quite odd, because we had our train at 3:30am so it meant we had to wait for seven hours at the train station in Gaya. Lou, David and Andrew were leaving for the train one hour later, but they arranged a very overpriced taxi and slept here. It was too much for us now going back to the monastery and stay a couple of hours longer in here. We decided to take this tuk-tuk at eight. He took us to the train station and wanted more money, which we didn’t agree upon and he didn’t get. The train station was a big crowded disaster. Lots of homeless people sleeping outside and inside of it. We found out there was a resting room up the stairs, so we went to take a look. It was more quieter there. We also thought we might take dormitories they offered to rest, but we found out later it wasn’t a good plan. This way we spent seven hours waiting on black metal chairs, lots of people sleeping on the floor and tons of mosquitoes biting everyone. We had to use a coil to stop this blood- hungry monsters. I spent the whole time reading the Lonely Planet and Arne was reading a book and listening the MP3 player. Later on Arne was engulfed into a lengthy conversation with an Indian man. Among a few other delusions about the west the Indian man was convinced that Western men had 20 minute orgasms and Arne tried to convince him otherwise. But the time passed very quickly and all of the sudden we found ourselves getting into the train.
Location: Gangtok, Sikkim, India
31.10-1.11.2009
We woke up early as usual to catch a shared 4wheel drive to Gangtok. We left at 7am together with the Canadian couple in their early forties. They both are teachers taking one year off to travel. They live somewhere next to Alaska and love hiking. The way to Gangok was quite bumpy, because the roads are quite badly maintained. It took us four hours to get there. Gangtok was surprisingly modern, like it could be in Europe. We certainly didn’t expect this clean, very well maintained capital city of Sikkim. Here were no beggars, no poverty. You couldn’t even smoke in the main zone. Everywhere were no smoking signs and there were lots of shops, restaurants and bars having a high standard. The Canadians went for a more luxury hotel and we took a reasonable lower priced hotel, which was quite cute. 
We had to make a decision what to do next, because to book a train is quite tricky and you have to do it in advance. We went to a tourist information office to ask, what is nice to visit around here. We made our plans to see the temples and some different things for the next day. We also decided to go in two days to Bodhgaya, the place where Buddha achieved enlightenment. We stayed too long in Sikkim, so it was time to leave. In the evening we went to the internet cafe to book the train to Bodhgaya and there we met the Canadians. They decided to go for another hike in Darjeeling called the Singalila trek and then to Calcutta. We all went together for dinner and found some Indian fast-food place, which looked like Mac Donald’s including the red and yellow colours, but serving typical Indian dishes. After that we went for a drink in a bar and had a very nice and long chat. It was a very pleasant evening and we very much enjoyed their company. Before returning to our hotel Arne bought rum and coke, so we had some more drinks in our room.
The next day we overslept (maybe the rum had something to with it). We weren’t sure whether to go to visit the monasteries or not. At the end we decided to try it. It was already after ten, which on Sikkim time is too late. We couldn’t take a shared jeep, because it was too late. We were about to give up, when a guy offered us the sightseeing for 900 rupees, driving us to five destinations. We weren’t sure about it, because we wanted to go cheaper. But in the end we agreed. Leaving Sikkim- the Buddhist country without seeing Buddhist monasteries would be quite stupid of us. So we went in his neat little taxi and he drove us to a white Tibetan pagoda with monks walking around and a place for burning candles. Nearby we also visited the Institute of Tibetology with the world’s largest collection of Buddhist books, manuscripts and sacred objects. There was also a story about Buddha’s life from his birth to his death. It was very interesting to read it and also look at those ancient manuscripts written on leather, paper and wood. There were bones, paintings, drawings, objects. We spent there at least 45 minutes.
From there we went to the Rumtek complex, which was 26 km away from Gangtok. It took us a good hour passing yellow rice terraces ready for harvest. The forest we went through was very charming and had a calming atmosphere. The monastery is hugely significant as the surrogate home of Buddhism’s Kagyu (Black Hat) sect. The main monastery building was constructed between 1961-1966 to replace Tshurpu Monastery in Tibet, which was destroyed during China’s Cultural Revolution. Inside of the main monastery is a giant throne waiting for 
the crowning of Kagyu’s current young spiritual leader who escaped from Tibet in 2000 and who is recognised as the new reincarnated Karmapa. But Indian authorities are believed to have prevented him from officially taking up his Rumtek throne for fear of upsetting the Chinese government because they do not acknowledge Sikkim being part of India or Tibet being an autonomous state. Inside of the monastery were thousands of books and manuscripts the monks are reading and praying from every day. There were two something like bell drums, pews for meditation, stands for books, big and small statues of the Buddha and a beautifully decorated interior with big red doors. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, so we just watched. Outside in the courtyard was where dormitories for the monks were and the young monks were strolling around in their red clothes. Behind the main monastery were more dormitories with the monks sitting on the grass chatting and enjoying this beautiful sunny 
day. We passed them on our way to the Golden Stupa where ashes of the last spiritual leader are kept and is a destination for the Buddhist pilgrims in their deepest respect.
After that we went to take a look at the Old Rumtek Gompa only one and half kilometer away from the main one. Inside it looked very similar to the new one, but it was only one small building. We sneaked in to make some pictures and we succeed. One monk still saw us and told us not to do it.
After this we drove another 45 minutes to a different hill to see Lingdum Gompa, another Buddhist monastery. The weather was fantastic with warm weather and a cooling breeze. The hill was exceptionally peaceful and the monastery more beautiful than Rumtek. There were again monks wandering around or sitting in front of their dormitories. The main monastery inside was yet again similar to the two previous ones. But the whole complex was very picturesque and stunning. We enjoyed to stroll around with this 
fine cooling breeze bringing the whole freshness on our faces.
From there we went back to Gangtok having our dinner at the same place as yesterday. I didn’t meet the Canadians anymore, which was a pity, but you never know, we might see them later on. The evening we just relaxed and were preparing ourselves for the next day, because we had to leave at 7am.
Location: East Himalayas, Sikkim, India
23-30.10.2009
Day 1
D-day arrived and we woke up very early in the morning and made our own breakfast consisting of cereals, milk, fruits and green tea. This time we shared it with two German guys and our three companion travelers, I mentioned previously. There was an additional charge for sleeping bags we had to pay, otherwise we will freeze in the mountain. It was only 30 rupees a day, so it won’t kill anyone to pay it. In front of our guesthouse two yaks were parked waiting to be loaded with all the stuff we needed for the hike. We added two full 
bags of clothes in case it will be too cold and packed our day packs very lightly only with essential stuff for the day like water, camcorder, camera, extra socks, hats and gloves… The whole of our group constellation was two yaks, one guide, two porters, one cook, Lou, Andrew, David, Arne and me. So all together 12 of us. The porters were carrying heavy baskets full of dishes, food and another items. The baskets were carried by belts on to their heads. Each basket weighted approximately 50 kilos, which is pretty heavy. Good luck guys!!!
We started to walk about 8:30am. First we stopped at some registration office, to register all the hikers and groups before we moved on. There were more groups and also with people we met previously in Darjeeling like one British and one Canadian couple.
After being registered we had a five and a half hours hike in front of us. The first part was a very easy and light walk through the forest , with numerous waterfalls and bridges. We were walking on the low end of the steep and forested hills along a deep valley with a clear-blue river with a fast flow. The porters were carrying their baskets almost running on the paths. They were very fast compare to the tourists. Most of them didn’t have proper hiking shoes, so they were making their way on Wellington boots or flip-flops. The first part took us about four hours and at the end of this first part we took a break for lunch. The three others were far behind us and our guide was constantly missing, seeing him a mere two or three times throughout the hike. After the 
lunch the path became steep and heavy. We managed to take shortcuts, despite we were warned not to take them. Apparently the last year some German guy took the shortcuts and nobody has seen him since. But we were careful enough and we most of the time asked the porters about the shortcuts. Halfway to the camp we stopped in some small settlement and joined the British couple having a cup of tea. Their names were Andy and Imogen and we also had dinner with them yesterday, so it was pleasant and easy to talk to them.
From there it was only half an hour to the camp, without our shortcuts it would have been half an hour more. We arrived to the camp called Tshokaj at 2 pm, which is 2900 meters high and waited for our guide and the three others for another two hours while sipping chai. Tshoka has got a few wooden lodges for the tourists, a couple of wooden houses with locals, two little places with an open fire where you can get drinks, one souvenir shop, one shop where you can buy cigarettes, beer, fizzy drinks and a few huts for cooking. The toilets were pretty 
simple- three squatting down latrines with waste going into a clean mountain brook and flushing them with a bucket of water. We managed to get a place in one of the lodges with another group. The rest of the groups were camping outside in the tents. The dinner was very nice and we requested vegetarian meals throughout the whole eight days of trekking. The portion was abundant and everyone was satisfied, maybe except David who eats for 3 people but still is looking skinny and undernourished. The whole day was hot and very misty and we mostly walked in the clouds not seeing much of the views. David suffered from lots of wind constantly farting his way up. The locals named him Padua, which means in Nepalese language- the one who farts too much. We all had lots 
of laughs about that. After the dinner the guide took us to one of the huts with the fireplace where we shared a millet beer, something very typical for Sikkim. The beer is a fermented millet which they serve in a bamboo cup with a bamboo straw. They pour hot water in it and then you have to wait for 5 minutes and then you can sip it trough the straw. It doesn’t really taste like a beer, but it is alcohol and it makes you warm during cold mountain nights. The night was mild and we all slept very well.
Day 2
The next day we woke up around seven a clock in the morning not really rushing anywhere. We had some nice views in the morning, which already made our day. Everyone had left from the other groups and we left as the last one. Today it was only a four hour’s hike steep up the hill through the rhododendron forest with lots of moss and an eerie atmosphere. Although it was pretty tough it was only four hours. On the way up 
we stopped for lunch on a glade. Our cook was cooking on a portable stove in the middle of the glade preparing delicious vegetarian Indian dishes. The other groups stopped at the same glade as we did and the air was filling with different smells of food. It was still very misty with no views at all. Before reaching our next camp at Dzongri around 3950 meters high we were blessed with a view at the snowy peaks of Himalayas, which quickly disappeared again in a thick of clouds in a split of a second. Dzongri was a place tucked in-between two hills with no view. But we knew 
that the view wasn’t far. Before dinner we all (not a guide and Lou) walked up the hill, from where we had a spectacular view over the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, which we didn’t expect. The dusk was coming and the peaks were turning red. The view was sensational and we gazed with mouths open and wide smiles enchanted by this grand beauty. It certainly left lots of strong emotions rushing like a wild mountain brook in us. When the sun set the story changed and it became quite cold. We again slept in huts, this time all five of us together, because there was limited space and lots of people in Dzongri. The night was much colder than the previous one, but still manageable. Of course we had to wear gloves and hats to feel comfortable in this mountain climate.
Day 3
The third day we woke up at 3:30 am and left at 4am for the sunrise. We walked accompanied by torches in the dark for 45 minutes up the hill, where we supposed to have a wonderful view over the snowy peaks of Himalayas. We arrived to the point at 4 am. It was still dark and cold. We were the first group to arrive and waited for the sunrise for another hour and half. We all realised it was too early to come here. The next 
groups arrived around five, which was more sensible in this cold morning. But anyway it was quite magical waiting for the sunrise in this cold and silent morning. I made a picture of the stars and found out, that the stars have got different colours when taking a picture. Some of them were red, some of them yellow and some of them blue. Apparently it has got something to do with their temperature, which I didn’t know before. The sky was slowly lightening up changing the view with every second. Before 
the sunrise Khangchendzonga caught a reddish appearance looking like a shy giant lady showing her cold and distant face to us. Khangchendzonga is also the highest peak of India 8598 meters high and is the third highest peak of Himalayas. Higher are only Mt. Everest in Nepal and K2 in Pakistan. After that all the snowy peaks blushed, showing their exceptional beauty for a couple of eager tourists and their big cameras. 
In the valley facing Yuksom the thick clouds were making a white fluffy carpet spreading far away with green hills sticking out. Beams of the sun gradually started to peer over an unknown and snowy peak and the air started to dramatically warm up. The beams of sun landed on our faces, giving us fresh morning warmth and ultimate energy. It was very magical to greet the sun high up in the Himalayas in this untouched nature of the perfect paradise. We spent there about two hours watching the horizon of Himalayas 
uncovering its beauty. When the whole beauty was uncovered it was time to leave to our camp, where we had our breakfast. After that we had the whole day of acclimatization, me lying on the hill in the sleeping bag on the sun like a lizard craving for the warmth of sun. Arne joined me later and we were chatting about the experiences of travelling.
We had a beautiful time in this remoteness and being together just lazing and not doing anything. People from other groups made little strolls around wasting their energies. At least that was the way we saw it. The rest of our group did the same. There was a big group of Czech middle aged people, which I started a conversation with. They were from Prague doing hikes in different corners of the world. We also got closer to the Canadian couple, which we shared the sunrise with and a couple of conversations. The rest of the day was carried by a relaxing vibe and pure enjoinment of being here in the heart of the highest mountain range on the planet – The roof of the world.
Day 4
The fourth day of the hiking we woke up at 6am having a warm oat porridge and chai. Our guide called Cheewan said we had to leave early, so they can get a good kitchen place, but in the end we left as the last ones. The day was beautiful filled with lots of sunshine. At first we hiked through hills with a strong scent, sweet smelling bushes, which Buddhist monks use as an incense for special Buddhist occasions. It is actually forbidden 
to pick them, but people still pluck them secretly and sell them on the market. We hiked together with our yaks and the guide, without the yak man who was sick probably because he was drinking too much the last night. But anyway the hike was exceptionally beautiful and everyone was delighted. The middle part of the hike was through the rhododendron forest ascending down to a valley with a spectacular wild river. This time of the year there were no rhododendron flowers blooming. The best season for rhododendrons is May to June when the whole valley is blooming with many colours of the flowers. That was the best time to see the colours of the valleys of the Himalayas. But the time we have chosen was the best time for the views over the snowy peaks with the clear sky and mild climate. We had a very clear day seeing the Himalayas in its full beauty. The last part of our hike we 
walked through a beautiful valley along the brook with red flowers and pristine nature. That was the most gorgeous scenery I have ever seen in my whole life and Arne thought the same. We were very happy to have made the decision to go here. The Himalayas are very magical indeed. At the end of our day journey we ended up in Tangsing at 3850 meters above the sea level. The place was again very beautiful and very near two snowy peaks and the view at Khangchendzonga and also a perfect place for writing poetry or a novel. There was something about this place, something very special where you can completely lose yourself and become very creative releasing 
energy you never knew it was trapped inside of you waiting to get out on a bright day. See I am being very poetic and that is what this place offers to everyone, who dare to come here. The porters, yak men and guides were playing cricket on the field enjoying the end of the day with a game. When the sun came down it became extremely cold dropping down to –10 degrees. I actually forgot to pack my fleece jacket, so every night and especially this one I was very cold. David lent me his jacket which was very nice, otherwise I wouldn’t manage this cold.
Day 5
The fifth day we supposed to walk just two hours to reach another camp called Lamanai, which is 4100 meters high. But unfortunately the night was very cold and we were freezing the whole nigh not having slept properly. It was the worst night ever. It was also the first night in the tent. Although we had the warm sleeping bags and were fully dressed (hat, gloves, two trousers, three jackets), it hadn’t helped. I also woke up with 
my face completely swollen, not seeing much through my eyes. We also heard that in Lamanai it was even colder with a terrible wind. We talked to our guide about lending us some extra blankets, otherwise we were ready to go back. We didn’t know what to do, but at the end we all agreed we will stay one more day in Thangsing (not going to Lamanai)and Arne and I can sleep in one of the huts. The guide also said it was possible to go to Goecha-La (the highest point we could reach on this hike) from Thangsing, but it will take one and half hour longer. So the whole day we just chilled out and in the afternoon we walked for two hours up and saw Lamanai. We also met two Americans –a father with daughter and had a little chat with them. In the evening we slept in the hut with the open fire so the night was smooth.
Day 6
The sixth day was another D-day. We woke up at 3:30 am, so we could make a hike of ten hours to the Goecha-La pass and back, which is 5200 above the sea level. Our guide is a very lazy guide and after all we weren’t very happy with him. He didn’t want to hike with us to the pass, only to the first view point which was 4800 meters high. He was a very nice guy, but not a good guide. First we had to walk to Lamanai in the dark crossing at least 
thirty brooks, which were extremely slippery. Unfortunately Arne slipped on one of the icy stones and fell in the water and hurt his knee. He decided to go back to the camp and I wanted to go with him. But he insisted I have to go ahead and make the most of the trip. Our guide told that they will come later on, when Arne is dry, but they will not be able to make it to the second point. We carried on with one of our porters. The whole journey I haven’t really enjoyed the hike, because I wanted to share it with Arne. There were at least four points, where I wanted to return back to the camp. The rest of the group always convinced me to go ahead. In Lamanai we stopped for a while just to brush our teeth and go to the toilet. It started to dawn already and we could see much more of the scenery. The sun again leant against the peaks with the snow changing their colours. From Lamanai we walked up to a 
mountain lake with a small wooden hut. Because it was very early in the morning the sky was very clear with mountains mirroring in the water. After that we walked to the first view point at 4800 meters, which wasn’t that heavy. We reached the point at 8am, three and half hours after we left Thangsing. The view from here was again beautiful. We were so close to the high peaks with the snow, we had the feeling we could almost touch them. 
We were surrounded by them just with one part ascending down to the far valley, which was covered by clouds. The rest of it were the peaks with glaciers and lots of snow. Down below the peaks the landscape resembled the moon. The dry and rocky landscape somehow didn’t fit this picture. There was lots of dust and lots of rocks covering a vast area. We stayed there for half and hour to catch some breath and had a bit of break. The porter gave us chocolate, which we very much appreciated and “saved our 
lives.” We were so happy and we gave him a name: the chocolate father. He was the cutest guy in the world. He was in his mid forties, looking more like mid fifties. He always woke us up with a cup of tea, serving our meals and jumping around us to please us. And that was always with a humble and hearty smile. We all loved him to bits. He was like our father, looking after his own children. But anyway after the chocolate we decided we want to carry on to the second viewpoint of 5200 meters. The path down 
the hill was very steep, dusty and easy to fall down, but everyone passed safely. Down in the valley the rocks turned into sand. There was the big sandy valley almost like in a desert, surrounded by snowy peaks and dry mountain flowers. It looked very surreal- the combination of the sand and snow. After that we walked through a beautiful valley with funny mosses in different colours like red and yellow and untypical little flowers. There were more peaks and more glaciers on the way.
The last part was a very steep walk up, during which I had to stop for several times to catch my breath. I also started to have a headache from the altitude, so I had to take some painkillers. The final view was worth it. We were very close to the snowy peaks and Khangchendzonga, and only one hour walk away from its foot and the base camp. Down below was a cold and almost frozen mountain lake and above a big glacier, which 
was constantly making lots of noise. It sounded like something was breaking inside ready to trigger an avalanche. We had our lunch there, made a couple of pictures and had to make our way back. All the groups were far in front of us, so we were again the last ones to leave. The way down was quite easy, but I was hit by a terrible headache. When we reached the mountain lake I felt like vomiting, which kind of scared me. I knew 
that you could die from the altitude sickness, so I wasn’t very happy. Everyone took a break there, but I carried on ascending because that is the best treatment for altitude sickness. I also found out, that when I walked I didn’t feel sick or had the headache. When I reached Lamanai our guide was already waiting for us with a lunch. I still felt sick, so I refused to eat and carried on to our camp by myself. He also told me, that Arne couldn’t make it even to the first view, because his knee 
was swollen and he couldn’t walk properly. That made me walk even faster. I was very unhappy, that Arne couldn’t see the view. The last bit of hike seemed endless, not able reach the final point. But of course it happened and I could see Arne talk to our guide from the distance. I didn’t feel like talking about the hike, because I didn’t want Arne feel bad about the fact, he couldn’t make it. He stayed the whole day in the camp treating his knee with lots of ice. He was also very lucky, because in our camp was a big British expedition climbing one of the 8000 meters high peaks and there was also a doctor and a physiotherapist. The whole expedition was very sick, everyone was vomiting and had stomach problems. I still couldn’t eat so I gave my lunch to David and Andrew- constantly hungry guys. They both had a headache also and later on Andrew started to feel worse and worse. In the end he was vomiting and we were all quite concerned about him. In the evening we shared millet beer for warming up in this cold night, before sleeping in our tents.
Day 7
The seventh day I again woke up with a swollen face, looking like an Eskimo. I had enough of this terrible cold, I just wanted to go back and have a warm shower. Nobody had showered for almost seven days, we didn’t even wash our feet or body. It was too cold to do it. It almost felt like in the Siberian Gulag . First heavy trekking and then coming completely exhausted into this freezing night, not able to relax. It was better to walk, than 
to go to sleep. I was always afraid of the nights with nothing remaining but praying for a warm day, which didn’t last that long. Today we were finally going down, instead of up, which also meant it will be warmer. Arne and I left before anyone else, because we were concerned about his knee and the time we needed to accomplish it. We again walked through this beautiful valley with the mountain river, red bushes and pine-rhododendron hills. It was like a fairy tale country where hobbits, elves and other mountain creatures live. The walk through the forest was very pleasant and relaxing. After that we had a steep hill to ascend. It wasn’t good for Arne’s knee, but he still managed with using two sticks to support him. Out of nowhere our porter appeared in the middle of the forest waiting for us with a cup of tea. He came, like he heard us talking about it. Arne said, he is the best butler in the world 
coming and waiting for you with a cup of tea in the middle of the forest and then disappearing running down to make you the dinner. I am talking about the chocolate father, if you by any chance don’t know. It took us almost seven hours to come to Tshoka, where the climate was much milder. We had our dinner plus a big chocolate cake, which they made here without using an oven. That was a surprise for us. We shared it among all of us including porters, guide and yak men (no yaks). After that we had some good-bye millet beer and went sleep.We received another disturbing news today and that was about an American who died of altitude sickness. We also found out that it was the American 
we spoke to yesterday together with his daughter. That really shocked us, because we knew him. He apparently suffered from asthma and when coming down he felt very sick with a terrible headache. He didn’t tell anyone, until it was too bad. They tried to call a helicopter, but this was impossible because the Indian president was visiting Sikkim and he needed the helicopter. After that they tried to bring him down by a pony, but he fell a couple of times from it. In the end he died on the way down. He was 75 years old.
Day 8
The night was warm today, finally. It was the last day and we had only four to five hours to walk to Yuksom, the village we left eight days ago. We also left our bag packs in the guesthouse where we stayed before walking. Again we left as the last ones, but it didn’t matter today 
because it was the last day. At the start we took it easy, but at the end Arne felt like taking some sport competition. We were leaving everyone behind, even those who left two hours before us. We again walked through the green hills with the deep valley crossing many brooks and bridges. We even took over the porters and yaks, which was before unthinkable. It took us four hours. It was great to be back, take a hot shower, have a beer and relax. We had dinner together with the Canadian couple and the rest of our group. The Canadian couple had the same plans as we had for tomorrow and that was to go to Gangtok, so we decided to go together.
Location: Yuksom, Sikkim, India
21-22.10.2009
Because it was too complicated to go to Yuksom from Pelling, we had to hire a private 4 wheel to take us there. The other options were to go to Geysing and then to Yuksom, but the jeeps were leaving in the late afternoon. We didn’t have that much time, because we needed to organise trekking today. And the other option was to book a sightseeing tour which will terminate in Yuksom. We found another two people we could share the cost of the jeep with, so we booked the private one. We left Pelling at 10 am and went to Yuksom. On the way we were crossing lots of small brooks and waterfalls and we also stopped at one nice waterfall and made some pictures. The other two people we shared the jeep with were Spanish and did the Goecha- La trek, so we got lots of information from them. They also recommended us one guesthouse they were staying.
Yuksom was a very small village with a very cute and cozy atmosphere. Most of the tourist staying there, were the ones which had done or going to do the trek, so the real trekkers. It has got a few little eatery-restaurants, small stalls selling warm clothes, sweets, cigarettes and other small bits and pieces. Yaks crossing the roads packed with equipment for trekking and kids playing and running around. People looked Tibetan and very well adopted to this cold climate.
When we arrived to Yuksom, we straight away met some people who had just finished their trekking, walking back to their guesthouse. Together with them was a guide, who didn’t wait to organise another trek with us. We were talking to him and he offered us first 18 Euros a day per head. But we told him if we were to want this price, we would already go with the agency from Darjeeling. After the whole negotiation he lowered the price to 13 Euros a day per head. We agreed, because the deal was very good. We could had probably also organise it by ourselves and it would be cheaper, but we would have lots of hassle. This way we didn’t have to do anything but go.
After that we went to see a temple on the hill and some place with the Coronation Throne, which is considered to be the birth place of Sikkim. It was quite disappointing, just a small place with a couple of buildings rotting away and a big kind of bell, which was quite nice.
In the evening we went to one of the eateries and waited for our dinner for 1 hour and half. It took them so long, it made us a bit agitated. But the food was good, so it kind of compensated the whole agitation. We were there together with the three others which by the way are Lou- the French girl, David- the French guy and Andy- the English guy. The same ones we are going to trek the day after tomorrow. There was another English couple, which we already met in our guesthouse in Darjeeling, so we had a pretty nice evening chatting and exchanging our experiences from travel.
The next day the five of us made our own breakfast which consisted of fruits, cereals, milk, boiled eggs, bread and tea on the roof of the guesthouse, which was very cozy. After that Arne and I went to buy warm woolen gloves and hats for trekking, because we will ascend to 5000 meters above the sea level, so we really needed some. After that we just relaxed and didn’t do much, because there were eight full days of trekking in the Himalayas in front of us. We were quite excited about the trek and also a bit worried, because we never hiked at such a high altitude. In the evening we got disturbing news about an expedition, which was climbing Khangchendzonga, the third highest peak of Himalayas. Something had triggered an avalanche and two Indian people from Mumbai had died in the avalanche. The rest of the expedition ended up with light or severe injuries. The helicopters were flying around the whole day looking for the missing bodies.
Location: Darjeeling- West Bengal and Pelling- Sikkim, India
19-20.10.2009
It was still not good weather to see the whole range of Himalaya including Mt. Everest. We wanted to organise a trek in the mountains either in West Bengal or Sikkim. In the end we decided to take a Goecha-La trek in Sikkim, which starts in Yuksom and takes 8 days. There was another option and that was to not go to Sikkim and take the Singalila trek for 4 days. So we got stuck for one more day in Darjeeling, doing nothing at all just killing the time, before we could obtain the permit to Sikkim. We were looking for the same good deals for the Goecha-La trek, but it was still quite expensive for us, because there were only two of us and we were on a tight budget. They made us a deal of 23 Euros per person a day, but we still considered it to be a bit steep.
Later on we met two French and one British, which we met the day before and we knew they were thinking to go to Sikkim and do the trekking. We asked them, if they still want to do it and if they want, they can join us, so the agency can make us an even better deal. They agreed and we went to the same agency negotiating price for 5 people. The agency came down to 18 Euros per head per day, which we though was quite reasonable. We agreed, that we are going to do it .
In the evening Arne browsed on the Internet about the Goecha-La trek and found out you can organise it yourself from Yuksom, where you can find a guide which will organise everything for you and you can cut the agency cost. It was very tempting and especially because it can cut the price to half. On the other hand it was just some murky information, which might not work and we will end up with empty hands. We talked about it with the other group and they found the idea very exciting. So at the end of the day we all decided, that we will go to Yuksom and try to organise it by ourselves from there.
The next day we had to organise the permit to Sikkim, which involved first to go to one office to get a stamp and then walk to the other side of the town to get another stamp for no charges. We were also advised that we shouldn’t leave Darjeeling after 12am, because we might not make it to Pelling in Sikkim. The office was open from 10 am and after a 5 day closure, we were afraid that it could be very tricky. We agreed with the French’s and British guy, that we will leave 9:20am to get the permit, so we can be sure we will make it. But it was nearly ten and there was no sign of them. Arne ran into their guesthouse to find out, they were not even packed. Everything was very chaotic and we made a deal, that we all have to meet at the jeeps stand at 11:20 otherwise everything might be too complicated. Of course there was no sign of them at this time, so we decided to go by ourselves. The road just after Darjeeling was terrible. We were constantly going at 10 km per hour, sometimes a bit faster. The jeep was cramped with 11 people and 4 kids and no one had any space to move. If you add the bumpy road and everyone jumping on the seats and listing from one side to the other you can imagine this utterly pleasant jeep ride. But we made it and arrived to Sikkim’s border town, from where we had to take another jeep to Pelling. Sikkim’s roads were the best roads we had seen so far in India, which kind of surprised us.
Sikkim was an independent kingdom until 1975, when it became India. The Indian government invested lots of money in Sikkim, what also explains the good road condition. Sikkim’s people are happy, that they are part of India, because it increased they standard of living.
The journey to Pelling was a beautiful ride through steep green hills and deep valleys with fast flowing mountain rivers and numerous waterfalls. The bridges were a bit shaky and not properly maintained and few of them even scary to cross with metal plates covering bridges being loose. Pelling was a small town divided to three parts; upper, middle and lower. There was supposed to be a beautiful view over the Himalayas, but yet again it was a very cloudy day. We had a dilemma, what to do next, because we didn’t know how is it going to work in case the three others won’t show up. We were looking for them everywhere, but we couldn’t find them. We already made plans for ourselves, when I saw them in the hall of our guesthouse paging through the books. We were glad, that they made it. We had a chat and planned the next move. We also kind of arranged a 4 wheel drive for the next day to take us to Yuksom.
Location: Darjeeling, West Bengal, India
17-18.10.2009
Today we took it very easy because we had lot of things to organise and also to acclimatise, because we just came from Calcutta maybe 0 m. above sea level with 35 degrees Celsius during the day compared to Darjeeling with 2000 m. above sea with 20 degrees Celsius during the day and the night dropping to 10 Celsius. So we got through a climate shock.
Darjeeling is in the north eastern corner of India, tucked between Nepal, Tibet (China) and Bhutan. It is situated approximately 2100 meters above sea level with its green hills covered with tea plantations. Darjeeling is world famous for its tea , which you can sip here the whole day long for very little money. There are some spectacular views over the Himalayas and from Tiger Hill, which is 15 km south you can see also Mt. Everest and a few more 8000 meter giants. But since we arrived we weren’t very lucky with the views, because it has been very cloudy. Sometimes a part will clear out for a minute and then it gets cloudy again. It is a real pity, because that’s the reason we came here. The town is much cleaner than Calcutta and there is also not that much poverty. We didn’t see anyone sleeping on the street, although there are also beggars. Everything is much more civilized and organised.
So today we just lazed around, walked through the town and went to see some small Hindu-Buddhist temple on the hill. On the hill a group of monkeys were running, fighting and teasing each other.
In the evening there was a big celebration of the most important festival in Hinduism, which is Diwali, the Festival of Lights. People burning butter and candles to lead Lord Rama home from exile. There are thousands of lights and candles around the houses, shops, pavements and streets and kids are enjoying loud fireworks which go on until the late night. It reminds me a bit of Halloween, because we saw young girls singing in front of houses and people giving them money and sweets as a reward. But also there was lots of singing coming from the houses, probably a family feast time.
Arne started to feel a bit shaky in the evening, so he took a paracetamol and went to sleep quite early. He certainly didn’t like feeling ill.
The next day he felt much better. We still didn’t have a nice view over Himalayas, but how we say it in Slovakia “the patience brings roses”, which doesn’t mean anything in English probably. But the meaning is- if you are patient enough everything will come to you. So I reckon, we have to wait a couple days more.
In the morning I had a chat with a Swiss couple, while Arne was still in the bed. After the breakfast we went to the Tourist Office to obtain a permit for Sikkim, the province north of West Bengal. Because of Diwali, we couldn’t get one. After that we went to see a Buddhist temple, where there should be an original copy of the Tibetan Book of Death. But you needed a permit to see the book, so we didn’t bother and saw only the temple.
After that we went back to the hotel, me chatting with a French guy and Arne enjoying the bed. In the evening we went to eat a nice vegetarian meal and when we came back Arne started to have a problem with his stomach having lots of winds. It was probably this hot lemon, which wasn’t properly boiled. We hope it is not going to be anything serious.
