Two days in Jaisalmer

My first night here was spent in the desert, with nothing more than a blanket, camels, beetles, scorpions and sand dunes. It was part of the 'camel safari' experience. After three hours on the back of the camel I'll be quite happy if I never have to ride a camel again. I'm still having troubles sitting. It seems most safaris here involve some ruin visit, mine didn't. It was just the ride, dinner, night and breakfast in the desert. There was no tent and most people slept right on the sand. With scorpions running around I'm glad I chose to sleep on a raised platform.

In Jaisalmer the only interesting thing to see was the fort. It's one of few (if not the only) forts that people still work, build and live in. I spent a good part of the day exploring the narrow streets and saying no to the many things people tried to sell me. In terms of architecture, there's not a lot to see but it does provide some insight in how life would have been here 700 years ago. I don't think it's changed much.

The desert is not to my liking. Tomorrow I'm off to Jodhpur.

Inside the fort:

Bika.. what?

Bikaner -- an alternative to Pushkar, on my way to Jaisalmer. There is a camel festival in Pushkar, making it difficult and quite expensive to get a place to stay. With prices going up five times the norm, I decided not to even bother and settled for visiting Bikaner instead.

It's a quiet place compared to the places I've been to thus far. There's not much in terms of sight seeing, I went to the Junagarh Fort and the Lalgarh palace. They pale in comparison to what I've seen so far, but it was something to do for the afternoon.

Right now I'm in a VERY dusty computer cafe finishing up all my updates and I can't wait to get back to the hotel. It's one of my cheapest stays and it's incredibly clean -- it even has fully functional western toilets. The restaurant at the hotel is supposed to be really good, the food up to this point has been delicious!

Junagarh fort:
























The street my hotel is on:

Welcome to Rajasthan

Entering Rajasthan is like entering a different country. The people seem fierce and have a proud history. The landscape is mostly desert with imposing forts on every hill and palaces around every lake.

Like most who come to Rajasthan, my first stop was Jaipur. It's a busy city with a lot to see! I woke up early, met up Bhuwan and set out to see the Amber palace, just a few minutes outside of Jaipur. It's a beautiful palace overlooking a lake, built for concubines. Part of the taxi tour package included an elephant ride through the palace gate but a long line up of tourists suggested a two hour wait and I opted to go through the back entrance. Even in its run-down state it's impressive and one can't help wonder how it would have looked during its golden age.

Walking through the palace I met Pedro, a fellow from Portugal, running around and taking photos with the same enthusiasm and camera model as me and Tim and Christine, a couple from Australia who were eager to talk about Nikola Tesla. We were trying to figure out the easiest way to get up to the fort overlooking the palace and Tim and Pedro figured out a way through a palace window followed by a climb down one of the palace walls. It was like being in the game "Prince of Persia" and it made for a fun adventure -- making up for lackluster fort.

I returned to the city where I checked out various other sights such as the Hawa Mahal, the Jaipur City Palace and the Jantar Mantar. My driver also took me to the nearby Galtaji temple though instead of going to it I decided to hike up the hill to an abandoned and secluded fort. I had it all to myself and was also rewarded to a great view of the entire city.

While checking out these sights I ran Nick and Maggie (who I met in Delhi) and we talked about meeting up later for chess -- I don't think Maggie was too keen on that idea. I also met up with Manu (from Agra) and walked around searching for an internet cafe. We didn't find one but we did end up having a great dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Couldn't ask for a better day!

The walls of Amber fort:








Amber palace:








Amber from the walls of the palace:








Camel riders inside the fort:








This is who the fort belongs to now:








Cow road block while hiking to abandoned fort:








The city of Jaipur as seen from abandoned fort:

Taj Mahal - it deserves it's own entry

Wow, it's impressive and quite inspiring. I spent all morning walking around and inside the Taj Mahal and its garden. The gates open at 6:00 am and I got there quarter to. They did not allow me to take my tripod inside and I was asked to check it in at the nearby lockers. On my way there I met one of the hundred Taj Mahal keepers who promised me the best Taj photos for 350 rupees (that's just under 10 USD). I told him if I can get an amazing shot, I'd be happy to give him the money. The photos were medicore, but he really tried his best to get me a good photo and took me to dozens of spots, even to a rooftop of his friends' place. After he invited me over to his place for tea, a tiny place where he lives with his wife, five sons and a daughter. I couldn't give him any less and I didn't feel ripped off.

Inside the gates of the Taj Mahal it's quite busy. Thousands of people and it's very difficult to get a photo without someone in it. I did my best waiting for people to get behind trees or pillars before taking the shot. It's really an amazing structure from all angles.

The reason it was built hits you as soon as you enter the tomb. It's beautiful inside and photos are not allowed. It's difficult to describe the emotions that hit you -- it's one of those things that everyone needs to experience for themselves.

(I hope these photos are not as crappy as they look on this ten year old computer, using Windows 98)

The classic shot:








From the side:








Inside one of the side structures:

Busy in Agra

My night in Delhi ended in the company of Nick and Maggie, a friendly couple from Holland. Nick had a chess board and we played a couple of games. He's a very good player and the game was quite enjoyable. We tied at two games a piece and it got pretty late so we left it as a draw. We are traveling in the same direction so should we happen to run into each other again we may play one last time.

The next day I met up with my taxi driver and we drove straight to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. It's unbelievably busy here, the traffic is much worse than in Delhi. It made sight seeing much slower and I only got two sights in; Agra Fort and Itmad-ul-Daulah's Tomb.

The fort was fantastic. It took a good chunk of the day to take in and it seemed to be quite popular with the locals too. The tomb was not worth the entry fee still it provided some good photos.

I made friends with a girl that's staying at the same hotel, I believe she said her name was Manu (as in Manuela). We explored the fort together and then she went to the Taj Mahal. She should be getting back soon and I'm looking forward to seeing her photos. I'll be going there tomorrow with the hope of getting a good sunrise shot.


Manu taking photos at the fort:








One of the many rooms in the fort:

Itmad ul Daulah's Tomb:

Last day in Delhi

An almost perfect day spent in Delhi today. I visited the India Gate, Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb and the Jama Masjid. Just about all the sights that I wanted to see. The only one I'm sorry I missed is the Lal Qila (The Red Fort), which I might check out when I return to Delhi.

I booked a taxi driver until Nov. 28 and if everything works out as they promised it will be hassle free traveling up to Udaipur. I'm not sure that it's the best way to "experience" India or that I got a very good deal, but it sure is great for photos. This allows me to pull over and take photos at any point along the way, unlike with a train.

My Taxi driver's name is Bhuwan, a fellow from Nepal. We talked a lot about mountains and hiking. I guess I'll be getting to know him quite well for the next several days. Tomorrow morning we're off to Agra.

India Gate:








Qutub Minar:



























Humayun's Tomb:








Jama Masjid:

Delhi, India

I'm currently in a little backpacker haven in Delhi called Paharganj. It's a neat little maze of narrow streets loaded with travelers and locals looking to take advantage of them.

I dodged a few a couple of scams right off the bat and got myself to the hotel I booked over the internet in a reasonable time. My taxi driver did tried to tell me that he couldn't find my hotel and did try to take me to other places (where he'd get commission) but I didn't fall for it and eventually got where I needed to. The hotel I booked wasn't to my liking so I walked around until I found a better/cleaner one for $7/night.

I thought about going to do some sight seeing right away but decided instead to just stroll around and get a feel for the streets and the people. There wasn't any culture shock and really the street life here is not much different than that of Vietnam and Cambodia. Just like in Vietnam and Cambodia every local I talk to compliments me on the style of my beard. They wonder if this look is popular in Canada.

Most people that approach me look to make money in some form or another but I did make friends with one guy named Kumar, who spent a good chunk of the day showing me around. The only thing he asked for in return was a chance to practice his English. Walking around with him I got no hassle from other locals. I gave him my e-mail and this website -- so Kumar, if you're reading this and I spelled your name wrong let me know and thanks again for your help.

I was in Connaught Place booking trips to Rajasthan and it got dark pretty quickly. I ended up having to find my way back through dark narrow streets. It was a little difficult but interesting at the same. As soon as I started seeing white people, I knew I was back near Paharganj. Eventually I found my way.

There are a lot of nice looking backpacker girls here, wow! Time to go make some friends!

My hotel in Paharganj:











A maze of narrow streets:











A girl with a baby begging for money on a busy street:

Almost there

I'm in Taipei, Taiwan and waiting for my transfer flight to Delhi. It's 6:05a.m. on Sunday, local time -- I'm blogging from the future!

It was a super long flight from Vancouver and next to me was a guy that didn't have any concept of personal space. If there wasn't an arm rest between us, he'd be spooning me. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep. Hopefully the flight to Delhi will be better.

At this airport internet access is free. Wish more places would do that.

On my own, here we go!

I fly out tomorrow! I was to meet up with Emilie in Delhi and travel with her for a few days. The latest update is that she didn't get her visa and will not be able to join me as planned. It may be that I'll be on my own for the entire trip -- and that's fine. There is a possibility that we may meet up in Delhi on the day that I fly out.

How it all began

Last year I caught the travel bug, during a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. It hasn't gone away, and all this year I've been thinking of places to go to. It's been difficult to decide, all I knew was that I wanted to take my vacation in the winter. The summer in the Rockies is just too beautiful to pass up and that meant I had to go somewhere warm.

The obvious choice was Mexico and I was quite close to buying a ticket. Combined with Guatemala and Belize I thought it would be fun -- but I just couldn't get excited about it.

A friend (Blanka) had just come back from India and brought with her some great photos and stories. Though the idea to go there still didn't occur to me. It wasn't until in early September, while I was talking with Emilie (a friend who's been teaching English in Japan and is now touring Asia) that I decided on India. We were discussing Blanka's trip and Emilie's desire to go, when she jokingly invited me to join her. I thought "why not" and within the next week had booked a flight.

India was pretty easy to get excited about. It seems that no where in the world do people find as much diversity, in every sense of the word. And no matter where you point the camera, an interesting photo presents itself. I'm very much looking forward to it.