Wednesday, January 2, 2008

India Trip (14th - 31st Dec 2007)


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Calcutta - Darjeeling - Bodhgaya - Varanasi - Agra - Jaipur - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Delhi
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The total distance is approximately 1923miles (3076km) - based on absolute distance calculated by google map.
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Statistics:
Overland expenses (excluding insurance, flight, visa, donations & shopping): Approximately - S$560.00 for 18days.
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Total of 17 nights:
3 nights - Train
3 nights - Bus
2 nights - Desert
9 nights - Guesthouse
Further breakdown: 4 out of 9 nights: we woke up from 3.30 - 5am.
Hence, effective good night sleep: 5 nights. =(
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17days of vegetarian food
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Physical discomfort:
150++ itchy bed-bites; Sore Throat; Coughs with thick green phlegm; diarrhea
Fortunately, no fever
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Weight loss: 2.5 - 3 kgs (Boon)
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Satisfaction: PRICELESS!!! =)

Calcutta, West Bengal

Whenever Calcutta (aka Kolkata) is mentioned, the images of filthy and messy streets will surface, and people will think of thousands of homeless people and destitutes living on the street, and not forgetting the selfless Mother Teresa and her missionaries of charities.
Despite my short stay in India, Calcutta was not as messy and filthy as I anticipated. Compared to some of the places I saw in Bihar (the poorest and highest crime-rate State), Calcutta seems to be in a better shape.


This was our room in Calcutta, and this was the place where I got biten by bed-bugs, and where my misery began. =(
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"The effect of these bites on humans varies from person to person, but often cause welts and swelling that are more itchy and longer-lasting than mosquito bites. Some people, however, have little or no reaction to bedbug bites."
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Among the three of us, only Hanyang was unaffected. I had greatest reaction with 150-200 bites all over my body at one point (with 50 bites alone just on my right hand). It was damn itchy and frustrating!!!



Street of Calcutta

Boy scavenging in the rubbish heap.
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Initially, when I saw people scavenging in the heaps of waste and rubbish I was feeling abit sad. But after a few days of traveling, I got more used to the sight. Sometimes, I am wondering if getting used to these sights was okay? But what can I do? What am I willing to do?

I compared it to watching news. Previously, when there was a terrorist attack, it was a big news. But now, I would be surprise if I do not hear a terrorist attack.

My conclusion is that people are so adaptable that they would get numb or used to sensational news or sights.



I like the aloofness in this picture.
Just sleep, and don't give a damn to your surrounding.




The Laughing Club.


Woke up early at 5am in search of the laughing club in their huge park.
We only managed to join in the the last 15mins of the exercise, and I think that if I practice it regularly, this laughing therapy would benefit my health. But I can imagine that if I practice in the park near my home, people will think that I am SIAO (-crazy!!!).

When I saw the first group of guys practicing it, it was kinda hilarious to see a group of grown up men gathering in a circle to laugh.

Well, as the saying goes - Laughter is the best medicine.
Woo...Hahaha...




One of the slumps in Calcutta...






Victoria Memorial
Before the capital was moved to New Delhi, Calcutta is an old capital of British Administration and has quite alot of colonial architecture.



Colourful Market place





Missonaries of Charity & Mother Teresa
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"In 1952, she opened Nirmal Hriday (or Pure hearts), a home for the dying. On the very first day, Mother Teresa picked up a woman literally half-eaten by rats and ants and carried her to the home and cleaned her. This Home for Dying became more and more popular where the dying who had no place to go were brought and were given proper medical treatment."
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Photographs were not allowed in this hospice, but I had seen the interior of this hospice in a documentary before. This hospice is very clean with alot of volunteers from all over the world. I saw a volunteer tending to a big open wound on a patient's head. It is very heart-warming to know that during the last few moments of their lives, they could leave this world peacefully and dignified in a proper place where they are cared and loved.
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I also visited the Mother Teresa Museum, which is the place she lived and her resting place now. She iss an INSPIRATION, caring for the poorest of the poor. A woman with a BIG heart and EXTRAORDINARY strength. When Mother Teresa set up her missionaries of charity, she was alone on the street of Calcutta without any support, and the first sister/nun joined Mother Teresa only 3 years later. It's her faith in GOD that pulled her through those difficult times. Amazing.
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One of the destitutes said something like that
"I was living like an animal on the street, however, Mother Teresa made me know that there is heaven on earth, and I could die and go to heaven now."
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Living like an animal, what is that kinda experience?
I hope i'd never get to experience it
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One of tiles on the wall along the way to Kali's temple.
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It was a not-so-pleasant experience, as we were kinda conned by a priest to donate money. More importantly, we witnessed of the sacrificed of a small lamb. This little cute lamb was pulled to the sacrificing site, and when its legs were twisted to position its head on a v-shaped holder for chopping. This lamb was screaming at the top of its voice, then after a swing of the chopper, we saw a headless lamb body shaking on the floor with fresh blood oozing out of its neck.
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it was quite gruesome, hence, 3 of us were even more determined to become a vegetarian for the rest of the trip.




Kids. =)




Locals playing cricket on the street.

Darjeeling, West Bengal

Darjeeling was a foothill station for the British. At an elevation of 2134m, it is a good place to get away from the heat of India during summer.
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This is a good place with excellent view of the Himalayas, and an interesting place with alot of Nepalis and Tibetans. It is quite different from the rest of the India.
The train ride to Darjeeling
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View from the rooftop of our guesthouse




The first Ray of light on the Khanchendzonga (8598m - the third highest mountain in the world).
In fact, this is the only place in the world to see the Everest and the Khanchenzonga, which means you can see 2 of 3 highest peaks in the world.
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The second highest peak (K2) is at the other end of the Himalayas, so you won't be able see it with the Everest.


Pink Peak






On the lower left hand corner is the town of Darjeeling





It was definitely worth it to wake up at 4.30am and face the freezing cold to see the sunrise.
Sunrise is a daily phenomenon that we took for granted, yet, something so ordinary is so spectacular.







Paranomic View of Darjeeling








Tibetan Prayer Flags







Another view...







Tibetan Monastery - Yiga Choling Gompa
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May be thanks to the Communist invasion of Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism is currently flourishing outside of Tibet.

We met a nice 18-year old Tibetan Lama (left-most) who speaks good english. He brought us around the main hall and explained to us. He became a monk on his own accord at the tender age of 4 year old, and he told us that he wanted to be a lama for the rest of his life.
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For a young man with access to internet (as he has a yahoo email) and able to read & speak english, and meeting tourists like us, this would mean that he has considerable exposure to the outside world. Yet, he chooses the disciplined monastic life as his destiny.
It's quite incredible.
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Toy train Station








Himalayan Zoological Park
(Clockwise from top right: one of the endangered peasants, Snow le0pard, Siberian Tiger, Tibetan Wolfs)
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It is the zoo at the highest altitude in the world (Elevation of 2150m - 7000 feet), and specializes in keeping endangered animal species of the Himalaya. Well, the nice thing is that this zoo hilly terrain is quite a natural habitat for the animals.
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Himalayan Mountaineering Institute
(Photography is not allowed in the museum)
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Surprisingly, it is a good museum. It houses the equipments of the first successful Mt Everest expedition and the different national flags placed at the summit. As for me, it was the story of the previous expeditions that educated me that the achievement of reaching the summit should be credited to the previous failed expeditions and death of the pioneer mountaineers.
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The first expedition was in 1921, and the pioneer mountaineers died because of lack of oxygen. Back then, who would know that there is no oxygen in the mountain. Subsequently, in the future expeditions, people started to bring oxygen tanks.
Respect!
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The first successful summit was in 1953, which was 32 year after the first expedition.
Can you imagine how many people have died trying to reach the summit?
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found this clip on youtube:
View from the summit of Everest
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Where is PanChen Lama?
(Click to view the details)






Tibetan Refugee Self-help Centre
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Isn't sad that you have to leave your homeland and become a refugee in other people's land?
I could sense the activist spirit of the Tibetan people fighting for Tibet's freedom.
While I was Tibet 2 years ago, I know that the Tibetans still revere the Dalai Lama as their religious and political leader, but since they are under the Chinese Communist rule, I did not see any public display of Dalai Lama photos. This time, while I was traveling in India, I could see the display of Dalai Lama's pictures in restaurants, monasteries and shops.
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To a certain extent, I am happy that these Tibetan people have found a good place like Darjeeling to settle in, yet, I am sad for them as they might not have the opportunity to go back to Tibet, and more importantly, looking at the current situation, it is almost impossible for Tibet to be free again.
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We had a lunch at a Tibetan restaurant, where we met a Tibetan lady who told us that almost 10 years ago, she WALKED 25days from Tibet to Nepal. From Nepal, she traveled overland by bus to settle in Darjeeling. Currently, her status in India is refugee. I could sense her determination to get out of Tibet, and walking in Tibet for freaking 25days is no easy feat. The conditions is extremely harsh at such a high altitude, the land is barren and dry, so the day would be extremely hot and night would be extremely cold.
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Respect!

Bodhgaya, Bihar

Bodhgaya.
It was here, 2600year ago, that Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment beneath a bodhi tree and so became the Buddha.
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Bihar being the birth place of Buddhism, with the Lord Buddha spent much of his time here, is one of the poorest state and most troubled region in India.
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A few years ago, I asked myself if I am going to die soon, which are the places that I really want to visit?
Bodhgaya was one of the places.
I am very happy that I came here and meditated near the Bodhi Tree.

The journey from Darjeeling to Bodhgaya was the worst in trip - long hours, uncomfortable, cold, and biten by bed-bugs (yes, the bugs were stuck in my clothes now).
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11.30am - Jeep from Darjeeling to Siliguri
5pm - Bus from Siliguri to Patna
8am - Bus from Patna to Gaya
12noon- Motor from Patna to Bodhgaya
2pm - Arrived in Hotel
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The most "memorable" was the overnight bus from Siliguri to Patna.
The bus was overloaded with Goods on top, people would be anywhere you could find space - on the aisle, the top, and my hand-rest. The bus would stop and pick up anybody on the street, and they would squeeze themselves into the bus after a nasty arguement and shouting. Very Chaotic and messy, plus Cold Cold night.
At least, I know that my tolerance level had increased quite a lot.
After this bus ride, other transports else seemed to be so much better, comparatively.
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One of the great things along the trip - meeting nice helpful people. =)
Wangdi and his family.
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We arrived in Patna (Capital of Bihar State) bus station quite lost - all the buses did not have english wording, the locals did not speak much english. Knowing that Bihar was one of the most dangerous place in India, we were extra wary, careful and skeptical of the people.
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Anyway, long story short. We met Wangdi and his family (Nepali origin from Darjeeling) who were on pilgrimage to Bodhgaya for 17th Karmapa Lama Sermon Preaching. Speaking good english, they took the initiative to invite us to join them to go to Bodhgaya together.
It was all these simple gesture of kindness that made the trip pleasant and enjoyable.
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Clockwise from Top right: Japanese ZEN temple; Bhutanese temple; Stalls selling buddhist beads & monks' bags.
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In the small place of Bodhgaya, you could see a variety of different Buddhist temples - Japanese, Bhutanese, Thai, Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese, Nepali, Vietnamese etc... and you will see different monks and nuns wearing different colours of outfit which reflects the countries & sects of Buddhism.





"Free Burma, Save Buddhism"





Propaganda:
"We walk the ground where Buddha walked.
So where ever you live in the world,
SAY WITH PRIDE
I AM BIHARI"



Mahabodhi Temple
- situated adjacent to the spot where Buddha attained enlightenment and formulated his philosophy of life. (World Heritage-listed)





Sights of Bodhgaya








Bodhi Tree
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This was not the original Bodhi Tree. Ashoka's wife murdered the original Bodhi Tree, but fortunately, a sapling from the original tree was carried to Sri Lanka by Ashoka's daughter. Now, this Bodhi tree was a cutting carried back and planted where the original had stood.
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It was interesting to see monks/nuns of different robes and Buddhist pilgrims of different skin colours performing different rituals, but the goal was a common one - praying for peace and happiness for the world.
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A mass praying session led by 17th Karmapa.
All the monks/nuns were praying for world peace.
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Sea of Red...







Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Varanasi is extremely colourful and spiritual.
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The city of Shiva is one of the holiest places in India, where Hindu pilgrms come to wash away a lifetime of sins in the Ganges or to cremate their loved ones.
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Varanasi has always been an auspicious place to die, since expiring here offers moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death).
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What we didn't expect was that Varanasi was one of the highlights of the trip. As yun said it beautifully, Varanasi IS one of the oldest LIVING places. We had visited alot of historical sites, but it was past glory. Varanasi is still alive and living now, and everyday along the Ghats (Steps by the river), people are showering, people are doing their laundry and people are dying.
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Varanasi is one destination that you shouldn't miss if you visit India.
It offers a spiritual perspective of India that is lacking in other cities/towns.



One of great things along the trip - to meet nice & interesting people. =)
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OZ is a turkish dude, who is a contemporary dancer in Istanbul. He was in a yoga retreat for a few months, and he would be incorporating some yoga posture into his contemporary dance. Cool and interesting!!!
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Sorry, but i have to show you this.
Kena bitten by beg-bugs. Argh!!!
Damn itchy.
(Imagine that I have 150-200 bites all over my body)
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Pre-dawn @ Ganges River
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It was one of those moments that I would remember for a long time, and may be a lifetime.
Sitting on the boat moving towards the burning Ghats, the cold breeze was sweeping pass your face, and from a distance, you could see the lights from the Ghat and at the background, you hear the chanting of Hindu Priests in preparation of the burning of the deceased at dawn.
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You could enjoy the serenity of the morning, but at the back of mind, you know that the family members are sending the last journey of their loved one.
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thousands and millions have died here
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Then, you will start to contemplate about life
I thought about the impermanece of life.
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I think of the moments when my loved ones will be gone.
I think of the moments when my friends will be gone.
I think of the moments when I would be gone.
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You might feel unbearable, you might feel lost, you might feel helpless.
But it is a path that we will have to go through, and it's a matter of when, where and how.
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The sun will still rise and fall, the wind will still blow
the World will still go on without you
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why cry if you have lived your life the best possible way?
won't it be beautiful to enjoy and cherish what you have NOW...
won't it be good to show kindness to everybody around you NOW...
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In fact, to die at Ganges during dawn is quite beautiful and peaceful.
returning (your ashes) to mother nature


The View opposite the Ghats along the Ganges



Burning Ghats




One of the burning Ghats





One of great things along the trip - to see Sunrise






I just like this poster.
Could someone explain to me what's written in this Hindi advertisement?






One of great things along the trip - to meet nice & interesting people. =)
(Boon, Yun, Anna & Hanyang)
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Met Anna while we were purchasing train ticket. She knew that our stay in Varanasi was short, and she took the initiative to bring us to a nice place for breakfast and bring us around the Ghat. Anna was in love with Varanasi and she stayed here for 1 month. She had been traveling in India for 4.5 months already after finishing her Masters in Netherland. Impressive!!!
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Streets of Varanasi






Varanasi Ghats
(Bathing and Shaving)




Varanasi Ghats
(Laundry)







There are lots activities along the Ganges river.




Colourful floating waste







beautiful tree