Varanasi

I arrived in Varanasi on the evening of the 9th, less than 24 hours before a big festival (Holi) was starting. However, on my auto-rickshaw ride into town I found out that some kids were starting to celebrate early as I was hit with some coloured water balloons a few times. Upon arriving in the old town where I was hoping to stay I was dropped off by the driver and forced to navigate the confusing narrow alleyways on my own to find a hotel (motorized vehicles aren't allowed in them). So after getting hopelessly lost for quite a while I managed to find a guesthouse (the one I was looking for even!) and got a room.

My first day in Varanasi I wandered around the old town which was quite pleasant. My main objective though was to find some really cheap clothes that I could wear for the following day festivities as the main event on the morning of the 11th was to throw coloured water at everybody and all the clothes get stained too. So I went out searching for clothes before the shops all closed down for the evenings celebrations. That evening I went out wandering the streets with some other people to see what sort of celebrations were occurring only to find just one bonfire with very few people around it. So we returned to our guesthouse to await the following morning when the main celebration started. At the guesthouse we also prepared for the following day by making hundreds of small water balloons filled with coloured water.

The following morning a large group of people in the guesthouse got up, armed ourselves with the water balloons and went into the streets to join the fun. It truly was a great experience as people were covered in colours ranging from pink to silver to green to yellow (really everything started to look almost black after a while) and there were huge speakers in the streets so everyone was dancing and smearing more coloured powder on people. After a couple hours of this we returned to the guesthouse for a break and to reload with supplies, and at the guesthouse the party continued but just for foreigners so it was a little safer. At 11am I went back out into the streets with a smaller group and we noticed that the atmosphere had changed somewhat as people were getting rowdy and some fights had broken out. Needless to say we returned to our guesthouse quickly and finished the celebrations there, although the festival technically ended at noon anyways. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing at the guesthouse and enjoying the last bits of Holi, a great festival.

My third day in Varanasi things were back to normal, or somewhat as some places were still closed due to Holi, and I took a day trip out to nearby Sarnath which is one of the 4 main Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Here was the place where Buddha gave his first lecture after attaining enlightenment and as a result I was expecting it to be a very religious site with mainly pilrims present. However upon reaching the town I was very disappointed as it was more touristy than religious I thought. Sure there were lots of temples and monasteries but everything was setup for tourists and it didn't give off a very religious vibe. Still worth the trip out but not quite what I was expecting.

The fourth day in Varanasi started at 5am with a famous boat trip along the Ganges river. The boat trip was spectacular and definitely worth waking up at the crack of dawn for as you get to see several people bathing in the holy river, people doing laundry and loads of people out for their morning prayers along the sacred river. The Ganges is one of the most sacred rivers in India and as a result many people come here to bathe and wash away their sins but there is TONS of sewage being dumped into the river constantly so it's not the best thing for you (you'll never convince a local of that though). For the rest of the day I spent my time just wandering around the ghats (stairs leading down to the river) watching people bathe, do laundry, play cricket, pray and I even watched a cremation at one of the burning ghats. Varanasi is considered one of the best places to die as if you're cremated here then you won't be reborn again as you will otherwise. Therefore, people are always being cremated at the burning ghats along the Ganges river with their ashes being spread into the river afterwards.

My final day in Varanasi was spent wandering around the old town again and also relaxing along the ghats while I waited for my train out. I didn't get up to anything very exciting though as I had already seen most things. I did watch the entire religious ceremony at sunset though where priests sang some songs and washed a few people with water from the Ganges. That night I boarded a train to head to Khajuraho to see the famous temple carvings there. More from my next update.







Myself back at the guesthouse during the Holi celebrations. This reminded me a lot of frosh week at university when all of the engineers dyed themselves purple.








Scenes of some of the people that we met out on the streets during the Holi celebrations.








The boatman for our sunrise cruise on the river Ganges.










A scene of men bathing themselves in the sacred river.










A man sitting on the edge of one of the ghats and performing laughing meditation (or at least we think he was) as he kept just sitting there and laughing.













Trying my hand at preparing some street food at one of the stalls where I sampled some.













A lady selling some flowers on one of the ghats while an old man walks past.









The scene of the religious ceremony that occurs on the ghats every evening.

Darjeeling

After leaving Kolkata I headed north to the hill town of Darjeeling and my first glimpse of the Himalayas. Arriving there I was slightly disappointed to find that the entire town was covered in clouds and fog allowing no views at all, but I knew that I would be spending a few days there so I didn't mind too much as I figured it would clear up later. I also thought that it was pretty chilly, only about 5-10 degrees something that I haven't been too used to here in Asia.

The following day I spent wandering around the charming little town and trying to find someone to do the Singalia Ridge 6 day trek with. The town was quite nice although very confusing and I managed to get very lost among the little alleyways and steps. So it resulted in me taking a couple of hours just finding my way back to my guesthouse. On the plus side wandering around the town was very pleasant, even if I was lost, as there was almost no traffic and very few touts and beggars.

My second full day in Darjeeling I visited the zoo, but mainly for the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute that was located in the grounds. The zoo itself was pretty good containing snow leopards, red pandas, tigers, deer, goats, lots of different birds and several other animals. It was especially good though because it seemed that the cages for the animals were all fairly big and that none of them were stuck in cages way too small for them, something I was expecting from zoos here in Asia. Even the zoo was a worth the journey I was looking forward to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute the most. Here there is a museum containing different equipment and stories of Indian mountaineers, it also has an Everest museum which talks about all of the early attempts to summit Everest. The Institute was run by Tenzing Norgay for several years who was the first person, along with Edmund Hillary, to summit Everest. The descriptions of the summiting attempts for Everest were pretty interesting, however the rest of the museum was mainly just displays of the gear that people had used when climbing which wasn't too interesting. Also the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute runs climbing and mountaineering courses but unfortunately all of their training facilities were closed to the public so I couldn't see them.

After the visiting the zoo and the mountaineering institute I managed to find someone to do the trek with me (I was going to do it solo anyways if I didn't find anyone). So the next morning we set out to Mana Bhanjang in a jeep from Darjeeling, here we started the trek up to Tumling. The first 2 kilometers of the trek was pretty much straight up and I was hoping that it wasn't going to be like this for the entire trip, but after the first 2 km it started to flatten out and the next 10km for that day were fairly easy. The trekking was great as there would be a little village (containing only 5 or so houses) every couple of kilometers where we could stop for tea and snacks. The first half of the trek (up to Phalut) runs along the Nepal India border so the first and second night were actually spent in Nepal!

The second day of the trek was from Tumling to Sandakphu where we spent the second night and also at the highest elevation that we would attain throughout the trek: 3636 meters! Not only was this quite high but also as a result of the elevation it was freezing cold (at night I think it got down to -5 degrees and I was really glad to have my sleeping bag with me). However it was promised that there would be some great views of Kangchenjunga here and if we were lucky we would also be able to see Everest. We weren't lucky. We weren't even able to Kangchenjunga as the fog was so thick we could only see for about 20 meters, even when we woke up early the next morning for sunrise (the morning is when it's supposed to be clearest) we were still encased in fog so no views at all, only coldness.

The third day of the trek we headed to Phalut which was also very high (3600 meters) as a result the trekking between Sandakphu and Phalut was fairly easy and not too steep at all. Once arriving at Phalut we were greeted with an extremely basic trekkers lodge and kitchen, the only buildings there. However we were rewarded on the morning of the fourth day with somewhat clear skies, and after a short walk up a hill from the trekkers lodge we saw our first (and as it turns out or last) views of Mt Kangchenjunga. It was pretty impressive being the third tallest mountain in the world standing at 8586 meters, but according to some other trekkers that we met the view from Sandakphu was even better. Also we didn't get to see any views of Everest as they are only possible from Sandakphu but it was still great just being able to see Mt Kangchenjunga.

The forth day was spent descending into lower and warmer elevations as we headed down to the small village of Gorkey. Gorkey was a nice little town located in the bottom of a valley with Sikkim (a different province in India that you require permission to enter) right across the river. The town is spread out over a hill side with each house having a large space of gardens around it growing peas and potatoes. It was quite a nice village and if given the opportunity I would have liked to spend an extra day there relaxing but unfortunately we couldn't due to lack of time. While there though we did meet an Israeli guy who had been living there for 3 weeks! But I'm not sure what he was doing every day besides relaxing as it seemed as if after a few days it would get pretty boring as there was nothing to do.

The last day of trekking was just out to the town of Rimbik and civilization. Rimbik was a decent looking town however there was no reason to stop here at all except that we needed to take the 6am jeep out the following morning back to Darjeeling. So this ended our 6 day trek (really 5 but with one day of jeep rides) and it was really enjoyable and worth it even if we were only rewarded with views for a couple of hours on the morning of the fourth day. The last couple of days had some nice weather as well but we were too low down in the valley to be able to truly appreciate any views.

Back in Darjeeling I spent a couple of days just relaxing in the town after the trek and waiting for my train out to Varanasi. The journey leaving Darjeeling was an experience in itself as I decided to take the Toy Train (the local train that runs on a narrow rail gauge) down the hill to the main station line. The experience of riding the Toy Train was quite fun and for the first hour or so it was really enjoyable; however, it turned into a really long trip to Varanasi: 32 hours. As the Toy Train took 8 hours followed by waiting for my train to show up then taking an 18 hour train ride to Varanasi. Needless to say I really wished I had taken a jeep from Darjeeling to the train station instead of the Toy Train, but at least I made it safely. A new post will follow shortly with my experiences in Varanasi including the festival Holi.










Some kids from one of the villages that we had a tea break in.







A short clear break on one of the days of the trek. For the first and second day we had a window of about 20 minutes where we could get some views, but none of Mt Kangchenjunga.








A lady from one of the villages cooking our dinner over the fire in their home. We were all crowded around inside the small house trying to stay warm by the fire so we got to watch all of the cooking as well.









A yak standing in the cold mist.












A view of myself with Mt Kangchenjunga in the background visible through the clouds.









Standing over a creek on the last day of the trek when the temperature had become nice and pleasant at the lower elevation.

Kolkata

So after leaving Myanmar I arrived in Kolkata India on a Friday evening ready for the Indian experience. Bracing myself for the worst I headed out from the airport and towards an area containing hotels. However I didn't find the initial shock to be as bad as others had described: there weren't tons of beggars or touts (there were still some though) and the only thing that I noticed was that it was VERY dirty.

I spent 4 days wandering around Kolkata, seeing a few sights but mostly just trying to get accustomed to life in India. During my first day there I just walked around the streets seeing how people live and trying to get orientated. Again I was bracing myself for lots of touts, beggars and the city being very dirty; but the only thing that I noticed was the dirty city. There were a few touts but they didn't bother me as much as I expected, there were also lots of beggars but no more than in Cambodia I think (the second worst place I've visited for beggars). One thing that I did see lots of were homeless people though however most of them didn't seem to beg, they just mostly went on with their lives or slept on the side of the street. Only the homeless children were always begging.

On the second day in Kolkata I visited the Indian museum which was fairly interesting and contained lots of exhibits to see including: fossils found in India, the geology of each province (including rock samples), animals in India, Indian artwork, a description of some of the native tribes, and even an exhibit on Egypt. Exploring the museum took quite a while, but most of the exhibits were poorly labeled (if at all) so at times it just seemed like a random collection of objects (like the rock samples). After exploring the museum I headed down to the Victoria Monument in time to see it for sunset. I managed to arrive in time for sunset; but unfortuneatly the interior closed just before I arrived so I was limited to walking around the very nice and clean gardens surrounding the monument and admiring the sunset.

My third day in Kolkata I walked to Chinatown, or at least what used to be Chinatown. Now there isn't anything to suggest that it's Chinatown anymore except a few old buildings with Chinese signs painted on. However the small alleyways running throughout the area were interesting to walk through and there was a small section where homeless people had tunneled homes into a large garbage pile (not sure if that means they're not homeless anymore though...). After seeing Chinatown I headed over to a nearby flower market at the edge of the river. Holy crap was it busy, I don't think I've seen a busier market in Asia (but maybe it was because it was limited to a fairly small space) and all they sold was flowers. I guess that selling flowers is a major business here. The flower market was also a nice change from the rest of Kolkata as it was very colourful and smelled quite nice (something that doesn't occur otherwise).

On my last day in Kolkata I didn't do too much, just relaxed around Suddar street (the area that I was staying) and used the internet lots to catch up on my blog. I also made the trip back to the Victoria Monument so that I could actually enter the building. The interior was quite good, containing lots of artwork, photographs and more impressively a complete history of Kolkata (although it would have taken an entire day to read all of information there). In the evening I headed to the bus stand to catch a night bus heading towards Siliguri and then Darjeeling, my next destination.






A view of the Victoria Monument at sunset.















An overview of the flower market, see how busy it is?















A close up of a section of the flower market showing some of the vibrant colours that were everywhere.











A typical busy street scene: the traffic was terrible, cars going every which way and mostly comprised of yellow taxis (something I would imagine in New York not Kolkata).

Yangon

So I actually was in Yangon twice: when I first arrived in Myanmar and also at the end of my time in the country to leave. This is because Yangon (formerly called Rangoon) was the capital of Myanmar (and still is really the economic capital) so it contains the only main international airport.

My first time in Yangon I only spent a day and a half wandering around the city and the only main sight that I saw was the Shwedagon Paya, easily the most famous paya in Yangon and maybe even Myanmar. The Shwedagon Paya was very impressive, especially seen during sunset as the golden paya seemed to glow in the setting light. Around the main paya were many buildings containing buddha statues and other religious paintings. The atmosphere here was what really made it great though as there were at least a hundred (probably more) local people praying around the paya.

Other than the Shwedagon Paya just wandering around the streets of downtown Yangon was really interesting. Everywhere you walked there were street stalls selling anything you could think of, the buildings were mostly old british colonial style and were pretty interesting to look at, and almost everyone on the street was super friendly and wanting to talk to you. So in all I just enjoyed wandering around and getting lost for my first experiences in the country.

On my return visit the first thing that I went to accomplish was apply for my Indian visa and organize a flight out to Kolkata. This surprisingly took most of my first day back as I had some trouble getting on the flight that I wanted and had to talk to several travel agents before I was able to get on the waiting list (the next day I managed to get on the flight).

The following day I again wandered around the downtown of Yangon but also stopped off at Sule Paya, a paya located in a traffic circle (essentially) in the heart of downtown. This paya wasn't anywhere near as spectacular as Shwedagon but it was still worth a visit. My third day back in Yangon I wandered up to Kandawgyi Lake, a nice relaxing lake with a pathway around it just to the north of downtown. I spent a while just relaxing there and also wandering around the surrounding area.

The next day in Yangon was my final full day in the country and I spent most of it making sure that I was ready to leave and getting my Passport with Indian visa back from the Indian Embassy. As you can probably tell there isn't a whole lot of tourist attractions in Yangon and most of my final week here was spent killing time while I waited for my Indian visa and my flight out. As a result I was fairly bored most of the time with nothing much to do other than just walk around town.

Finally 5 days after arriving back in Yangon I went out to the airport to catch my flight to India where I plan on spending around the next 2 months of my trip. So my time in Southeast Asia has come to an end after slightly more than 5 very enjoyable months. Check back soon for my adventures in India.









Standing in front of Shwedagon Paya.

















Locals all praying at the base of Shwedagon Paya.

















A view of Shwedagon Paya all lit up at night.















Sule Paya located at the center of a traffic circle in downtown Yangon.












A boat structure (I heard that it was and wasn't a restaurant so not sure which) on Kandawgyi Lake.








One of the friendly people on the streets of Yangon that invited me for a chat and a cup of tea.