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‹ Previous (04/02/2009) MONTH Next (2009-04-05)› ‹ Previous (2009-08-29 - Nepal) COUNTRY Next (2009-09-19 - Pakistan)› India Delhi (see on map) 10/03/2009:
We have been resting almost one week in Delhi, parked next to the attractive Park Nehru. Basically we have been expecting them to give the visa of Thailand for Alexandra. One of these days we met the possible buyer of the autocaravan, who was more interested in seeing technical details than to buy (the man is a builder of autocaravans). On the other hand, we have also passed quite a lot of time talking with friends that we had met during the journey and who were also parked in Nehru Park: a couple of Germans that we had met in Nepal and who were preparing to return to Europe, and a French family that we had met in Kajuraho. The French family was with a French friend, Tierrie, which had contacts to be able to cross Myanmar by car, a country normally impossible to cross over. Besides, Tierrie had very good information to follow the journey through the South Asian; afterwards for Indonesia and East Timor from where one could take a ferry towards Australia; and from Australia he thought to go to south America loading the 4x4 in an empty banana boat. Tierrie had an itinerary very similar to the one that I had drawn before initiating the journey, and was quite jealous of he being able to make it and me having to modify my plans. So much was like this, that on the third day I asked seriously Tierrie of accompanying him and the family of Frenchmen crossing Myanmar. Anyway, Tierrie is a very hermetic person and was difficult to obtain information from him nor a yes nor a no. Before knowing whether he could add me to them, he should wait to see whether they obtained the licence to enter Myanmar and to cross certain prohibited Indian states (if they did not obtain it with the contacts that he had he thought to fly to Myanmar to find new contacts). In fact i had thought to wait and to risk the thicket of plane and the plans, but today in the morning i have woken up early and I have started to do numbers. Until now it had gone very well to travel with autocaravan because we have had to take few boats, because I have been sponsored (i had bought the autocaravan with 14000 euro of discount) and because i had collaborated with some magazines of autocaravaning that provided me with extra money. But now, if i wanted to continue the journey i had to think of the expenses of the boats, that they could reach 6000 or 8000 euro (Singapore, East Timor to Australia, Australia to America of the South, Colombia to Panama, America North to Europe). Besides, i should add about 9000 euros of devaluation of the autocaravan (the three first years i had paid very few devaluation because i had bought the autocaravan with the great discount). So, travelling with autocaravan the following three years would mean an extra expense of 15000euros (I calculate that travelling with backpack we will have expenses similar to the travel with the autocaravan). Really it is an important difference and I have thought that it is better to save this money for the future. I have gone towards the Frenchmen and I have explained to them that finally we would not wait for their answer and that we would not go with them. Tierrie has appeared very surprised, but, conversing they have understood the reasons afterwards. I have an important difference to my approach of the travel, for I think to return to Europe after visiting America, but they suggested all the life to travel, perhaps finding some work or setting up some business in some lost country. In these cases, to travel with autocaravan is the best thing, for the journey with autocaravan is more economic when people travel very slowly: you do not have to pay hotel, you can cook yourself and, although the journey by train or bus is more economic than the diesel used up by a autocaravan, it remains compensated if few kilometres are done monthly. In our case, to go over the south Asia, Australia and America for three years is too little time on account of using the autocaravan. Shortly we will start to compare the costs of travelling with autocaravan or with backpacking. Nepal Pokara (see on map) 15/03/2009:
On Wednesday in the morning we started to do path towards Nepal, where we had planned to leave the autocaravan for five months to travel with backpack through the south East Asia. We had bought an aeroplane thicket from Kolcata To Bangkok for the 31 March in the morning, and a train thicket from Patna to Kolcatta for the 28 of March in the night. We planned on leaving Nepal on the 27th of March, but in order to not surpass the visa of 15 days, we had to enter the 13th of March, on Friday, in Nepal. So, we went quite calmly from Delhi to Nepal, and much more because on Wednesday was the holiday Holly and the roads were absolutely deserted of cars and only there were some youngsters that thrown dust of colours mixed with water. At night it surprised us to find a very friendly policeman that offered us to park in the checkpoint. Anyway, we had two small bad experiences the day after to say goodbye to India: in a gasstation they tried to put less diesel of what we paid; and in another point, I bought an entire chicken that they killed in front of me, but in going to cook it we gave realised one leg was missing (in the photo that I did it can be seen that the chicken was not mutilated). In Nepal we found another type of problems that seem to be quite frequent: there was a strike in all the west of the country. The main tribe that lives in these lands, the Tharu had all the roads cut since 13 days ago because the maoist government did not recognise their tribe legally. It seems that it is used frequently by the population against the maoist in the same way that years before the maoist were expressing against the king. In any case, on the border they informed us that the demonstrators only had the local traffic blocked and that to the tourists would leave pass. And in principle like this it was. In the first city there were many remains of burned tyres and in the exit we started to find the first barricades made with stones, trunks, bicycles or people standing. It was a little scary to approach these barricades, but Alexandra was shown nicer than ever greeting and smiling to everybody and kept letting us pass troublefree. The traffic was completely blocked except for a bus of Indian tourists that we crossed and some ambulances that seemed to act as taxi. In any case, after crossing the bus of Indian tourists and of crossing a barricade that previously had been burned, we found two buses completely burned down. But were not the only ones, throughout all the day we counted about 6 buses or 4x4 and burned lorries and another 6 motorcycles. One might not have missed that the roads were deserted of traffic, however they were occupied by tens of groups of people that walked full of bags or that went by bicycle. It was a little sad to see walking to so many people long distances and loading big bags, but we could not help them, because for a part they were too many and on the other hand, the demonstrators could accuse us of acting as public transportation. In fact, in a police control, an officer asked us to take him up to the next village and was more dangerous of crossing the barricades. In any case, there were not always people guarding the barricades and many times Alexandra had to go out to put rocks or branches aside, for in the depopulated areas, they had cut trees to block the road, although the police had already cut and had put aside the main branches. On the second day, the adventure followed exactly in the same way, but in a given moment, a control of the police stopped us indicating that the next village was in curfew, because the police had killed two people at dawn (on the previous days two had died other civilians and a policeman). We told the police that we were tourists, that we did not want to see the conflict and that we could not stay there, that the curfew was indefinite and that we could not pass, but we insisted. Finally, after a lot to insist and of passing two controls more we arrived to the town where waited for us a car of policeman to escort us up to the exit. It was a little Dantesque experience, to observe all the police in the streets and the inhabitants observing us to pass from the balconies and windows. But much more bloodcurdling was at a couple of kilometres of the town. We saw to come about a thousand or two thousand demonstrators walking, cloakrooms parading in two ranks and screaming and raising sticks. We parked next to the road and let pass all the crowd, which smiled upon us or asked us where we were from. Finally we passed, but we thought that this could be a terrible confrontation with the police. In any case, we followed without news until the following day, when quite early in the morning we saw arriving in contrary direction a car of the police followed by a long rank of lorries and coaches. We thought that they went towards another confrontation with the demonstrators, but little more late they communicated us that the strike had finished, because the government had accepted all the requests of the tribe Tharu. 17/03/2009:
We have not enjoyed the town of Pokhara, the second touristic destination in Nepal, at the foot of the mountainous massif of Annapurna (8091 m) and bordering a calm lake. The sky continued to be misty, hardly we could observe the other edge of the lake and the mountains snowed peaks have been maintained hidden at all times. due to the landscape I have not deigned not even to contemplate of doing some famous excursion up to some next hill. Even then we had decided to do the necessary purchases for the next journey with backpack and without autocaravan, and also made use talk with some other travellers that had parked their vehicles in a wasteland at the foot of the lake. In any case, if we have not enjoyed Pokhara it has not been for the time, basically has been for the bad experience that we had when we arrived. On the first day we left the car parked and went out to walk, but when returning after a couple of hours, Alexandra discovered with horror that they had extracted 40 Pakistani adhesives of the autocaravan. Other times they had pulled one or two adhesives in India, but 40 were too many, it seemed that they had ripped the clothes of the autocaravan. The indignation of Alexandra was terrible, and also mine, although I tried to keep it controlled. I went out to walk through the surroundings to see whether i saw any of the children that had seen beforehand roaming the autocaravan, until I discovered in a restaurant a child and a girl of about 4 or 5 years that were playing with ten of the adhesives pulled off the autocaravan. Satisfied by the finding, I caught the two children by the ears and screamed 'you will now go to the police'. To the same moment appeared the parents of the smallest and I had to leave the ears to them. I explained the misdeed that their children had done and that i thought to go to the police if they did not pay me an economic compensation. In India, we had never caught the offenders who had extracted adhesives from us, but I caught them here with the booty and people felt like applying some type of punishment or fine. But the fathers did not want to talk of money, they did not think that their children were capable of doing the misdeed and they were annoyed that I had pulled their ears. In the end the police of the neighbourhood came, catching through the path some other older boys that also seemed to have taken part in the orgy of unhooking adhesive (although they, as the smallest, refused to pay). In the end, after two hours of discussion, everything finished in a Solomonic solution, I would ask for pardon to the smallest for having pulled them the ears, the fathers would pay me 1euro as economic compensation and the other most adult children (which seemed the instigators of the small ones) would stay without punishment or fine because they lived in the street and they did not have home. The two following days, we planted new adhesives that we still had and turned paranoid supervising that no other child approached the autocaravan. Maybe this experience was a new signal to leave parked the autocaravan a season and to travel without the stress of having an accident of car and destroying our home and of the Indian-Nepalese trying frequently to open the door or to pull out adhesive. Kathmandu (see on map) 27/03/2009:
On the contrary to Pokhara, we have enjoyed quite a lot Kathmandu, as if we wanted the last days that we have in the autocaravan to be unforgettable. We parked in a wasteland close to the centre of Kathmandu where there were some other 5 caravans, proving to us that these last months we have coincided with the routes of the caravanists that is guided by the time: while in the centre of India the heat is terrible, the temperatures in Kathmandu are much fresher or colder. Among the different interesting autocaravanists, there was a couple of retired Germans that did 14 following years that travelled with a big and old van through Nepal, India and Pakistan (Karakorum). Anyway, we did not do too much social life with the autocaravanists, for we were concentrated too much to prepare the journey with the backpack, to do the last purchases and to share the maximum possible time with our friends: Jay Ram and its family, and David and Maria, which from our separation for Christmas had been travelling through Bangladesh and the North East of India. In any case, I reserved an afternoon to visit an ONG that we did not visit the previous time and which 2 different people had recommended us to visit. I got lost 45 minutes for marginal neighbourhoods until I found the building of the ONG TDHF that the Catalan Toni Aguilar created about 7 years ago. Toni is married to a Nepalese and between both they are managing a home where they receive orphan girls. Anyway, as he confessed me, one of the reasons to give up the profession of computer scientist and of going to live in Nepal was to discover the causes of the poverty and to find a solution. But after 7 years yet he had not found a satisfactory answer, because of that, little later after greeting us Toni asked me: 'Which do you think is the cause of the poverty'?. I was a good while thinking, for with the project of taking the pulse to the world I ask more than answer, even then, usually I gave my very particular opinion that I kept contrasting with his. For a part we conclude that always there will be poverty because the societies can hardly be egalitarian and always there will be people that they have less than the other ones and who will be called poor. Anyway, the living conditions of the poor ones can keep improving with time, even if the status of poor does not disappear: in very general lines, the situation of the poor ones has kept improving throughout the centuries, for example, now a large family that lives in only one room of solid walls can be defined as poor, although in the middle age this was luxury and was reserved for the well-off families. In any case, in spite of the increase of quality of life, at present there are many people in the world that live with some unacceptable living conditions for the occidental ethics, therefore it is logical that it sets off of the society is suggests of helping them. As it seems, there are two basic ways of helping: the charity (to give money, food or products in exchange for anything) or the inclusion of the poor ones in the productive world (hiring them to work or helping them in business projects). According to some studies, the charity can increase the number of poor, for it is simple to have the basic needs covered without working, by this reasons, many ONGs are focused to help the poor ones integrating them into the productive or capitalist world. Anyway, for me, this option does not stop being a little ironic, for the poverty is caused by the capitalism, which highlights the differences among rich and poor. To solve this problem or contradiction, Toni tries that the businessman widows that the ONG forms and helps return part of their profits to the ONG or the society, a goal that gets complicated as the women gain more money and turn more egoistical. The following day after meeting with Toni, David and Maria celebrated 2 years of journey. We had gone out on some similar dates towards Africa also about two years ago, and a year before I had initiated the journey in Europe ( the journey of 5 or 6 years for all the world), so we also added ourselves to the celebration, dining on some delicious spaguetty bolognese that we cooked among all at the home of Jay Ram. We have passed some other good moments with our friends, but finally today we have well cleaned and tidied the autocaravan and we have gone to park it in the south of Kathmandu, to a garage of confidence where other caravanist left their caravans during long seasons. Afterwards we have returned to the hotel where David and Maria are lodged loading the heavy backpacks and have taken a room - for our bus towards India leaves early in the morning -, being about to pass the last hours with David and Maria and Jay Ram (with who we will coincide again in five months, when we return from our journey with backpack through the south east Asia). During the last conversations, we have remembered that it was at the beginning of the last year that we met David and Maria in Egypt. Since then we have met ourselves numerous times, thinking that we would not see ourselves again till Spain, although we have refound and travelled together one a total of 5 times: in Iran, Pakistan, India and Nepal. Today at night we have also had to say goodbye another time, although today we have done it convinced that our journeys will cross again before Spain, maybe in China or in South America. India Kolkata (see on map) 30/03/2009: We had a train thicket bought from Patna to Kolkatta, but a traveller informed me about Patna being dangerous and being better to take the train from Gorakpur. Although the journey by train from Gorakpur was longer (24horas), we informed ourselves about it being much simpler to arrive to this city from Kathmandu that to Patna. So, we finally buyed another train thicket from Gorakpur with the intention of recovering the money of the train thicket from Patna (it is quite simple although the authorities keep a percentage depending on the days or hours that are lacking before the train leaves). Paralleling, we had also bought a bus thicket towards the border with a local company. We go out at 7:30 in a bus with some tourists and quite a lot of Nepalese. The stretch kept passing off quite well, but after the midday, when we had already arrived to the plains of the south of Nepal, we are retained behind a column of buses and lorries: we had run into another of the fearsome strikes of Nepal. As it seems, the leader of a political party of the opposition had been murdered the previous night and the people of the town where the man had been born had blocked the traffic since dawn. As to the previous times, the Nepalese were very patient, in comparison to the hysteria of the tourists, especially a Portuguese girl that had a train thicket from Gorakpur to Varanasi at 10:30 in the night. Anyway, after an hour of waiting, the column of lorries and buses started off, crossing some barricades and advancing some tens of kilometres up to the entry of an important city close to the border, where we remained retained a total of 4 hours. In the end we arrive to the border at 9 in the night. By luck, Alexandra was accelerated and we crossed the border first and could take the last bus towards Gorakpur together with another couple of tourists. The Portuguese could not catch the bus, losing like this the train; anyway, she would also have lost it, because the bus reached Gorakpur at 11 in the night. We found a relatively economic hotel and the following day at 1 of the midday we took our train. The journey by train was quite relaxing. In spite of the 24 hours of journey, we had bought a thicket for the third class AC and it was quite calm. For the second time we were in India after going out of Nepal and the contrast of both countries and its people made us to value still more the affable and pacific character of the Indians, with comparison to the Nepalese that have a character in general more tensed. Then I remembered the memories that Toni Aguilar from Nepal explained to me. About twenty years ago, he had travelled to India and found a very hospitable country, with the people showing a lot of interest in the origins and culture of Toni (it had also happened to him travelling through Spain and Morocco). Anyway, he himself also explained that India (as Spain and Morocco) has changed quite a lot, possibly corrupted by the tourism. Toni had been incapable of forgetting an image of his journey of twenty years ago: a bus of Europeans who threw sweets while they crossed some town and the children running behind its trail to collect them. Evidently, India that we have found is not the same one that Toni found, but on the other hand, it is not difficult for me to imagine that the majority of the people would appear much more hospitable-related with us if we were in another period. Of all this reflection it only saddens me to think that some day, the marvellous people of Iran or Sudan (I do not refer to the governments) will stop being hospitable integrating the egoism and world individualism into their societies. Once in Kolkatta we took a taxi pre-paid in a ticket window up to the street Sudder, where all the tourists are lodged. We were asking prices and looked at quite a lot of rooms and finally took one for about four euros, which was not the most economic although Alexandra was discontent for the quality. There were not bugs, but it was probably normal: perhaps a cat that Alexandra had seen jumping the first time that we had opened the door from the bed to the window had eaten them up. In fact, Alexandra seems quite discontent with this new stage of the journey without autocaravan, is quite nervous and frightful, complaining for anything. But I try to ignore her, not to become infected of her pessimism, since in my case I am adapting perfectly. I like to be able to shower in abundant water, although in the three hotels that we have been lodged until now we have had to use a bucket and a jar to throw the water. On the other hand I also like to travel with public transportation: we have much more contact with the local people, I have much more time to read or to write and I do not have to be pending all the while of the car not crashing against a crazy truck driver. At the same time, I feel myself comfortable with all the few full things in the backpack: the computer, the camera, the flash, two pairs of everything, a pullover, a raincoat and other small things that seem essential. With all these possessions that I load I sit capable of feeling myself at home when I arrive and we install ourselves in a hotel, or even when I am here seated in a chair of the airport. The airport... This has been a good adventure... Our aeroplane towards Bangkok leaves tomorrow at 6:50 in the morning. If we take that we have to be in the airport 3 or 4 hours with anticipation into account, we should present ourselves at 3 in the dawn and wake up of the hotel at 2. A crazy thing, no? So, we have decided to present ourselves in the airport mid-afternoon, to pass the night sleeping (or not)in the airport. But surprisingly, when we have tried to enter the airport a soldier has asked us to see the aeroplane thicket and next denied us the entry, telling us that we will be able to enter four hours before. Indignant I have went at the request of the soldier to the manager of the airport, who has also told me that i could not enter the airport up to 3am. When I have asked whether supposedly we had to stay in the room of our hotel up to 2 am he has answered me that yes. Still more indignant, I have directed myself to the main entrance and have sat in front, first on the backpack and afterwards pulled to the ground and with the head on the backpack, to express my protest better. Evidently, this second posture has had answer and after little a soldier has presented himself demanding from me to go out from the the crossing (the people passed perfectly, but they naturally kept looking at me strange). But I, enraged with the soldiers and experimented with some similar protests of some years behind, I have refused to move. Finally a superior and another more superior came, all requiring from me that i went out from there. But i answered them that i would only go out when they let me enter inside. Finally, under the orders to the most superior of all, they have put the backpack aside from me and pulled me afterwards of the arms and legs out of the path. But as soon as the soldiers have left I have pulled myself again in front of the door, this time without backpack, which had stayed a little further on, supervised by my look. Alexandra came different times asking for me to go out of there, to settle us in some seats outside the airport, but as also i was annoyed with her since the morning, I have ignored her. In the face of my new posture, completely pulled in front of the door, many more people have been brought over to me, some showing me friendliness and others being annoyed (as the soldier that has refused me the entry and afterwards has pulled me). Anyway, I have earned many smiles and sympathy when I have answered in a curious way that I was an activist of Gandhi and that i was protesting. Then the people have told me that the airport had some norms and that I had to accept them. But I have answered them that Gandhi changed the norms imposed by the British Empire and obtained the independence of India, I fought to change the norms of the airport that i considered unfair. Once another hour and a half has passed, they have seemed still more military, and risking to go to prison or lose the aeroplane (i didn’t give a rats ass) i have refused another time to move, explaining to them that I was demonstrating against a right that i thought i have. Finally, after dragging me a little too bad but seeing that they were not obtaining anything at all (i thought to situate another time in front of the door) or embarrassed by their attitude, a woman that seemed to have a higher level has commented: 'let him enter'. And unexpectedly I was standing, with the backpack on the shoulder and the disoriented Alexandra nearby, entering for the main entrance of the airport. Little later, we have found casually a Spanish, Didac, that also took the same flight as us and a Japanese. Both had arrived to the airport a bit later than we, and despite noticing some reluctance on the part of the soldiers of the door, they had been able to enter inside without too many problems. I have felt satisfied that, at least, two people have benefited from my fight, perhaps it was not worthed, because the air-conditioning to in the airport was so intense that hardly we have slept an hour in all the night. Thailand Bangkok (see on map) 01/04/2009:
Thailand is a paradise. After travelling 6 months in the chaotic countries of India and Nepal, it is difficult to assume that countries as Thailand can exist. Flying over the outskirts of Bangkok with the aeroplane already landing I was surprised with the green fields, the crowd of unifamiliar houses and the motorways of different lanes that intersected in bridges of multiple levels. But much more we marvelled when the aeroplane touched the ground and we approached the ultra-modern airport. Everything was immaculate, enormous and technological. But the categorisation of paradise is not due to the income per cápita of Thailand, superior to the previous visited countries. After few minutes circulating with a luxurious bus towards the centre of Bangkok, Alexandra commented me 'you have noticed that no horn is listened to'?. It was true and incredible! To circulate through the city was calm and noiseless, every car advancing through its lane. But before arriving to the centre we discovered the main problem of Bangkok: the jams; but unlike India (this problem among many others more severe significance) all the cars remained stopped in their lane waiting patiently, and without making touching the horn not even a single time! But the marvels of Thailand are not finished here; the Thais are some of the people that were shown more interest in helping. When we arrive to the centre and asked about a bus that could take us to the neighbourhood where we had accommodation, the people started to ask among them, that in spite of everything they did not direct us to the point looked for, until they recommended us the best bus. But when asking again to a girl in the bus she was shown so interested in helping us that she got out of the bus expressly for us, to ask more people on how we could arrive to our destination. This was another important difference in comparison to the countries visited from Turkey: the Thai girls do not have any timidity or modesty of talking with unknown people. Besides, it also surprises that they dress so uncovered, dressing with trousers or mini-skirts, showing all the legs. It is not surprising then, that Alexandra gave me some hit, because besides, the Thais are some of the most attractive girls of the planet according to the occidental tastes, despite being in general small and having the nose sunk or the flat face (Alexandra pointed). Finally we found the place of some youngsters of couchsurfing that rented rooms for 2euros or they let sleep freely in a shared room. At first, Alexandra appeared very upset with the room that they assigned to us, for she preferred a room with bath. But I disliked her attitude, because apart from sustaining all the journey until now, she complained to me about the conditions with which we travelled. But afterwards I decided to change tactics with her and commented from now we would assign ourselves an individual budget that would include sleep, food and transport; this way, if she wanted to sleep in better hotels or to move in taxi through the city she should renounce better food. The assigned budget has been of 5 € for person daily, the same budget that David and Maria have since 2 years. This budget is less of half of what we had when travelling with autocaravan, so, in fact we could allow ourselves a higher budget, but i felt, to save and to prove to myself that really two people can travel all the world with 300€/month, adjusting to the same budget of our friends. Anyway, Thailàndia seems to be a quite economic country to travell and the budget of 10 € per day between both seems more than sufficient. Besides, the diversity of food that is sold by the street to less than 0,5euros the dish is incredible. In fact, this great nutritional diversity is another of the surprises of Thailand. Exposed in installed shutdowns on the pavements there are different types of meat (I have tried the chicken, a sausage with rice, and different dishes of rice with chicken, veal or pig), different types of organs cooked (I have not proved them), shellfish (including some animals that seemed new), soups (some of they covered by a layer of floating chilly), fried dishes (the oil was clean and transparent unlike the dark oils of India), sushi, noodles, fruits, sandwiches of ice cream, crêpes, cake shops, and many other products that would not know how to describe or to name. ‹ Previous (04/02/2009) MONTH Next (2009-04-05)› ‹ Previous (2009-08-29 - Nepal) COUNTRY Next (2009-09-19 - Pakistan)› |
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