We should be thankful to the Iranians. Actually we had not planned to go to Northern India, but since we had changed our flights anyway, we decided to seize the time and go on a short week-end trip to Rajastan. On the way we got the message that the Iranian visa would not work at all, so we could prolong our trip and include the famous Taj Mahal. And in the short time periods in which we did not sit in a train or enjoyed the sites, we organized our journey to Ethiopia.

Choosing Rajastan was more or less coincidence: in the Bollywood film we had seen, there were beautiful takes of an old town with a lovely palace at a lake. We googled it and found out it was set in Udaipur, only one night away from Mumbai. Spontaneously we booked the bus ticket and went there. Continue reading →

When we were at Hampi, we received the good news that we could “pick up” our Iran visa in Mumbai. We took the next night bus to go there and directly hurried to the Consulate of the Islamic Republic. However, the expression “pick up” was a bit too optimistic by the travel agency we had relied on. It involved a whole application process, an interview and some waiting time to see what happened after the presidential election on Friday, 14th June. There were two good things about it: first, they were the friendliest officers we met so far and second, we quickly adapted to the morning procedure of driving to the consulate to be invited for a tea. But there was also a bad thing about it: they were not able to issue the visa before our planned flight to Iran, which was scheduled two days after the election. So we were stuck here and we still do, waiting for the Iranian officials to give us even more anecdotes about how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs works – or better say not works. Up to now we surely have enough material for a complete blog post on the Iranian visa.

At least it is Mumbai where we are forced to stay longer, having our base camp at Colaba’s “India Guest House“. We had heard so many bad judgements about the city, from “crazy” to “horrible”. But in fact, Mumbai has many advantages. Of course, it is a big town and it is Indian. Yet, it has a charming down-town with lots of majestic colonial architecture, green alleys and a nice sea promenade. It was the first time we discovered urban atmosphere in India. People love sitting at the coast, seize the Sunday to play cricket on the streets and in general are more open and helpful, so making contact is much easier. We spent some afternoons just walking around, declining dozens of offers to purchase marijuana, buying some pre-owned and very cheap books from the street vendors or eating in our favorite restaurant. And after having found the magic potion “Vodka Elotrans”, we never got sick again. Surprisingly, Mumbai offers a national park of more than 100 square kilometers directly at the edge of the city, only one hour away from the center. It is a great place to take a day off and get away from the urban life. The same holds for the “Elephanta Island”, which you can reach via a nice one hour lasting ferry ride and offers some old and quite impressive caves. Continue reading →

The year is 1946 AD. India is entirely occupied by the British. Well, not entirely. One small state of indomitable Goans still holds out against the invaders.

Okay, it is not that they are independent, in fact the state of Goa is ruled by the Portuguese. But you cannot really imagine that the Indians obey the PORTUGUESE, so people here must be rather free. Without the magic potion.

Things have changed since the Indian invasion in 1961 and times have become rough. Nowadays, poor Goa is periodically overrun by the Allied European Tourists. “D Day” is around Christmas, usually the invaders debark at the beaches, but normally the attack is hold to a standstill several hundred meters land-inside and the offenders hold the position during a few months, unable to move further. Under normal circumstances they leave at the beginning of the rain season when the climatic conditions start to favor the defenders. Continue reading →

In India, religion is all around. It influences the people’s every day life and is a main determinant of the country’s culture. Fortunately, here at the beach, there is no temple in sight, so we have some rest and can reflect about our previous experiences …. just that you know that we do not relax on the beach!

Hinduism is fundamentally different from the religions we have in Europe (Steve is Christian whereas I am agnostic). As previously noted, Hinduism is much more concrete. It speaks to the senses: The rituals comprise meditative music, bells ringing, worshipping images, colourful statues and the use of perfumed essences. Moreover, it gives answers and offers help for much more topics than Christianity. If you want to get rich, if you search for a pretty girlfriend, if you are afraid of diseases or car crashes or if you need a quiet hour to calm down, then the Bible has very few specific recommendations to offer. In India they have. There is a prayer, a priest or a temple for all of these problems, such that the devotees almost never have the feeling of being let alone. Admittedly, the fact that you have to pay for most of these services gives a strong incentive to “develop” a metaphysical solution for any problem. Continue reading →