Mombasa

Mombasa has East Africas main port and a rich history of conqueres and culture melted into each other. It's predominitly Muslim and conservative on the surface. It is a nice and interesting place, but the reason I am staying here at the moment for the third time is my need for a break of travelling, Nakumat which is a supermarket for the "mzungus" with all international products imaginable and Mombasa Backpackers (mombasabackpackers.com). The backpackers just opened months ago and everything was unorganized in an enjoyable fashion. Basicly it is a mansion whitch back home would cost about 3 million $. There are 13 toilets, a bar, 2 kitchens, a huge living room with an impressive movie collection, a garden (in which I am sitting at the moment), Masai guards whom I know consider good friends and the owners Bob and David. Bob is Southafrican and likes beer. David is Peruvian and likes just one other thing next beer and girls. Their good fun and extremely chilled out. Because of their laziness they used to depend on guests offering rest ups to them because they were not able to feed themself even though Nakumat is just 500m away. Nowadays they have a nice cook that is taking care of their needs. In high season the place was packed even though it just newly opened. People were partying hard and a lot of hilarious stories emerged over the 50 days I stayed there in total.

I grilled a lot of very good beef filet (5$/kg -> Switzerland 40$/kg) in the garden and then chilled around the fire place. I got to know so many people here that I know consider good friends. Among others one stands out. Michael from Tours, France is travelling since 6 years around Africa. He started on the west coast all the way to South Africa and is now heading up to Egypt. He had many funny stories to share and was a party animal. A good man.

During the day I usually stayed at the place and didn't move a lot anymore. But after several weeks I had the desire to check out some sights. With some friends I usually sneaked into a five star hotel (easy to get past security if you have white skin) and hanged at the pool area with a view of the reef and change of tide. After 7 times I got caught and left to the beach when I guy was getting the manager. I also checked out Mombasas nightlife several times. It is scattered all over town. Usually there are a fair amount of prostitutes inside, some players, the Indian community (wealthy descendants of Indians who were brought to Africa to built railways for the East India Company) and mzungus. Timmy danced a lot even though he traditionally sucks at that, but then again: any car can drive if there is enough fuel inside.

Mombasa Backpackers became a new home for me and I found good friends here. I even got the offer to become a co owner by the people working. And I am actually considering it in the long run. What more can I say...

Safari Masai Mara NP and Nakuru NP

It's difficult to write about the experience I had since it is one of the things you have to do by yourself one day. I try my best.
First we collected all the participants: one German, a girl from New Zealand, a Canadian who works for a development fund and a Canadian couple on their honeymoon. We fit together easily and enjoyed the ride out of Nairobi to the Rift valley. It starts in Syria and goes all the way down to Mozambique - 6000km. So you descend from Nairobi to the vast valley which is famous for it's volcanic activity and it's fertile grounds. There are still TDP (temporary displaced people) living in the valley who had to flee their village after clashing with one of the other 52 tribes after the post election violence of 2007. It seems like everybody who you talk with in Kenya has a sad story to tell about that time period.
Anyway, you can already see some free Zebras and Baboons on the way to the fenced Nakuru National Park. We checked into a very nice hotel even though I insisted on the cheapest accommodation possible. In the afternoon and the morning we went into the park which surrounds lake Nakuru. Pelicans, Zebras, Baboons, many kinds of Antelopes, Rhinos, Giraffes, Buffaloes and animals I don't remember anymore. Usually you can see cats as well, but we were not lucky enough. The park it self is beautiful and offers some nice views of the Africa shaped lake.
Then we went on to the Masai Mara and we got a tent with mattresses just outside the entrance gate.
We went into the park 3 times. Once for a evening, once a full day and on the last day just for a morning safari. The Masai Mara has loads of animals grassing in the valleys. The cats hide in the high grass and prey on the weak. The three most bloodthirsty days of my life. Sadly I never got to see a kill, but at least we were able to show up just afterwards. The wildebeests (aka Gnus) had their yearly migration just when I arrived so there was abundant meat around.
We obviously saw many many animals - there is rarely a moment when you don't see something moving - so I cant tell you everything, that's why I am going to stick to the most impressive.
Once we saw a whole lion family eating the corpse of a wildebeests.The sun was shining down into the long grass and the wind blew into the male lion mane. He was pulling the skin of the corpse to get to the juicy meat beneath and the rest of the family was waiting. The cups a bit less respectful unsuccessfully tried to get a junk while he was eating. Cool stuff
At the Mara river the wildebeest who show up in numbers hardly imaginable (1 million in total) try to get through the water without getting eaten by the crocs. But the thing is nobody wants to be the first one because he may gets killed right away. But as soon somebody starts the madness starts. Everybody wants to be next, and they scream and make deep sounds, the ground is trembling and dust is fanning out into the air. During the drive to the crossing section we saw thousands of zebras and wildebeests forming an unorganized line down to the river. They have the same migration pattern and seem to enjoy each others company.
Elephants - the true rulers of the animal kingdom - are represented in high numbers as well. At one point we saw a family of 20 elephants making there way through the high grass. Babies, mothers and bulls. There size and tranquility is incredible. But be respectful, they are the main reason for problems between animals and humans in this part of the world. They sometimes charge or can destroy a lot of land because of their size and strength.
I guess I could go on for while, but it's just something you have to see by yourself. I had a good time and recommend it to others.

Nairobi

After the journey over Dubai IA I arrived at the less fancy Nairobi airport. After a welcoming bus ride to the city center I was stunned about the skyscrapers and the sophistication of people who are wearing suits and nice dresses. I checked into a average hostel, which was mostly frequented by locals from neighbouring countries trying to get a slice of Kenya's wealth. Don't assume Kenya is a first world country because the bustling center is surrounded by vast slums. I got to know the local food witch is similar to other kitchens in poor countries. Beans, rice, eggs, little chicken, beef stews and the main dish ugali. Ugali is made of maize flower and then fried. It doesn't have much taste and is mostly to fill up the stomach. It is usually eaten with something with taste.

Africans seem nice and eager to get to know mzungus (white people). They desperately try to sell you a safari at every street corner. Smoking laws are hard and allows you to only smoke in scattered smoking areas or in taxis - guess a service to the rich. There are a lot of rich guys around. Some hotels look like forts of luxury. Security is an issue, especially after dark. Nairobi has cleaned it self up in the past decade, but still cant get rid of the "Nairobbery" label. Central Park and Uhuru Park are the main parks downtown and offer freedom from the not so bad hassle in the streets. India was much worse considering poverty and dirt.

My hostel was really quite (Milimani is apparently much better) so I just had some discussions with locals and some international volunteers. Volunteers seem to love Kenya, since it is safer than other African countries, but still poor enough to be in desperate need of help - and you can do a safari at the end of your trip or hang out the beach.

I couldn't resist booking a safari even though it is very expensive - 100$ a day all incl. I booked a four day tour to Nakuru National Park and the famous Masai Mara where the Masai used to live exclusively. Nowadays they are either there or scattered over the country working as security guards, because of there reputation as warriors and honest people. But don't fall in love with them too fast. They are still tribesman and don't really know Western culture. They drink blood daily and they would slice the throught of anybody who cheats on them. They buy women with cows (usually 10 for the daughters family and five for the daughter). Men don't work at home and leave building houses and almost everything else to their wives.

Anyway, after three days of trying to get on top of things I left Nairobi to go on a Safari to the south.

Mamallapuram

Because of "The Situation" I layed low for 6 days in this Tamil fisher village. Women as well as men are wearing skirts or towels. In

the morning every man seems to head out to the beach to take a crap. If you think about strolling along the beach in the morning, you'll see men behind stones squadding a later cleaning there ass in the traditional left hand way. Later in that week I went to the barber and I smel

led shit fro

m his hand when he

was cutting my facial hair with scissors because th

ere was a power outage. Nice!

This was a bad introduction for Mamallapuram, because it is truly a nice town with a lot of character. The tsunami devastated the area back in 2004. But the place has rebounded. Stone carving is huge and ranges from small items to whole hills.

I didn't have any small cash so I gave one of my big bills to a restaurant owner. I had to eat there for my whole stay. But he was a good man and above all a good cook.

There was also the World Cup Final during my stay w

hich I watched with other tourists and the stoned staff of the hotel, who knew nothing about football.

During my whole stay there were these three women on the picture who had to bring sand from the beach to a restaurant porch. It gets pretty hot during the day and they were carrying heavy duty. Heavy machinery would have gotten the job

done in no time, but then again - the Indian way is more honest.

Madras

After the very long haul from Calcutta with semi interesting passengers I arrived in the great city of Madras, which proved to be the ugliest of all the biggest cities I have seen in India. But the whole stomach situation has gotten out of control and had to be taken care of. So I looked for a hospital - a sophisticated one. Since I am backpacking I instinctively asked for the public hospital. But it looked like an average Indian train station. Filthy, overcrowded and no people who work there in sight. So I took a tuk tuk to a private 24 hours hospital.The building was only 3 meters wide and a guy was sleeping in the back. Nope. So I asked around for a good, private one with a laboratory and so on. The doctor thought that I will be a cash cow and wanted to have me in a bed for several nights. I insisted that I am more or less fine and that we should just get the tests done to know what the hell is going on. So I gave samples of all my liquids. In the evening they already had analyzed everything. My shit showed the Corpus Delicti - a worm called gardia. Apparently pretty common because of low hygienic standards in the kitchen. So there I was in an ugly city with a bag of pills and precise instruction for the next 7 days. I then decided to go to the fishing and stone cutter town of Mamallapuram to gt rid of this menace in a nice environment.

Calcutta

The place famous for poverty and Mother Theresa is the last economic center on the east side of India. It is part of the Bengal region which has been cut in half when Bangladesh has been founded. The Golf of Bengal reaches all the way to Thailand. People speak Bengali and the local Government is extreme left wing.

Many different world powers had a place on the river here to do business before India's Independence. The British had a especially big footprint, because from here they shipped opium to Hong Kong and China which fueled the two opium wars in Hong Kong.

Calcutta has some colonial architecture, but only one sight is truly impressive: Queen Victoria Memorial. Kind of looking like the Capitol building in Washington it is set in a huge park with small lakes around it. Indian architecture has been merged into it.

Calcutta has a really old British trolley system and a Russian built subway (North South).

Indian history museum which is the biggest in India doesn't match the size with quality.My stay here was rather short because I already booked the train to Chennai and the diarrhea kept me close to the hotel.

Calcutta is better than Delhi but worse than Mumbai. Chennai never made the competition.

Varanasi

The most holy city yo Hindus is in the center of the country. Old people who feel that their about to die take on their last travel and get to Varanasi to die. They stop eating once their and hope to be burned next to the "holy mother" aka Ganges. The city it self is a average big Indian mess with narrow alleys along the Ganges. Because the height of the water changes very significantly according to the Monsoon there are very wide stairways along the whole river. People bath every morning in the "holy Mother" even though industrial waste is evident. The exotic thing about Varanasi is the fact that people get burned next to the river, the ashes are then put into the river. Dead babies, pregnant women, and other exceptions do not deserve to get burned and are thrown into the Ganges as they were. Dead cows also find there way into the holy river. We saw a dead cow actually swimming next to a dead baby. This unique culture is so used to this fact that they have no problem swimming close by.

Along the river are two burning sights. Daily about 250 bodies are getting burned. The rich people can afford a nice spot while others just burn their relative between the stones.

A group of priests daily perform in the evening at the ghat "Agni Pooja" (Worship to Fire) wherein a dedication is made to Lord Shiva, River Ganga, Surya (Sun), Agni (Fire), and the whole universe.

Juan and me had a nice time in the hostel which had a bit of the character of a backpacker place. Juan then went north to Kathmandu in a two day trip and I went to Calcutta. The train was 6 hours late and the journey took 18 hours instead of the promised 12.

Agra

After saying bye to Hendrik and Marieke and Pip who I may meet in Africa me and Juan went on with the night train to Agra via Delhi (you all will always be welcome in Switzerland). Agra is home to the Taj Mahal. We had a room in Taj Ganj. We checked out the Baby Taj which is actually a bit older then the real Taj. It is also badly maintained and cant match the beauty of the Taj Mahal. After seeing a few sights including the fort from the outside we decided that the only thing in this city really worth seeing is the Taj Mahal.
And it really was. Symmetrcial to every detail, bigger in size than anticipated, with strong Islamic influences it is a masterpiece of grand architecture. The park offers some silence which contrasts to the streets outside. Most of the mausoleum is constructed out of marble. The two mosques on the sides are very airy and thus a nice place to hang out. It reminded me in many ways to the palaces and forts in Rajasthan.
Tourism is big: elderly, wealthy, foreign tourists mix with their Indian counterpart . Backpackers on the sidelines.
Juan and me watched some matches and drank the low tax alcohol. We could not leave the day we wanted because the foreign tourist quota tickets are regularly sold to tour agencies, who then sell them to the tourists who should have gotten them at the original price in the first place.
Next was Varanasi...

Amritsar

Amritsar is only 40km away from Pakistan. It is in Punjab province which is famous for their food, Sikh culture and the the showpiece Golden Temple.
The Golden Temple is in the middle of the mess they call Amritsar central. Each day the temple hands out 60'000 thalis (meals) for the needing and the greedy tourists. You eat in a huge hall in which every 15 minutes a new crowd is served. People eat fast and silent. Then all the metal dishes get collected outside the hall and goes throw a unautomated washing process which is being done by the worshippers a like. Huge cooking pans with 1 meter diameter are being heated by wood which is being cut in the back. A chapati machine spits out a chapati approximately every second.
But there is more to see. In the middle of the huge complex is a lake with koi fish. Some religious people bath in the murky waters. Guards with spears enforce the various rules that apply here.
In the middle of the lake is the Golden Temple it self. It's golden facade reflects in the water and stands 2 stories high. There is a long line to get over the bridge.
Sikh men wear the black head scarf which covers there long heir which they never during their live cut. Women are similarly dressed like Hindus.
There is also Jallianwala Bagh park which served as the location where the British killed at lat one thousand demonstrating people after a British officers decided to open fire. It can be seen in the epic movie "Gandhi" and was in reality, where Gandhi started his passive resistance campaign.
We also made a trip to the Pakistani border where every late afternoon the two nuclear powers have a ceremony to close the gates. Several thousand spectators come here every day to cheer "Hindustan" or "Pakistan" at the other side. The military wears very fancy uniforms and hit the legs higher up while walking than many cheerleaders.

McLeod Ganj

After a OK night bus from Manali to Dharamsala and then the short ride up to McLeod Ganj we finally arrived in the epicenter of political and religious Tibetan culture. The aging Dalai Lama lives here if he's not globetrotting and pushing for Tibetan rights. During are stay he was in Japan. McLeod Ganj is more a backpacker hub than a Tibetan refuge. I think it's save to say that there are more travelers than Tibetan monks. We did just a little walk around the elevated area and found a beautiful small hotel with views of the fields So we booked it for the next nights. We met some school children who gave a Hindi Bollywood dance session for us, which was really cool. Otherwise we ate and at mellow places while watching the world cup. Surprisingly Tibetan monks are also a bit into football and were cheering for the USA,
The monastery in McLeod Ganj - the home of the DL - is very much underwhelming. Things are mostly semi new and unbuddhist like of poor quality. The temple is not bad, but nothing out of the order. Tibetan monks verbally fought each other in the evening to practise interrogation of Chinese officials.
One day we rented a car and driver and drove to all places of interest in a radius of 70 km. We were brought to a beautiful complex to preserve Tibetan culture. Monks were working on paintings for up to a have a year, paying attention to every little detail. Girls and boys were sewing pictures made out of textiles in various colors with horse hair and silk. In an other room they were making the famous Buddha statues which can be found in every decent monastery. They are made out of copper with a wooden base. They are then coated to make it look golden. And finally there was a carving workshop which had everything from small Stupas to big tables and general furniture.
Later we went to the Kamasutra university. Ironically every monk in this place is a virgin. So it's all about the theory for these guys.
Two Shiva temples on the way were accompanied with a sharp contrast of hassle to the Tibetan culture.
Then we came to two Tibetan monasteries. Both rather new. The first one even looked a bit like a hotel. The second one was more appealing. Several hundred monks live there and go to school. They will afterwards go back to where they came from and spread their knowledge.

Koksar

Koksar is a trucker stop surrounded by 5 to 6000m high mountains. There are about 50 shacks and houses. It lies in the middle of the Lahaul valley and should have been are over night stop to get to the Spitti valley.
But as soon as we arrived we met three travellers who just got evacuated from the Spitti valley. Apparently the snow was deep the pass for an unforeseeable period closed and I just had flip flops. Obviously not the best circumstances and so we had to decide to give up the idea of the Tibetan monasteries altogether. Instead we slept in a dorm which cost 35 US cent. The toilet was adventurous and the water ice cold.
We ate at the best restaurant which was at a old mans place who was delighted to serve us. The next day we wanted to do a casual hike. After a while of walking through the Lahaul valley we decided to hike one of the smaller mountains. There were only paths from sheeps and it was pretty steep. I was obviously out of shape. The mountain was steep and the air thin. It seemed like it will never end. But after several hours of walking up we made it and were able to see into the valley behind. It seemed like a dead end, so we were sure that nobody has been back there since a long time. There was also a river coming down from the mountains that led all the way to Koksar - probably. But we didn't know if there would be a path or just a gorge. We decided to take the risk of not finding a path and walked down on the other side. For that we had to walk on a thin ridge in the cliff. Juan was struggling because he was afraid. So he was really slow and it took for ever. In the meantime I took a look around and found out that there probably is no path and that we have to backtrack. The prospect for Juan of getting back to the cliff was not discussable for him. So we climbed an even more dangerous, extremely steep gorge. Luckily everybody made it safe to the top, where we picnicked an hour before. Then we walked down. Dutch and Argentinian people are really bad at walking down. People were slipping all the time. Happy to have made it back to the "heaven" of Koksar. But then the sicknesses began. Here I got the stomach problem which I have up to date (one month later).
Next morning we left back to Manali. A horrible ride, with traffic jams and Marieke yelling at the bus driver to be a bit more cautious. Once when it got really close to falling down the mountain, people left the bus and walked this part.

Manali

If you go to the Swiss alps then you could easily walk into the landscape of Manali. Famous for Indian honeymooners (Switzerland is also famous for upper class honeymooners) and international travelers this base for trekking offers all kind of adventures. Even though we arrived in mid June the snowline was pretty low (3500m). That's why most of the passes are closed. So we did a trek along the valley through some still very much authentic villages. People are nice and fore coming. We walked through grassland, along creeks, through villages, met shepherds and saw the disneyeske park built at the end of the valley for the Indian tourists.

In the evening we usually watched some football since Juan Pablo from Argentina joined are group. Juan is an ostrich farmer in the pampas of Argentina and doesn't like Maradona. Manali is very touristy and because of that not so attractive. We had the liberty to choose continental food for the last week and felt like we wanted to do something more adventurous. That's why the Spitti valley came up. There are no trees in this valley and the terrain is very much rugged. Tibetan exile monasteries are scattered all over. But the thing is that you have to cross two passes to get there. And the second one is only possible by jeep. A Spanish friend told us that people here in Manali don't know if the second pass is open. So we should just go over the first one and check in Koksar for the transport.
Everybody told us that the second pass is closed but since the Spanish guy told us that this is going to happen we didn't bother to much. We stepped into a government bus and took off to conquer the Roathan Pass. Which turned out to be a nightmare. Because Indian tourist with there private car were also heading to the top to touch snow or "ski". At the same time Indian tourist were coming down. The road was chronically not wide enough and this naturally led to one colossal traffic jam. And we were in this long, old bus blowing the horn all the time. The views were stunning during the ride and the spectacle of drivers yelling at each other during there vacation priceless.