20th of January

Memories from India

My 6th visit to incredible India. I spend a little less than a month in India this time – entering via the land border from Bangladesh. You can see the memories here.

The highlight of this trip was the two weeks that I spend with my high school friend Peter, roaming around Rajasthan, We had so incredibly much fun and many adventures that neither words nor pictures can really capture!

Dodgy train travels, journeys on camel in the dessert, moonar eclipses, intense bargaining to just mention a few.

The adventure culminated in Agra, visiting one of the wonders of the world; Taj Mahal.

Thank you Peter for all the fun, and thank you India for never failing in delivering adventure, color and life!

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29th of December

Merry Christmas from Denmark and a Happy New Year From Norway

With flight tickets as cheap as they are – the world is really becoming a small place! So ya… I decided to surprise my family and pop by Denmark for a week – a slight detour from my India adventure πŸ™‚

Also, I think I am becoming a softie on my old days – as there is a very special woman in my life – Michelle from the Philipines, who lives in Norway currently. Being away from her for 4 months made me miss her terribly, so what happened is that I decided to fly home to Europe and spend christmas with her and her sister, who lives here in Denmark.

We spend christmas with her sister and her brother in law, at his familys place. They have never met me before, and it was nice being reminded that it is not only in Asia that hospitality exists. Danes can be extremely hospitable as well – particular once you break the ice with them. Initially danish people can be rather cold on the surface, and typically it is the outsider that has to take the initiative to start conversation and break the ice (however this was not the case with Michelles brother in laws family!). I felt like I had known them for years already! Completely down to earth and very easy going people – who knows how to cook very well πŸ™‚

After christmas I showed up at my fathers doorstep the 27th of December without him having any idea of me being in Denmark – he was quite surprised to see me πŸ™‚ Michelle and I are currently relaxing at my fathers place, enjoying great Danish food (“Stegt flΓ¦sk rocks!”). Tomorrow we head off to Norway to celebrate New Years in Oslo, along with the filipina mafia (a huge bunch of filipina au pairs πŸ™‚ ). I think it will be quite a sight, a giant danish guy – sourounded by tiny filipinas πŸ™‚ After new years, my plan is to spend the month of January in Norway with Michelle, after which I am heading off to Thailand for two months.

Now Thailand is going to be a bit crazy – I will spend two months in a Muay Thai training camp, practising thaiboxing – but I think that is a topic for another post πŸ™‚

So here is a very merry christmas and a happy new years to all of you!

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18th of December

2 Great Weeks in Rajastan with Peter

My good friend Peter came to visit me in India for 2 weeks, and he just left this very morning. Yet another goodbye, but I am getting used to it by now I think πŸ™‚

We had sooo much fun! Peter arrived in Delhi 2 weeks ago, and we had no fixed plans, but quickly agreed that what was going to happen was that we would tour Rajastan for 2 weeks, and trust me – we choose right πŸ™‚

We spend a few days initially visiting New Delhi, sightseeing, planning the Rajastan tour, and basically letting the culture chock sink in for Peter. I have to say I was impressed – he handled everything very well!

After a few days we headed for Jaipur – the pink city, our first destination in Rajastan. We had good fun here, did some textile shopping, rode elefants and enjoyed the city. However the real fun began once we left Jaipur and took the epic overnight bus journey from Jaipur to Jaisalmer – the golden city.

The bus was a sleeper bus – of course sized to accommodate the Indian people – meaning I did not remotely fit in any dimensions: Meaning one very squashed me! It was also extremely cold at night due to the windows constantly sliding open during the trip. However we had so much fun! Never have I laughed so much. To be honnest I don’t remember what we laughed about – we where just talking a lot of bullshit – making jokes about the situation, the indian culture, the terrible bus. The locals must have thought we where retarded!

In the morning when we had to step outside of our sleeper compartment, I wanted to warn Peter that there was a lot of shit luying around on the floor of the bus (I was refering to rubbish), only just before opening my mouth I realised the was actual human shit in rather big quantities on the floor. That is the first time I experienced that in my 6 visits to India πŸ™‚

Jaisalmer was a culture chock to me. It was like someone took the volume button of India and turned it down to 20%. So calm and peacefull. In Jaisalmer we joined my friend Lina Luo fro China, whome I met during the Annapurna trekking in Nepal a few months back. It was great catching up with her again! We enjoyed thourgly doing nothing together the three of us (Lina has tought me the art of being lazzy hehehe).

During our stay in Jaisalmer we spend 2 days in the dessert riding camels. This was a funny – and painfull experience – giving birth to the memorable quote: “My crouch feels like I have been a very naugthy girl”. We shared the camel safari with a very cool danish-irani girl, a hillarious indian dude, a frenchman that looked like Sean Penn, and a very “zen” Russian guy. We where a very funny group indeed!

After Jaisalmer it was time to say goodbye to Lina again for the 2nd time – I am sure we will meet again somewhere on this planet, if nothing else I have it on my todo list to visit China, so I am sure I will bump into her there!

Next destination was Jodphur – the blue city. By now we had learned our lesson and where only travelling by day – no sleeping in tiny confined spaces! Jodphur was good fun, and we mainly chilled out and bought spices. Met some nice people here, enjoyed the views of the fort. However I was a bit disappointed about the food in Jodphur – it was rather bland and boring.

Our initial tought was to go to Udaipur after Jodphur, however it turned out this would be logistically rather tirering, and would involve more overnight travelling. So we decided to go to Pushkar instead.

Now this must be the Goa of Rajastan! Imagine India turned down to 10% volume, add a whole lot of hippies, some weed, and a very relaxed attitude and you have an idea of how Pushkar is like πŸ™‚ We only stayed here for one day as we where running out of time. And headed for Agra next day, to see one of the wonders of the world: Taj Mahal. This was my 2nd visit to the Taj, and it still doesnt fail to impress πŸ™‚

After visiting Taj Mahal, we rushed back to Delhi, packed Peters stuff, had some lovely food and a beer to finish of the trip. And this morning I put Peter on the flight to return back to Europe.

This is the first time I traveled like this in India with a friend. Normally I travel on my own, and meet people on the road. It is a very different way of travelling, and I have to say I really enjoyed it big time! We had so much fun – definitely an experience to repeat again, somewhere on this globe.

Thanks for a great time Peter!

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11th of December

Traveling Blues and Hospitality In Kalkata

I have fallen a bit behind with updating this blog, so forgive me but this post should probably have been posted a few weeks back πŸ™‚

The day after I reached Kalkata, high on being back in India, something new happened. I got the blues – the traveling blues. I think the emotional roller coaster of saying goodbye to the very nice Bangladeshi family really got to me.
For my whole stay in Kalkata, I didn’t want to do anything. I tried to push myself to photograph, but gave up after one day, and spend my time mainly reading and studying some IT (which I actually enjoyed quite a lot).

But this was a very new emotion to me, having the traveling blues. I guess I had gotten tired of saying goodbye to people, and I made no effort whatsoever to interact with anyone in Kalkata, as I really didn’t want to meet some more nice people and have to say goodbye all over again.

At the same time something very nice happened. I think Indian hospitality was trying to compete with Bangladeshi hospitality πŸ™‚ I got a phonecall from a Indian family living in Kalkata. Now, I had done nothing to get in touch with this family. What happened was the my Indian ex-wife (living in Germany) got to know that I was in Kalkata.

So what happened was that she apparently called her Indian friend living in Denmark. And this friends sisters lives in Kalkata. So my ex-wifes friends sister called me and said that i HAD to join them for dinner here in Kalkata. Now that is Indian hospitality for you πŸ™‚ That was quite a nice experience to soothe the travel blues I must say!

Anyhow, the blues is now gone, and although not very enjoyable I think it is an important part of traveling. You can not always be on a high. Yin and Yang and all that… This is one thing I enjoy about traveling for an extended time period. You can have rough times, and take them for the experience that they really are – without getting stressed out about it. If I had only been on a three weeks holiday, I think I would have found myself rather stressed out about having the blues.

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26th of November

About Farewells and Reunions

The day before Yesterday after 3+ wonderful weeks in Bangladesh it was time to say farewell. I was not prepared for what emotional roller coaster this was going to be. After spending 3 weeks with the Bangladeshi family I was already regarded as a family member, and when I left, some of the woman and children where crying. Boy was that tough… To be honest I was ready to give up. I am getting tired of saying goodbye – this is the tough part of traveling. And when there is crying involved… it does not get any less difficult.

But the family was hospitable to the very last end, and insisted that I should return soon, and they refused to say goodbye and insisted to say see you. I already made my first phone call to them to ensure them I was safe in India πŸ™‚

I took the bus from Dhaka to Kolkata, as I enjoy entering a country by land. It is a nice feeling standing between two physical borders, and seeing the culture change immediately. Airports are a bit generic in that sense I feel. The bus journey was a grueling 16 hours long, lots of bureaucracy involved at the border, and I developed some nasty stomach problems on the way (some bad tea I think). Now when I arrived to India in anything but optimal condition, both emotionally and physically I was thinking – to hell with it all.

Now what always happens when I reach here, didn’t fail to happen again. This is my 6th visit to India, and the moment I stepped out of the bus into the streets of Kolkata I was filled with joy. I simply love India. It is such a crazy place, full of colors and life. I truly felt alive when I stepped out of the bus (5 minutes later I was in the toilet, that was a different version of feeling alive, but I will keep that private). I took myself a 15 hours nap, and now the system is feeling much better, and I am now ready to go exploring Kolkata. It is a very interesting city, and the part I am staying in has a decaying colonial architecture (Kolkota used to be the capital of India when the British where still around).

So here is me saying “see you again soon Bangladesh, and hello again wonderful India”.

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24th of November

Hospitable Bangladesh

Since I was 18 I have traveled the world extensively, and it has mostly been very good experiences with very hospitable people indeed. However, I feel like the hospitality of Bangladesh deserves a special mentioning – therefore I decided to dedicate it its own post.

Never have I before encountered such an hospitable people as the Bangladeshi. I traveled to Bangladesh with no guidebook, no plans and no expectations. And my conslusion is very clear: The Bangladeshi people put hospitality before their own wallets.

Not many westerns goes to Bangladesh in the first place, so everyone here is extremely curious about you. They want to talk to you, to feel your skin, to ask you if you are married, if you enjoy the food, etc etc. So naturally you get a lot of attention (as in many other Asian countries). But I have to say that this is the first country where I have been asked for signatures by people πŸ™‚ I feel like a superstar here.

Most of the time I have lived with my friends family here, and they have been extremely hospitable, and made me feel as part of their family from day one. At first I thought, perhaps this extreme hospitality is due to the fact that I stayed with a friends family. But I soon learned it is general for the Bangladeshi people. So many times I have been invited into random peoples houses on the street, to come and live with them for a few days. People that I have only just met have bought me anything ranging from coconuts, to coffee or tea.

Random people I have met on the bus, have given me their phone numbers and told me to call them if I need any kind of help.

I spend 5 days on a beautiful Island next to the Burma border. Upon my arrival I met an refugee from Burma, and stayed in his guesthouse. He was very keen to show me around the Island, and I asked him how much money he wanted for that? He replied very simply, no money sir – I just want a chance to practise my English. I was overwhelmed.

On the Island a local Bangladeshi guy heard that I wanted to buy a fresh lobster, so he took me to the fisherman to shop for a good one – only the fisherman was delayed for some hours, so he took me swimming, treated me to coffee. In the afternoon we did some armwrestling, and after that we where best palls πŸ™‚

Yesterday I was roaming around on the streets of old Dhaka photographing. I ended up in an area where there is a lot of steel manufacturers. And randomly one of them invited me in to their shop, showed me around, and treated me to tea and biscuits.

I feel very sad indeed leaving this place, and I am sure that I will return one day indeed…

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21st of November

Delayed Eid Mubārak (Blessed Eid)

I have been in Bangladesh for 3 weeks now, but haven’t had much of a chance to post some updates from here (haven’t had access to internet). So this post is a little outdated, but anyhow just wanted to share with you guys.

So first of all yes a delayed blessed Eid. From 6th to 9th of November we celebrated Eid al-Adha (festival of sacrifice). This is where the family purchases an animal (typical a bull or a goat) and sacrifices it by halal slaughter. It was a very special experience. We went shopping for the bull (lots of bargaining), we walked it for 6 km to take it home, we fed it for some days, we went to the mosque for prayers, and then finally the sacrifice (this is the abridged version of 3 days events :).

Now the sacrifice is NOT for the fainthearted – this is done the halal way and it can be quite gruesome to watch. But there is such a special feeling in the air – a special energy. Some cows you feel have come to terms with their destiny and are very calm, and others are very aggressive. After the prayers at the mosque a bull came crashing through the crowd and we had to jump for our lives. This was one bull that was not going to go down easy.

The bull that we had purchased was very calm though, but of course at the actual sacrifice it was not particular happy – fair deal πŸ™‚

After the sacrifice the bull was slaughtered, and divided into seven portions – for the different family members. From each portion the individual family member would give one third to the poor, and one third to friends and family, and the last part was to keep.

In the following days we ate sooo much beef. Deliciously cooked by experienced Bangladeshi women. I cannot describe the taste – it was simply amazing. And probably the freshest beef I will ever eat. Hours after the sacrifice we had our first meal. One thing that I enjoyed in particular, was the fact everything of the bull was consumed. The beef itself, the brain (sooo tasty!), the tongue, the spare parts, the bone marrow. Everything was used – nothing was wasted.

Eid was a unique experience, and I feel very happy to have had the chance to partake in it. Not many people get this opportunity, and I really appreciate it. As I mentioned, there is such a special energy in the air, and it is really an exciting thing to see the closeness of the family and the community during these days. I think you can probably compare it to the excitement that many of the Christians feel during Christmas, spending time with their family, cooking traditional food etc (and the presents for the children hehehe).

Throughout my whole stay the people here have been amazingly hospitable, but that deserves a post on its own. More on that topic on another day, when I catch up with my blogging πŸ™‚

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12th of November

Alive, Heathy and Enjoying Dhaka, Bangladesh

Salaam alaikum πŸ™‚

Just got a chance to use the internet shortly, so just wanted to let you all know I am alive, healthy and enjoying Bangladesh.

Have lots of stuff to tell, but the quick summary is: Bangladesh extremely hospitable, great food, and Eid a very special experience.

Tomorrow I leave Dhaka to go to Cox’s Bazaar in the South (the worlds longest sandbeach – 120 km), and after that I will go to an Island called “Saint Martin”.

Hope you are all well πŸ™‚

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3rd of November

So Long and Thank you For All the Daal Bhat Nepal

Two amazing months in Nepal. Two very long and great treks in the Everest and Annapurna regions. Countless memories and a lot of really great new friends.

Once again I have enjoyed my time here in Nepal so very much. The people here are just amazing. They might be tiny in terms of physical appearence, but their hearts are huge. I enjoy life here a lot – particular in the mountains! And who can not love Daal Bhat? I am rather sentimental to leave this place. But I take comfort in the fact that I know that I will return for sure. When I will return is uncertain, but I know that next time I go here I want to climb one of the 6000+ summits. I have already made arrangements with a great trekking company. A very nice Swedish climber recommended this place to me. These people know their stuff, and have arranged several Mt. Everest expeditions, so a 6000+ summit definatly fall within their expertise. All I need to do now, is to figure out when I want to return πŸ™‚

Now I am off to the airport to fly to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where I will spend a month. I have no expectations to Bangladesh – I know nothing about it. No plans. All I know is that my friend Zubayer and I are going to purchase a cow tomorrow, and I know that Sunday is going to be rather bad news for the cow… Other than that no plans.

Last post from the rooftop of the world for now. Thank you Nepal, so long and thank you for all the Daal Bhat πŸ™‚

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAtIFiG9ynY

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2nd of November

The Joy of Doing Nothing

I have been hanging around in Kathmandu for a week or so now. In the time I have been here – I have been doing absolutely nothing.

It has been a great feeling! Although in the beginning I had a tough time doing nothing to be honnest. I felt that I “had to” go see things you where “supposed” to see. I met many other travellers, who where busy going to various temples, attractions around the city, travelling to other cities as these places where supposed to be really nice, basically doing whatever is popular around Kathmandu.

But somehow I really didn’t feel like doing any of that stuff. In the beginning I was actually feeling guilty about this. I guess I have become so used to being busy doing stuff. Actually – in some way, being busy has become a bad habbit.

The first few days I just roamed around, spend time finding low key cheap places to eat, and read a lot (currently reading the The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). After a few days something really great started happening. I started getting curious.

I work in IT, and it has been great having a break from my professional field. But here I was, in the capital of Nepal, doing nothing, and all of the sudden I got interested in IT again. So for the past 5 days I have been busy with my computer, studying new things (I will not bore you with the details). But it has been quite a while since I felt like learning something new, for the sake of learning something new – and not for solving a specific task at work.

I think I will have to do more of nothing sometime in the future… πŸ™‚

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