21st of September

Memories From the Indian Himalayas


After a month in the south of India, in blazing heat and moisture I was in need of an escape. And the best place for me to escape that I know of is the Himalayas. Until recently I had never given it any thought that the Himalayas also spans India – but it turns out it does. So I decided to travel 3500 kilomters north and visit Kashmir – more specifically Ladakh.


I fly into the capital of Ladakh – Leh, at an altitude of 3524 meters. Flying in from Delhi I gain more than 3200 meters of altitude in an about an hour, first time I have tried such a massive altitude gain. But the body seems to manage fine. I spend most of the day doing what I know needs to be done for the body to adjust – resting! I just sit and read my book, and drink massive amounts of tea. I did a bit of rough calculations, and during my first day in Ladakh I consume more than 8 liters of liquid. The climate is extremely dry in Ladakh, so this giant body needs all the hydration it can get its hands on.

Originally my plan was to rest all of the first day due to the altitude gain, but after a while my itchy feet kicked in, so I decide to push the body further and gain a few hundred meter going up the hill checking out Leh castle. From here I view the sunset, and feel a sense of adventure and trill that I have not felt since last year when I climbed Imjse Tse in Nepal. For the first time during this trip I feel “home” somehow. There is just something about the high altitude, the cold fresh air, the simplicity of this life that makes me feel at ease. I smile to myself and take it all in.

After a few days of acclimatisation I travel into the mountains with my guide and spend a little less than a week hiking in this region of the Himalays. Having been sick for a week before going to Ladakh I was a bit worried how my body would take it, but the fresh mountain air seemed to have a healing effect. And all the healthy mountain food was very nourising indeed.

The feel of Ladakh is very different from what I have experienced so far in my other Himalayan adventures in Nepal. Firstly the air is much drier, and the altitude hits harder. Secondly the landscape is just completely different. Very stark – it is like an high altitude dessert. I hardly see any vegetation, just rocks and sand. I quickly realise that it makes no sense to take photographs when there is no clouds in the sky. The photographs simply will be too flat to look at.

We travel light, carrying no sleeping bags – just sleeping at local houses. Some of the bigger cities it almost feels like a hostel experience, but the deeper we get into the mountains the more “local” it gets. Sometimes I just sleep in someones kitchen. A very authentic Ladakhi experience indeed – loved it!

In terms of people, Ladakh feels like nothing I have experienced before in India. The values of people here are simply different. It is all about survival. Some very nice, soft, hardworking people, reminding me in many ways of the Nepalis, but with different facial features. I think there is some similarities between mountain people around the world – this life seem to promote some similar values.

After returning to Leh, the first thing I do is to get myself a hot shower. The next thing I do is to book an oneway ticket for Nepal the next day. There was no way that I could return to the non-Himalyan India after this experience. I need the soft, gentle, kind Nepalis around me. So I head off to Kathmandu to rest, meet friends, do some business, some yoga, and eat some great food. So long India for now!

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Categories:  India Nepal Photography
3rd of September

Memories From Rameshwaram


I arrive late in the afternoon at Rameswaram, just around sunset time. I head to the shore which faces the east, meaning there is not any sunset to be viewed here. This is definitely a sunrise kind of place. I notice a religious structure, and remember hearing somewhere that Rameswaram is considered the Varanasi of the south. I make a decision to get up early the next morning to check this out.

Sunrise
Sunrise
Man enjoying his holy morning ritual during the early morning hours.
Sunrise
Family Fun
Family Fun
Family enjoying their holy morning dip.
Family Fun
Ladies in Red
Ladies in Red
Women dressed in red traditional Indian clothes during their morning ceremoni.
Ladies in Red
Morning Rituals
Morning Rituals
People doing their holy morning rituals, bathing and praying.
Morning Rituals
Refreshed
Refreshed
Man enjoying his refreshing holy morning shower.
Refreshed
The Holy Dip
The Holy Dip
Wife pouring water on her husband.
The Holy Dip
Puja
Puja
Husband and wife enjoying their morning prayers (puja).
Puja
A Touch of Holy Water
A Touch of Holy Water
Woman bathing herself.
A Touch of Holy Water
A Morning Smile
A Morning Smile
Two friends smiling and enjoying their holy dip.
A Morning Smile
Play
Play
Sisters playing in the water.
Play
Play
Play
Sisters playing in the water.
Play
Family Play
Family Play
Daugther resisting while father drops his child into the water.
Family Play
Family Time
Family Time
Boy posing for the camera in front of his family.
Family Time
Splash
Splash
A man having fun jumping into the water.
Splash
Morning Scene
Morning Scene
Typical scene at the Rameshwaram shore, Chai wallah looking for customers, cows hanging around, people enjoying the view.
Morning Scene
Chai Time
Chai Time
People enjoying their newspapers and chai.
Chai Time
Hindu God
Hindu God
Womam showing figure of hindu god.
Hindu God
Cricket
Cricket
Children playing cricket. Rameshwaram tv tower can be seen in the background.
Cricket
Ramar Paadam Temple
Ramar Paadam Temple
Women selling food in front of Ramar Paadam temple.
Ramar Paadam Temple
Portrait of a Cow
Portrait of a Cow
A tender moment of sunset light touching a cow.
Portrait of a Cow
Chai at the Edge of the World
Chai at the Edge of the World
Chai stall next to a demolished building.
Chai at the Edge of the World

I get up around 5.30am – I do not want to miss this sunrise! And I have a feeling that the best pictures will be have to be taken inside the water. So I make the logistic preparations, by leaving my stuff at home, putting a bit of money in a plastic sleeve and I head off. The moment I reach the shore I feel that things are happening here. Already the water is full of people. I stand and watch a little. Feeling shy. This is a holy moment for these people. Is it OK to go into the water?

The photographer inside me takes over, and I leave my shoes on the shore and go into the water. I am well received by the people – mostly they are amused to see this white boy with his tiny little camera. The light is amazing. But moody as always. After a few minutes in the water, I simply fall in love with this place, and I know that this is the place where I will take the majority of my photographs in Rameswaram.

I spend three days in Rameswaram, and every morning I go to the shore to photograph people during their holy dips. I have a lot of interesting conversations with people, and I feel very relaxed. It is great to see people who have travelled from all over the region to enjoy this special place. I have a little incident with a man that thinks that I should definitely be showered in this holy water. I say no thank you, but he insists and starts pouring water on me. I have to run away to escape his misguided hospitality. My body do not mind the holy water, but my very electronic Fuji x100s camera for sure is not a friend of the water!! The camera spends a good few hours in a bag of rice soaking out the holy moisture. Luckily it survives this incident.

Rameswaram has a lot of temples and religious things to offer, but I do not spend much time with this. I keep being drawn to the water. This is where I want to make my photographs. A special experience with amazing light.

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Categories:  India Photography Travel
22nd of August

End of the Line, No Further South


I have come to the end of the line of my journey in south India. I have travelled to the southernmost tip of mainland India and reached Kanyakumari.

Braving the Waves
Braving the Waves
Teenagers having fun braving the waves at the beach. The Thiruvalluvar statue can be seen in the background.
Braving the Waves
Family Fun
Family Fun
Locals enjoying the water in front of the Thiruvalluvar statue.
Family Fun
Fun at the Beach
Fun at the Beach
Children having fun at the beach in front of the Thiruvalluvar statue.
Fun at the Beach
The Pink Bucket
The Pink Bucket
Boy with pink bucket enjoying a moment of play in the morning.
The Pink Bucket
Fishing Nets
Fishing Nets
Fishers getting their nets ready in the early morning.
Fishing Nets
Morning Rest
Morning Rest
Fishers relaxing in the morning. Thiruvalluvar statue can be seen in the background.
Morning Rest
Market Time
Market Time
Boy carrying fish to the market for sale in the morning.
Market Time
A Moment of Calm
A Moment of Calm
Man resting and enjoying a calm monent in the fishing village.
A Moment of Calm
Cricket by the Beach
Cricket by the Beach
Teenages enjoying a game of cricket by the beach.
Cricket by the Beach
Band Practise
Band Practise
Children enjoying a short break from their band practise.
Band Practise
A Spiritual Place
A Spiritual Place
Man walking under statue of hindu god.
A Spiritual Place
Clothes Drying
Clothes Drying
Families drying their clothes in the wind.
Clothes Drying
Clothes Drying
Clothes Drying
Families drying their clothes in the wind.
Clothes Drying
Fixing the Hair
Fixing the Hair
Family enjoying the sunset at the beach, while father is fixing his hair in the mirror.
Fixing the Hair
Watching
Watching
People hanging around at the beach, enjoying the view of the water.
Watching
Gita
Gita
Gita a mute woman, doing the classic pose with the Thiruvalluvar statue.
Gita
Little Girl in Red
Little Girl in Red
Girl enjoying the sunset and view of the Thiruvalluvar statue.
Little Girl in Red
Sunset
Sunset
Homeless enjoying the sunset at the beach.
Sunset

It is a tiny place with a little less than 30.000 inhabitants. When I get off the train, the first thing I realise is that the tracks go no further – this is literally the end of the line. The second thing I realise is that this is one windy place! Kanyakumari is popularly believed to be the point of convergence of three seas: The Lakshadweep Sea, Bay of Bengal and The Indian Ocean, but apparently – technically it only borders the Lakshadweep Sea. None the less you feel the presence of powerful natural forces, the giant waves crashing agains the rocks at the beach, and at night in the hostel you hear windows and doors banging – falling pray to the forces of the wind.

My first day in Kanyakumari is not so good. As a photographer I am a slave to light, and the first day here everything is so grey, and I feel miserable. I don’t know what to do with myself. My feet are itching to hit the streets to photograph, but the light is simply just not there. Fortunately by day two it clears up a bit, and day three a little bit of magic shows it self, but not for long though, so I move quickly and try to capture the story of the place.

But where the weather is lacking in warmth, the people here more than make up for it. People seem so curious about me, and for the first time ever in India I have someone pay a photographer to take his portrait with me, so that he can get a print of him and the white boy(!!) I meat Gita, a mute woman, who proofs that you do not need to be able to talk in order to communicate. She has such a warm personality and lightens my mood every day when I run into her at the beach.

I visit the nearby fishing village, which I think is the very definition of colourful. It is an explosion of colours, almost too many colours to capture in photographs.

Finally my ice cream addiction is replaced with an addiction to coconuts and fried cauliflower. Oh my god the fried cauliflower is nothing short of amazing. I consume an inhumane amount of cauliflower, while waiting for those little rays of sunshine.

All in all I had a very good time in Kanyakumari. It is a special feeling reaching the tip of India, and it is such a joy to see people relax here, play and enjoy themselves. I think it is a universal human trait, the need for unwinding and playing. We all spend so much time being serious and working hard, so it is inevitable the need for some release of all the tention.

And I see a lot of playfulness here. In the children playing cricket in the streets, in the business man getting his feet soaked in the water. I see it in the teenagers playing on the rocks far out in the water trying to resist falling of the rocks when the giant waves hits them, in the families throwing water at each other, in Gita posing in my photographs making the Thiruvalluvar statue look like as if it fits into her hands, and in the little boy playing by himself at the beach with his pink bucket.

I leave Kanyakumari feeling refreshed, slightly sentimental, wanting to return one day again.

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Categories:  India Photography Travel
7th of August

Memories From the Farm


Having just escaped from the busy life in New Delhi, a city of more than 16 millions citizens, the experience of arriving in South India is at stark contrast. It is a total different world from North India. The people here are much softer and less aggressive. People on the street trying to sell me stuff, actually takes no for an answer (ok, after two-three no’s then), people greet me and smile at me randomly. I even had two muslim women wearing their chador outfit walk up to me at the beach, and strike up a conversation with me, as they where so curious about me.

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A little bit south of Chennai lies “the farm”, an 70 acre integrated organic farm that was started in 1974. It is run by my friends Shalini, and Arul. The Farm has cows & water buffalo, poultry (free-range chicken & turkey), horses, fields (rice, fodder & vegetables) and plantations (coconuts & eucalyptus).

Their aim is to bring the farm and hospitality together, thereby allowing for more people to enjoy the space. They currently run a restaurant that can seat 50 people and also a Bed & Breakfast.

I found the experience of staying at the farm so refreshing. Such a peaceful, fresh and organic place. You really feel the effort, care, love and passion that goes into making this place. It is a quirky universe of its own. You see old automobiles, restored classic motorbikes, merge with nature itself. You see the animal walking around by themeselves. You see the house dogs having a ball scaring the visitors that let themselves scare (if you pad the dogs you have a friend for life). You feel the respect that Shalinia and Arul have for nature, and you feel that they really want people to get a different experience when they visit this place- different from anything you can find in Tamil Nadu.

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The farm was a great escape from the chaos of India. I spend more than a day just roaming around, trying to capture little moments at the farm. Tomorrow I am of to Kerala – hunting for the monsoons. I want to feel the rain! But for sure I will return to the farm soon. I even left some of my luggage there – to make sure that I come back.

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Categories:  India Photography Travel
31st of July

India and the Measure of a Man


After a long flight from Norway, I arrived safely and slightly brain fogged in New Delhi this morning (too much TV on the plane – and a little tip for you if you where considering watching G.I Joe retaliation – don’t!).

Arriving in India for the 7th time so far in my life, I was full of mixed emotions. Part of me was extremely excited to be on the road again, looking for adventure. Another part of me was feeling sad and guilty for leaving behind Michelle in Norway – I have just moved there a month ago, and now I am already hitting the road again! A third part of me was feeling nervous and anxious on how things would pan out in terms of photography.

Well once I stepped out of the plane, there was no turning back and the reality hit me – India is truly the place where you can only expect one thing – the unexpected. Having retrieved my luggage I excited the airport around 3AM and found myself a taxi driver – or so it would seem, but reality was rather that he found me! He asked me where I was going, and was unsure about the address so he asked for the phone number of the hotel I had booked and rang up the number for me. When I spoke to the hotel in the other end they where very sorry to inform me that my booking had been cancelled due to the ongoing festival.

I would later learn that this was in fact a very well organised scam – kudos for their execution – the first time I have ever been scammed on such an advanced level. The taxi driver entered the phone number, but apparently rang another number where his partner in crime with was pretending to be the hotel I had booked. However, as the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy states on the front page – DON’T PANIC. And I didn’t – six previous visits to India has taught me to expect the unexpected, and go with the flow.

At 4AM I was plenty awake to bargain hard, and I ended up checking into another hotel costing only a fraction of the prize for the one I had original booked online. So even if I feel slightly violated for being scammed, I still ended up saving a fair amount of money.

And this bring me to my point – India is a place where you are measured up for size constantly. There is no point in panicking about feeling violated, because trust me you will feel it a lot during your stay in India! More than a billion people live here, and the Indians are fierce tradesmen, with no time for messing about. And this is exactly one of the reasons I keep returning here. I like having to feel things again. Back home in Scandinavia everything is so organised and non-invasive. Life is very pleasant. Very easy. Very vanilla. In India your senses are constantly bombarded – ranging from the spicy food, to the spicy people, to the whole craziness of this massive society.

In a way it is ironic that I travelled to the other side of the world to test a tiny camera – the fuji x100s, which has been designed to be very unobtrusive and anonymous. Because the camera sure is exactly that. But the man carrying it is not. A white person is always more exposed to attention in India – for sure. But add 195cm height and 110kgs of body mass to the equation and there is nothing stealth about me here in India.

India is truly the place where you are measured up for size constantly

Now you might wonder why I bring up my body weight. Well I will have you know, that I was measured today – literally! During my walks on the street, taking some portraits, a crowd of people got interested in me. So sure this guy is white, and tall, and speaks a bit of Hindi, as if that was not interesting enough – let us weigh the poor guy! So some guy fetched a weighed and I was measured there and then on the street. 110kg. It did not make the locals any less curious about me.

Ahh India – I am happy being back and measured constantly. Expect to see me on your street shortly, with my tiny little camera. And for good measure here is the portrait that I was shooting that triggered the locals to decide to measure me:

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Categories:  India Photography Travel
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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Categories:  Photography Travel
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 🙂

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 🙂

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 🙂

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 🙂 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 🙂

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!

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 🙂

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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Categories:  Travel