Adventures in Varanasi – Episode 1

By the end of 2003, I was leaving for almost 2 months to India and Nepal. Part of the time, I was about to travel by myself, especially at the beginning when I went to Punjab and Nepal and late on, my girlfriend, Adriana was supposed to join me, together with another friend, Elena… The plan was to meet directly in Varanasi. I came by plane from Kathmandu, they came by train from Delhi… My first contact with the Indian railways was a real shock. Arriving in India with the classical image of completely full trains, of people traveling on the wagons, I was about to change my impression over night. The round trip Delhi – Amritsar was the top of luxury – with rail attendants that came every 10 minutes to bring us food, desserts, newspapers, or a casual shoulder massage …What else to say, pure luxury…I arrived back to Delhi, I went straight to an internet cafe and I wrote home “Indian trains? Legends… They are Pure Luxury”… I was about to find out later that it was a special train named Shatabdi, that was a premium train J read more…

The Marbella Villa – “the most romantic accommodation in Goa”

No, these are not my words, it is a quote from the Mumbai’s “What’s On” magazine which considered the Marbella Villa in Candolim, Goa  as the most romantic place where you can rest your head on a pillow in Goa… I read the article only when I arrived in Goa, but I knew before I want to spend a couple of days here !  I already got a glimpse of Marbella Villa and had booked it a few weeks before arriving. We were at the end of an Indian tour and because we had 3 weeks of backpacking across Southern India, I thought of splurging in Goa. And I chose the Marbella Villa. 

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Galle – Colonial Traces in Sri Lanka

Buddhist temples, wild elephants, barefoot pilgrims…typical and normal images for what a traveler to Sri Lanka expects…but Sri Lanka is much more complex. European colonists passed this place as well in search for spices, gold and other wealth. Portuguese, Dutch and English men were successive masters on Sri Lanka’s coasts, the latest barely left in 1948. They took as much as they could. But they did leave some as well. Among the good things that they left is the Fort in Galle city, an European colonial enclave… read more…

Wagah – the daily afternoon “war” between India and Pakistan

One of the most famous, yet also bloodiest conflicts on the map of the world takes place between India and Pakistan. The painful Partition from 1948, when hundreds of thousands of people have died (some claim even a million), the 1965 and 1971 wars, the transformation of the two nations in nuclear nations, the bombings in both countries and the battle taking place on the Himalaya glaciers at over 5000 meters brought these two countries often on the headlines of the newspapers from all around the world. Thank God that the rivalry between the two nations is also transferred to more peaceful levels, like in cricket but the real show also takes place every night on the largest (and until recently the only) road border crossing point between India and Pakistan – in Wagah! read more…

Kerala. A different Orthodox Christmas in India

Christmas… stuffed cabbage rolls, sausages, sponge cake, eating till you drop on the floor. Or in other cases, just a quick visit to Vienna for some Mulled wine, ginger bread, strawberries in chocolate sauce and walking down the strasse. Merry Christmas, ho, ho, ho, here’s Christmas! But how about a Christmas in a country that’s known to have another religion, far away and warm weather…and still, an Orthodox Christmas? Welcome to Kerala, India!!! read more…