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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
Oct 27, 2012 04:00 PM India, Delhi- airport metro does not work since 2 months!
It was 6.30 am when I boarded the city bus to Hyderabad airport. Motocycle rickshaw costs min. 300 rs. I paid for the bus 21 rs.
On the exit from the city I still saw some goats on the streets - they survived yesterdays Muslim festival...
45 minutes later I saw the bright Hyd airport terminal - sorry - from the distance only. City bus brought me to the airport transport hub. From here free shuttle bus will take you to check in. No extra cost but add some 20 min for waiting and for the ride.
I booked flight for IndiGo low-cost airline. They do not charge extra for the first piece of checked luggage.
Flight was on time and two hours later I landed in Delhi. (train ride takes like 28 hours!)
I was ready to try new Delhi metro. Can you imagine: airport to city in 20 minutes for just 20 rs!
What a disappointment!
They said that since 2 months new metro line to the airport does not operate due to technical problems!
I was forced to take the bus, paying 50 rs.
Then 15 min walk west to the well-known bazaar quarter, the backpackers paradise since years.
Welcome to Paharganj!
My street is 2 meters wide, dark and has 5 or 6 little guesthouses. My room is 2x2,5 m and attached toilet is crampy too -
1,20x1,20 m. But that is Paharganj in Old Delhi!
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Oct 26, 2012 04:00 PM Hyderabad - monuments of the nizams
6 milion people live here. The streets are full of cars, smog and the garbage...
Today I saw also the herds of stressed goats. Hyderabad is Muslim city and today is Muslim festival - every family should buy the goat, kill it, cook it and eat it! Poor goats!
I took the local bus 66 to the Golconda Fortress located on the outskirts of the city. Local king built it in 16th century. Then it was abandoned due to the lack of water and they built Hyderabad as a new capital.
Golconda (100 rs entry for the foreigners) is very impressive - definitely worth to climb the walls for the views. But even more impressive is the royal necropolis located 2 kms away: I did not expected such a huge and ornate tombs! Only 10 rs entry fee, do not say you have a camera... Thats what the locals do.
In the afternoon I visited the busy bazaars and Charninar - elegant building with 4 towers - the symbol of Hyderabad. Nice... Nizams Palace and Mecca Mosque are close by...
The streets at 5 pm were red of goats blood... People throw the goats skins on the streets - I think that somebody collects them! Another very hot but interesting day!
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Oct 25, 2012 04:00 PM Lenin is still alive here!
It was not difficult to find the monument of Lenin in Vijayavada. It stands in the little garden surrounded
by the food stalls and street kitchens.
Poor Lenin! Bad smell od the urine is around. In India it is
common to piss on the side of the street even it the daytime... On the other side of the monument it is written in russian: canarade V I Lenin. 5hey say that 80 % od the population of Vijayawada are ehe communist...
Today I took the train from Vija to Hyderabad.
Well... not exactly... I had reserved seat to Hyderabad. Some 50 kms before Hyd the train stopped and they said that we have to go onward by the local bus. Works!
Can you imagine the crowd of 400+ people running to the road in front if the station!
Heat, dust, 20 kgs backpack and I try to get in to the junk bus with the others...
After some 80 minutes on the road I did.
Long life Indian Railways!
It was late afternoon when I landed in Mahatma Ghandi Bus Stand in Hyd. (Worth to remember: they call bus terminal *bus stand* in India.
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Oct 24, 2012 04:00 PM I cannot find the butter in the 1-million city!
The veretarian diet is OK but it is already a month I am on... I dream about bread and butter with tomato/onion salad - like in Wojtkowka...
You think it is easy to get such a products ineven in such a big city? Vegies are available everywhere. To get bread you need to visit 20 "shops" or so. But I spent more then 2 hours looking for the butter. In Ladakh and Kashmir it was easier. Not here! No butter or the margarine!
Bus 301 took me today for just 12 rs through the Krishna River to Undavalli Caves.
It is like 4-storey monastery cut in the rocky hill. I liked especially the reclining Vishnu statue (ask the caretaker to open side door). Monkeys wondering around are also included in your "foreigner" ticket - 100 rs (local people pay just 5).
It is very hot and humid here. Time for laundry! Tomorrow I plan to reach Hyderabad!
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Oct 23, 2012 04:00 PM Durga night in Vijayawada... India
There are nice beaches near Visakapathnam ( like Rashikonda with nearby giant statues of Siwa and his wife Parwati in Kailasagiri) but I got a trail ticket and decided to go further south - to the 1-million city of Vijayawada on the Krishna river.
Reason? Today is the last day of 9-days Durga Puja Festival and in Vija there is famous Durga temple on the hill... I expected a lot and I was right.
At Vija station the tourist info was closed (India!) but I easily find a room in the Golden Way (!) hotel just near the station.
No maps... I just joined the group of red-dressed pilgrims and they took me to the bottom of the hill. Crowd. Police in action: they prepared 1-m wide fenced paths climbing to the top of the hill. Yes, foreigners are allowed to! The path was more then 2 kms long - I was going up with the local people. Heat, volunteers are distributing water to the people through the fence. There were thousands of people going to the temple but I did not see any other white tourist. Where is the end of this path? Seems to be endless if you are tired! After an hour of climbing, stopping and climbing again the police officer took me out from the fence through the emergency exit... Thank you! It was already close to the temple.
What a change! I was invited by the security officer, he was taking care of my shoes an the special private guide took me through the temple covered by the golden roof. Flowers, smells, dewotes, lights. What a theatrum!
Down in the town in the evening I saw the fireworks, the Disneyland-style barge cruising the river with the deity aboard... Till the late night the goups of drummers were cruising the center of Vijayawada making a noise!
Durga Puja os over!
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Oct 22, 2012 04:00 PM Dancing ladies from Araku...
Only one train per day climbes the picturesque railroad to the serene Araku Valley. But they said that for the 23rd there is 300+ waiting list for that train so I Choosen the bus tour option - full day tour cost me 550 rs (11 USD) incl meals and entry fees.
We started in the early morning with 30 min delay (it is India) - the bus was non a/c junk with the windows open wide... But I enjoyed the landscapes of the Eastern Ghats mountains. After flat, humid and very hot Indian coast it is nice to be in the green, forested hills - some 1000 m above sea level - nice and cooler...
Araku Valley has nice tribe museum, botanical garden (not impressive) and the dance show of local ladies.
This I enjoyed most. I hope to show you the pictures: purple dress, double earrings in the noses...
On the way back we stopped at Borra Caves. They are quite impressive for those who did not see biggest places like this...
In general: interesting day tour for just 11 USD. But the Indian food they served od the dirty plates... hmmm... you better take some sandwiches and fruits with you... :)
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Oct 21, 2012 04:00 PM To Andhra Pradesh!
It was not easy (many Hindu people started the holidays), but I managed to buy the ticket for the train to the south. I am going to Andra Pradesh state.
After 8 hours in the heat of the train I landed in Visakapathna - the second city of Andra.
Very busy city... I had again the problem to find accommodation. It is done, but let you know, that during the holiday period the prices go up...
I was also lucky to find the place who exchanges my dollars - yesterday due to the festival everything was closed in Bhubaneshwar - even small money changers...
Here in the local tourist office they do not have a single map of the city! It is India...
Tomorrow early in the morning I will try to get a space on the bus going through the mountains to Arakku. Keep your fingers crossed, please!
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Oct 20, 2012 04:00 PM Bhubaneshwar - The temple town o India
That's how the call the capital of Orissa state. Durga Puja Festival starts today and I have a problem to find accommodation. But I got it! The clean room in the new Dreamland Hotel near the station cost me more then usually - 700 rs but is woth the price. Recommended!
There were 7000 temples in Bhu - they say. Most of them built in in 1st century. Now some of them are overgrown, but still enough to see.
Lively Lingaraj Temple with its 54-m tower is the holiest one. Entry restricted to the Hindis, but going along the wall to the right you will find a platform which allows you to take a look inside...
Walking around the old town I saw many smaller temples. On the ocassion of Durga Puje Festival they built a lot of little, kitch altarl in the main streets. The city is illuminated in the evening. A lot of music, a noise, the crowd... That's India celebrating its holiday!
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Oct 19, 2012 04:00 PM Orissa by bus
Local tourist organizations in India offers resonably priced sightseeing tours. So if you want to see mamy tourist attractions which are spread out this could be the best solution.
My full day tour started in Puri at 6.30 am. It cost 400 rs - like 8 USD. I took my backpack with the intention that they will drop me at the end of the tour in Bhubaneshwar...
We saw first coastal Ramachandi Temple then passed the best beach of Orissa - Chandrabhaga. Then Konark and Peace Pagoda on the hill in Dhauli.
On the outskirts of Bhubaneshwar we visited Udaygiri Caves - in fack interesting monastery in the caves.
Aj baba! - that's how the beggars call me here. I do not like it because "Baba" in my language means the ugly old woman. :)
In India you will see more beggars then elsewhere. You must be resistant...
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Oct 18, 2012 04:00 PM Sun Temple in Konark
In the Orissa state there is a triangle of the holy cities: Puri - Konark and Bhubaneshwwar.
Konark lies just 40 km from Puri and can be visited on a day tour.
I took a local bus for 20 rs (one hour) to get to the famous Sun Temple in Konark - The UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in the middle of 13th century.
Well worth to see, but be ready to pay 250 rs entry fee. Hindi pay 10 rs - 25 times less!!!
For those on a tight budget there is a path around the temple - from this path you can easily photograph for free all temple - like a stone charriot. What you will miss are the erotic sculptures on the walls (do you remember Khajuraho?)
Another great day with local people - during all day I saw only one white tourist!!
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