Pushkar

We arrived at Ajmer train station at half past two in the morning. We knew that Pushkar was on the other side of the mountain in Ajmer, about a 20 minute drive away. After a traumatising rickshaw drive through the curvy mountain roads we arrived at Pushkar. We are staying at hotel everest in the midle of this small town. Today we got to witness a hindi festival. There were parades all over town and all over India. Here in Pushkar the parades consisted of a curious blend of traditional Indian folk music and kids dancing to intense techno music. The music is loud and the dancing continues until midnight under the full moon.

Higher resolution images can be found here.

Agra

We stopped over in Agra to see the Taj Mahal and we were not disappointed. We got up early to beat the crowds and took a walk around the Taj Mahal park. The park and Agra as well is full of all kinds of birds and monkeys, the monkeys can get too friendly so watch your stuff. We got to witness a wedding by chance. It was basically a huge parade with hundreds of people, some where playing intruments and others were throwing around some colorfull powder. It was great fun to watch and anyone could join in on the party. We are leaving for Ajmer by train later today, its gonna be a long ride..

Higher resolution images can be found here.

Varanasi - Day 2 & 3

Higher resolution images are available here.

Varanasi - Day 1

Varanasi is quite the city. We are staying in the old part of town. It truely is a three dimentional maze that makes you belive you are in some escher drawing. Extremly colorful, noisy and its hard to navigate after dark.  We checked in to a hotel right next to the ganges. Its has a really beautiful view of the river bank, its dirt cheap and the rooms have huge windows that open out towards the river. We trekked the city to the tallest building on the banks and we were rewarded with a great view over the city. Tomorrow we are getting up at 04:30 to catch the sunrise in a small boat on the ganges, I hope I can get myself out of bed.

Higher resolution images can be found here.

New Delhi - Day 2

After a trip to the park Gabriel got sick so me and Sushi spent the day roaming old time Delhi. So much to see, so little time. Our train for Varanasi left at 20:40 so we packed our bags and headed for what is the most uncomfortable night I have ever spent on a train.

Higher resolution images are avaiable here.

Delhi by Night

Later on Saturday we made a post on /r/india to see if anyone wanted to meet up with two Norwegian travellers. We got a reply from an American, a Norwegian and an Indian. So we all met up at this Indian bar in the more modern part of Delhi. Bars are not common in India and I am told that only the middle class can afford to go to bars and buy beer. We had a great time with some friendly people the bar was full and it was interesting to see this side of Indian life. One of the people we met up with, he is called Sushi, wanted to come with us to Varanasi. He had never been there and really wanted to go. His fluid Indian made thing a lot easier to get done. He called in three vacation days from his IT firm and joined forces with us.

New Delhi

Our first day in New Delhi was awesome. We arrived late at night, it was raining and the streets were damp. After a confusing cab ride were the cab driver tried to trick us into going to another hotel we finally arrived at our destination. We had to find our own way through the streets for the last 15 minutes of our journey. Once at the hotel we finaly got a good nights sleep.

We woke to the buzzeling streets of New Delhi, the new and unknown aromas were overwhelming. People everywhere and busy busy streets. Small three wheen motorcycles, trucks, cars and bicycles shared the road in an improvised way. Still it seemed to work out fine. We headed up the market street for aquick look around. Then we took a ride in a tuk tuk to a tample and cruised around town for a few hours. The cost was almost nothing. We are gonna head out soon and grab something to eat.

Packing and planning is half the fun

We are leaving for India tomorrow and we are staying for 3 weeks. I have put together this light weight pack that I think shall cover all my needs. I have been wanting to go to India for a long time and it will be interesting to see if it lives up to my expectations. We have planned a 3 week stay with train rides between cities. The trip has an easy pace with stays of up to 4 days in each city. We will be traveling from New Delhi to east India and Varanasi. From there we will take the train to Agra and on to Ajmer. Then we are on to Jodhpur and all the way out to Jaisalmer on the west end of India. I can hardly wait to get going.

Hardangerfjorden

Summer of 2009 we got ourself  a small Mazda Micro and headed out for a road trip around Hardangerfjorden in the Rogaland area of Norway. There are few words to describe this area other than amazing. If you ever find yourself in this area I recommend the following route:

 
View Larger Map

It will take you along some of the most beautiful scenery you have ever seen. If you have the time be sure to check out Åkra fjorden, Trolltunga, make the climb to Prekestolen and hang around Bergen; one of Norway's most beautiful cities.