cochin - backwater's - munnar - madurai

back again in the very wet weather down the coast..
i took a ferry to cochin fort, there are the chinese fishing net. after i was in the ferry the rain was start like hell, so i didnt saw something from the boat ride, there have no windows, so they covered the "window" with plankets, so you will loke to a dark planket... fort cochin was a nice place, not the heart of the city, but small und not noise and busy. i had a look to the chinese fishing net, i must say i was not really impressed, the sea is very polluted and i had not the luck to see there put the net down for 5min. and lifted again for see waht there get. so i pre book for a backwater trip. hopefully it's nice weather, since more then a week it's here raining...

buddha was looking the rain is not coming, and we had a really nice day, two men's pushing the boot with sticks, like in venice, but the boot is much more bigger, and some time there must work against the river. so we stop to visit a lime factory, there make lime burning shell's. and we saw a roop factory, there made roop with coconutfibres, you know the thing is outside the coconut. i was impressed how strong the roop are. on lunch time we had the traditional thali, with a plamtreeleave as dish. the boatride was really nice. we had a good group, one german, one french and three americans. the cappel from amerika went for 4 month in manali, they did skiing up there, and they had some not unusally news from himanshu, our all friend. he is really a pain in the ass... but more then when im back..
in the evening i went out with the americans for dinner, trevor was telling his girlfriend we had a nice day without rain, just after 5sec. was raining like hell. trevor and i we ran that fast we could to the place were the restaurant was, but even then, we two are wet, like we had an other shower. the beer and the food was good, so we dident think about it.

i saw engouh from the monsoon, and i advised to go to munnar, as stephan told me. its in the mountains, 1100meter over sea level. the air was fresh, still raining some time, but not that often then on the coast. i took a riksha-wallah for the next day, he, panali drove me trough the teafields. and i had luck again, was not raining. was beautifully, i saw a wild elephant, and the landscape was amazing. we went on a pass, 2200meter over sea level, and still there i saw some teafields, there are the highest in the world, so wach out for the tea i bought.

now im in madurai, a big city, noise really busy, and hassling when i arrived here. the temple was really nice, diffrent then i saw in karnataka or kerala. here are every statue colourful, and the tower are much higher then the others i saw. the city i dont liked, here in south i think it's much more hassling then up north, but maybe it's im travelling alone...

more next week, i go to coimbatore for the interview, hopefully the swiss company rieter give me a chance.

mysore - mysore palace - big surprise

was a big shock again back in a big town. noise, many people, and hassling every were. but mysore is a nice city, i found a good hotel in the center, so a could walk easy around and explore the city. i went to teh mysore palace, a wonderful palace in the heart of the city. with big rooms and nice details, in the hall and the doors. back to the hotel ready for leaving to find a good restaurant for dinner. i found one and order my onion dosa and saw on the counter a white person, very told, blond hair, yes was stephan, i couldent believed..

so we watch the match switzerland against south korea, had a beer, and had fun. today we went visit a tempel and we had good chat about india, was is good and was not. sometime more the bad things was coming up then the others.

im also a little bit tired, its really a challenge here in india, everything is a fight, bus or train reservation, rikscha, shooping, hotel, somewhere go out for eat, you must be all the time really carefull. and stephan told me some not good experience he had on his worktime here in india...

tonight i go to cochin.

madikeri - baylukoppa - mysore

here in south india exist not that good train connection then up to north india. so i took again a bus (this time not a super deluxe or semi deluxe) from the gouverment to madikeri. madikeri its 1100 meter over sealevel. so was nice up there,in the night was cold, i feld i was again in ladakh, i used a blanket in the night. the city or better the town is really small, so i could easly walk around by my self. i was surching for a hindu temple, so i was asking several people on the street where the temple is, i saw one temple but the style was more muslim then hindu, so i ask in this direction on the mosque, and there say no no. anyway i gave up and ask the policeman on the street and he pointet the same direction then i was thinking the mosque is. so i went there, and was a hindu temple inspiered from muslim architects. on the next day i went to see the tibetan settlements so i went to baylukoppa, very nice place. i saw the golden temple, i never saw such nice temple. many paintings inside the wall, and three huge statues. and many monks, there had praying time and was nice to listen the voice and the playing music instruments like the horn an the drums. so i was very impressd!!
back to madikeri i visit the raja's tomb, also in style like muslim, but was hindu again, and two mosque. here down south i saw now in every city and town a mosque, so i think here is a large of number of muslim's.

now arrived in mysore, the last hillstation i will see, now i booked my ticket to cochi (i will go on saterday evening on a nightbus) and tomorrow i will see here the city palace, which i saw from the bus when we drove in the city. was very nice from the outside. but i will tell you more later about it.

mangalore

after the nice ride i had, in goa, just i gave the motorbike back, start's raining.. again i took a bus from panaji to mangalore, over night. the ride was quit nice, comfortabler then the last bustrip i had. so i arrived on 6.00 o clock in the morning. i found a good hotel. first i was walking around the citu but not that much, it's really hard without a guide, and i even in my guidebook it's nothing written or show a map. so next day i rent a rikscha for visit some temple's. the temple looking from outside a little bit like a normal house, but inside were nice statues and nice smell from the incence. i coudent make some pictures from inside the temple. i visit also a church, was nice inside and weird looking with all the fans. i also saw the two rivers there joins and flow then to the sea. was nice and i saw the fisher mens working on the boats to maked ready for the season. (after moonson, and the heavy storm's) the boat's are now on land, and all had like i roof or hat to cover the boat, looks like a house. yesterday after i saw the match switzerland against togo ( yeahh the swiss won 2:0) was coming a heavy storm over mangalore, with thunders and flash and lots of rains.

i really liked mangalore, is a nice city, clean and not so noise, and of course much more green then in the northern city's. and the weather was better then in goa, not that hot, and wet. one's again i left with the bus the city to madikeri. the ride was bautiful, palmtrees and ohter trees, and up and down. madikeri is on 1100 meter over sealevel. here is really pleasant! i will come back to talk what i saw here.

no photos anymore from mesum...

unfortunately i cane show you not anymore some pictures about my journey, because my digital camera makes to big files i cant download this on the blog. and i did't found yet a good program an the internet places to make the files smaller on the windows program. maybe some one have for me a advised. thank you und sorry for dont show some pictures...

aurangabad - panaji - vasco da gama - panloem - panaji

i took a bus from aurangabad to goa, exactly to panaji (panjim) the small city is not directly on the sea. is on e river. is a nice city, some churches and very green.here more south its very much green, many trees and there are some hills, its a very nice landscape. now the moonson starts, so sometime is raining and the air is very wet, sometime even worse then when is very hot. so the first day i did not quite much, i was tired, the bus was very uncomfortable and so cold (ac bus). i did a short walk in the city and eat something. the next day i hired a motorbike. first i visit vasco da gama, not a really nice city, a big port, an more industry buildings, then others. so i went further to panloem or i tried to go there. was i nice ride down there. then finally i found a very nice beach.. was not exactly in panloem but very close. no one was there, was like a paradise!! so i went for a swim, was really cooling. so this evening i will go down to mangalore (karnataka).
see you there....

delhi - jalgaon - ajanta - aurangabad - ellora

was time to say goodbye to sylvia, was really nice to stay with you in ladakh, thank you very much!! so i took a train from delhi to jalgaon, a sleeper train, was quiet good, but noise all the time, craying children, and some discussion about the seat number. jalgaon is the main junction from the train coming from delhi, colcatta or mumbai. i was staying there in a really nice hotel, and the manager was a friendly helpfully man. then the next day i live for the ajanta caves. there was more then 20 caves, all are buddhist caves. there have some statue inside and lots of painting. the painting and the statue are some in a good shape, some are broken, or the painting falls down the wall. so sometime you will see only some pieces of the paintings. but the caves are really old, some 500 ad old(500 years before jesus). was really intresting to see this, full of details, and we was looking around for more then 4 hours (a boy from holland joins me). the paintings and the statue tells you a story about buddha when he was on this earth. in every cave the guard tells you do the pictures not with flash, and after the 10th cave i was thinking now i knew it. but still on the last cave i understod why there tell every one again and again. i indian took a pictures with flash, and the flash will destroy the paintings, so the guard was shout at him and then was a big discussion about this. and also it's not allowed touch the statue, but the indians must touch everything, its bad for the life for this caves, there will destroy faster then shut be.

after visit the caves, i was traveling with the bus down to aurangabad. a nice city, with some trees and parks and looks very clean, not normal for a indian city. so i found a nice hotel a little bit outside. i rest a little bit and then the next day i was going to the ellora caves. there is three section, one is hindu, one is buddhist and finally the have some jain caves. i start with the importance cave, the kailash temple, a hindu cave, to show the god of kailashanta. in early days the temple was covered with white colour, to show the mount kailash, based in tibet (or china whatever). this mountain is for both, hindus and buddhist a very important place. i hope sometime i cane also visit the kailash. the temple was full with statue outside and inside, there was no paintings. i spend there more then one hour. to long, was so hot, and still i shut see more then 20 caves. after i saw all buddhist cave i give almost up, now i was more then 3 hours walking to see the caves, took a lot of pictures, and i was tired and thirsty. but i was thinking i want see also the jain caves. so i but myself together and walk to the 1km farest jain caves. was also intresting, something between hindu and buddhist caves. this caves in ellora not that old then the caves in ajanta, but the there are not in a good shape, and of course every indian touch and climbing the statue, and inside the caves stinks like hell, there are many bat inside and you will walk on a carpet of shit. so for me was the ajanta cave much more nice.

back to the hotel some christians have a meeting there, there speak about jesus and the bible. its nice i think, but make me sick when there start to talk with you and tell you shut believe in jesus, and start to force you to read the bible. and today in the morning i saw the pastor, i wished him a good day, and he asked me how are you? i told him, fine. i asked him also, and he says very fine, because im beliving in jesus and god help me......

see you soon, im going now to goa, where i dont know. where the bus will drop me, there i start explore the state.

writing / schreiben

some people wrote me a e-mail and told me i shut write in english, ohterwise it's not intresting for them. and this people are right. i will try now to write in english. but i will say sorry for any mistake i make here, im not good on english writing. mesum :-)


ein paar leute haben mir ein e-mail geschrieben, ich sollte in english schreiben. weil sie nicht deutsch sprechen oder lesen koennen. und ich finde die haben recht. ich werde jetzt versuchen in english zu schreiben. aber ich entschuldige mich jetzt schon fuer die fehler die ich hier mache, ich schreibe naemlich nicht gut in english und habe auch keine ahnung wie zu schreiben. mesum :-)