Ara, cap a l'est /Eastbound

Dema, ben aviat, agafarem l'avio cap a Hong Kong, en certa manera tornant enrera enlloc de seguir viatjant cap a l'oest. Quan deixem l'India decididament haurem comencat el retorn, encara que aparentment ens allunyem d'Europa. El nostre viatge s'acaba, ja fa dies que ho diem, ara, abans de fer cap a casa volem tastar la Xina -malgrat totes les discrepancies i la seva actitud envers alguns Tibetans- i visitar amics a Toquio i Singapur. Les setmanes que hem passat aqui han estat plenes de sabors ben diferents i darrerament de molts colors. Abans d'arribar teniem moltes ganes de descobrir una mica aquest continent (sense el mal usat sub) tant diferent i intrigant. Ara en coneixem alguns llocs, algunes tradicions i costums i hem pogut iniciar-nos en les seves religions. A voltes han estat dies durs, conviure constantment amb una pobresa 'acceptada' no sempre es facil, alguns dels costums locals ens han continuat sorprenent i no ens hi hem acostumat, encara que si adaptat -ajustat com diuen aqui- per tolerar-los (les escopinades , quin remei!), d'altres els hem abracat i ens els emportarem a casa. Molts dies han estat meravellosos, acompanyats de gent generosa acabada de coneixer i regats per rius venerats, mars molt especials, sortides i postes de sol increibles i muntanyes espectaculars. Potser de tots els llocs on hem viatjat durant aquets mesos, l'India sera el primer on tornarem -qui sap; enrera hem deixat les noies de Moolamatton, les impressions de Bombai, la vida rural del sud del pais i, mes recentment, les altes muntanyes d'Utranchal; a mes, ens queda pendent la visita al Nepal, i qui sap, quan les coses s'arreglin, potser un dia fins podem visitar el Tibet i tot.
Per ara, avui hem enviat mes de 30 quilos d'equipatge cap a casa en un intent de viatjar un xic mes lleugers (ara nomes portarem dues motxilles!), i dema, ben aviat, canviarem de decorat i, amb sort, portarem el bon temps cap al sud de la Xina... ja us ho explicarem.

Tomorrow we'll catch an early plane to Hong Kong, and although it may seem we are moving away, we'll have started our return. Once we have left India we'll certainly be on our way home, even if we'll be traveling east for a while. Our journey starts to end, we have been saying it for a while, but before going home we would like a taste of China - despite their attitude towards Tibetans and our contradictions - and to visit some friends both in Tokyo and Singapore. The weeks we've spent here have been full of different flavours and lately many colours. Before our arrival we really wanted to discover bits of this intriguing and different (and mistakenly belittled) continent. Now we know some of its places, traditions and even had an introduction to its religions. Occasionally some days have been hard, to live among "accepted poverty" has not been easy, and some of the local habits continue to surprise us (spitting being one of them) and we have not grown used to them (although we have had to "adjust" as they say), other ones we'll take home and make them our own. Many days have been great, meeting very generous people and surrounded by venerated rivers, very special seas, amazing dawns and sunsets and dramatic mountains. Perhaps of all the places we have visited these last months, India is the first one we'll come back to, who knows. We have left behind the girls from Moolamatton, the impressions from Bombay, the rural life of the south and more recently the extraordinary Himalayas. We have also a visit to Nepal pending, and maybe, one day, we'll even make it to Tibet. For the time being, today we have shipped 30kg of things back home, trying to travel a little lighter, with only two rucksacks, and tomorrow, early in the morning we'll change scenery and maybe even manage to take the weather with us, to the south of China... we shall see.

Animals salvatges i paranys de ciutat / Wild life and traps in the city

Des que varem escriure el darrer blog entre altres coses hem tingut la sort de veure tres cadells de tigre en el seu entorn natural, lliures i salvatges, des d'una torre d'observacio a pocs metres! Va ser un mati extraordinari que recordarem durant molt de temps; era el tercer dia al Parc Nacional de Dudhwa i encara que el dia abans haviem vist rinoceronts de ben aprop (a tres o quatre metres!) des de dalt d'un elefant, hi haviem anat esperant tenir la sort de veure un tigre... aixi que tres el darrer mati que hi erem va ser molt afortunat i ens va deixar molt contents i satisfets. A mes del parc de Dudhwa, hem visitat Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Orchha i el famos temple de Khajuraho (conegut per les talles erotiques, encara que n'hi ha moltes mes que no ho son, tant o mes impressionants), i ara som a Agra. Era evident que hi haviem de passar, per veure el Taj i el Red Fort, i encara que ens feia mandra viure la part mes turistica i comercialitzada de l'India, les visites a tots dos monuments no ens han decepcionat. El Taj fins que no el veus no t'adones de lo bonic i gran que es, i encara que ahir hi havia forca gent que tambe el visitaven, ens va impressionar. Es clar que darrera hi ha una historia entre romantica i trista, la d'un senyor amb molts diners que sempre que viatjava volia que la seva dona preferida l'acompanyes, i en una ocasio en que anava a fer la guerra i va fer que tambe l'acompanyes, ella es va posar de part (del seu 14e fill!) i s'hi va quedar... aleshores al tornar ell va dir que abans de morir li havia demanat que contruis un monument per fer saber a tothom com de gran havia estat el seu amor... qui vulgui que s'ho cregui! En la construccio d'aquest monument hi varen participar 22000 treballadors durant una pila d'anys, i ben segur que mes d'un hi va deixar la pell; les incrustacions en el marbre son de pedres de colors portades de diversos paisos llunyans i el mateix marbre el varen transportar 2000 elefants des de mes de 300 quilometres de distancia. Aqui a Agra t'atabalen tota l'estona intentant vendre't tot tipus de reproduccions i bagateles relacionades d'alguna manera amb el Taj. Avui hem (de fet he sigut jo el que hi ha caigut) caigut en el conegut parany que en ciutats com Agra et posen els conductors de rickshaws: et proposen de portar-te on tu vols per un preu raonable i aixi que has acordat el desti et convencen - i un cop dalt del vehicle i en una zona allunyada no tens gaires opcions- que acceptis de visitar una zona de botigues on ells rebran una comissio encara que tu no compris res i aixi els ajudes a guanyar algun diner mentre tu veus la ciutat i algunes botigues; el que no t'expliquen es que despres de visitar el lloc on volies anar et passaras dues o tres hores anant d'una botiga a una altra en una zona gens interessant de la ciutat, ja que cal anar almenys a 5 llocs per rebre ells una quantitat acceptable de comissions, i el que havia de ser un dia de passeig tranquil es converteix en una empipadora i llarga processo de visites a botigues on venen coses que no vols a preus infalts per als turistes, i a sobre al acabar el recorregut, com que ha fet tants quilometres i saps que es realment una feina molt dura, especialment pels ciclistes de mes de 60 anys que ens portaven, els acabes pagant el doble del que havies acordat i ben segur, mes del que t'hauria costat anar on volies i tornar en un dels molts tricicles motoritzats que fan el servei de taxi.

Since our last blog, amongst other things we've been lucky enough to see three tiger cubs in their natural habitat, free and wild, from an observation tower a few metres away. It was an extraordinary morning which we'll remember for a long time; it was out third day in Dudhwa National Park and even though we'd seen rhinos the day before from the back of an elephant (about 3 or 4m away!), we were hoping we'd see a tiger .... and so three the following morning means we were very lucky and we were thrilled. As well as Dudhwa, we've visited Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Orchha, the famous temple at Khajuraho (known for its erotic carvings, although there are many more that are of other subjects that are as or more impressive) and now we are in Agra. Obviously we had to come here, to visit the Taj and the Red Fort, although we were worried about visiting one of India's most touristy and commercialised places, however the two monuments didn't fail to impress. Until you see the Taj, you can't appreciate its beauty and size, and even though there were lots of visitors yesterday, it was impressive.
There is, of course, a sad and romantic story behind it of a man who had lots of money and who, when travelling, liked his favourite wife to accompany him and who had her accompany him to war where she went into labour (their 14th child!) and died .... and so, on his return he said that before she passed away she asked him to build a monument to show the greatness of their love ... and whoever saw it would know. Twenty-two thousand workers participated in the construction of this monument over a period of many years, and many must have died. The coloured stones set into the marble were brought from far and wide and the marble itself was brought by 2,000 elephants from over 300km away.
Here in Agra they hassle you to buy all sorts of reproductions and junk somehow related to the Taj all the time. Today we fell (actually it was Manel who fell) for a known scam by local rickshaw drivers in cities like this. They agreed to take us where we wanted for a reasonable price and once we were near where we wanted to be, they convinced us to go to another area and visit some shops where they would receive a commission even if we didn't buy anything, thus helping them earn some extra money. What they didn't warn us was that this would turn out to be a three hour tour of uninteresting parts of the city as they need to take you to at least 5 shops to get reasonable commissions. What was going to be a relaxed day wandering in the old town had by then become a long and annoying succession of visits to shops where they sell things you don't want at inflated, tourist prices. At the end of the journey, as they had cycled many kilometres and as it is a very tough job, especially for the elderly drivers we had, we ended up paying double what we had agreed and obviously more than we should have paid to go to where we had originally wanted and back, even in a motorised rickshaw!

North of Varanasi, mes cap al nord

Com heu notat anem alternant entre aquest espai i el blog que fem a http://elperiodico.com/blogs/blogs/rutafamiliar/default.aspx per mantenir-vos informats, o sigui que ja sabeu que hem canviat un xic els plans i no visitarem el Nepal, com teniem previst. Les darreres dues setmanes hi ha hagut una vaga generalitzada i s'els va comencar a acabar el fuel i a fallar la distribucio del menjar, en algunes ciutats hi havia toc de queda establert i bastantes manifestacions. Abans d'ahir el govern i l'oposicio varen arribar a un acord i van acabar la vaga, i encara que la situacio ja s'esta normalitzant, ens va semblar raonable postposar la nostra visita fins a la propera vegada que siguem per la regio (esperem que hi hagi una propera vegada), tant per seguretat com per respecte vers els Nepalesos, ja que com extrangers segur hauriem tingut (el seu) menjar i (la seva) gasolina. Malgrat aquest canvi encara esperem avistar les muntanyes dels Himalaies i fins algun pic important, si podem visitar el park de Dudhwa, al nord de Lucknow, on ens dirigirem aquesta nit, com ve sent habitual, en tren.



Avui hem anat a Kushinagar, una ciutat a 50 quilometres (o dues hores en bus) a l'est de Gorakhpur a visitar temples budistes, ja que n'hi ha mes d'un, doncs es la ciutat on va morir "el Buddha" i sembla que encara s'hi conserven algunes cendres (que no hem vist). El trajecte, com sempre que et mous per carretera a l'India, ens ha aixecat els cabells , encara que com que el cami es tot en linia recta, aquest cop els adelantaments mentre venen cotxes i (pobres) motos de cara i la circulacio de tres vehicles en paral.lel per una via de dos carrils, no han estat tant esgarrifosos, i aixo que hem fet tota la tornada drets ja que l'autobus anava ple - en algun moment fins hi havia un parell de passatgers al sostre i tot!



Des que hem arribat al nord del pais s'ens fa mes dificil trobar llocs per menjar seguint la dieta vegetariana que portem fent els darrers mesos, ja que sembla la poblacio es mes mixta i no hi ha la majoria vegetariana que haviem trobat als estats del sud. Com que intentem menjar en llocs on facin nomes cuina vegetariana, ara hem de buscar-los durant mes estona, i com que les poblacions estan escampades al llarg de forca quilometres, a vegades porta mes estona, i com que des que varem deixar Madagascar no hem provat ni el vi ni la cervesa - ni altres alcohols- tampoc podem parar a fer una birra i reposar un xic quan no trobem un lloc per menjar. No es que haguem fet cap vot especial ni ens haguem convertit a cap religio, simplement ens va semblar que era una oportunitat massa facil per "fer vida sana" per deixar-la passar.



Avui a l'estacio ens hem pesat i seguim en el mateix pes que quan varem marxar, o sigui que l'alimentacio esta funcionant, encara que aquests dies a vegades ens hem sorpres conversant sobre el menu ideal per un apat per a cada u, o intentant debatre quines coses -de menjar- son les que cadascu troba o ha trobat mes a faltar en aquests mesos de viatge... poster com que la tornada es va acostant s'ens fa inevitable comencar a pensar en com seran els primers dies despres de retorn i sobretot, que menjarem!





You will have realised that we try to keep you up-to-date with our movements alternating our news via this blog and our other one at http://elperiodico.com/blogs/blogs/rutafamiliar/default.aspx and so you will know that our plans have changed a little and we are not visiting Nepal. In the last two weeks there has been a general strike there , fuel is running short and food distribution is becoming difficult, in some cities curfews have been imposed and there have been demonstrations. The day before yesterday, the government arrived at an agreement with the opposition and the strike ended and stability is being restored but we thought we'd postpone our visit until our next trip (if there is a next trip) both for our own safety and out of respect to the Nepalese because as foreigners we would be sure to get (their) food and (their) fuel. Despite this change, we should still be able to see the Himalayas if we visit Dudhwa Park to the north of Lucknow, where we are headed tonight by train ... as always.


Today we visited Kushinagar, a city about 50 km away (2 hours by bus), to the east of Gorakhpur to visit Buddhist temples - there is more than one. It is the city where " Buddha" died and it seems his ashes are still there (although we didn't see them). The journey, as always when travelling on Indian roads, was hair-raising although this time as the road was straight overtaking, creating three lanes of parallel traffic on a road designed for two, wasn't so scary when cars and (poor) motorcyclists were hurtling towards us. We had to stand for the whole of the return journey as the bus was packed with even a couple of passengers travelling on the roof.


Since our arrival in the north, we have been finding it difficult to find places serving the vegetarian diet we have been following for the last couple of months, as the population here is more mixed and the majority are not vegetarian as they are in the south. As we try to eat in places that only produce vegetarian food, our search is taking longer every time, and as these towns are really spread out over several kilometres, sometimes we walk a long way, and as we haven't drunk wine or beer (or any other alcohol) since leaving Madagascar, we can't even stop for a beer and rest a while when we can't find anywhere to eat. It's not that we've converted to any religion, it just seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up to live "a healthy lifestyle".


We weighed ourselves at the station today and we are all the same weight as when we left last year and so this diet is working although over the past few days we have surprised ourselves by discussing our ideal menu and which food items each one of us has missed most on the trip ... maybe it's because the end is in sight and inevitably we are thinking about our first days back and above all what we are going to eat!