davidsmeaton.com » email

travel diary – day 380

David — Thu, 06 May 2010 10:09:06 +0000

day 376 – my train to tabriz was in the evening, so i had a full day left in tehran. the hotel was nice and let me stay in my room until late. i decided to use the day to actually see some of tehran. i’d been hoping to see the sights of tehran with the friends from chess.com, but since they were unavailable i wanted to see as much as i could before my evening train.

i got a taxi across town to azadi tower, tehran’s famous monument. it was a nice tower and i enjoyed looking around. i considered going up the tower but didn’t feel like it. i then went back to the other side of town to visit the palace (which was now a government building). i walked around the streets and saw a few small mosques. on my way back to the hotel i stumbled across a camera street. most of the stores were the usual camera crap, but one store was filled with leicas and hasselblads. i stopped for a look and talked to the owner. it was a damn nice store. one mint hassleblad medium format was $4000!

i checked out, grabbed a taxi to the train station and got my train to tabriz. this time the train was even nicer than the last one. we were only four to a compartment and had plenty of space. there was food, tea, fruit and dinner (fantastic chicken and rice). i couldn’t really talk to the others in my companion, but they were very friendly and tried to make me feel comfortable. i relaxed and slept well.

day 377 – i arrived in tabriz early. the old man from my compartment offered (translated by a lady in the next compartment) to let me stay at his house. i was flattered, but declined his offer. i headed out and got a taxi into town.

the mustafa story: i got a pre-paid taxi and told the driver the name of my hotel. the driver seemed friendly, introduced himself as mustafa, and we sped off in the direction of town. suddenly, far sooner than i had expected, the taxi stopped and mustafa announced that we’d arrived. what? i’d paid for a taxi i didn’t need. it was about a kilometer from the station and i could have walked. i was a bit miffed, feeling that i’d been ripped off.

i got out of the taxi and entered the hotel. the man at the reception told me the price and it was double what i’d been expecting. when he saw my surprise, he told me that there were two hotels with the same name and perhaps i’d come to the wrong one. the other hotel was much further away, in the centre of town, and would require another taxi.

thinking fast, i considered my options. another taxi driver had been lurking around hoping to make a little business. suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the door. i looked around and it was mustafa. he’d returned and was apologising profusely. we left the hotel and got into the taxi. mustafa explained that he called the pre-paid taxi booth and they told him it was the wrong hotel. he drove back to get me and take me to the right hotel.

he kept apologising but, relieved, i laughed and thanked him for coming back. we arrived in town and mustafa told me that the street was one way only … traveling in the opposite direction. he turned the car around so that it was facing the same way as the traffic, then reversed along the entire street, stopping right in front of the hotel. it was hilarious. rather than go around the block, rather than just pull over and make me walk, he went up the street backwards to avoid a ticket and drop me right at the door of my hotel.

the mustafa story: surreal, brilliant, and the epitome of persian hospitality!

ironically, i didn’t stay at that hotel. i found a cheaper one around the corner, but mustafa had already left and wouldn’t know. i was still grateful though for his incredibly kind gesture.

i had a small sleep in my room and then went for a very long walk around the streets of tabriz. i wandered into the bazaar and almost couldn’t find my way out. i bought some dried dates (which the shopkeeper tried to give me for free) and headed back to the hotel. i checked email, downloaded some songs, watched a movie, and slept.

day 378 – i had breakfast and hit the town for some sight seeing. the first stop was the poet’s mausoleum, which was very nice, and i took a few good photos. then i went to a small qu’ran museum. after that i walked around the bazaar looking for pens and razors. to my surprise, the stationary store owner spoke excellent english. i talked with him for a litttle while and ventured off in search of a chess board. the handicraft stores were shut and i couldn’t find a decent board, so i gave up the search.

i did a whole lot more walking, looked for a bookstore which might sell guidebooks, and gave up after a futile search. i was a bit tired from all the walking so i headed back to the hotel and packed. i had some tea and slept.

day 379 – my last day of solo travel – the border crossing between iran and turkey is not a simple journey. i caught a city bus to the terminal and then another bus for the four hour ride to makoo. from makoo there are no buses to the border (which was still 15kms away) so i had to get a taxi, which was surprisingly cheap. about a kilometer from the border no vehicles were permitted, so i had to get another ‘special’ taxi to the border post. it was ridiculous switching from vehicle to vehicle all the time … but thankfully it wasn’t expensive.

i exited iran, after waiting for the border official to scrutinise my passport and then take it to show his superiors, and walked 30 meters across to turkey. on the turkish side things were very disorganised. i had to buy a visa stamp ($20) but the office was not signed and hard to find. frustrated, one of the border officials helped me out, i got the stamp and entered turkey. i walked down the hill to the highway where a minibus was waiting to take me to dogubayazit.

when i got off the minibus, christina was literally right there, coincidentally walking along the street. we walked around town and found a hotel, then got some food. we returned to the hotel, got busy, and then watched some tv and checked email using the hotel’s free wifi.

day 380 – i had sheep stomach soup for breakfast which was not delicious but not terrible. i wouldn’t have ordered it if i’d known what it was, but i still ate it … it wasn’t too bad actually. we packed, checked out and got a bus to the city of van. the bus ride was a little slow, so when we arrived it was late in the afternoon. we looked around the stores for a guidebook but had no luck finding one. instead, i researched our next few destinations at an internet cafe. then we went back to the hotel, watched the movie ‘up’ (christina fell asleep) and i went to bed too.

travel diary – day 375

David — Wed, 05 May 2010 09:57:16 +0000

day 371 – in the morning, sandra and i attacked the hotel’s buffet breakfast. the buffet wasn’t amazing, but we still had fun eating everything. we ate for two hours and, feeling full, walked it off around yadz. during the walking tour we visited the main mosque (and ended up talking to a group of muslim school girls who were interested in sandra), walked through the old city, saw the prison and some old houses. the area was great and it was so much fun to walk around.

feeling hungry again, we went to a small cafe which was famous for camel burgers. sandra and i got one, which was delicious, and our other companion patrick liked the smell so much he bought a burger too. then we walked through the bazaar and across to the town square. i went back to the hotel and used their wifi, checked email and edited photos. i also booked a train ticket to tehran for the following day. we sat until late chatting and drinking tea.

day 372 – another buffet breakfast attack was followed by a second trip to the mosque. we were keen to go up into the minarets and take photos of yadz city. we talked to one of the mosque employees and attempted to cajole him into letting us up. we almost had him convinced, despite the fact that visitors aren’t supposed to ascend the minarets, but he finally decided to say no. damn! we walked around to another mosque with a beautiful blue dome. it was under renovation and we tried to climb up to the roof there but were denied again. double damn!

we returned to the hotel, i packed and checked out. i photocopied pages from the lonely planet guide and said goodbye to sandra who was leaving for esfahan. i had a few hourse to kill and caught up with chess games. in the evening i got a taxi to the train station and caught my train to tehran. iran trains are nice. instead of being open carriages, each compartment has a door and some privacy. the bunks are more comfortable and the trip was nice.

day 373 – i arrived in tehran very early in the morning, got a taxi into town and walked the empty streets looking for a hotel. tehran isn’t really ‘tourist friendly’ and the hotels are hard to find. eventually i got a room and, tired as hell, crashed for the morning.

i woke up late and walked around town. the hotel area isn’t very nice, being full of car accessory shops, so i had to walk quite a long way to see anything. i changed some money and grabbed a felafel. on the way back i looked around the electronics stores. they had cool figurines in the windows and i really wished i could have bought one.

when i returned to the hotel my key was missing. they asked some guy who was standing around (cleaner, guest, i don’t know) and he had my key in his pocket. he had two keys and the hotel guy said it was a mistake. bullshit it was a mistake. nobody picks up two keys accidentally. i was feeling that the hotel was dodgy, so i spent the evening in my room (i didn’t want to go out and leave my key behind). i watched a couple of movies on my computer and went to sleep.

day 374 – in the morning i decided to change hotels. it ended up costing me more to move to a nicer hotel, but i felt safer. the new hotel had tv and wifi (heaven!) so i had a lazy day in my room.

define irony: bbc.com is blocked by the government, but bbc world news is available on cable tv.

day 375 – i had a couple of friends in tehran who i’d met on chess.com. so i contacted them to make plans to meet, however one had university and the other was doing military service. so i had no chance to meet them. i decided it was time to leave tehran and keep moving west. i booked a train ticket to tabriz, bought some food and spent the afternoon online.

travel diary – day 365 (a year on the road)

David — Mon, 03 May 2010 09:40:24 +0000

day 361 – in the morning i checked email, then sat with sandra and shinji (a japanese guy at our hotel) downstairs drinking chai. then sandra and i went to the old city to look around. we met a woman who works as part of the old city restoration society. she showed us around and also took us into a building that was being restored. it was nice to see and we talked to another guy who explained the restoration process.

after that we visited the fort and saw some mausoleums. i took some photos and talked to local pakistani people about life and cricket. i spent the afternoon at the hotel relaxing, talking and playing guitar.

day 362- we three (me, sandra, shinji) settled in for a morning of chatting and chai. after that i walked to the ‘camera street’ to look around. i was thinking of buying a camera bag and looked through the stores. they had nothing i liked, but i did find a repair store who said they’d be able to repair the crack in my camera’s casing. i left the camera, put some photos in for developing, and returned to the hotel.

after lunch i picked up the camera and met the others to go and see some singing. in lahore, every thursday, there are numerous events. one such event is kwalli singing in one of the main mosques. heaps of different groups take turns singing for their audience. each group gets to do one song and people throw money. it was a lot of fun and the singing was very good. they mixed singing with drums, accordians and clapping.

i took some photos and we all returned to the hotel. we had shawarmas for dinner (and beer) and waited for the late sufi performance to begin. i recorded shinji singing a funny japanese song and at nearly midnight, despite being tired, we all headed off to see the sufis. when we arrived we were given seats at the front (the advantage of being foreign) and i got to take some good photos.

before the performance began there was a delay and a power blackout. so i talked to a couple of local guys about the mosque and the sufis. then when the show began i returned to the central area and took pictures. the performance was long and we didn’t stay for the whole thing. we left at about 2am, returning to the hotel, dog tired, to sleep.

oh, on the way out, one of the japanese guys who’d arrived in pakistan that day (there were about five japanese guys at our hotel, including shinji), said that he was robbed by corrupt police outside the sufi place. the pakistani guys looked around for the policemen, but they were gone. it was a strange thing to have happen … especially on his first day in pakistan.

day 363 – despite still being tired from the late night, i packed, had some chai and said my goodbyes. i got a rickshaw to the train station, had mcdonalds for lunch (bad, i know!) and caught my train to karachi. on the train, just like in india, people seem to sit wherever they please (regardless of seating numbers) and there were about fifteen people in my compartment, which was designed for nine people. i complained to the conductor and he made a few of them move, making me happy and giving everyone more space.

then i got talking to the guy in the seat next to me. he was an orthodox muslim and a sailor for the navy. he, dahill, and i spent the majority of the trip talking, drinking tea and eating dates which he’d brought. we had some good conversations about islam, religion, pakistan and traveling.

day 364 – in the morning, dahill and i picked up where we left off and continued talking all the way to karachi. he was staying at a mosque for two days before returning to his ship, so i promised to meet him the following day. i got into a taxi and went to my hotel. upon arriving, i thought that the hotel seemed too luxurious and soon discovered that it was the wrong hotel. so, with the manager’s help, i got another taxi into the centre of karachi and found a much cheaper hotel.

after having a shower i wandered the streets. the entire town was shut down due to it being the prophet mohammad’s birthday. there was really nothing to do. i returned to the hotel, had some dinner, watched bbc and slept.

day 365 – one year on the road – everything was open again today (yay!) so i wandered the streets and markets. i took some photos and ended up having chai with some bus drivers. i had been photographing their buses (which were amazingly colourful) and they invited me to drink tea.

i had to prepare my exit from pakistan so i went to a travel agent to get a flight into iran. there were no direct flights so i took a flight to shiraz via manama (bahrain). there was an eight hour stopover between flights which would give me a few hours to look around manama city. it was better than nothing and i headed back towards my hotel. near my hotel were a few camera stores. walking past, a camera caught my eye that i’d been looking at online. a few shops had the canon d10 (waterproof) which i’d been tempted to buy. i had the olympus, but i was unhappy with the image quality. the shops offered to take the olympus on trade for the canon, which was too tempting, and fifteen minutes later i walked out with a new camera.

happy, i remembered my promise to meet dahill and made my way to makki mosque where dahill told me he would be. dahill and i spent the afternoon at the mosque. the other muslims who work there were very welcoming. they brought food and tea, we talked, and i listened to a islamic sermon (which a visiting muslim from mauritius translated for me). we took a break while they went for prayers and then talked some more. it was a fun afternoon and a nice experience. in the early evening dahill and i walked back into town and he dropped me off at my hotel. the next day’s start was early so i packed and slept.

travel diary – day 355

David — Sat, 01 May 2010 09:24:38 +0000

day 351 – st valentine’s day – i had breakfast and spent the morning writing a st valentine’s day poem for christina. i edited a photo and put the poem on it. then i went out with mohammad on a tour of srinigar city. we spent the day looking at mosques, the moghul gardens (which would be great in summer, but were bare because it was still the end of winter). i also got to see the hindu temple on the top of the hill overlooking dal lake. the view from up there was amazing.

we looked around a few more places of interest and i got mohammad to drop me in the centre of town. the previous day i noticed that there was a UN compound in town. historically, kashmir has long been unsettled and was considered dangerous. bill clinton, when he was prez in 2000, visited india and declared kashmir to be the most dangerous place on earth. so the UN compound is still there as a reminder of kashmir’s history. i walked up to the compound and took a few photos outside. then i walked back through town. i also noticd that there were much fewer soldiers around since the strike.

on the way back to the houseboat i tried to check my email, but the internet was down. i got talking to a local hotel owner and he invited me for some tea. we drank tea and talked, then he gave me a tour of his small hotel. the place was really nice and quite cheap. it would be a good place to stay off the lake. he also had a garden out the back which had a lot of potential.

when i returned to the houseboat, victoria let me use her internet connection so i could mail the poem to christina. it was my last day in srinigar, so i packed for an early start and got some sleep.

day 352 – i checked out and, avoiding the wife’s demands of baksheesh, made my way to the jeep stand. the destination was jammu, which took 10 hours due to the constant stopping, “security” checks, road blocks, shitty indian driving and other bullshit.

as a result, i arrived in jammu late and all the hotels that i tried were full. i was tired and frustrated and stomped back to the bus stand to look for a late bus to dharamsala. there were none until morning. damn! i sat down, cursing and swearing, to give myself time to think.

i sat and packed my jacket away (jammu was much warmer than srinigar) and had calmed down quite a bit. i got some samosas at a nearby shop and got into a conversation with a local guy who told me that the shop also had a few rooms. the rooms were very basic and a little grotty, but it was a bed for the night and they were very cheap. i settled in for the night, tired as hell, and went straight to sleep … glad that the shitty day was finally over.
day 353 – i woke up and left quickly, keen to get to dharamsala as early as possible.i found the right bus and made the short trip (but slow ride) back up the mountain. after arriving, i had to take another bus up to mcleod ganj and, with everyone already on the bus, the driver decided that the bus needed repairs. so we all had to disembark and get on another bus. idiots! i got to mcleod ganj, finally, and walked around town with a chinese girl i’d met on the bus. i checked into a nice, cheap hotel and she headed off to another place.

it was early evening and getting cold, but i wandered around mcleod ganj (which is very small). i had the idea to find another pair of trekking pants but the stores i tried had jacked up prices. i bought a pair of socks, checked email and had some great tibetan food for dinner. i bumped into the chinese girl again and we talked for a little while before i headed back to my hotel to sleep.

day 354 – in the morning i bumped into the chinese girl again (like i said, mcleod ganj is very small) and we decided to have breakfast together. then i walked all the way down the hill to dharamsala. it as a nice walk and was quite hot when the day had warmed up. i looked around the stores, still with the idea of buying pants, but couldn’t find anything i liked.
i got the bus back to mcleod ganj, checked email and found a shop which had the pants i wanted. i negotiated hard and got a good price. while i was still in the store, some wandering hindu clerics started talking to me and for a small donation they prophesised that i would have a fantastic sex life. gee, thanks!
i put in some laundry, walked around the main streets a little more, had dinner and got some sleep.
day 355 – i had breakfast and checked my email. i was feeling lazy so decided to spend the day drinking coffee and playing chess online. i had dinner and collected my laundry. that night i watched “sympathy for lady vengeance” on my computer.

travel diary – day 350

David — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:11:01 +0000

day 346 – it snowed like mad the whole day. after breakfast i walked around town taking photographs of the snow. it was a lot of fun because people were happy to let me take their picture – even though it was snowing and freezing cold. i returned to chowkhang gompa and took some photos there too.

it was cold and my clothes were starting to become wet from melted snow. i retreated to the internet cafe for a while to warm up, then i returned to the snow and took more photos. i bought some food and returned to my hotel to let my clothes dry out and read my book. i finished the book in the evening, packed and slept.

day 347 – there had been no flights out of leh for the past three days, due to the bad weather. so when i went to bed the previous night, i secretly feared that the poor weather would continue and i’d be stuck in leh. being stuck in leh isn’t so bad actually, but i wanted to keep moving and was keen to reach kashmir. when i woke up it was still dark, but i went outside and looked at the night sky – it was dotted with stars and i knew that the weather had cleared.

i packed and left my hotel right on dawn. i walked into the main street but there was nobody awake yet and no taxis. i managed to get a ride with some airport workers and arrived in time for my flight.

the flight was delayed by five hours because the airport officials hadn’t been able to clear the runway of snow from the previous day. surprisingly, they had no snow-clearing equipment and the local army had come in to clear the runway using shovels. during the long wait i got talking to a couple of kashmiri guys who work in leh but live in srinigar. we talked about india, cricket, islam, kashmir and numerous other things. it passed the time and i was happy.

eventually we got on board the plane and flew to srinigar. i’d already arranged a houseboat and guide, who was waiting for me, so i was quickly whisked off to dal lake to my houseboat, some food and hot tea. on the way to the houseboat i couldn’t help but notice the enormous number of soldiers lining the streets, supported by vehicles and armoured personnel carriers. i started to worry that maybe it wasn’t as safe as i first thought, but the guide reassured me that it was just a regular sight in srinigar, especially when some kind of event was coming up – like the planned strike on the following day.

the houseboat was really nice and i enjoyed sitting in the warm room with food and drink. i found out that the owner, who is a kashmiri muslim man, has a french wife. i talked with the owner’s son for a while and after dinner the french wife appeared. she introduced herself with a huge reefer in her hand and asked “do you want to smoke?”.

her name was victoria and she was actually the owner’s second wife (his first wife is also kashmiri) and they all live together on the houseboats which he inherited from his father. we talked for quite a while and i got some sleep.

day 348 – i spent the morning relaxing on the houseboat. the boat was warm from the fire in my room (inside a huge stove) and the gas burner in the living room. i ate and talked with the owner, mohammad, and organised a four day itinerary to see srinigar and the kashmir valley. i talked with victoria a little bit, drank some great coffee, and walked into town.

everything in town was shut due to some local strike, so i walked for a bit and had a snack at a local tibetan restaurant. nearby was an internet cafe, so i also checked my email. i returned on dusk and spent the quiet evening watching a movie on my computer.

day 349 – i had breakfast and then went on a long two hour boat ride around dal lake. dal lake is enormous there are thousands of houseboats scattered around it. parts of the lake have small islands and these often contain shops, mosques and schools. we went through some canals and saw the old city side of the lake. the place is amazing and it was nice to look around and see the whole thing.

afterwards i spent some time editing and backing up photos (which i hadn’t done since ladakh). then i went into town to withdraw money. i had a coffee, checked email again and returned to the boat. i edited some more photos and went to bed.

day 350 – today i got an early start and we drove out to kashmir valley and the city of pahalgan. i rented a horse and rode to the top of the hills which had a great view of kashmir and the valley itself. i took a break at the top and had some coffee. there were a few vendors there and i had the chance to go sledding. instead, i followed the sledders and took photos.

i rode back down and returned to the car. i had some lunch and then visited a hindu temple called ‘the fish temple’. inside the temple is a small lake which comes down from the mountain. fish live in the lake and it’s part of the temple’s long history. the place wasn’t very interesting though, except for the fish, so we kept going and wandered around some ruins of another hindu temple which are 1100 years old. the local caretaker was keen to guide me around (i knew he’d want money) but i scorned him for how dirty the place was – littered with cigarettes and firecracker paper. he blamed the local kids, but i didn’t care since he was the caretaker and it should have been his responsibility … not to mention the fact that the site was looked after by the indian archaeological society.

indians have a way of saying ‘as you wish’ when they want money. it’s supposed to mean ‘pay me as much as you wish’ or ‘you decide how much to give as a tip’ … of course, they’re never happy with the amount of the tip and will always suggest more. i’d become fed up with indian baksheesh and, since i hadn’t asked for the guided tour, walked off without paying any tip at all.

we returned to srinigar and when i returned to the houseboat a floating store (a paddle boat acting as a shop) came by. i bought some snacks for the evening, edited some more photos, had dinner, watched a movie and slept.

travel diary – day 345

David — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:31:21 +0000

day 341 – i got started early for my flight to leh. at 5am i got a taxi to the airport but had to stop along the way when the taxi shredded a tyre. retreads are very common in india and the quality is, in a word, shit. 10 minutes later we were going again and i soon arrived at the airport. i grabbed a quick breakfast and then flew to ladakh.

leh was sunny but cool and my first impressions were of a beautiful town. i found my hotel and walked around the markets and the main street. the town is small and it didn’t take long to wander around nearly the entire village. being cold i figured that i needed to get myself a warmer jacket and did a little shopping, but the prices were high and i was disappointed. i figured i’d try again the next day.

i couldn’t do much today, since the risk of ams is high on the first day after flying to a high altitude, so i got some thukpa for dinner and rested in my room.

day 342 – i walked into town and decided that i needed a jacket regardless of the cost. i found a store and managed to haggle a good price. i also bought a beanie. then i went for a walk up the hill to the old leh palace and soma gompa. further up the hill was namgyal tsemo gompa, which had a great view of the town.

i walked back down the hill and into the main street. i found an internet cafe and checked my email. i had thukpa for dinner again and returned to my hotel before it got dark (and too cold).

day 343 – today i went on a driving tour of leh and the surrounding area. being winter there are no tourists and little business. i’m the only guest at my hotel and the owner offered to take me on the tour himself. we visited 4 of the district’s major temples. shay gompa was really nice and at thiksay gompa a young important lama had been invited to give talks to the monks. the monastery was full of people – monks were listening to the talks and buddhists were sitting outside listening via speakers. there were so many people, but they were all sitting quietly and sharing tea. i drank some tea too and looked around.

hemis gompa was hidden high up in the hills and it took a while to get there. the roads were icy but the scenery was amazing. the gompa was mostly empty but it turns out that my guide and hotel owner is very well known amongst the locals and is prominent in the buddhist community. in fact, he’s met the dalai lama several times. so whenever we arrived somewhere, tea was served, doors were unlocked and we were invited to watch and participate in the local celebrations.

the last temple was stok and we arrived at the beginning of a 49 day mourning ceremony for an old lama who’d died. monks had been invited from as far as bhutan to perform rituals and chant to bless the lama. we were invited inside and got to sit with the monks while they chanted and prayed. i sat quietly and respectfully, sometimes taking a photo or two, and enjoyed the atmosphere of the scene. actually, i kicked myself that i hadn’t thought to bring my mp3 player which is able to record sound. it would have been nice to keep a recording of the chanting.

we returned to leh and i walked back to the main street to check email again. i had a quick dinner (more thukpa) and got some sleep.

day 344 – i woke up to find leh covered in snow. it had snowed during the night and the entire town was white. most of the shops were shut (because it was sunday, not because of the snow) so there wasn’t much i could do. i walked around town and wandered through the tibetan market. much of it was shut too, during the tourist off-season, but some stalls were still open. actually, when i was in goa i discovered that many kashmiri and ladakhi people head south during winter to make money. many of them work in the goan markets or in hotels then return north again for the summer tourist season. obviously though, some people remain in ladakh and tried to make the most of the winter season.

the internet cafe was warm so i devoted an hour catching up on chess. i grabbed some food and returned to the hotel. actually, nights are really cold in ladakh, so i was always keen to get home before dark and crawl into my warm bed to read.

day 345 – i had breakfast in town and returned to the tibetan market. more was open this time and i bought a ‘save tibet’ tshirt and some long underwear. i walked to chowkhang gompa, which is hidden in the middle of town, and walked north of the village to find the korean monastery. the monastery must be small because i couldn’t find it. but i enjoyed the long walk and photographed some kids sliding down the ice slopes. leh also has an outdoor ice skating rink, so i watched the local kids skate and play ice hockey.

the evening was really cold and i finally gave in and got a heater for my room. up to now i’d been surviving without one, but the days were getting colder and there was more snow around. i also grabbed a book from the hotel library, paulo cohelo’s ‘the zahir’, which i read in my now-warm room.

travel diary – day 335

David — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:49:34 +0000

day 331 – australia day – i woke up, had breakfast and packed. the hostel had no water at all … so no shower … and i was covered in bed bug bites … again! i stored my bag and headed into town. i checked out a few camera stores, checked email and returned to the hostel to get my gear. when i returned, the water was working, so i had a long shower. as i was leaving, i noticed a discarded copy of ‘natural born killers’, upon which the film was based. i threw the book in my pack and decided to read it on the train.

i bumped into the french and spanish tourists again, so i talked with them for a few minutes before i left to get my train. the french guy gave me his iran lonely planet (in french) which i figured i could use for maps and stuff. i had some iranian food for dinner and got the train to delhi.

day 332 – i spent the day on the train. i read ‘natural born killers’ and finished it in a few hours. i listened to music and also listened to some singing from the compartment next to me. the people in the compartment were traveling as part of a group. i couldn’t figure out whether they were religious or a good samaritan group or what. they sang a lot, which was fun, and in the evening they did a prayer. i had a long conversation with an indian guy and was given some literature about ‘love, life and the universe’ by one of the singers. it seemed like hippy/cult/religion stuff, so i smiled politely and didn’t read it.

day 333 – the train was delayed by six hours and we arrived really late. the train had stopped at a station an hour south of delhi in the early hours of the morning. many people got off, thinking that the train wouldn’t continue, and went in search of buses. the conductor told everyone that there was a problem with the train.

i was in two minds whether to go or stay, when suddenly they announced that the train was leaving. i jumped back on and got to delhi. the train was half empty and i think there must have been a lot of angry people stranded on the platform or looking for a bus.

we arrived in delhi and i had to wait another hour for a connecting train to the new delhi station. when i got to new delhi i walked through the main bazaar and checked into a hotel. after a shower and change, i headed straight to the pakistan embassy to start my visa application.

the freaking pakistan embassy require a ‘letter of introduction’ from the applicant’s home nation. i couldn’t get the letter or pakistan visa application forms until the next day, so i headed back to main bazaar. i had dinner in a nice rooftop restaurant, checked email and did an upgrade on my ubuntu os.

day 334 – i got up early, had a quick breakfast and went straight to the embassy district.

the pakistan embassy official gave me the application forms and confirmed that i need the letter of introduction. that meant walking to the australian embassy (which was nearby) and forking out $30 for a stamped letter. damn! i returned to the pakistan embassy, filled out the forms, had them typed (as is required and is a retarded rule) then walked down to the bank to submit my visa payment. applying for a pakistan visa is a ridiculously complicated process. it’s not difficult, it’s just stupid bureaucracy.

i had to wait three days to complete the visa.

i then headed to the iranian embassy to see if there was any easy way of getting the iranian visa (without the approval code issued by iran’s foreign ministry). the embassy official was very rude to me and told me to get the visa in australia. so i gave up and returned to the main part of town.

i walked around connaught place, bought a phone and decided to relax for the evening. i chatted and played chess online.

day 335 – i had breakfast and walked around the bazaar. i found a small bakery which had nice food, and the owner liked to play chess. we played two games (1-1) and i was happy with the result. i sold some books and had dinner.

travel diary – day 330

David — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:36:01 +0000

day 326 – i arrived in goa in the morning and headed to the taxi stand to arrange transport to anjuna (the town in goa where i’d decided to stay). at the stand i met a french girl called elsa who’d been on the bunk directly beneath me. we hadn’t spoken on the train, but we started talking at the taxi stand and decided to share a taxi. she was going to vagator, which was near anjuna, and i figured i’d work something out along the way.

when we arrived in vagator i realised what a nice little village it was. the hotel elsa had booked was nice and she invited me to split costs and share the room (there were two beds). i agreed and we dumped our gear and went for breakfast.

being wednesday, today was the day of the famous anjuna markets. we rented a scooter and rode a few kilometers to the massive weekly market. the market was fantastic and i enjoyed walking around. there were bands playing in a few places so we sat and listened to a few, drinking beers and talking about travel.

we split up for a while to explore the markets separately. i bought a chess set, a new diary and a cheap tshirt with a ganesh picture on it. elsa and i met up again in the late afternoon. she wanted to return to see the evening bands and i thought it was a good idea. we sat and watched the band perform. after they were finished, it was late and we rode back to the hotel. we got some tibetan food for a late dinner and, since i was tired as hell, got some sleep.

day 327 – i had an early breakfast, checked email, then met elsa. together we took the scooter to panaji (a bigger city) to see old goa and get tickets (bus/train) to our various destinations. on the way we were stopped by police because we weren’t wearing helmets and didn’t have a licence. we paid 600 rupeees as a “fine” (baksheesh) and continued to old goa.

old goa was fantastic. we visited bom jesus and st francis of asissi. i bought a small figurine of st christopher (the patron saint of travelers) and we wandered around the other chapels and churches.

we took the coast road back, hoping to avoid police, and enjoyed the goan villages along the way. we stopped for a late lunch and rode up to chapora fort for sunset. in the evening we walked to the beach for beer and cigars, then returned to the room to sleep.

day 328 – elsa was heading south towards the ancient city of humpee. i decided to check out too and move to anjuna beach for a few days. i had a small sleep and wandered around the markets. i bought a ticket back to mumbai, then had dinner on the beach and watched the sunset. i watched a movie on my computer and went to bed late.

day 329 – i had breakfast and spent a little bit of time online. i was running out of money and made the 1.5 km walk to the nearest atm. when i returned i decided to buy a train ticket to delhi, since it seemed that the trains were busy and i didn’t want to be stuck in mumbai.

after lunch i had some beer and took a long walk along anjuna beach. it’s a beautiful stretch of beach, but (like much of goa) is crowded with indian and foreign tourists.

i had a very early start the next morning so i organised a taxi, packed and got some sleep.

day 330 – i woke up at 3.30am, got a taxi to the station and got on the train to mumbai. some arsehole was in my bunk, so rather than wake him up, i slept in the vacant window bunk. in the morning, the same arsehole wanted the window bunk (which was his original seat). i swore at him and let him take the seat. fucking shithead didn’t want the window at night because it was cold, so he stole my bunk and then wanted his back during the day when it was warm. hooray for indian ethics!

i arrived in mumbai and was fortunate enough to get a bed in the salvation army hostel. i didn’t want to stay there, but it was the cheapest place in town and i was prepared to play the ‘bed bug’ roulette game. i checked email and had dinner. in the evening i got talking to some french and spanish tourists that had come through iran and pakistan. so we chatted about travel and shared advice on what was happening in the places we’d been.

travel diary – day 320

David — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:12:58 +0000

day 316 – i had breakfast and talked to dave for a while, then started my new book ‘the bastard of istanbul’. the book annoyed me (focusing on how much armenians hate turks and visa versa) and i refused to read more. i’m sure the book has a happy ending and they all grow to love each other, but i wasn’t buying into the storyline and shut the book.

i headed into town for another wander around the streets. i had dinner at a street stall and bought an assortment of junk to eat in the evening; chocolate fudge, a giant apple, a hot corn cob and beer.

day 317 – i was woken up by someone talking on a loud speaker at 3am. at first i thought it was prayers from the nearby mosque, but it sounded different. it could have been some buddhist sermon or something else … i don’t know. it was quite loud and took me a while to get back to sleep.

i woke up later, had breakfast and checked out. i checked my email then got a taxi to the airport. my flight to india was business class (yay!) so i spent the free time in the vip lounge drinking beer, eating snacks and watching bbc news.

the flight to india started late and, due to the stopover in gaya, arrived in kolkata in the early evening. it was dark by the time my taxi reached sudder street and many of the guesthouses were booked solid. i ended up staying in a dorm, with three other koreans. i bought a lonely planet india, had dinner and slept.

day 318 – i changed hotels in the morning, returning to hotel maria – an old favourite from my previous trip to india. i walked around the markets, withdrew some money and bought myself a train ticket to mumbai. i mailed some packages to korea and australia, then found a bookshop and acquired a copy of ’1984′ by george orwell. i had been wanting to re-read it and snagged a copy very cheaply.

i headed back to the market, looked around some more, and spent some time online. i returned to my room and started the book. i bought some delicious kimchi bokeumbab for dinner from the street stall outside, read some more and went to bed.

day 319 – i had breakfast and checked my email. then i devoted a few hours to finding a sleeping bag. i had no luck and decided to leave it until i got to mumbai. i returned to the same bookstore i’d gone to the previous day. this time the owner showed me some rare and expensive books he had for sale. some were beautiful, but there was no way i could buy them. i picked up a copy of ‘around the world in 80 days’ by jules verne. it’s an old classic that i’d never had a chance to read. i also got a book on buddhist dharma for free.

i walked through the market, had a great beef masala for dinner, then returned to the hotel to read and sleep.

day 320 – after a cold shower, i checked out of my hotel. the train to mumbai was late, so i had all day to kill. i had breakfast and continued reading 1984. then i spent some time online playing chess and chatting. in the afternoon i got some take-away kimchi bikeumbab from the same restaurant, jumped in a taxi and headed to the train station. i ate dinner on the platform, read my book and waited for the train.

the train departed and i read for a little while longer before going to sleep.

travel diary – day 315

David — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:58:44 +0000

day 311 – today was a fairly easy day. i had breakfast and drank a coffee at an outdoor cafe. i checked email and walked around town. i spent a few hours online in the afternoon, had dinner and slept.

day 312 – my morning routine had settled into breakfast and coffee. the small cafe had a few seats in the sun and the owner had started seeing me regularly, but today would be the last day. after breakfast i bought my train ticket back to yangon.

the day before i’d spoken to a cycle rickshaw driver about where i could get another tattoo. so today he took me to a small place hidden in a back alley. the guy was a decent tattooist, so after a long conversation we decided on a design. two hours (and $15) later i had my tattoo. i returned to the hotel for a rest.

i had a really good hamburger and beer for dinner, then went to see ‘the moustache brothers’ show again. it was my second time to see them perform, and i was disappointed that i couldn’t organise a video camera to record the whole performance.

day 313 – i woke up early, had a quick shower and got the train to yangon. it was a long, boring day on the train with nothing much to see.

we arrived in yangon on time, which was nice, and i walked across town to my hotel. actually, my arse was sore from the wooden seats on the train, and i was quite tired. i grabbed a quick dinner and went to sleep.

day 314 – i returned to the indian embassy first thing the next morning. i paid for the visa, which i was able to pick up in the afternoon. i returned to the hotel and changed rooms, taking a room with a much nicer view. i read my book on the balcony for a while and then went for a walk around town. i stopped by the air india office and bought my ticket to kolkata

i hadn’t felt like taking photos, so i just wandered through the markets and streets. i had lunch and walked past a yangon united fc store which was just opening up. i bought some souvenirs to send back to craig and headed back towards the embassy. i collected my passport and visa, enjoyed another sugar cane drink from the local street vendors and went back to the hotel. i read my book and slept.

day 315 – after breakfast i decided to relax in the rooftop hammocks and read my book. i got talking to an american tourist, also called dave, who shared with me a prize collection of lonely planet pdf files. sweet!! i wandered into town, checked email and stumbled across a small group of locals playing chess. i stopped to watch and ended up playing three games. i got thrashed each game by a guy who clearly spends a lot of time playing chess!

i had dinner and returned to the hotel. in the evening i finished ‘the book thief’, messed around with some mp3s and went to bed.