Tag: Temple (Page 2 of 2)

Hampi – Golden rock city

December 7, 2015 / olaf / 1 Comment

After the glorious Hyderabad days I went to Hampi, getting back in the travel rhythm and exploring the old capital Vijayanagar founded by a Telugu prince in the 13 hundreds which became 3 centuries later one of the biggest Indian empires giving home to half a million people, times changed and the surreal landscape with its temples and boulders is a much quieter place now, tourists took over and rock climbers found a perfect playground.
Last time I’ve been here 9 month ago and stayed with Katja on the southern side of the river called Hampi Bazaar, a little busy village close to the temples, we explored the temples for one day and went away, that didn’t do justice to the otherworldly place! This time I wanted to see the other area north of the river called the island or Virupapur Gaddi, it’s more tranquil and close to some very fine bouldering sites with not that much temple tourism.
Siddhu and Chitra who’s wedding I attended in Hyderabad were born and grew up around here, so they know almost everything about the place and being on their honeymoon of course they came for a visit and booked me a small hut at Goan Corner, also Nivy and Lohit the other freshly married couple were there, what a nice surprise! Good times 🙂
When I arrived by bus I was still sleepy. Travelling in a night bus in India is an experience one need to make, it was not the first I took but I still prefer the train, much more calm and not that much disturbances during the night.
After the morning prayers with elephants also going for a wash in the slow currents, the ferry service was working and I could cross the Tungebhadra river to check in and have a rest. Lots of tourists again, I wasn’t used to it, hanging around mostly with Indians the last 3 weeks and now hiding in my room for some hours to adopt 🙂

I took it pretty chilled the first days, just relaxing and exploring the nearby rocks and watching the sunset. The next days I widened my circles, visiting hanuman (the monkey god) temple some 500 steps up on the Anjanadri hill. The temple itself is alright but the real star is the lookout, pretty much a 360 view over the valley with some of the most important temples across the river in sight – a perfect place for sunset, and of course meditation AUM!

Most convenient way to get around is renting a motorbike, first I was a bit afraid, but the automatic scooters are easy to handle, traffic is pretty calm, the drivers are super relaxed and everyone pays attention, so I took the bike to explore the area along the fresh water reservoir checking out random temples and around the river, pretty much every hill is climbable without rope and a bit of technique here, I found myself a nice spot to watch the Anegundi ferry crossing and the mellow lights across the rocks when the sun was about to set. Priceless!
I met a couple of nice people during my stay in Goan corner we even got our ears professionally cleaned by a guy who does it for 35 years, felt a bit strange and hurt just a bit, he operates with small metal tools, oil and cotton wool, some ears were dirtier then others, it’s a bit yukky watching him “digging” but the feeling afterwards was amazing, I could hear much more high sounds than before. With Justin from the states I spend a day driving to Gangavathi and later for a relaxing swim in the splendid waters of the reservoir – no there are no crocodiles! A good day with interesting talks, maybe see you around Dresden one time, the Elbsandsteingebirge is also a mystical place!

There was also a small party at night in the rocks with music, bonfire and a lot of bouldering, half of the group was German and the music felt like back home, travellers always go back to their roots but I want to progress…

The golden rocks were treating me so nice this time and I know there is so much more to explore, so who knows I might be back one day!

Kathmandu – Big city life

November 9, 2015 / olaf / 1 Comment

the capital is the biggest city in the country. twice the population of berlin although not that green in between, to me it’s a mix of indian, nepali and old european cities.
The city has been hit by april’s earthquake pretty hard, still debris is cleared, cracks in masonry and wodden poles supporting houses, so the structure doesn’t collapse. still a lot can be seen, not all is lost and still it’s amazing and beautiful to wander among the ancient walls – just sometimes you get the feeling it will collapse any second…
just by walking around in thamel – the main tourist hub – you see alot of temples, smaller and big in size, the back alleys are fun to explore, every now and then a stupa will come into sight.
durbar square, a former royal area, with a lot of temples, shrines, statues and stupas from different epochs and donated to various goddesses and gods.
of course the near city of patan has a durbar squar as well, now patan is more a suburb of kathmandu, the city is growing fast. i talked to a monk, he told me 5 years ago his monestary in kathmandu was not surrounded by houses and heavy traffic, gentrification knocking at the door…

public transport is existing but just with fully overloaded buses, mini buses or safa car – electrical vehicles going up to 20, roaring speeeed 😉
Tourist transport will include bike rickshaws taxis or organised tour buses – all of those charge you 10 to 20 times more the local transport, with the cheaper although, it’s harder to get around.
first you need to know where their leaving from, all the signs are in nepali – no english script, the shouters – who are conductors as well – shout directions, easy if you’re at the station, which is just a random spot on the main road, and wanna go to a temple, just say it’s name, he will nod or point you somewhere else, if you’re lucky the bus is almost empty and you can choose a spot, go for the ones in front next to the driver cause in the back, 5 min later, there will be twice the amount of people you think that will fit.
Of course more people are picked up along the road…some don’t want to get in the cuddling van though 😉

Soo many other hindu as well as buddihst temples on the cultural heritage list around the city, a lot of old stones, i took my time to appreciated the main ones for each belief, swayambhunath being a buddhist and pashupatinath being a hindu site. both of them got small forests supporting the energy flow.

enough of the words, let the pictures speak further…

Varanassi and Kashi Vishwanath

October 11, 2015 / olaf / 0 Comments

the city is devoted to shiva the hindu god of destruction, but destruction also means recreation, a lot of temples can be found devoted to several gods in hindu mythology, hanuman, ganesha, brahma, vishnu, parvati, all can be found here within a minutes walk.

but the main pilgrimage temple is “Kashi Vishwanath”, if you wanna know more about it’s history and some images click the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashi_Vishwanath_Temple
i went with the son of the guesthouse owners as he knew the way and comes here almost every day, i heared about the door policies, the bouncer are police men though 🙂 lot of people told me when they ask you if you believe in hindu religion just say yes and your in.

my friend was asking me on our way if i’m muslim because of the beard but i explained…soon after we saw a lane of people and they already got in cue to enter the temple, we went further along the cue, hundreds of people pushing their bodies either one or the other way, it’s not that easy to follow my young friends steps. when we arrived at the door we went further, removed our shoes and put them aside in a locker of his friends shop – no money as the guys knew each other.

no passport, no cell phone not even a lighter is allowed inside, as if you were going to an airport security check the police standing in front of the gate is checking the people, we just went in cue as i’m a tourist and my indian friend did the talking, bam, inside – that was easy 🙂

another cue of people, we went further again, most of them already prepared with small pots or flowers and candles and other devotions. then we went 5 steps up in that open room, and old man was sitting on a chair, his back facing the long cue or people, another man inside telling me to sit down, my friend was talking to them, then the old man was asking me “You coming from?” i replied smiling “Germany” a questioned look in the face and also in the face of my friend. the man asked again and now i understood correctly “Believe hindu religion”, i said “Yes I do like Shiva and now I came to see his place and speak to the lord”. He did something with his hands looked at the other guy, suddenly a young guy appeared with a loud voice and my friend started the talking, sound as if they were arguing but after 5 min with my passport in the hand of the older guy he wrote down my details and handed it back to me. so that was not that easy anymore, on my own i would have to leave now…

so we went again to the cue but it was a matter of minutes until we entered the famous compound and finally saw the roof with 800 kg pure gold on it. another 2 min in line we entered the main hall where i had 5 sec to speak to the lord, then i was pushed away from the others behind me, of course it’s mass processing over here.

we then went to a quieter temple in the compound with beautiful decorations and just a few people, you could actually see shrines of different gods displayed at one side and people praying, we took our time and let go. after a certain while we pushed ours against the new arriving bodies to get out of the temple complex, what a powerful experience.

i again stepped in cow shit on the way back, a clear sign that i have to do what i had originally planned, i’ll go to the ganga to wash – just my feet up to the calves but still i felt the stream.

My spirit rose again!

p.s. I didn’t mention my friends name as he told me so, usually tourists are not allowed to enter and nobody should know that he was the one taking me in.
Thanks again my friend! OM 🙂

p.p.s. if you want to know more about the symbol next to the cow in the header image of the article check that link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingam

Pune – Sommerresidenz und modernes indien

October 5, 2015 / olaf / 0 Comments

nach pune wollte ich um gayatri wiederzusehen, wir hatten uns anfang januar im flieger nach paris kennengelernt, sie flog weiter nach barcelona um für 3 monate in europa zu studieren und ich nach berlin. jetzt wohnt und arbeitet sie in pune, sie kümmert sich um nachhaltigkeit und ökologische aspekte bei der größten immobilien verwaltung der stadt, da sie ordentlich eingespannt ist vom job und abends mit der family – viele inder wohnen bis sie verheiratet sind noch bei ihren eltern – blieb uns die 90 minütige mittagspause um zu quatschen und reise berichte auszutauschen.

meine zeit hab ich damit verbracht das 3 millionen städtchen näher kennen zu lernen, gelegen auf über 500 metern ist es nicht ganz so heiß und schwül wie mumbai, deswegen haben sich in der englischen kolonialzeit viele europäer während dem sommer monsun hierher zurück gezogen, außderdem ist die stadt großer industrieller motor, geld ist vorhanden und man bekommt ähnlich wie in bangalore das neue indien mit. ich hab auch gelernt höflich nach dem taxameter zu fragen, da wird man nicht immer übers ohr gezogen und zahlt touristenbonus…manche auto wallah’s wollen das trotzdem nicht und fahren einfach weiter, kein problem, da hinten hupt ja schon der nächste 🙂

die überreste der festung manishwar wada, herrlicher platz zum verweilen

like a bridge over troubled water…

Koregaon park, hier ums eck war mein hotel, ne ganz angenehme gegend zum nächtigen, vor allem im vergleich mit der bude die ich in mumbai hatte mit der leuten straße direkt vorm fenster…

aga khan palast, hier wurde ghandi 1942 im zuge der indischen friedensbewegung 2 jahre lang festgehalten, in dieser zeit starb seine frau kasturbha und sein längjähriger sekretär mahadev desai

ich mag ja die ausblicke von oben, der nächstgelegene hügel war nur 30 min per rickshaw entfernt, parvati hill, namensgeberin ist die frau shivas dem gott der zerstörung und mutter ganesha’s dem elefantenartigen gott, ein gleichnamiger tempel befindet siuch ebenfalls hier oben…typisch indische skyline und der dunst der das ganze land umspannt 🙂

der höhlentempel pataleshvara, eine willkommene abkühlung zur warmen mittagshitze

that’s it folks, eine lange zugreise steht nun bevor, dazu später mehr…

Cambodia – Angkor Wat, the ancient temple city

April 23, 2014 / olaf / 0 Comments

With Eric I went across from Thailand across the border to Cambodia, was fun to watch the traffic switch sides during the passage (in Thailand they drive on the left, in Cambodia on the right). All in all it was some kind of a border mafia; we needed to pay a lot. And it continued further in Siem Reap, that’s why the country’s nickname Scambodia!

Anchor wat temples are just amazing to see and I recommend everyone in going there and doing at least the small and the grand circuit. My favourite temples are Bayon and Ta Prom where the trees actually take over the structure.

The country itself felt not that nice and very poor and underdeveloped in comparism to Thailand and the people not that welcoming.

Thailand – Same same…but different

April 21, 2014 / olaf / 0 Comments

With Eric, the catalan I met in Jordan three times I went to Thailand, first time properly asia for me, but supposed to be a nice start, everyone was saying, so we started in Bangkok and after the tempels and the royal palace we went to the former capital of the country called Ayutthaya.
More temples to be seen over here, but it felt really nice!

Further we went north to Chiang Mai to celebrate Thai New Year called Songkran, a water splashing festival, 3 days you definitely et wet when walking the streets – we had our fun 😉

Also we did a trip to the tallest mountain in the country called doi inthanon, on more than 2.300 meters the temperature is perfect with 15 degrees, Thais are freezing, we finally can breath after all the heat and humidity, normal to the country.

Next leg is down south, with a domestic flight we go to Ko Lanta, a very laid back island with beautiful beaches and a small national park and we even went further to Ko Rok, a tiny island in the national park with actual dragons living there, very impressing! And the waters just splendid!