Martine

while the rest of you are planning your trips to warmer climates, i spent last week-end escaping the heath of delhi in soothing shimla. more than that, i even got to ride a toy train. the former summer capital of the british raj looks more like an english village than an indian state capital, and even when swarming with tourists, it’s so quiet it’s hard to believe that one fifth of the world was once ruled from the hillside town. needless to say, i spent little time pondering the peculiarities of shimla and headed straight for the mountains, like the good norwegian i am, hiking only interrupted by whisky-brakes. hadippa.

me and my train

family on the train

monkey business

indian coffee house

needless to say, i spent more than an hour

these two probably ran up the hill in 15 minutes

the monkeys were fast

friends

coffee girl

laundry

god

there is only one thing indians seem to love more than their food -  celine dion, and more precisely my heart will go on. i just got mithas, my local restaurant, and as i enjoyed a delicious meal of dal makhani, my new favourite, i swear i heard the song four times. twice my meal was accompanied by the lovely voice of celine dion, and twice i got to enjoy the flute version. i’ve done more than listen to celine dion lately, and here are some photos…

dullu pura sewage pump - following weche to work was a little less glamorous than i though

there is only one way to travel to the sewage - the ambassador. here with its lovely driver ravinder singh

tailor and his audience - chandi chowk

the middle of chandi chowk - i would never be able to find this street again

thali maharani - a meal fit for a queen

i’m continuing my love affair with old india, and what could be better than a 500 year old sufi shrine? you guessed it – a 500 year old sufi shrine filled with music! every thursday muslims and tourists alike fill nizamuddin dargah to take in the qawwali’s rather catchy songs. combined with a visit to the local market it’s a highly recommendable outing.

nizamuddin dargah

local food

guard

family fun

fan man

qawwali

i finally got to see a bit of “old india”, market number one in delhi’s bengali quarters CR park. it was just like the india i remember from my childhood adventures in kalyani. then came the not so fun part of the week – H1N1. three days of isolation and counting…

salesman of the day

market number one

fish fish and more fish

dinner

me on my third day of isolation - as you can see, cleaning the mirror is no longer a priority...

last week i visited delhi art summit, a three day affair where galleries from all over the world brought their art to the indian capital. highly recommendable, and i got to see more than one side of picasso. though the summit was great, it can hardly compare to the fun that followed when the monsoon hit the city as we were going home. unfortunately no pictures of that, but i’m sure there will be more rain.

picasso spanish style

picasso indian style

monkey business

everyone should have a pink upside-down mirror

my favourite

for martin, aase marthe, cecilie, maja, shekira and torunn

india never ceases to amaze me. did you know they keep fish in the pond at the golden temple for entertainment? or that every night indians and pakistanis alike flock to the indo pak border near amritsar to shout at each other, not to mention run at each other with flags? all of this and more only in amritsar. got to love india.

a picture of me for a change - enjoying an iced eskimo

contrary to popular belief you can make friends and stay cool at the same time on indian trains

who said temple was only for worship?

my favourite random sikh so far

if you want to you can go for a dip...

but you have to share the water with these...

three generations

the real india?

young and old all ran up and down the street with flags

pakistan

i went to rishikesh thinking i would follow in the footsteps of the beatles, but instead i ended up following in the footsteps of thousands upon thousands of orange-clad young indian men. they were all there as part of a religious festival where they carry water from the holy river to temples all over the country. and when i say carry, i mean walk. got to love that about india – you never know when your plans might change over a religious festival.

sleeping on the job

100km from rishikesh...

view from the ashram

my new friends

say cheese

rishikesh by night

holy river

cheaters

i have yet to wear my orange t-shirt, but when i do i’ll make sure to upload a photo.

i don’t even know how to begin to describe last week-end’s trip to varanasi. from the crowded overwhelming alleys, to the quiet roof top restaurant overlooking ganga at the lovely sita guest house, from the colourful holy men to the colourless holy river, from the relaxing boat ride to the congested trains, it was a trip for all the sense. i am left with good memories, some rather strage memories, and even more pictures…

local cafe just behind delhi train station

village seen from the train

the main ghat

holy men taking a dip in ganga

the view from sita guest house - a lovely little hotel i would recommend if you're going to varanasi

row row row your boat - like all tourists we got up bright and early to get a view of ganga at sunrise

my first week of work is over – well, it was more like two and a half  days than a week, but i can happily retire for the week end! i can already see i’ll be very bussy the next six months, and i’m excited. as the rain finally (or should i say hopefully) seems to be on its way, i’ve been exploring the parks and nightlife of delhi, but today, the wildlife came to me…

this is currenlty walking on my walls - i fear i might have blinded it with my flash and now it's coming to get me

happy couple in lodhi garden

lodhi garden is like an oasis in the middle of delhi

these are everywhere

dinner at delhi's famous indian coffee house

delhi after dark

connaught place

i think this sign speaks for itself…

i feel we might have a nation-wide mental health issue