28.11.2000
hello everybody,
after a beautiful relaxing 2 days in chitawan national park we arrived in varanasi 3 days ago. in the national park we did bush walking, canoeing and elephant riding. from the back of our elephant we actually saw a one-horned rhinoceros (?), which was breathtaking. furthermore we saw crocodiles, deer, wild pigs, many beautiful birds... so a great time
india itself is a country you have to get used to in the first place. many different smells, colours and thousands of people everywhere. to actually experience the ritual washing of the hindus in the ganges while listening to there religious ceremonies is fantastic.
this morning we went on a boatride, watching the amazing palaces along the ganges in the sunrise, as well as the burning of people (also happening along the ghats at the river) and the ritual washing. unbelievable but true you actually also see fresh water dolphins popping out of the water once in a while, which you wouldn't believe in a river where they dump all there faeceals as well as the unburned dead bodies of kids under 10, pregnant women and lepers (??) ( these bodies are supposedly clean).
in two days we'll travel on to agra to see the taj mahal (yippee!!). after that we'll probably rent a car together with a new zealand couple we met in chitawan to see parts of rahjastan. more later...
p.s.: congratulations samo. sounds lika a good score.
also congratulations to you volker. finally, hey?!
jan and uli: not much longer and you're on travel as well.
bernie and brigitte, thanks for sending!! you're champs.
trinkt einen gluehwein auf mich im kalten deutschland!!
all the best to everybody, joerg and kelly!!
2Dec,2000
Hello from Agra, the Taj Mahal is amazing, the sheer enormity and beauty is undescribable in words and something which you can't really capture in a photo. We were more impressed than we expected, to see the detailed work-using semiprecious stones worked into delicate floral designs into the blindingly white marble exterior.
MARVELLOUS!!!!
The red fort was also well worth seeing, over 400 years old and 2.5 km in circumference.
We survived our first 16 hour train journey in India, which was much less traumatic than we expected. Today we're off to Fathepur Sigri (a deserted city from the 15th century), and the next day on to Jaipur, to see the temples.
We're both relatively healthy, just those irritating colds which we can't seem to shake. But I'm sure you're dying to hear whether we've picked up "India Belly" or more technically known as diarrhoea - well we'll leave that your imagination...haha just kidding - cross your fingers but so far we've both managed to avoid that nice addition to our travel experience in India.
that's all folks...
Lots of love,
Kelly and Joerg!!
Herzlichen Glueckwunsch und alles Gute Omi!!
Wir denken an Dich!!!
Take care of yourself Colin.
Frank, Jud und Stefanie, seid nicht so faul und emailt mal.
Danke fuer die email, mum. Wir denken an Euch hier im aufregenden, atemberaubenden Indien!!!
10.12.2000
We're back...After Agra we visited the 'lost city', which was a very beautiful, spiritual place. Not unlike the Egyptians, they built very advanced cities in these times and very lavish.
Next we hopped on a bus to Barathpur - World National Bird Sanctuary. Joerg was in absolute heaven! We rented push bikes and spent the day riding around the lakes trying to identify all the thousands of different birds, monkeys, deer and desperately in search for the python (unsuccessful).
Our next stop was Jaipur (the pink city). We went on an amazing tour of all the famous sites, "palace of the winds", mosques, museums and the royal palace where the former king lived with his twelve wives and 350 concubines, in the late 1700s.
Unfortunately we also toured inside the local hospital (as my lung infection has worsened) this was less than pleasant but certainly unforgettable. Not to worry, I'm sure I'm on the mend this time.
Today we're in Pushkar, home to the famous camel fair,.
It's shopping heaven, so we've been indulging ourselves and for a fraction of the price in Germany or Canada.
Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention the food in India is gorgeous, we're really enjoying it.
Tomorrow (at 5:30-obscene time) we're off to Jodhpur, "the blue city" and then to Jaisalmer for a camel safari.
All in all we're having a wonderful, wonderful time, so we were really disappointed to find out that we couldn't extend our time in India to the end of Jan as all the flights are fully booked. So it looks like we'll be flying out Dec.28 to Melbourne, which is definately exciting - Donnie,Cassie, Jurrian, Terry,Peter, Penny-(are you in Melb?) Jason, Barrene, Chrissie,Inge, Colin, Toby, Shane &girls and everyone we can't wait to catch up with you all in Australia. We'll be in touch.
One last thought:
India is a land filled with such contrasts. One moment you're surrounded by beauty and vibrance and you think there isn't another place in the world you'd rather be, yet at the same time it's the filthiest, most frustrating, illogical land you've ever experienced.
Miss you all,
Lots of love,
Kelly and Joergxx
27 Dec, 2000 Bombay India:
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!! FROHE WEINACHTEN UND EINEN GUTEN RUTSCH INS NEUE JAHR!!
Sorry we've been a bit slack in writing the past couple of weeks. This will be a quick overview of the past couple of weeks: after Pushkar we stopped in Jodhpur for a day to see the "blue city" and the amazing ancient fort (palace). It was the grandest, most impressive construction we've ever seen in our lives! Can't wait to show you all our photos. It's really difficult to explain what we've seen and experienced here, but I'll try to give you a brief summary. Afterwards, we caught the bus to Jaisalmer
where we soaked up the atmoshpere of a desert fort at sunset, and prepared for our camel safari. Camel riding was an experience never to be forgotten and our sore bottoms and backs afterwards were proof of that. Sleeping under the stars on the sand dunes was so beautiful and peaceful to be away from the usual hustle and bustle of India. Unfortunately Joerg got really ill and spent the entire night visiting the outdoor facilities (behind the nearest dune). The poor buggar has definately experienced Montezumas Revenge' the past couple of weeks. We're both sick and tired of being a bit sick haha. Hence, we're greatly looking forward to the fresh air and delicious food in Australia to whip us back into shape. From Jaisalmar, we caught the night train (9hrs) then the bus (8hrs) to FINALLY arrive in Udaipur. This is quoted as being the most romantic city in India, and in the evening we would say it lived up to its reputation overlooking the lake, and the palaces which appear to be floating on the water. We met up with our funky Kiwi friends, Bill and Kirsten again. Had a bit of a party on the balcony, of which I (Kelly) suffered grave consequences for the next morning. meno
(looking forward to seeing you guys in New Zealand)
We rented a motorbike for a day and drove outside of Udaipur to see the countryside and some of the small villages. It was without a doubt the best day we've had in India!!! Joerg was such a champ manoeuvering our way thru the crazy Indian traffic - we had a blast and I videod our adventure from the back of the bike. We stopped at a village, and they were so fascinated with us, it was really like we had landed in a UFO and were large green aliens walking thru their village. A family invited us into their home and offered us refreshments (the local water mmmmm - but we couldn't offend them, so we closed our eyes and gulped it down). They were so happy to let us video them and they nearly jumped out of their skin when Joerg showed them the replay on the LCD screen. One of the men even played an instrument for us.
Our last bus journey in India was hellishly long (20hrs) from Udaipur to Bombay, but we finally made it! Found a nice little guesthouse for exorbitant prices (compared to the rest of India). We're enjoying the cuisine here, the shopping and the nice architecture. Surprisingly it's quite a funky city, with 17 million inhabitants, it has drastic contrasts, as does the rest of India - extreme wealth and prosperity as well as great extremes of poverty and filth. We've tried to capture a bit of this on the video, but unfortunately we couldn't document the smells here which are undescribable. We're off to Melbourne tonight at midnight - yeehaa - where Terry our funky aussie mate is so kind to pick us up at the airport - we'll call you guys when we arrive.
We love and miss you all and will be thinking of you on New Years and hope you're partying hard wherever you may be. All the best in the new year and can't wait to see you again!
Kelly and Joergxx
