SO! Since my last blog (which has been too long in between Im sorry) I have been from the sister cities of Rishikesh and Haridwar across to Amritsar to see the golden temple. The Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar was probably a bit disappointing because I didnt see many Sadu (the naked holy men) bathing, but was still amazing. Ive got a couple Kumbh Mela festival shots attached - the one with all the people along the ganges river bathing is them taking their dip on the auspicious new moon day, it is a VERY important day for Hindus to wash in the holy water and around 600,000 bathed on this day. Another shot is of a little boy carrying a heap of white bottles along one of the bridges for people to take away holy water with them after their bathe. My favourite shot from the festival is of a group of women performing a really important ceremony for women ... they tie string around a tree for Puja (I guess like a prayer, an offering to the gods), trees are really holy to women here because they beleive they are like women in that they flow and give life... the cloth they are tying to the tree represents their wishes and prayers - old women put white cloth on the tree to wish for a peaceful end of their life, and young women put red cloth on the tree to wish for a family, healthy children/ husband, they walk around and around the tree tying string around it and praying for what they wish, it is truly beautiful to watch, I was mesmerised. The last festival shot is of a man who is only allowed to come near the holy tree after the women are finished or unless the older women let him come in ... he is giving his blessing with smoking incense around the outside of the tree. Again, beautiful to watch. After Rishikesh and Haridwar it was off to Amritsar on another grueling overnight train, "sleeping" with what feels like half of India on the same train.... watching us sleep, watching us eat, put on aroguard, drink water ... watching watching more fucking watching! I woke up with a man sitting on the end of my sleeper bed (again watching) ... he got more of a fright than me when I sent him packing! Amritsar was really beautiful, the Sikhs are amazing people, their sole religion believes in equality of all humans and rejects discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, and gender.. and they ACTUALLY live to that. Sikh women have all the same access to religious heights that men do and are truly treated equally (atleast in theory). They are very proud strong people and were keen to see my canons!!! People were saying quite often that I was like a Punjabi (they are generally alot physically stronger and stockier) ... Ill take it as a compliment! In Amritsar I went to a really confronting memorial site where the British slaughtered hundreds of Indians ... was sad, embarassing, shameful and everything in between. So from there I did a day trip to Atari, for the Indian Pakistani border closing ceremony ... what a BIZARRE thing that was. Not only was it extremely hot, but the kicking in the air, the bizarre screaming at each other from across the border was definitly a weird display of patriotism. I met an amazing family on the jeep ride out to the Atari border closing ceremony whose little boy sat on my lap the entire way out there, when we got there the white people were all ushered into the first class sitting area to watch the ceremony, we asked if the Indian family could come in with us and sit with us, but no ... no low caste Indians allowed. Fucking India is such a love/hate experience for me. The shots Ive attached from Amritsar are all from the Golden Temple. One of a group of boys who were SO excited to have their photo taken, and when I showed them the photo of themselves the oldest one called out to their friends "WE"RE ON T.V, COME AND LOOK!!!" .. really gorgeous. Two are of the temple itself, what an amazing building - obvious why its the most important Seikh temple in India. The other is of a man in the temple leaning against the amazing marble pillars of the temple.

So .... after that, on bus from Amritsar/Atari to Bikaner in the desert .. sooo fucking hot! Arranged a camel safari from Bikaner to Pokran, half way to Jaiselmer. The camel safari is an epic tale unto itself ... one I'll tell tomorrow!

Rishikesh and The Punjabi region

So … from Darjeeling to Patna to Delhi across land on long trains. Got completely ripped off in Patna trying to get a train to Delhi, our train was cancelled for no reason (how Indian) and because we had to meet Nadia’s sister Stacey in Delhi, it was paramount we arrive in Delhi the next morning. So we got ripped off .. paid 1000rs extra baksheesh to this sleezy fucker to get us ‘special tickets’ to Delhi that night. He didn’t want to deal with me after I told him to stop speaking so fucking rudely to us and that if he ripped us off any further than we already were being ripped off that I would call the tourist police … he decided that he absolutely hated my guts and didn’t converse with me again. Indian men and me aren’t getting along that well this trip! However! We are now in Rishikesh, and it is absolutely stunning. I am for the Kumbh Mela, the biggest religious pilgrimage on the planet. The festival runs over Feb to April, with several specific auspicious dates throughout those months, where Hindu's beleive if a take a bath in the holy Ganges that you will be purified and cleansed. Im lucky enough to be here for one of the main bathing dates, Monday 15th March, where I plan to join up to 100 million pilgrims who will bath in the ganges for the celebration of the new moon. The Hindus believe that Somvati Amavasya (the name for the no moon day) is such an auspicious date that the river Ganga, the divine cosmos, along with all the revered pilgrimages on this earth, shower exceptional spiritual benediction on anyone who performs worship or meditation on this auspicious day. The significance of this day is equivalent to the auspiciousness of a Solar Eclipse. I cannot wait.

Ive put up heaps of shots of Rishikesh, it’s a truly gorgeous holy spot, with the ganges waters running straight from the himalyan ranges through two massive cliff faces, with homes, hotels, restaurants and temples built into their sides … connected by a “pedestrian walking bridge” which is streaming constantly with Hindu Sadus, Buddhist Monks, Muslim Pilgrims, cows, donkeys, motor bikes and many a nervous looking tourist… who were once very ZEN post ashrams .. then had to cross the bridge! My photos do not do the place justice. I will return here and do a yoga retreat I think … its certainly the place for it… I imagine booking into this hotel we are in (right on the top of the cliff overlooking the ganges and teams of Indian women washing saris in the water and drying them in the hot wind), and staying for 3 months and being perfectly content. From here, its off to Amritsar, the golden temple in Punjab then to Atari to watch the Pakistan Indian border closing ceremony.. google it .. bizarre stuff! I feel heaps better in the stomach and body finally! I’m reading a lot and covering myself in henna daily! Have been taking some amazing shots which do nothing to explain the feeling, the smell, the constant sounds and forward movement … the grind that is India.

(The shots I have put up here are all from Rishikesh ... the ones of the temples and the houses on the cliffs are taken from the balcony of my room, one of the boat I took a ride on up the Ganges, and a few of women (and one fella) drying their Saris or Lungi in the warm wind, a shot of a woman doing her morning Puja blessings in the Ganges which I just adore, and a couple other self-explanatory shots!).

Everest, very chilly weather and a bad stomach!

So ... To finish up my time in Kolkata I saw out the Holi festival relatively unscathed, said goodbye to new friends and got a decent bout of food poisoning

(got a few good shots of kids mid-Holi celebration attached).

I headed by train to Darjeeling .. a tea growing town, which is 2500 metres above sea level ... from the top of the hill, which this town is built on, and up, is a spot where you can see the Himalayan range, including Mt Everest. Of course I got sick on my second to last day in Kolkata before getting a 12 hour train from Kolkata to Darjeeling then a 4 hour jeep ride up a huuuuge hill, you can imagine I was most impressed. I will be writing a letter of thanks to Gastrostop Inc. thanking them. I was joined by my friend Nadia for this leg of the trip, was nice to have company when feeling so ill.

As we drove up the hill in the jeep, you could literally feel the temperature dropping at each turn. Starting at around 32c at the bottom, and ending up around 9c at the top. Now, one of India's strong points is not its roads ... this was also the case up a 2000mt hill. It was like someone took a ruler, and drew a line up the side of the mountain and decided it was a perfect spot to "build" a road! (Shearers, Echunga hill was NOTHING on this incline!). Was very full on and quite nerve racking. But absolutely spectacular ... the sides of the hills littered with houses, tea plantations and shacks selling the famous Darjeeling tea. I thought of Nan heaps, tea always has that effect (she was watching me in that jeep Im sure of it .. someone had to have been responsible for getting us up there safely!!!).

One of the mornings in Darjeeling, I hauled ass out of bed at 4am to head up to Tiger Hill to see the Himalayas. I have never been so thankful to be up at that hour (or to have a public toilet awaiting me up the top of the look out ... still very crook!). Following a truly brilliant sunrise (photo attached), we heard this huge cheer erupt from all the locals around the look out tower ... we looked around and realised that the entire Himilayan range behind us was alight with the sun ... and glowing a magnificent organge/pink colour. Many travellers Id spoken to that day had said not to bother taking the 4am jeep trip further up the mountain to try see the range, as it was just too cloudy... when I showed my shots to one such sceptical kiwi traveller, she burst into tears and headed up the following morning. As you all know, trecking and that sort of jazz has never been my cup of tea, and thats not about to change I assure you. But I can imagine for the first time what the fuss might be all about.

My photos dont do the mountains justice, how beautiful it was and how amazing it felt to be fucking freezing but also warm with excitment and privledge.

Im in a town called Patna now, and making way across land to Delhi for a coulpe nights before heading to Rishikesh, for the 12 year festival in Haridwar.

I feel good.

I feel happy.

I miss baked beans on toast with hashbrowns for hang over breakfast.

I feel reflective.