Till next time

So I end where I began 3 and a half months ago... Mumbai.

In that time I hit over 30 towns/cities, over 13 states, covered 10,000 km ... and got headbutted by 3 cows.

To say her lands and people offered the culture shock I was looking for would be an understatement.

Given the many questions I still have un-answered ....  only skimmed her surface.

That said it was nice to taste her rich and creamy butter milk....

My trousers are quite dirty...

Cheers

After a surprisingly hitch free connection in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) I arrived in Aurangabad (Maharashtra) the following morning.

Having traveled solidly since the previous morning (and still in a slight Valium induced state)... I was ready to paint the town red.

On immediate first impressions Aurangabad was a pretty average, forgettable city (used by most to visit the excellent Ellora or Ajanta Caves) but after walking around its streets and bazaars for a couple of hours... exchanging pleasantries with folk, being photographed by the local newspaper and dancing around with a purple dot on my head... one of the warmest receptions I've ever had.

Aurangabad... Where everybody (wants to know) your name  

Fortified

Backed by rugged countryside and surrounding (the somewhat) glistening lake Pichola... it´s easy to see why Colonel James Tod (East India Company, 1829) dubbed  Udaipur "the most romantic spot on the Indian Continent".

After visiting is Palace (perhaps the 4th or 5th in the past couple of weeks?)... I was feeling well and truly "fortified"...


Rajasthan (deservedly nicknamed)... "The land of Kings".

Photograms

Wonderwall

Having been at least two days since I´d seen the insides of a battlement.... I needed my fix.

Rutting out of Rahjasthans dusty baron landscape is Jaisalmer...

About 5 hours west of Jodhpur (and 100km east of the Pakistan border) - Jaisalmer is essentially a fully functioning sandcastle, military base and camel safari stopover...

After browsing her palace, temples and Haveli´s.... I got the hump and buggered off into the Desert for a night under the stars...
Armed with a portable speaker and unable to communicate with our guide/fellow Japanese tourists (properly anyway)... I decided to fill the silence with some music and soundtrack the dotted night sky.

They either thought it was awesome, annoying or questioned my sexuality... eitherway she´s a beauty and best enjoyed before bed.

Enjoy.

Daniel Wang: Music for renovating 1969 GDR apartment (Finger Magazine Podcast) by Martin Carlos Manso on Mixcloud

Here´s the rest of em...

Wedding Crasher

A 5 hour chug west of Pushkar I found myself in the Rajasthany town of Jodhpur.

Dubbed "The Blue City", its chaotic medieval streets are awash with blue blocks: symbolizing the home of the Brahmins (...its also meant to be properly good at repelling pesky insects).

Dominating their rooftops is the mighty Mehrangarh, an impenetrable beast of a fort and home to many former Maharajahs (with some seriously regal finishing as a result).

I wasn´t in Jodhpur for long but I did stumble upon a wedding "conga" - a train of colorful saris, a suited man on a horse (pictured below)... all fronted by some seriously enthusiastic dancers (driven by some seriously "having it" beats) ...
... Upon spotting me, one of these pulled me into the circle and I was encouraged to "make some moves"...

...confused, I squatted my hips, kicked my feet and occasionally thrusted my wrists into the sky...

...given the response - I think it went down quite well.

  

Overnight Delight

Content (and with ´"my Chakra´s" re-aligned)... I once again hoped on the bus.
The Green valleys of Rishikesh transformed overnight and we arrived into the rugged-desert like town of Pushkar first thing the next day.

Framed by 52 Ghats, Pushkar´s building wrap around a holy lake where pilgrams make Puja´s (prayers) and kids generally splash about.
A prominent Hindu pilgrimage town.... legend has it the lake was formed when Brahma dropped a Lotus flower...
...(interestingly) its also where Ghandi had his Ashes scattered.

After a pleasant stroll round its streets and ghats, I climbed up to the nearby Saraswati Temple to scope out a better view....

With the clock ticking and having achieved everything I wanted to I headed off into the desert (to catch a bus)...

pHOToz  

Pass the Ganj

After a good scrub and a trip to the barbers (who insisted that he give me a rather "full on" facial... massage) ... I didn´t feel clean enough (...infact I felt I little dirtier).

I decided only the power of  "the Ganga" could cleanse my body and purify my soul!

16 hours north or Delhi (and well upstream from the rotting corpses in Varanasi) I found myself in the hippy haven of Rishikesh.

Self stylized as the yoga capital of the world (and famous for its visit by the Beatles back in the swinging 60s)... Rishikesh was a bit new age mixed with Ashram (- come Butlins) good times.

When I wasn´t learning about the ego, "om"ing and enjoying my tofu steak I tried taming it´s grade 3 rapids with my oar and breaking into the (now disused) Beatles Ashram.

... DONG