My welcome to YOU:

YOU - yes exactly YOU:

Welcome to my blog!

If you read this, you might have received my "mass sms" from my India phone number, or you simply surfed by, whatever it was, you are welcome ;-)

I am happy if you enjoy reading it (and not get all too bored) and I am more than happy to see you again when I am back from India & Nepal. The next days I will traveling more north, and I will not be able to add posts for a few days... but it would be nice if you drop me a comment or write me an brief e-mail, it's always nice to read something from good old home.

Hope to see you in spring.



Andreas

Getting a India train ticket experiment expierence...

Riaz, the driver of Tina & Falk (my sister & my brother-in-law) asked Falk 3 times in disbelieve, if I am serious about taking the train north to Gorakhupur. Yes, I am serious, even if it would be way more comfortable taking a plane to Kathmandu and cross back over to Pokhara (well, I did briefly check for plane tickets but couldn't find anything good).

We went to the Pune train station ticket counter, not the main counter, the one we went is apparently faster, because there aren't so many people waiting. That's true, there was only a cue of 20 people in-front of us.
Good!
No, not soooo good - but as well not sooo bad.


You can barely breath in there cause a busy road runs directly beside it, filling up the 20m² room with emission gazes, displacing any oxygen molecule. It smells - no - actually it stinks like you are sitting right into the filling pump of a petrol station. It's good staying close to all the other people, feeling and smelling that you are not alone, as well making sure that you will not fall down if you pass out.

It took appr. 1.5 hours to get on the ticket counter (20 peoples!), where you need to hand over your reservation form. The reservation form is there to speed up things ;-) The train officer handed it back to me, pointing out that some information is missing. While completing, the complete cue (now the 20 people behind us, and even if it doesn't make any sense at all) built up some body pressure to the people on the front of the counter, making it difficult to write anything at all. You need to stick your mouth to the oval opened glass, avoiding that somebody else sticks his head in it just to be served "faster" (well, at least the air in the office, breathing through the small glass opening oval was better). While writing into the form, you need to pull your hands back from the opening gab on the bottom of the glass, making space for anybody to get their hands in it immediately, pushing their reservation form in to get an ticket. Faster.



After it was my turn again, the counter officer made a brief statement in Marati (which I do not speak) to Riaz. Riaz left the counter where the crowd was happy about the free spot. I asked him what hapend and he stated: It is booked out on the 14.th.

Ok, no problem, having time until march, I am not in a hurry.
But whats about the next train, next day, next week?
Well, he simply didn't ask if there would be a free spot, he simply was satisfied after waiting for 1.5 hours with the statement that it is fully booked on the 14th!
This time, I was the one staring in disbelieve :-)

At least, we fought our way back to the counter and finally (after completing another reservation form) I got a stand-by ticket for a seat on the 15th, taking the 3 day Kushinagar Express train north to Gorakhpur.
Cool. I got a ticket, and if I am lucky, I might be even able to sit down :-)



...from Gorakhpur, it will be only a short 2-3 hours bus trip to the Neapli border, and from there a 9 hour bus trip to the foot of the Anapurna range, to Pokhara. It looks like I am going to spend X-mas there...

Flying Panchganj / Panchgani...

It took me more than an hour, to clean off the ancient red colored earth dust from my paraglider with a high tech microfiber cloth.

The dust was from last saturday (8thDec07), flying in Panchgani, 110 km south of Puna.
I got stranded 2 times down on the landing zone, where holy cows have been waiting for me, unable to top land on launch area again. It is a good thing, that I always can blame the small size of my glider for it, cause it can't be the pilot ;-)


So far, every time I was paragliding and start unpacking, some people / local pilots form a small circle around me, so that they can see all the toys I am unpacking:



1. At first, my reversible backpack / harness, the KAIRN with SaK Airbag option by Kortel-Design. The bag itself containing all my equipment is so small, that before I start unpacking, nobody would seriously think that I came for flying. Reversing it from the backpack into the harness mode creates already enough attention to close the circle.







2. My reserve, a Skylite size L manufactured by Sky paragliders. If they see it, everybody starts smiling. It is small. I like it - and they like it too.




3. My paraglider, the Nova Ibex 15. I was not sure about to go with this glider, because I was concerned about flying with such a "small" wing. Well, besides that I sometimes misuse the glider as an excuse that I did not stay up in the air and landed down, it was a really good decision do go with it. So far, I enjoy it: It is small and fast so that I can soar almost around others, feeling speed almost with double speed - it's just fun... besides that, it is sometimes to small to stay up in the air, and I am sure it is due to the small size of the glider and not because of the pilot ;-)















4. Finally, when my Samsung helmet camera is attached and I start my GPS data logger to get ready for take off, I just look as much "out of space" as an high tech astronaut would look like if stranded in a desert. They might have a good laugh when they see the astronaut landing "down" on the moon, down on the landing zone - while they stay up in the sky flying and smiling... well, it is because of the glider size, it is so small ;-)


















They start questioning me, what glider it is, which harness, if the small thing is a rescue parachute and, they smile while side-nodding their head.
I like it, even if I sometimes really feel like "out of space" like an astronaut - well, I am used to it, as I always felt "out of space" :-)











It doesn't matter anyway to feel "out of space".
Why?
Well, taking pictures of big size posters promising a "3 star amenities" hotel is... - well, whatever you want to think it is: boring, improper, destiny,... whatever.

You don't mind, cause you always staying 5 star rated anyway?
Thats cool, you are really over it.
It is great not to mind at all about... aehhhh, about what?
Whats the point?
Well, not to mind being "out of space"!
Thats it.

Or do you still feel, deeply feel it, affected, by taking pictures of bamboo huts?
Good, thats cool too, go ahead, it's up to you.
You can claim as well that others at least should feel a little bit affected, or well, should at least pretend.
It makes world a so much better place...

...bringing both worlds together, in maximum minimized digital contrast diversity with multiple condition fuzzy logic, in India.



















I am landed, I am not out of space, I am middle in it... but I am sure, I am100% sure, that the one walking naked on the street is out of space, he might not know or feel it that way, but I am sure he is out of space...

Flying India - A 206sec. "non stop & start to land" Kamshet Soaring video - WMV 16MB Test

List up some days...

...and what else, did I do something else?
Well, spiritually I would call it:
I focused on my self healing ;-)
Today on the 7th Dec., I still feel a scraping in my throat but I am better, almost back.


Summing up: I have been visiting some Pune "attractions".
"No" would be the answer to the question,
if I have been already to Punes most famous attraction,
to Osho's Ashram.
No need to go there.











But already on the first day, I have been to the "Aga Khan Palace" where Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned. According to Hindu scriptures (as stated in the Lonely Planet Guide) there are around 330 million deities! However, if you see the condition of the "Palace" today, it seems that none of them represents the virtue of "Maintenance".

Sure, it is difficult to keep something from falling apart if it rains almost 25% of the year - and if it rains during monsoon, it rains like all 330 million goods start crying at once.

There are some old pictures inside displaying MG and others, about his "Quit India resolution" and as they educate puplic on importance of "hygienic". Both seem to have disappeared in todays India daily life...


First sunday, we have had a nice walk on the 24km south-west "Lion Fort", Sinhagad. After that, I already needed a rest day before I was ready facing India on Punes Tulsi market, an short hike to an Hindu temple on a hill top, and attending my sister and kids on horse riding.










Another day visiting Punes new technology center called Phase-1and Phase-2 Phase-1 already shows remarkable signs that the new technology as well did not hear about a Hindu god of maintenance (well, the photos here are showing the Tulsi market and not the high tech center - it is not soooo bad, but I bet it will be in few years...). Hyper-dimesion big sized wall posters promise a clean, high-tech architecture, but again, the reality - at least to my eyes - still looks very, very different.
But the school of my sisters kids looks nice and maintained - maybe it's the name: Mercedes Benz International School.









Resting, resting, recovering, paragliding, flying with accident, set up this blog, again resting and coughing in the night - time to get fit to move... in a few days - too cozy staying a few extra days here...

Welcome to India destiny destination !?

It already feels like weeks since I arrived in India...

...even if it was just about a week ago on the 24th November.

I am modifying this post to add text today on the 5th Dec..

Here it comes - what was and is - in between:






First time in India!? Yes - I am one of those rare travelers who had never been in India before. Well, it was a tough time, as it seemed that some "real travelers", the expired India travelers, do not considered others as "true" traveler if you have never been to India. Good, that's history now... and I might now become a true traveler ;-)

Apparently a "must do" thing in India is, to expose yourself and stand trough India's specific viruses, germs, life-style and culture. For sure, somebody told you too about most terrifying and horrifying "outcome" and excessive toilet paper abuse caused by being exposed to an, on the one hand middle age time, and on the other hand most modern and progressive, society and country. Whatever you heard: All is true in one way or the other, but based on my own personal experience, I was never interested in any detailed texture analysis. But yes, I got sick too! Already in the first days. But thats just the way to become a true ... whatever... and at the end, getting a little bit sick is almost nothing compared with... well, just read on to find out about my own true first-week terrifying India experience (keep on reading until the end, the bitter end to understand "my India"):

What did I got sick about? I call it a kind of civilization sickness.
After the sticky air in the plane, I could not breathe better in Mumbai. In fact, my lungs would desperately love to inhale but just would stop to do so immediately after sensing Mumbai's traffic emission output.

Just arrived at 1 o'clock in the night, I took a mini bus directly to Pune, breathing in on my way all upcoming vibes and air of India. It was good to feel the cool breeze coming into the mini-bus while jolting riding through the outer suburbs middle in the night, accompanied by the high volume India music to keep the driver (and all passengers too) awake.

Eventually I felt asleep and woke up for rest area break, already on the higher altitude of the mountain ridge splitting the 200km between Mumbai and Pune. It was cooler, cold for India, actually freezing cold in the Bus. The AC, the air condition in the car, one of the greatest invention of the 20th centuries - I hate it! It seems India is a true digital world with only two conditions "on" or "off" applied to the AC. Or better described with: If something works, it will work on maximum until it reaches the second condition, best described with "Out of order".

However, the common India way to respond to enquirers finding out the current status/condition of anything will be most likely a simple "keep on smiling" and "side-nodding" head (the most common gesture used in every situation and not quite correctly interpretable by non-Indians, even if some claim it as a polite way of avoiding saying "no" or "whatever").




The AC worked in the Minibus on maximum - even I asked them, almost begged them, to reduce it. India still felt freezing cold after the break and being exposed to an Indian tea on the rest area.
Yes - I know (and for sure you know too), I shouldn't have done something so stupid, actually a travelers lapse, a travelers amateur and novice mistake: Drinking tea on a rest area middle in the night, tired and with a weak immune system from "traveling" for hours.
But I was lucky, as the tea didn't harm me, and I still claim the AC for everything, all AC's in the world: The AC of the minibus, the AC of the car we used to drive out of Pune with my sisters family to visit the mountain Fort Sinhagad, the AC in Puna's Adidas shop....



Adidas shop? Yes - why not! Come on, it is not a 3rd world country....partially, well, actually it is, and well, it is not, on the one hand.... well, lets call it "maximum minimized digital contrast diversity with multiple condition fuzzy logic", or more simple, we keep on calling it: INDIA.
And well, for sure if you are a true traveler already have been here ;-) you will know exactly what I am talking about. Something between the two extremes of very poor and very rich. All depending on the perspective, or society you currently living in (some in India would call it simply "destiny"). And yes, you are right, thats possible on many places around the world. India as well offers both extremes directly side by side in one smiling and head-side-nodding, his destiny accepting society, somehow saying, but not quite sure:

WELCOME TO INDIA !


I am not high.
I am not on drugs.
I am flying, but again:
I am not high, but I am flying.
I am flying on a place called Tower Hill
close to Kamshet, an one hour India traffic ride west of Pune.

It is one thing to "hear" about India's driving habits, another thing to see it in a video, but nothing comes close to the self-awareness possible to gain sitting in a India maintained car without any modern, direct driving experience disturbing, safety systems.

The absence of those allows myself to fully concentrate on the drivers skills, not crushing into oxcarts driving on the left side of the road. You might think that an oxcart is big enough to be visible, but again in India it is the extreme that makes it special: It is already night and dark on my way back from paragliding last Sunday (2nd Dec) and the oxcarts without any lights are still on the two line NH4 highway. I am glad that our Captain (he is Captain on Oil transport ships - with an Hindu name translated as "Wind god") finds always a gap, changing to the right line, squeezing in the car just right before crushing into an oxcart. The way of how he is doing that is by accelerating from the moment he sees the oxcart, speeding up until he wins the race between us and the truck to our right, pushing the lights and horn to motivate the other drivers on motorbikes and rishkas to make space that we can pull over to the right lane before crushing into the oxcarts back. It worked out. But I wasn't any longer "easy going" or "take it as it is" as I lost already this day my trust in India's emergency transport system and I am not good in accepting what some call destiny.




It is destiny! That seems to be the common accepted way why things are as they are. But not for everybody. We did not meet up with the local welcome committee waiting on the paragliding landing zone, eagerly waiting to change their destiny. Apparently, they sometimes wait on the road out of the paragliding area to request their own portion of toll. Unfortunately we have been even too late for them and they missed us, or we missed them. Destiny.

Destiny? Yes and No. Personally, I don't believe any longer in it (if I ever did?). It eliminates any possible niche for an bit of free will and own responsibility. For me it is to simple, to easy explaining human error caused fatalities and accidents by destiny. It is an excuse. An religion made to explain unacceptable things, things not possible to explain. If there would be destiny, it would be us to make our own.

It was a hard crash!
As it seems there is always traffic on roads in India, I was surprised to face a lot of traffic in the air too. However, as there are almost no safety features in the car, why would you use to have a reserve parachute while paragliding? It might be anyway too late to pull and as I learned, most "student" paraglider pilots in India do not have a rescue chute built in at all ...whatever...too late, too late to pull, too late anyway.

Obviously, while we share the same air to breath and fly in, we do not share the same destiny. Crashed cars on the highway roads - destiny. Acceptance.

After a few hours (!) waiting for our lift back to Pune in a road-shop style India restaurant, a second ambulance with signal horn horn passed by. The horn was almost impossible to hear in between the other commonly used horns on the roads.

Another accident? NO! Good!
But this time it wasn't any good.
It was bad. Sad and very bad.

Before I went to India, I read a posting about hospital standards in India. Somebody claimed that some of the hospitals are even better equipped (at least temporarily) as in Germany, Europe or the USA. Well, even if true, it doesn't help you at all if it takes hours to get there, or even worse, if you will never get there!

...the first thing I noticed was a sound.
A swish in the air.
An unusual swishing and rustle,
an swishing indicating that something went wrong,
my head turned, my eyes saw...
...and my mouth starts shouting:

...RESCUE-RESCUE-RESCUE...

!Warning: Do not watch the movie if you do not like to see a fatal paraglide crash!

While waiting for a lift back to Puna in the road-restaurant, sbd. told us already that the first ambulance sent up the hill to pick up the two crashed paraglider pilots did run out of petrol . Apparently, it is common not to fill up all too much petrol, avoiding the miss-use / private use of cars!
Both have been alive.
One is dead now.

Why?
Destiny?
No!
It is acceptance in the worst appearance, inexcusable by claiming missing education or poorness, it is acceptance of stupidity, acceptance of destiny, whatever, whatever it is, it is India: WELCOME TO INDIA!

I feel very sorry. Sad. We shared the same air on the same day.

What else?
Yes, I was sick.
I got a cold.
An infect,
pain in my ears and throat.
Thats it. Nothing fatal.
Nothing compared with...
After that, I will fly again.

I feel very privileged to stay with my sister and family, giving me a very comfortable place to feel home in India. They gave me the opportunity to set up my blog, test all my electronic toy's, took good care of me and guided me through the India way of life. After my recovery, I would like to go on to.... well, come back and read on ;-).
But first I might post the other things we did, positive India impressions and experiences...Andreas

Yamuna Vishnu Turtle