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December 20, 2003

India is a big country, so this time again I write from India. In the meantime I got quite used to the Indian rhythm, but with the food I had some difficulties. I spent some uncomfortable weeks due to my intestine going crazy. Indian food is most of the time such spicy that you can't recognize its ingredients any more, but many things are really good and 100% vegetarian. I think it's more a problem of the hygiene of the food. So, after a long stay in Delhi I went south and made the mandatory stop at Agra to visit the famous Taj Mahal. Really an impressive building. To road led me through Rajastan, one of the most touristic states of India. Sightseeing spots are one thing in India but the lasting impression comes from the daily life here. India is just crazy. You see things such as: The Indian guy taking a shower on the walkway. The trucker sleeping under his vehicle on a lonely highway waiting for his tyre to fix itself. The Sadhu who decided to do without anything walking completly naked on the highway. Reading the newspaper is well worth it as well: 5 deads after a fight about seats - they were thrown out of the train window. And if you're driving in India you have to deal with the horror of India's traffic. But after Mumbai things got very relaxed. The road along the west coast to the south was lonely and many bends lead into the tropical vegetation of the south. In Goa I plunged into the big tourist crowds and relaxed a week on the beach. That's what they're good for but the beach life gets boring after some time and that's why I went on southwards with some stops in beautiful coastal villages. But I didn't go down as far as the southern end of India, always bearing in mind that I have to go all the way north again. That's what I'm doing right now, going north again, but this time through the interior of India. I didn't get that that far yet as right now I'm in Bangalore. I'm living here at the appartment of Thomas who also used to travel by motorcycle. Unfortunately my brand new and pricey rear tyre has been stolen at his appartment and I hope to see it reappear. But my hopes are limited and I think I will soon continue my ride northwards to spend Chirstmas at Hampi.

October 30, 2003

I did it, I arrived in India. India was some kind of a second milestone to me. But I have not yet fixed the third one. The last time I reported from the mountains of Pakistan, and one day will certainly remember: The crossing of the Deosai plains above 4000m. It all started with the departure from Skardu. The road ascended quickly to 4000m and the surface was quite ok, but not paved. After the first river crossings I've got wet feet but I only really started shortly before the descent: the road got very muddy and I advanced by only about 2 kilometers an hour. Several times I had to unload the luggage and lift the rear wheel out of the mud. The dark came soon and on the last mountain pass the water on the road was frozen, as were my feet. Totally exhausted I arrived down in the valley. This was limit. So I had enough of the mountains and I drove down to Islamabad to pick up my Indian visa. To do some good to my stomach I drove to Pizza Hut where they don't actually server pizzas but hygienically correct food. As every Western restaurant Pizza Hut has a warden and I thought my bike parked in front of it to be safe. I even kept it there as I went around the other shops in the surroundings. But as I returned in the evening the bike had gone. Panic. Soon the manager of the Pizza Hut showed up and told me the police has got it. Shortly after I found the police station as well as the bike. Relief. But the police broke up the steering lock and afterwards the bomb disposal department searched through my aluminium boxes; they broke them up as well. Quite upset I tried the find the responsible person which proved to be impossible. After I convinced them that this bike is really mine I drove back to the youth hostel late in the night. So I had enough of Pakistan as well. After a short stop in Lahore I crossed the border to India two weeks ago. It feels special to be India after having been to Muslim countries for four months. The atmosphere is just more relaxed. For one week I enjoy the hospitality of Lisa and Harvey who drove from Great Britain to India a couple of years ago. Their apartment outside of Delhi is real oasis of peace compared to the hectic Indian daily life. But soon I will continue; India is big...

September 26, 2003

It's been a long time since I reported some news. In the meantime I advanced for quite a little and I'm currently high up in the Karakoram/Himalayan mountains of Pakistan. In between was the Iran. After it hasn't been really easy to get the visa I quit Jordan very quickly and drove through Syria to Eastern Turkey. The shortest way leads through Kurdistan, close to the Iraqi border. The Turkish army is all around in the region but as a turist you encounter no other problems except many checkpoints. High up in the mountains I experienced the Kurdish hospitality. Proud people, and they don't make any secret of their hate against Turkey. Altough it was only a short piece of road thorugh Turkey, it took me some days to arrive in Iran. I proceeded quite fastly to Tehran to organise the visa for Pakistan. Tehran is a giant city and its traffic set new standards for me. But the Iranis themselves are very open people and a keen to met foreigners. Many of them also speak English. I only started to really enjoy Iran as I arrived in Esfahan. A town with many beautiful Islamic buildings and the typical teahouses where you drink excellent tea and smoke a waterpipe. I visited some other towns but soon you start to realize that they all look quite the same. The welfare has razed streets in the 90 degrees sheme through historic cities with shops along them. But it's not only the town, above all it's the people with whom you spend a very good time. After three weeks and some couple of thousands of kilometers I drove to Pakistan, and this is like day and night. Having seen Iran's welfare, the province of Baluchistan appears much poorer. With their barbers and turbans the people look much like the Ex-Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan. But after a "salam alaikum!" they are very hospitable and nice. Through the Indus plain with its Tropic climate I drove rather quickly to Islamabad to apply for the Indian Visa. But there it was too hot for me as well and I flew into the mountains of the Karakoram/Himalaya. The road is breath-taking but because of some heavy rain was blocked by rockslides for some days. I was acquired by some very conservative but very hospitable people there. The ethnics and languages here change from valley to valley because many of them are not accessible for a long time now. In the meantime I advanded quite far into the mountains and the region is actually very good for hiking, but the weather gets cooler and cooler and I will only visit this and the other valley and then return to Islamabad. And then, then it goes to India.

August 24, 2003

I'm in Jordan for four weeks now and if everthing goes well I receive the visa for Iran today. Finally! There were still some things to do here in Jordan, but I wouldn't have done all of them if I hadn't had to wait for the Iran-visa. Should I rellay get the visa today I will get on the bike and ride directly through to Iran. In Syria I already visited what I wanted and I will not look deeper into the east of Turkey. If everything goes well I will be in Iran in two days. How much you hear from me there depends on how many Internet-Cafes are left untouched by the Iranian government.

August 3, 2003

It's about three weeks since I entered the Arabic world with its pyjama-wearing men and besides my first upset stomach I had a very interesting time here. All the countrries I've been up to now are very safe and you never have to worry about yourself and your gear. The hospitality is unreached, you feel really welcome. But once you have seen their attitude towards visitors, their attitudes towards each other are surprising because they are quite rude. On the road it's definitely over with good attitudes and pedestrians have no rights at all. Generally I'm surprised how liberal they deal with Islam here. I was expecting that every women is completely covered but actually there are not many. You don't see miniskirts but quite modern female clothing. The most open was Lebanon, maybe because of their big Christian population. Generally I got the impression that women are quite smarter than the men. Women often speak foreign languages and they have shown me the way on a map whilst men are still looking for the capital on the map to get a first orientation. Since about one week I'm in Jordan und whilst in Syria and Lebanon I was simply asked for my nationality, people here ask different: "Are you American?" This is surprising as Jordan is really soaking up American culture these days. As a Swiss there is no problem and sometimes you hear "Ah, Jacques Chirac, very good!" It seems that you meet much more Canadians these days because of this. Did I have a wrong image of the orient, the opposite may be true as well. Many people wonder that I'm traveling alone, that I'm not yet married and that I even don't have a girlfriend. Many men don't understand that I lived on my own and even cooked and cleaned after a work's day. This brings up the image of the lone westerner with no social life at all. They are also quite amused about the fact that marriage among men is possible in the west. This time I experience something that a Swiss rarely does: It seems that Saudi Arabia doesn't want to let me drive through their territory to get to Kuwait. Whilst Switzerland may refuse entry to some people because their means to finance their life in Switzerland are questionable, Saudi Arabia's refusal is probably more of a religious nature...

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