Monday, May 16, 2011

The way to LOTUS

 Mr. Bruch stretching

 Half an hour later... some more stretching...

 The best Yoga teacher - Sushil  - helping Henner to fold his legs. First try. 

 Hurray! The first time ever! (Kate is horribly jealous :(  
But the smile... is it a happiness... or disbelief... or pain... or 'Come on! Take the photo! Hurry up!"...?

 The second time... 

Well, to get into Lotus is one thing... But to get OUT of Lotus is another one...

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Vipassana.


Thank you, guys. You made India very special for us.

Rishikesh

 Building the sand castle

 One of the many ashrams

 Pooja

 Find the cat...

 Lida. The very special person with very good heart. I think this is the only moment she wasn't smiling.


 Milk man

 Henner having his hair and shaving done. New trendy Indian fashion.

 True love lasts forever...






Monday, January 31, 2011

Rajasthan - Udaipur

The Venice of India for its lakes and the Switzerland of North India for its hills surrounding the town. At least that is how Indians (who have never visited Europe) call it. 
Yes, the sunsets are breathtaking. The water turns pink, the handrails of the bridges and windows of the water palaces shine gold, horizons soften.
Yes, the sunrises are refreshing. People bathing in the lake, women doing their laundry, cows wandering through the vegetable stands and harassing the sellers by stealing their products.

Oh and not to forget, this time Kate is sick.







Just in case the postman could get confused... Standard Indian address...



This is how your package will look once the post office is done with it. Professionally sown in and stitches sealed with wax. ...

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Indian traffic rules

Ha ha ha ha! Ho ho ho ho! India does NOT have these words in their vocabulary!

Ok, ok there are rules. Let’s look at them:
-       Cows are what rule the traffic. And you can’t touch them!
-       Street lines are just as a decoration.
-       So are any types of sidewalks for pedestrians.
-       And so are traffic lights.
-       Your priority depends on your size. And your bravery.
-       First come first go.
-       No mirrors – they wouldn’t survive in the tight traffic anyway.
-       No side indicating except for your arm – sometimes.
-       BEEP YOU HORN. Always! Everywhere! To let other know that you are on the road, taking over, behind you, in front of you, turning, making a U-turn (optimally over two lines without indicating...), braking or simply just making sure that the horn works. (warning – if you are hungry and tired and in the middle of a narrow street where there is a space for only one you may get REALLY annoyed at the rickshaw driver non-stop beeping the horn behind you in hope that you will evaporate and disappear. In exchange the
rickshaw driver may learn few new hand gestures of verbal expressions...)
-       Oh, and did we mention that lights are a luxury...?
-       Helmets. Ha ha ha ho ho ho.
-       You would never believe how many people can fit on scooter or in rickshaw!
-       PS: Sooner or later EVERYBODY steps into the cow shit...

Rajasthan - Jaisalmer

The gate to the desert. Most of the people come to Jaisalmer to experience the sand dunes, camel ride, another face of India. So we did. We stayed at our recommended couch surfing host in the master suite with view over the desert in the middle of the Jaisalmer fort. Jaisalmer fort is very special as it is still inhabited by about three thousand people. It makes you feel as waking up few centuries back, living in the middle of old ages. Walking through the very narrow streets, listening to the echo of your own steps, all the temples that
you can nearly touch from your window or roof top terrace, all the small shops, cafes and restaurant. Making your way among the people, rickshaws, scooters, cows, dogs and pigeons. Unfortunately this has its negative side as the water usage in the fort damages the foundation of the fort...

Here we experienced first desert, a mix between Australian desert with the few bushes and shrubs and beautifully soft sand dunes. We slept in the dunes, watched the sunset and the sunrise, made chowpati on a
fire, drank chai, watched the night sky and shooting stars. And yes, if you want to know camel riding is not the most comfortable thing one could imagine...

PS: Guess who is sick again?


 Jaisalmer fort


 Local delicacy. Special lassi. 
With Jamin and Hayes. 


Local village gangsters. 

 Sure you can take a photo. But it will cost you... Small but smart. Sad.














Jaisalmer roof tops