Much better than we’ve been told.

A country where people are crazy about Barça (or Real Madrid…); they greet you very affectionately and cordially with a “welcome to Iran”.

Strolling around the impressive bazaars in Teheran or Isfahan while taking some pictures, people came to shake hands, ask me where I was from and offer me a tea, food, or even their homes; ordinary, anonymous people who made all possible to make you feel comfortable in their country.

The most interesting were the chats, which they started, and step by step they let you know about their country and lifestyle, very usual except for one issue: women. That’s without a doubt a negative point according to our westerner point of view.

I am an illiterate when it comes to the Muslim world, but I think than we have to consider their lives on a double point of view: a critical one and an understanding one.

The critical point of view is all about censure and lack of freedom, especially for women, who cannot decide whether they want to cover their heads with a scarf or not, or what clothes to wear. Some of those women don’t want to live that life, and fell obliged to it. I chatted with some women, even together with their husbands, and they said they were fed up of living under such oppression. At the same time, and that would be the other point of view, I also met people who wanted to live that way and be respected. It was like saying everybody should take care of their own business, we’re like that and that’s the way we want to be.

However, I could never accept this way of life simply because I wasn’t born there. If I had been born in that country and had a very strict education, maybe I would have another opinion. That’s the reason why I think it’s not fair judging individuals, maybe it’s the system we have to judge.

You can clearly see who prefers what, as you see women dressed totally in black, only showing her eyes, and women with more “western” clothes, with the scarf not totally covering their heads, and wearing make-up. Unfortunately, sometimes they’re reprehended for that…

As in many places, there are no bad persons, there may be bad governments and reproachable living conditions. However, Iran as a country and its people are delightful, the Persian region offers infinite possibilities and routes to discover a country rich in culture and excellent people.

Travel tips.

Except north-American (and some other country) citizens, visiting Iran is fairly easy. You can get a visa when you contract your trip or you can make it till Teheran and get a 7 day visa (not 100% sure) on the spot if you have the following:

Passport with more than six months validity
A 3 x 4 picture
Proof of place where you’ll be staying
Confirmed travel ticket for leaving the country
50 USD or EUR

Using this procedure, I curiously was given a 15 day visa, instead of a 7 day one.

Extending your visa is not very easy, but in big cities there are agencies that will make it for you.

Interesting cities to visit:

Teheran. Beautiful city, a lot of traffic and pollution. During the daytime, several millions of people go there to work.

Isfahan, bazaars and impressive architecture.

Kashan, surrounded by historical and symbolic places.

Mashad, in Arabian means “martyrdom place”, as it’s the place where Imam Reza, the 8th imam, was martyred.

Qom, on the most sacred cities of the country.

Shiraz, famous for the deeds of Persian poets.

Tabriz, city said to be the place where the Garden of Eden was located.

Yazd, remote city in the desert, where architecture is famous for water running inside the walls of the houses, to make them fresher.

Zehadan, close to the border with Pakistan, with a wide cultural and tribal mixture.

In the Persian Gulf area there are several islands. I would highlight Qeshm, with large numbers of migrating birds, 1,5% of the birds of the whole world.

Weather: the weather is variable depending on the area and time of the year, raging from very intense cold with snow (there are ski resorts) to 40 °C temperatures.

Flying: many flights from western countries go to Teheran. Inside the country you can fly easily and at good prices. Iran has nearly 70 airports. Sometimes it can be difficult to find free seats.

Train: there’s a weekly train from Istanbul (Turkey) and Damascus (Syria). From Istanbul it takes 70 hours and includes the ferry in the Lake Van. From Syria the train doesn’t cross Iraq, it goes via Turkey.

The train network is not very wide, but works perfectly.

Bus: it’s the best way to move, especially in big cities. There are good motorways and vehicles are impeccable and very cheap. A bus from Teheran to Istanbul costs about 50 Euro. Try to get always the “super” or “1st class” services.

Taxi: fuel prices are nearly 0 (like two Euro cents per liter…), so moving by taxi is cheap. The shared taxi option is good, in many bus stations you can see taxis waiting for people who want to share the cost. They drive at high speed, and take into account that for being a tourist they will increase 5 to 10 times the price, so negotiate.

Currency: the currency is the rial, but they don’t use that word, they say “Tomans” and sometimes “Chomejni”.

1 Chomenjni are 10.000 rials
1 Toman are 10 rials.
1 Euro are 15.000 rials.

Cost of living: around 100.000 rials/day if you’re on a tight budget, but a more reasonable amount would be 200.000-400.000 rials/day.

Take into account there are no ATMs in the country, it’s not easy to get cash. However, in emergencies hotels and some shops can give you money on credit, with a commission of about 20%.

Dangerous areas: avoid border areas with Iraq and Pakistan. Be careful in tourist areas.

Gays and lesbians have to act with extreme discretion; alcohol is forbidden.

It’s not allowed taking pictures of Govern or military areas…

Well, taking pictures, knowing places and enjoying is what I’ve done in the last 360 days.

360 days thinking about oneself. I recommended it to all those who are tired of the daily routine. Do it, get ready, save some money and disconnect from the world. It’s a great experience, it will probably change your life, you point of view, you will value much more what you have and accept many things that now make you nervous…

This is where my stories end. Stories I have shared about places that I recommend you to visit.

To all the people I’ve met, all those who have followed me, thank you.

Now I’m home, now it’s time to recover… from the lumbago of carrying my backpack, and to save some money and start a new trip in January…

As soon as I can I’ll create a new web where I’ll show a selection of this trip, and I’ll start a new project traveling with my camera.

I’ll let you know about it…

See you soon, and have a nice trip.

joan

Music: Jill Scott “A Long Walk”

Here I said good-bye to the barren region of the North to head towards a different India.

I started in Goa, the smallest region, but also the most visited by tourists.

Goa looked to me like the Dominican Republic –palm trees, resorts, beautiful beaches, but it was all too “set up” for tourists. That wasn’t the India I had known in places like Varanasi, Delhi or any other city in Rajasthan. That’s not India.

Anyway, if you look for something, you finally find it.

In Goa I saw most of its beaches and cities, beginning with Anjuna. Here I got tired of all those poor people who make a living selling souvenirs and bracelets, even when you’re sleeping, they start their typical barrage of questions:

Country sir?
First time in India?
What’s your name?
Do you want to see my shop?

Or

Massage?

Or

Do you want me to clean your ear? Those were very funny. At 30 m they stared at your ear with a worried face, as if there was something wrong with your ear. Then they would say that you had soap in you ear, and that they could clean it… Right, let’s see, how the hell can you see the soap in my ear at 30 m?!

And that’s like 20 times a day. Grrrxxxrrr!!!

I felt bad about it, because they’re good people trying to make a living with tourists… However, it’s a mistake, because they scare people away.

Anyhow, if you ever travel to Goa, I recommend the south, specially Palolem. There you can find the Palolem beach, where there’s less “harassing” and hundreds of places to sleep and eat… Close by there are places like Agonda, where you’ll feel much more relaxed.

It’s worth visiting Panjim, Vasco de Gama, Margao and Chaudri, cities which are well connected by bus (always crowded). The driver cries out the destination of the vehicle, and it’s a very cheap means of transport (50 km, 1-2 hours, for 40 rupees, less than 1 Eur). However, if you are scared of risky overtaking manoeuvres, you better get a taxi. Driving in India is very different from ours. Last second manoeuvres to avoid a truck, car, motorbike or cow, are the daily bread.

I recommend renting a motorbike once you have decided where you are staying. You’ll have to bargain, and it can cost about 150-300 rupees per day (3 to 6 Eur). It’s definitely the best way to see the area.

From Palolem I took a train to the south, and in two hours I set foot in Gokarna, in the Karnataka region.

Gokarna is much purer and genuine, and cheaper, like everywhere else in India.

It’s a small town, with very nice people and an endless, calm beach. It’s a good place if you’re looking for some quietness.

In Gokarna I recommend the Flower Garden Café, a very, very, very simple place, facing the sea, and it’s a very charming place, for only 150 rupees, less than 3 Eur.

Karnataka is an interesting region. I explored it by bus with Bàrbara, my “all-terrain” travel companion, bordering the coastline. We used to stop when we saw a nice beach, even if it wasn’t close to a village. The people from the bus found this very amusing, and looked at us as if we were nuts. In two weeks I didn’t see a single tourist, and felt very welcome by locals. When they see you, they inform the rest of the clan saying “foreigner, foreigner”. They find it funny, and ask you where you come from, if it’s the first time you’re in India… Most of them are fishermen, and you really enjoy their company, specially that of children.

Children in India leave a mark on you and show you to appreciate what you have. I’m not a children person, but I must admit that I was dazed by their smile and shiny eyes. I’ve lived unforgettable experiences with them. In Goa I collaborated with a reception center which works to get the kids out of the streets and feed them. They were all queuing holding their plates, waiting to have their Dal (rice with a sauce). They eat it with their hands, sitting in an orderly way on the floor, and when they finish they wash the dish and offer you a “Thank you” and a smile.

I also visited the place where they lived, under plastics and with no possessions, something extreme when the monsoon rains arrive.

India is growing non-stop and nearly out of control. Poor families have from 4 to 5 children, so it won’t take too long for India to become the most inhabited country of the globe.

The country grows in poorness, but there is also an increase in rich people, it’s a country where there are more rich people than inhabitants has Spain. Social classes are more and more far apart, with the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer. And every time they’re more influenced by western culture. That’s very shocking. You are watching TV and see American-style rap singers, with girls barely dressed, while on the streets you see most women cover their whole bodies in traditional Indian clothes. There was even an issue about a cricket team which was banned to have cheerleaders… seemingly they altered the peace. Well, the girls were really hot western blondes, and their movements were rather “entertaining”… They decided to make them wear trousers under their short skirts and the problem was solved.

Let’s go back to the route…

When I arrived in the south of the Karnataka region, I traveled from Mangalore to the interior of the country, to Madikeri and Kushalnagar, where I visited an area with exiles from Tibet. From there I headed to Mysore, where I recommend a visit to the market. Getting far to the south, in the Tamil Nadu region, there are Udagamandalam and Coonor, a good place to see national parks and vast tea plantations. Even far to the south, Coimbatore, and finally again the coast, where I reach the Kerala region, concretely Fort Cochi, a very interesting place, very advisable. Then I headed to Alapuzza, where you can find the famous backwatters, long channels where you can sail in the so-called home boats, sybarite but very recommendable. From there I went by boat to the south, to reach Kollam, and afterwards by bus to Varkala, a tourist zone where Ayurveda medicine is practiced.

I crossed Kerala and made it to the far end of India, where I visited Kanyakumari, a fishermen village which suffered the Thailand tsunami. From there to Madurai, where I found again “North India”. From Madurai I took a train to Chennai to go to the Andaman Islands.

And that’s all. I spend a couple of weeks in the Andaman Islands (I suggest you Hawelock Island) but was a disaster with the Birma Typhoon…, from there to Calcutta, then a few days in Varanasi, Delhi and a new stage, visiting Iran. From there I’ll head to Turkey, and then I’ll try to make it to Amorgos, in Greece. I’d love to visit the place, because it was there where most of the film “The Great Blue” was set, a great classic for those who love the sea. A beautiful place to finish this year of travel and photography.

So, if you want to visit the whole of India, you need a lot of time, years. However, after 6 months here I can give you some basic advice.

If you come to India for a couple of weeks, get a taxi; if you are planning to stay in the country for a couple of months, use also the train, bus and plane; but if you really have plenty of time, travel light, and buy a second-hand Vespa. You can get one for only 60/100 Euro, and it’s the best way to enjoy the country. You can even get it on the train for a few rupees. When you finish you visit, you can send the Vespa home for 300 Eur, and resell it in your country for about 1,200 Eur. Now they’re in!

From Greece I’ll travel back home, to attend the weeding of my great friend Gerard and Carmeta. There’ll be plenty of free booze, I guess!

However, it would have been only one year. A great year.

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As usual, I give shape to this words with pictures, the point of my “adventure”.
You can see them in the Portfolio and albums section.

Best regards to all the friends I’ve found along the way, and specially to Kiko and Laura, when I get home I’ll finally meet Claudia.

A great country full of contrasts… and cows.

A real wonder, a mystical and spiritual country, sometimes hard, sometimes tiresome, but without a doubt, unique.

First I had in mind crossing India in a couple of months, but finally I’ll stay for 6 months here, as long as my visa lasts.

I started my route in India in Gorakpur, where I arrived by bus from the border of Nepal. I traveled in the packed bus suffering for my backpack, which was on the roof of the vehicle, where new passengers were accommodated.

In Gorakpur I took a train to Varanasi, one of the most amazing cities I’ve ever seen, something unique and really special for those with a camera as a travel companion.

In Varanasi I was very lucky. At Gorakpur station, while I was waiting for my train, I met a guy who turned out to be from my country. We took a night train and, for 1.5 Euro a day, I spent a couple of weeks in a house with a family and a group of Catalan people who travel to India to learn how to play the sitar, a typical Indian instrument. We had the house full of music, and even a serrano ham and pa amb tomaca (bread rubbed with tomato, a Catalan specialty). A few days later Tanja, my German friend with whom I crossed Tibet and the Himalayas, joined us.

Varanasi

Shocking for all those who arrive “fresh” from their “civilized” countries of origin. Although sometimes I feel India, Varanasi and the people who live there are more civilized than many other places with clean streets and nice-smelling but neurotic people, who are envious and worried about trifles. Here people accept things as they are and don’t get obsessed about other people’s lives.

Moreover, here I’ve been walking up and down with my camera and it hasn’t been stolen, which is what probably would have happened in my native country.

Varanasi is surrealistic, as nearly all the country. A place where you can find a trouble-free and somewhat chaotic mix of men, women, bohemian, monkeys, dogs, rats, rickshaws, tuc-tucs (taxis) and hundreds of cows which turn the streets in a mine field.

However, it’s amazing. After several days of adaptation to this new environment, it becomes captivating. At least that’s what happened to me and to several other people who I’ve been lucky enough to meet.

Varanasi is not a place you can visit in one or two days, you must stay there, become familiar with the people drinking chai in the street, visiting hidden spots and participating in their rituals. This is how you will truly know Varanasi and can say you’ve been to India.

Nevertheless, if you’re the fussy type, you’d better not go to India… Or do go and change your attitude, because life is full of pink-colored shit, much more revolving than cow shit.

What is “surrealistic”?

One day, in one of my trips to have a chai for 3 rupees in a street stall, I could see all the following:

A bull trying to mate a cow, the cow didn’t want to, so the all the running and charging caused quite a chaos among pedestrians.

A monkey stealing an apple from a vegetables stall.

Two dogs fighting. A rat walking like an equilibrist on electric cables.

A poor man, who was affected from by leprosy and had no legs, moving on something resembling a skateboard begging for a few rupees.

At the same time, another cow tried to eat some vegetables from another stall, while the saleswoman scared it away with a stick, on the other hand holding an old weighing scale with a coupe of oranges in it.

And, in the background, a policeman with an old rifle and a group of people, singing and smiling, heading to the gath with a defunct.

And all this in only a few minutes.

I looked at the man who was preparing my chai, and we smiled at each other as if I were telling him “Wow…” and he said “That’s the way it is around here, welcome to India!”

I can accept all this, I would even say that, after a few weeks of living here, I like it. However, what I loathe of India is that being a country with such a potential to build transoceanic, supersonic missiles, still has people dying literally in the streets.

During the last months I’ve seen really hard scenes, something that makes you loose sleep and makes you feel very fortunate.

So, after a few days in Varanasi, where I celebrated New Year’s Eve aboard a small boat in the Ganges, I headed to Agra.

In Agra, after paying 750 rupees, I could visit the Taj Mahal. It’s a real wonder, although not as impressive as I thought it would be.

In Agra and mainly around the temple, you can confirm why Indians are famous for pestering tourists. They go on and on with the same questions, all for a few rupees. Here you can even loathe India, but you get used to it, there’s no way out of it. When you get off a bus or a train, you have 50 people offering you a taxi and a hotel. It’s a horribly stressing situation. The best you can do is look down and walk fast, while saying “no, thanks”. Once you’re out of the chaos, you can start to negotiate the taxi, as surely one of the 50 will be more tenacious than the rest and follow you several minutes. A big mistake is to stop in front of them and say “taxi”… Who is going to get the client?

After a couple of days in Agra (more than enough) I headed to Orchaa, a small village South of Agra, very advisable. There are lots of temples there, and it’s very quiet. There’s only a main street, and the rest is open field.

From Agra I took a train for 35 never-ending hours, to spend a few days by the sea, in Goa. Rest, Carnival pictures, and off to Delhi.

In Goa I met Gadea and Tanja again, we had a lot of basking in the sun at the beach, and ate some fish.

I’ll talk about Goa in my next article, about South India.

Delhi

In Delhi, all the backpackers on a low budget gather at the Main Basar, an excellent place to stay, as it’s very close to one of the main train stations. At train stations, you have to be careful, as they will try to rip you off saying they don’t sell tickets because the ticket office for foreigners has been relocated. It’s a scam, they will take you to an office and try to sell you a package. The ticket office for foreigners is on the first floor and it’s very easy to get your tickets.

Another common scam is when you get to Delhi by plane. The taxi driver will take you to a travel agency on the pretext of you having to confirm your hotel before getting there. The call is a fake, and they’ll try to sell you another package. If that should happen, be firm and, if necessary, shout, and they will smile and go “ok, ok”, as if nothing had happened.

In Delhi I picked up Bàrbara, my better half and travel companion during the next months. We met Libita, and Gadea started a new travel to Argentina, where I hope I can meet him and share a good asado while we remember the great moments we’ve spent during these months.

From Delhi I took a train to the north, to Haridwar (110 rupees seated), from Haridwar to Rishikesh, train: 5 rupees, although you can get there by tuc-tuc for 35 rupees. In Rishikesh it’s advisable to stay in Lashman Jaula, a yoga Mecca.

In this area it’s worth visiting the sunrise and sunset ceremonies in the Ganges. It’s amazing, but hard if you see it in Haridwar, as it’s here where the poorest and most miserable people gather. Especially during the sunrise ritual, beggars and sick people approach you to ask you a few rupees, and you can’t do anything to help them.

After a few days in the north, we started a route along the villages of the Rajhastan region. It’s probably the most beautiful and mystic part of India. Cities like Jhaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur are a must. If you have the time, I recommend going from Pushkar to Podhpur riding a camel. Five days, 40 Euros.

I must say that the best I’ve done in India is Rajasthan and the travel by camel between Pushkar and Jodpur. There you can find truly great people and share your time with them. They have a totally rural way of life, living in little houses, most of them made of mud and straw. When they see you arrive, all the family comes out to greet you, they want you to stop and visit their home, to have chai with them –a chai as simple as milking the goat or cow and there you are, chai-chai is ready! Again, those who have less, are those who give you more.

If you have enough time, I recommend you this experience. However, you have to know that you sleep in the open country and everyday you eat more or less the same, and your kidneys will be absolutely battered at the end of the trip. The price is around 4,000 rupees for two people for 5 days of travel.

From Rajhastan to Bombay, the biggest city in India.

Finally, I would like to mention a few negative issues about India. Besides poverty and sick people living badly in the street, I must say that if you are a woman and travel alone, you will feel observed and harassed in many places. My advice: wear local clothes, use a headscarf and totally ignore them. If they’re really a bore, yell at them to leave you alone- they will laugh and go “ok, ok”. Another thing I loathe of this beautiful country is their fooling-about with prices. It’s all about bargaining, but you get used to it.

Photography

I think that in India I’ve made something really special. I’ve called the job “India, faces & places”, you can see it in the Portfolio and albums section. It’s a selection of faces and places, several weeks of work in all these places, which I hope can help you understand these words.

In my opinion, to appreciate what India really is you have to visit it leisurely, get to know streets, hidden spots and people. In the last years I’ve been to 30 countries and none of them was as special and photogenic as India.

I hope you have a few minutes to watch the pictures, that you like them and that you visit the country.

Don’t hesitate to post your comments, I’m really satisfied to see what you think about my work.

Travel facts and tips

In India domestic flights are rather cheap, around 3,000 rupees (60 Euro). Main companies:

www.flykingfisher.com (recommended)
www.goindigo.in
www.goair.in
www.airdeccan.net
www.spicejet.com

Trains

Nearly the whole country is connected by train. There are 3 classes: SEAT, advisable for short distances, Sleeper 3AC and 2AC. To get your tickets at the train station you have to know the number of the train, which is rather confusing, so you can ask a travel agency to do it; they charge a 50/100 rupees (1 or 2 Euros) commission.

Bus

There are lots of buses, precarious but they work, advisable for short distances. Moving by bus is easy and very cheap. There’s always someone who calls out the destination from the door. Ask the price to the people who are waiting, they may try to overcharge you.

Anyway, if you have time to do it, I recommend traveling by train, although it’s a bit chaotic and you travel with a few harmless mice. If you have no time, fly, but get your reservations with plenty of time to get a good price. Don’t leave India without getting on a train.

In the main cities, head to the market area, where you’ll find lots of hotels and guest houses, for 200-500 rupees (4-10 Euros).

Food is excellent, but do ask that it’s not too hot… Living properly in India can cost about 300–1,000 rupees a day (6-20 Euros).

This North route can be made easily in one month.

Best regards to all of you, and especially to all the people I have met during these months.

To my friend Gadea, Barbara, Libita and specially to Nuria
Namaste

Nepal is a unique country. You can walk along the foothill of the Himalayas and, a few hours later, enter a wild environment riding an elephant, as if you were in Africa.

People there are very close, although they live in extreme poverty. Kids and old people are incredible, they put their hands together and offer you a “Namaste”, the traditional greeting of the country.

When I arrived in Nepal, I realized I would love the country. From the total chaos at the border with Tibet, and following the indications of the man who sold the tickets, I took a bus to Kathmandu. A few minutes after departure, the bus stopped, as it had reached the final stop, and the ticket man disappeared as if by magic. Obviously I had to go and find another bus, and pay again. It took 9 never-ending hours to make the 150 km to the capital city. An exhausting but interesting welcome. If you travel in group, maybe it’s better to hire a Jeep, faster, safer and easier. Buses in Nepal are in a very bad condition. Formula 1-style worn out tires, and disturbing views of the cliffs from the bus windows (some of them even have bars).

After the serenity of Tibet, I could enjoy some chaos and activity in Kathmandu. Kathmandu is a fascinating city with an impressive traffic chaos: klaxons coming from everywhere, all kind of vehicles, people trying to sell things, cows, and also kids asking money for cookies.

Kathmandu is quite a tourist city. Everything takes place around the Thamel, a place where I recommend to stay only a few hours a day. As soon as you can, head to Patan, on the other riverside. There, around Durban Square, you’ll see the same as in Thamel, but much purer, with less tourists and without people trying to sell you things. A visit to the Pashupatinath Gates is a must: it will take you back to your childhood with memories of “The Jungle Book”.

Let me give you a tip: if you have to travel from Nepal to India and have no visa, you need to get it at the Kathmandu embassy. It’s a bit of a chaos, so it’s advisable to get it at an agency. I can recommend Great Adventure, contact: Prakash, they’re in the Thamel (web and data: www.trek2himalaya.com) and were very professional with me. It takes 5-6 days to get the visa.

After spending a few days in Kathmandu and getting my next visa, together with the group of people (family) with whom I visited Tibet, I headed to Pokhara, a tourist city popular amongst mountain lovers. The best thing about Pokhara is the lake, where you can go on a boat trip. From there you can also start several trekking routes around the Annapurnas (at the Himalayas); the most popular routes are the Annapurna circuit and the ABC.

I can recommend you a couple of places to stay in Pokhara, both on the Lake Side: the Peace Eye, in front of the Karki house, and the Holly Lodge, in a parallel street. In both of them you can find a double room for 300 rupees (3 Euro). Eating on the bystreets is half the price than eating in front of the lake.

Treks

The most popular trekking in Nepal is the one to the Everest Base Camp, in the northwest; this trek doesn’t start from Pokhara, you can only reach the Annapurnas from there.

From this area, the most popular treks are the ABC (Annapurna Base Camp) and the Annapurna Circuit, around the main mountains, which can be done in 15-25 days. It’s all going uphill and downhill non-stop. If you want to make it in less time, you have to be very fit. It requires walking from 6-10 hours a day, and there are lots of never-ending stone steps through impressive landscapes.

The ABC (Annapurna Base Camp) (permit: 2.000 rupees, around 20 Euro)

I had already seen the Everest from the Tibetan side, so I chose the ABC. The trip starts arriving by taxi to Phedi (400 rupees, around 4 Euro). After a few very steep slopes and the “toll” you have to pay to the Maoists (100 rupees/day), you start to ask yourself if it was a good idea to start this trek. You’ll find many places where you can sleep, eat, have a rest, or consider whether to go back… Don’t do it! A few hours later you’ll find suspension bridges, the wild jungle and snow-covered mountains. If you’re lucky, you’ll see monkeys, and if you’re “not very lucky”… maybe you’ll see a leopard. But don’t worry, it’s very unlikely, and mountain leopards are all vegetarian…

The main towns you’ll find are Pothana, Landruk, Chhomrong, Bamboo, Dovan, Himalaya and Deurali. After them, you’ll enjoy one of the most spectacular views: mount Machhapuchhre (6.998 m), without a doubt, the most beautiful mountain I’ve ever seen. From there, after several hours of walking, you reach the Annapurna south base camp (7.219 m). The base camp is at 4.130 m, and a real wonder. It’s in the centre of a great white valley, surrounded by magnificent mountains which turn a reddish shade when sunset comes. You’re exhausted, it’s extremely cold, so at 8 p.m. you’re already in your sleeping bag, covered with several heavy blankets. At 6 a.m., a Masala tea and the opportunity to enjoy the dawn in such a way which is difficult to describe, so you better watch the picture.

The way back goes along the same towns, but when you get to Chhomrong you head to Naypul, always on the side of the Mondi Khola river. The road from Chhomrong is easy, nearly no slopes, so the “torture” is reaching its end.

It takes about 7 days to complete this trek: 5 days to go up and 2 days to get down, with an average of 5-9 hours/day. I personally think it’s a bit hard, it’s better to do it in 6 days to go up and 3 days to get down, so that you can enjoy the landscapes and the people.

Another very recommendable option is to do this trek much slower. Walking only a couple of hours a day and visiting all the small villages, reading a book, basking in the sun…

Besides the beautiful landscapes, the people and their lifestyle are also a highlight. In all the lodges you can find an assorted menu, from the typical Dalbat to a tasteful spaghetti with tuna and a Coke. You must ask yourself how can a Coke reach the base camp. Well, the answer is easy: on the back of a porter. These people dedicate their entire life going up and down the mountains with a basket on the back. It’s an amazing thing to see. I was struggling to go up a steep hill, and there was an old lady behind me telling me to move off… I was suffocated and she was carrying wood, barefooted. They go downhill in a vertiginous way, it’s impossible to follow them. And everything for only a few cents.

When I got back to Pokhara I had a couple of days off, a good shave, a massage and another bus. There my “family” started to get dispersed, most of them headed to India (Goa) to spend the Christmas holidays there.

Sherpas and guides:

Although it’s relatively easy to do it on your own, for a few bucks you can have a guide. If you need one, it’s very easy to find them. At the Holly Lodge, ask for Dil or contact by mail with Tems Sherpa (Sherpa is his name): om_mane88@hotmail.com.

The best time of the year to visit this area is March, April, August, September and October. February, November and December are cooler, January is rather cold, and in May, June and July rain is very likely. In any case, you need equipment for low temperatures. In Pokhara you can buy it or rent it.

Before traveling to Nepal, it’s advisable to check the situation between the Army of the country and the Maoist troops. Right now the situation is rather calm.

From Pokhara I headed to Sauraha, at the gates of the National Park of Chitwan, the main park of the country, a wonder in a totally different environment. Elephants on the streets, beautiful peoples with clothes that make you think of Africa, mud villages and excellent landscapes by the river. Another less popular but very interesting park is Bardia, on the west.

In Chitwan I went on a walking tour in the jungle. I was totally scared, as the day before they gave me a what-to-do list just in case we encountered wild animals… For example, if you encounter a rhino, you climb a tree; if it’s an elephant, hide in a bush; if it’s a tiger, get close to the guide and clasp your hands loudly… To crown it all, they told me that in the last years 4 guides had died while protecting their customers. After letting me know all these details, they told me to go and sleep tight. And at 6 p.m. the alarm clock went off.

We started by going canoeing at dawn, amidst the fog, and after watching a crocodile have his morning bath, we entered the jungle pushing branches aside and quaking with fear. Suddenly, the guide stopped, and asked us to be quiet and come closer, while he pointed his finger at the bushes… It was a butterfly (the guy was laughing his head off). A few minutes later, another stop: now it was a kind of hen; the guide was splitting his sides with laughter again and going “Chicken jungle!! Very dangerous!!”… Just in case I had to climb, every few meters I made clear which one was my tree to everybody else… We could not see any other animals. We only found fresh rhino droppings and the marks made by a tiger, which allowed us to end our walking tour scared stiff. It must be true what they say: animals fear us more than we fear them. Anyway, encountering one of these animals is a lottery- the group after us came face to face with a bear, the most dangerous of all, according to the guide.

In Chitwan there are more activities to do, riding an elephant in the park is interesting, I could even see the rhino (maybe it’s all set for the tourists, but I was very happy to admire that beast from the safety of the elephant).

In Chitwan renting a bike is a must. You can go along small paths, and find small villages and beautiful, simple-hearted people. It was during one of my walks that I found a children’s home, a small house where 16 children live with their tutors. An old lady invited me to come in, and I ended having Dalbat for dinner with them.

Since I started this “adventure”, six months ago, I knew I was making it because I wanted to travel and have a rest from all those years of working non-stop, taking pictures and telling my friends and family how I was in my blog. I also wanted to show my “work”, give my opinion on what I saw, and sharing my experiences with other people, so that they could be useful or entertaining.

Moreover, my dream was to collaborate with a humanitarian cause. I wanted to cooperate with some NGOs, offering them my services as a photographer to publicize their work, but it wasn’t easy. So finally, I have decided to do it on a small scale and by myself. Obviously, helping the people from the Chitwan children’s home.

From here, I ask you to help these people. It’s very easy, with only 16 Euro you will pay the food of one child during a whole month. Only 16 Euro, the price of a simple meal out in a Western country.

How to do it?

You can give the money straight to the children’s home. Just print the following text, and go or send it to your bank with your instructions and the sum you want to give. The bank details of the children’s home are as follows:

NEPAL CHILDREN WELFARE HOME
HIMALAYAN BANK LIMITED
TANDI, BRANCH
S/A - 508270 “J”
SWIFT CODE: HIMANPKA
AMOUNT:
CHITWAN, NEPAL
REFERENCE: WWW.JOANUBIDE.COM

You can also do it through Paypal, with credit card, from my web, in the section “Children Welfare Nepal”.

If you want to meet the kids, Reya, a girl with no father and a sick mother, or Usha, a little girl who lost her father in 1997 and was abandoned by her mum, I have created an album dedicated to them. You can visit it in my Album section. If you ever travel to Nepal, I recommend you to visit them in person.

If you want to keep informed about them, I recommend you to subscribe in my web. You won’t receive any spam, only a mail every time I have news. You can also use the RSS system.

I think that the album about Nepal, together with the album about the children’s home, has been my best work as a “photographer”. Nearly 250 pictures, a complete album, from Kathmandu to the Himalayas, and to the National Park of Chitwan. An album which requires a few minutes to enjoy it, I hope you can find a good moment to do it and that it helps you to understand all these words.

If you’re interested, send the information to your friends and contacts. I will try to find a newspaper to publish the pictures. If you know any magazine or other media which could be interested in it, please ask them. I give this work about Nepal for free, they only have to contact me at joan@joanubide.com.

Companies can also collaborate as sponsors, I will include a mention to their participation and a link to their websites.

Getting back to the blog… another bus.

The anecdotal bit… Before entering India, on my way to Sunauli (the border) I went to Lumbini, the place where Buddha was born. My friend Carlos, a cool guy from Madrid that I had met in Annapurna, told me about a ten-day meditation course… So, I though: “Why not? I can have a smashing time by spending Christmas in there. They’ll teach me to meditate and disconnect, thing that will suit me very well because my head doesn’t stop, it goes on and on thinking…”. So, I registered and I told my family that I wouldn’t check the e-mail for ten days because I was going on safari. If I had told them that I was going to a temple to meditate, they would have thought I was going nuts…

By noon, when I reached the place in question, they gave me a sheet with the instructions, among them: you can’t talk for ten days, you must wake up at 4 a.m. everyday to begin meditating and you can’t kill any living being (my kind of a room was full of mosquitos, among another considerable clan of wall lizards). So, I spent the evening, then they offered me a sweet white soup for supper and bed time, because at 4 a.m. the bells would go: “ding dong” and I straight to meditate… Next day, I woke up and, wrapped up with the blanket, I followed the rest of “meditators” to the hall, I sat down and I started meditating… the way to get out of there… In the end, I lasted a day, I took the first bus I found and I went to India by myself… I admire the people that master that and that are prepared to do it. I wasn’t able, that’s not my thing, besides, I’m really sleepy at 4 a.m.

And that’s about it, I’ve already arrived in Varanasi (India), the place where I’m going to begin this new year and where I’m gonna stay for a couple or three months in order to travel across this country from end to end. Afterwards, I will try to return to Sauhara and Chitwan to check how are the small ones at the orphanage doing, so my next article, which will talk about India, will take a little bit long. As soon as I can, I will give you some details about the amount of meals obtained up to the moment.

I end up by sending regards to everyone in the orphanage: Sita, Puja, Preetam, Bikash, Mamata, Reya, Deepa, Alisha, Sirjana, Sapan, Deepak, Sunita, Usha, Suresh, Goma, Shoya, Vishu and Vishu Moya. Also to Carlos from Madrid, Adam, to Corlius; to Marcus and Nadine; to all the “family” from Lhasa, especially to Tanja, Dil and Tems, Nathael and Emilie and to the new friends of this stage.

I also would like to thank apogeephoto and vilanovadigital for their collaboration in publishing my blog on their sites.

Namaste
Happy 2008

Donation list at 28/1/2008:

JU (EB) : 100, GM: 20, BG: 40, ES: 30, SL: 150, JO: 16, MAG: 75, PM: 100
total: 531 Eur = 33 months of food for one kid, looks nothing but nothing is 0

Payment doc:

If you love the mountain, serenity, shocking and spiritual situations, then Tibet can be your next destination.

The first big “flash” is in Lhasa, the capital: walking along the streets that surround the Jokhang temple is astounding. Hundreds and hundreds of pilgrims arriving from every corner of the country gather there. They devote hours meditating and praying, with their prayer wheels and worn-out beads. They’re humble, poor people, they wear dirty clothes, their skin is cracked and their cheeks pink with cold. Some of them have spent days, weeks, or even months in their pilgrimage to the capital. What is really astonishing is that they make the journey according to a ritual: they walk two steps, kneel, lie down to pray, stand up again, and repeat all the ceremony during long, never-ending days.

The temples of the city are a must-see, and obviously Potala and Jokhang (in the centre), a good place to sit down and let the hours go by, while seeing the pilgrims praying in front of the white walls.

You can’t miss the Ganden temple, one hour away from the capital, 300 RMB by taxi (30 Eur). The temple is at a height of 4.300 m, and is spectacular if you can get there at about 7 in the morning, to watch the rising sun from the slopes of the mountain. At around 8 in the morning the monks start to wander around, it’s a great view. You have to follow them, because they go to the main room to pray and drink tea, and the younger monks run up and down with their Thermos to serve all the guests.

Palhalupuk is an unknown temple but it deserves a visit. It’s a small temple you can find in front of Potala, under the mountain where the communications tower of Lhasa is. There are no signs to show you the way there, or tourists. I found it by chance.

Sera temple, in the north-west, is where everyday at 15:00 h all monks meet in the park and test out their knowledge with questions at full blast and their characteristic clapping. This is how they keep their knowledge and culture up-to-date. Tourists can take pictures, but I recommend you to record a video, as it’s something really peculiar, you can see the humanity and kindness of these people.

In this stage of the trip I’ve lived several very special moments. One of them was in the Sera temple. I walked into one of the big meditation rooms and the monks invited me to join them and drink tea, while watching my tourist look, amused. I was sitting under a big gong with them, in a place that I had seen before in documentaries. The second one was while I was sitting people-watching and taking pictures of those praying in the walls of the Jokhang temple. I saw an old lady coming towards me, very, very slowly, one of my footsteps was like ten of hers. We looked at each other, she sat next to me, held my hand and started praying. She was there with me for half an hour, and I only watched her smiling face, feeling how she touched my hand. I have to admit that this encounter touched me, and I thought: stage accomplished.

Another great moment was, without a doubt, when I could admire the Himalayas and see the most starry night of my life, in the foothills of the Everest, although at minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 15 degrees inside the room).

In short, Tibet is a really poor and abandoned region. People live like they did decades before. In small towns, they have donkeys instead of cars, and they warm the water for the tea with solar panels. However, they’re very nice, they look at you and smile, and those who have less are who give more. Kids are happy, but their situation is very sad, they only can say “Hello” and “Money”.

Details and tips to travel in Tibet

If you have a big budget, travelling to Tibet is very easy; contract the trip in your hometown with all the permits and spend a lot of money. However, I recommend you to take this trip very easy. You can pay the same and first visit China, with a low cost flight, and during one month you can slowly approach this region. The easiest route, and the most popular one, is from Beijing to Chengdu and then Lhasa. You travel in new pressurized trains (as planes are), because they go through very elevated areas. Lhasa is at a height of 3.595 m.

Be careful with height, if you’re not used to high mountain, the experience can be really unpleasant: altitude sickness, the sensation of asphyxia and anxiety are possible, especially when you get closer to the higher mountains. Take medicines with you. Dizziness, vomit and diarrhoeas can be your travel companions during this stage.

September (21º to 7º) and October (17º to 1º) can be good months to visit the region. Temperatures are bearable, but it’s cold at night and it can snow. In Lhasa you can buy technical winter clothes at very good prices, but you have to ask for a discount, usually up to a 50%. The clothes are fake, but they work and look OK. Temperatures in November range from 13º to -5º.

March (12º to -2º) is a conflictive month to visit the region, as they celebrate the anniversary of the revolution of the Tibetan and the exile of the Dalai Lama in 1959, so it may be difficult to obtain the permits and move around the area. From May (19º to 5º) until June (24º to 9º), take into account that the weather is “windy”. In August (26º to 10º) there are too many tourists.

Permits to enter Tibet
Getting your permits can vary according to the political situation in China. As a rule, you need a permit to get to Lhasa (if you travel by train, no one asks you for it!), it costs 800-500 Yuan (80-50 Eur). I recommend you to get the permit in Beijing, it’s probably cheaper there. More tips: I lived the experience of having to get a driver to go from the airport of Lhasa to the city, because Mr. Bush had just given a medal to the Tibetan people. The next day the Chinese Government imposed this new rule for tourists. So, because of the medal, I could not get a normal bus, ten times cheaper.

If you travel to Tibet by plane, especially from China, you need the permit, there are controls and you’re asked to show the permit three times. If you don’t have it, you don’t get into the plane.
To move around the country you need another permit, the price varies according to the route you want to do. Take into account that you can’t visit Tibet by yourself. You can try, some people do it, but bus drivers won’t sell you tickets, as they can be punished for it. You always have to travel accompanied by a driver and a guide. If you don’t follow these rules, you run the risk of being stopped by a police control and be sent back to Lhasa. There are several travel agencies. I recommend Snowland, in the Hotel Snowland in Lhasa (first floor). They’re Tibetan, nice people, but you have to make clear that you want to stop as many times as you want and make the route without hurries. They’re not very respectful with the decisions of the customers once they’re on the road. The prices are OK, and the vehicles in good condition. However, you have to reprehend the driver if you see he’s going to fast when getting close to the cliffs…
Contracting the service from Lhasa to the frontier with Nepal will cost you 5.500 Yuan (550 Eur), permit included. You can share the cost with 4 people. If you can’t find a travel companion, publish a post in the Lonely Planet forum, and you’ll find people very easily (http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com). It takes 5/6 days to complete the route, and the strong point is the visit to the base camp of the Everest and crossing the Himalayas, something you’ll probably do only once in a lifetime.
In Lhasa you can sleep in the Banak Sholl Hotel, in Beijing Road (good atmosphere, excellent food and beds at around 4 Eur). You have to try the restaurant Tashi, run by a Tibetan family; they serve local specialities at good prices.

The route Lhasa / Nepal
1st day, from Lhasa to Lake Yamdrok-Tso - Gyantse (7 hours)
2nd day, Gyantse - Shigatse (3 hours)
3rd day, Shigatse - Shegar (6 hours)
4th day, Shegar - Rongbug – base camp of the Everest (4 hours) (access to the base camp costs around 250 Yuan (25 Eur)
5th day, Rongbug - Tingri (5 hours)
6th day, Tingri - Hangu (7 hours)
The Nepal border opens at around 9 in the morning, and the road is a total chaos.

Sleeping in these cities costs around 40 Yuan (4 Eur/night). The toilets are usually a simple hole in the ground, and few of them have hot water. In big cities you can find more comfortable hotels, just talk about it with your guide.

More things: you can get the visa to Nepal in the consulate in Lhasa (Norbulikngka Road 13). The visas are issued on working days from 10 to 12. It’s advisable to be there at 09:30 to queue. You need a picture and also have to fill in a form; if you don’t have pictures, there’s a small stall a few meters from the consulate where a guy will take you 4 pictures for 15 Yuan (1,5 Eur) and give you a toothless smile for free. The visas are delivered the next day, from 16:00 h. Price: around 250 Yuan (25 Eur for 60 days). Once in Nepal you can extend your visa very easily. You can also get the visa at the border, but I recommend you to get it beforehand to avoid waiting.

The currency in Tibet is the same they have in China, the RMB (Yuan); 10 Yuan: 1 Euro.

Best regards to all the friends we’ve found along the way, Frank and Vanessa from Holland (temple), Sabi from NY and James from California. A very special hug to Martina, from the UK, and the rest of the group who travelled with us to Nepal, Peder from Sweden, Dan from Australia, Shlomi from Israel, Tanja from Germany, Mike from the UK and Lotte from Holland.

Regards to Patrick and Sergio (Barcelona and Valencia). Patrick is travelling around the globe in his mountain bike, quite a thing… His blog: www.imagineonbike.com.

Regards also for Sarah and Bob, the just married that are on “holidays” for long time, you can meet them in justgiving.com/sarahandbobindia

And that’s all for Tibet, now I’m in Kathmandu (Nepal), where I’ll spend few weeks. By mid-month I’ll start a two-month route in India.

As always, in the Albums section you can find a summary of my “work”, with my pictures. It’s an interesting album, and I hope that it makes you understand a little bit more this remote country.

You can see the album of Tibet here

Tashi Delek

Writing about a great country like China using only a few lines is impossible. However, I think a good way of sharing this new stage is giving a few details about its people, because they’re without a doubt the best I’ve seen there.

They may have peculiar habits that we “westerners” consider shocking, amusing, and even disgusting. Things like sitting squatting anywhere, being totally unrespectful at queuing, going for a walk at seven in the evening in pajamas, wearing t-shirts rolled over the belly to stand the heat, and how noisy they are at eating (well, of course they are- noodles are hot and spicy!) I would also stress that few of them know what wastepaper bins are for, and finally, of course, their spectacular spits… When we first got there, every time we heard one of them behind us we thought the spit would land straight on us, but luckily we discovered that they are sharpshooters.

Apart from all these “curiosities”, I must say that during these two months of walking through the popular and recondite places of Chinese cities and villages, I have only received true smiles and bows when I encountered someone. It’s like a ritual and respectful greeting. They’re very nice people, sincerely admirable.

China is a country of great contrasts, especially in big cities. You can walk along a spectacular and pristine avenue, with 10 people sweeping the street in front of the big shops, and suddenly turn into a bystreet and find yourself into an underworld where live all those who will never buy anything in the designer shops. These people eat in the streets and hang their clothes over your head while you look, astonished, at how they keep smiling even though their lives are hard and miserable compared to ours.

I’ve seen three completely different Chinas: modern China, underground China, and rural China.

Modern China, with its impressive infrastructures, is all about new spectacular buildings. I have to highlight the capital, Beijing, a city which lives with an eye to the next Olympic Games. These Olympics may deserve a critical reflection. Sometimes I wonder what price are paying all those who have come to work long hours to get the city ready for the Olympics, especially when you manage to have a look at one of the construction sites and see, in the distance, where the thousands of men who have moved to the city for the event live badly.

Notwithstanding my ignorance, I think it’s rather illogical that the Olympics take place in this country, a country which has improved a lot, it has become more modern, it has open to the world, but where there is still censure and where some human rights are not observed. I don’t want to write anymore about it… These opinions belong to the experts; I’m only a traveler who shares a few lines and pictures with friends and family to let them know I’m ok. Anyway, China seems to be improving its negative issues, and I’m sure the next Olympics will be a great event and a great progress for the country, just like they were for my country in Barcelona 92.

“Underground” China is what you find when you enter a bystreet. It’s amazing, streets and corners with good people everywhere, the most fascinating side of the travel. Here you won’t find the workmen planting thousands of flowers or sweeping the sidewalks. Here people are sitting in the streets, making a living selling cheap imitations and excellent food. We ate there everyday for only 1 Euro.

If you visit the country, don’t hesitate to buy food from the street stalls, you run the same risk of indigestion if you eat in a standard restaurant. If you are the sybarite type, you are in luck- a great feast in a good restaurant is only 20-30 Euro.

Rural China, although I haven’t seen much of it, is unique. Fascinating landscapes, difficult to describe with words. I felt I had already been there; those landscapes were familiar to me… Then I realized it was because all Chinese restaurants in Spain have pictures of these landscapes hanging on the wall. So, you see, these are real landscapes, and you have to discover them without hurries, riding a bike and feeling how you face changes into a smile of satisfaction (at least that was the feeling I had). It’s like a fairy tale, and your mind can’t stop working to soak up every detail.

China is the perfect place to mix with the locals, so the best way of moving around is by bike. Big cities have bike lanes, and in small cities you only have to follow the herd. You have to know the traffic rules, though: first goes the truck, then the bus, the motorbike and finally the bicycle. Pedestrians get the worst of it; they have to get literally around the traffic. Be very careful, they don’t brake… The first day, my mate Gadea collided with a motorbike, as their driving consists of approaching one to another until one of the drivers brakes. Of course, they sound the horn to let you know they’re coming closer. In Spain, if a driver sounds the horn, the thing usually ends up with several drivers calling each other names…

Tips:

You can move around most of China by train, although local flights are very cheap (around 50-150 Euro). Chinese trains are good, and those connecting cities like Beijing and Shanghai are modern and very fast. If you visit the country, you may like to know that there are three classes of tickets. The “seat” is only a seat, inadvisable for long trips (more than 15 hours or night trips). They’re very cheap, though (we paid 6 Euro for a 16 hour trip). Second class is called “hard sleep”, and consists of compartments without door, with 6 rather hard beds. It’s not a bad option, and you can meet people. If someone in the coach speaks English, you will have them there in 10 minutes to talk to you. Finally, you have “soft sleep”, 4-bedded private compartments (20 hour trip: 40 Euro).
In big cities you may find someone who speaks English.

In small towns, forget about it.

It is also advisable to bring along a map in Chinese if you have to buy train tickets. Take into account that Chinese cities have very similar names, and you may not know how to pronounce them properly. However, the best option to get your tickets is to have the people of the place where you slept the last night to write down the name of your next destination in Chinese, so that you only have to show the piece of paper when buying your ticket. Attention: the first week of October is a national holiday, and moving around is not easy.

The route:

From the capital of Mongolia, we started our Chinese route in Beijing (I recommend the Leo Hostel). From there, we took several trains to Shanghai, Xi’an and, finally, Yichang, where we took a ship for 4 days to cross the three defiles of the Yangtze river to Chongking (the cruise was in a totally Chinese ship, we paid only 70 Euro, and we were the only ones with round eyes, an excellent experience! There are also great tourist cruises, but for 300 Euro…).

From Chongking we headed to Guilin by train, and then took another ship for 5 hours to Yangshuo (spectacular journey). It’s advisable to travel in popular ships: 25 Euro, meal included. You can spend a few days in Yangshuo, but I recommend The Guiggling Tree Guest House (www.gigglingtree.com). It’s a farmhouse which has been refurbished by a Dutch couple. It’s lost in a nice spot, surrounded by rounded mountains and only at 5 km from the city centre, perfect for moving around by bike. After enjoying nature in Yangshuo, we took a bus to Guilin (15 Euro), a train to Kunming (interesting city, I recommend The Hump Hostel, www.thehumphostel.com, bed from 2.5 Euro, good location, excellent atmosphere). From Kunming we took a train to Dali (old Dali, very recommendable), and yet another train to Lijiang, and then we headed North by bus, until Chengdu, where you can get the train to Lhasa, capital of Tibet. Before that, you have to stop in Lijiang and Shangri-La, with fascinating places, although they can’t be reached by train. I don’t know if we will enter Tibet via Chengdu or by bus through the Tibetan Mountains, as the weather has worsened, it’s been raining for one week… Anyway, I’ll let you know next time…

During those two months we have met and shared lots of new friends, especially Jason (who was with us in Russia), Daphne (Ciao!), Team Australia, the three computer programmers from Madrid, Cesar from Sant Cugat and Tim, who were with us in Yangshuo, Lidia, Alba la galleguiña, the two crazy girls who are crossing China by bike… Anita and her friend (I’m sorry, I couldn’t say bye!), Michelle, our Hawaiian friend, Gabriel, Silvia and Ana from Madrid and many more… A big hug to all of them! I’m sorry if I forget someone, I’m very bad at names.

And finally…
The currency is the Yuan, easy for European and US travelers:
10 Yuan = 1 Euro.
As in any other country, keep an eye on your wallet in tourist and crowded places.

Photography:

I have created three albums about China (Urban, Underground and Natural). You can find them in the Portfolio Albums section. Choose the album you’re interested in, click Play and take it easy. I hope you like it and that you can learn a bit more about this great country.

Don’t hesitate to write any questions in the comments section.

And that’s all for China… So, if you want to know more about our trip, in a few weeks I’ll bring to your screens the Tibet region… Don’t worry, I don’t think I shave my head and change my camera for eternity in a lost temple- I like my backpack and the only jeans I have with me.

I am starting to lose count of the days, trains and borders I have crossed, but I think I’ll never forget when I crossed the border between Russia and Mongolia…

We arrived by train at the Russian border, and there we had to wait for 7 hours aboard the train to get out of the country. We had been warned about it, and it appears even in travel guides, so you have to take it very easy… It’s in those moments when I remember with a smile how stressed I used to get everyday when I drove to my office in Barcelona. Being stuck in traffic for 30 minutes used to drive me nuts, and now I’m going to be stuck for 7 hours…

After having our bags and passports checked, the train sets off, and from there I can see beautiful landscapes that tell me I’m entering a new world: Mongolia, one of the more desired stages of the trip.

When we got to the Mongolian border, we had a little mishap. When the border agents were about to check my passport, I looked at it and saw, stunned, that the entry date the travel agency had put on my visa was wrong. According to it, I could only enter the country 4 days later… What I fool I was not to check my visa… I looked at my friend Gadea and told him: “We’re fucked, mate…” The lady in uniform took my passport and I was praying for her not to notice, but, suddenly, she stared at my visa, looked me in the eye (I was acting dumb) and in Mongolian told me something like “What are you doing here, you silly thing?” She left and returned with a very unfriendly looking guy, and told us: “Get your luggage. In 5 hours there’s a train back to Russia.” Whew… I was seeing myself going back to Russia and, once there, back to Mongolia because we had no visa, and bouncing for 4 days from border to border.

So we took our bags. The people we met at the train were looking at us with sorrow through the windows while making support gestures. We were kept waiting for 3 hours, without knowing what they would do with us. Suddenly, our friend Cristian spoke to a Dutchwoman who seemingly worked at the consulate and she was our mediator. Luckily we paid 20 Euro per head and got aboard the train. The sad faces of our friends became all laughter and welcome greetings, so we finally managed to get to our destination.

Honestly, I think they only wanted to frighten us, because they simply changed the date in pencil and let us go… However, I don’t think the money went to public funds… Anyway, million thanks to the person who helped us. If you read this, I’m sorry but I lost your e-mail. If you ever visit my country, don’t hesitate to contact me, it will be your home.

We arrived at the capital city of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. Road traffic is total chaos there, and it’s also a highly polluted city, so we quickly left for the great valleys and wild grasslands.

There are several well-known routes in the country. The most popular is the southern route, where you can visit the Gobi desert. We decided to take the western route. It takes 8 days to make this route, you rent an all-terrain vehicle with a driver, and you’re ready to enjoy the country.

There are several agencies which offer these tours. The most popular and with best infrastructures is Nomads, located at Peace Av. You can also find Golden Gobi, which includes a guide who speaks English and cooks for you. We decided to make the tour with UB Guest House. I strongly recommend this option if you want to live the real thing and be a nomad for a few days.

In this route you visit Kharkhorum, the great valleys, the Great White Lake and several nomad settlements.

Our driver, Beijing, a 37-year-old father-of-three, was quite a character. He spoke no English at all but we understood each other by gestures. The most common gesture was the one for eating, and also the one for “Beijing, when will we get there?” He always said: “In two hours”, while laughing his socks off. Two hours later, you asked him again and he gestured “One hour and a half!”, and started laughing again…

If you are going to Mongolia, forget about roads, there aren’t any. It’s all wild grasslands where you bounce up and down the all-terrain vehicle for hours. We drove along never-ending roads for 5 to 8 hours. It was always the same: we went up to a large grassland and, from there, you could see an endless valley with another mountain at the end. Then you would go up that mountain, and again another endless valley… You’re surrounded by breathtaking landscapes and all kinds of livestock at every moment. From time to time you see a man riding on a horse and, if you’re lucky, another car.

You sleep, live and eat with nomads, wonderful people, and here’s where you see we consumerist westerns are crazy. These people live happily in their gers (tents) where obviously there is no running water or electricity and, of course, no TV with ads to make you buy as much as possible… The center of their lives is the fire in the ger, which keeps the house warm and is also the kitchen. I don’t even want to think what their lives are like in the cold season, with temperatures under minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Food is very basic. We spent eight days on soup, which tasted strongly of livestock, and on a milk tea. I didn’t like it, but it was all I had. I know here I won’t find the “tapas” they serve at the restaurant Genil in Vilanova, my home town… The most similar thing to a restaurant I could find was a house where there was a girl with a piece of meat on the table, surrounded by flies; you can see the picture in the album to have an idea.

When you have to go to the toilet… well, you just have to act like the livestock, and do it “al fresco”. They have small wooden cottages with a hole in the ground for those embarrassed about squatting in the open air… I personally prefer acting like the livestock.

And when it comes to showers, it’s pretty easy, they just don’t have them. You’re lucky if you have a mirror and a washbasin, so there was only one option: a visit to the chilly river. You could also find “modern” places where they had a water barrel on the ceiling with a log fire. That was a 5 star luxury: hot water!

During those days I caught a sort of flu or a virus. I think I got it from Beijing, he was always coughing, so I ended up like a Mongolian, coughing and so on…

We visited Mongolia with Cristian (the guy from Milan) and Eric (the German guy who had his wallet stolen in Russia); a few days later Jason came along with two Catalans, Albert and Miquel, two great people who are traveling around the world with an open plane ticket. We had a great time with them in our ger during several full moon nights next to the fire.

During these months (it’s nearly 3 months we’re on the road, already) I’ve met amazing people, which is without a doubt one of the best experiences of this trip. One of the most interesting people I’ve met is Cristian, the Italian from Milan.

Cristian, photography lover, travels with his old Nikon F from the 80s, a camera he bought at a second-hand market. He’s an admirable person, he’s 25 years old and recently got his degree in Biomechanical Engineering. Now he’s traveling alone for a month and a half. Then he will go back to Milan to work in a book shop for 3 or 4 weeks, and then will start looking for a job. I think that in less than one year, Cristian will send us an e-mail telling he’s coming back with us…

Ah! While we were at the hostel in Ulaanbaatar, I overheard a couple speaking English with a Catalan accent, so I greeted them with an “adéu” (”bye” in Catalan). They stared at me and asked where I was from, so I answered… from Vilanova! They looked astonished and said: “We’re also from Vilanova!” It’s a small world we live in… Best regards to them, we’ll have breakfast together in the sunny Plaça de la Vila when I get back home.

And that’s all for Mongolia. Again another train, I think we have traveled more than 15.000 km. Now we’re going to China, where I want to stay about two months, so it will take a little while until I write my next article. It’s time to have a rest.

Visit the album

See you soon.

Here is where the real experience begins. Crossing Russia along the Trans-Siberian route from Saint Petersburg, and then getting to Beijing along the Trans-Mongolian route.

Until we set foot in Saint Petersburg it was crazy. We were always on a hurry because our visa to Russia had a lot of restrictions. Crossing 8 countries in one month and a half was hectic. From that moment on, I have time to do what I want, spend several days, without hurries, to know and take pictures to all those places, without packing and unpacking every two days.

I want to tell you briefly about a personal experience shared with many other travelers we found along the way. It is a bit critical, but real, so that it can be useful to those who want to know this great country.

I think that there are two completely different ways of traveling to Russia. You have organized trips and the “do it yourself” approach. We chose the latter; we had no tickets or bookings at all…

If you want to visit Russia trouble-free and have everything under control, go on an organized trip. If you’re not used to traveling by yourself, you will go crazy and may end up loathing this country.

If you’re adventurous and don’t want to travel in group, get ready because Russia has all the elements to turn your travel into an odyssey…

As a rule, don’t expect any help at all from Russians, especially those who work at the train ticket booths. It’s pathetic how difficult getting a train ticket in Russia is. There are no points of sale for tourists, nobody speaks English and they do no effort at all to help you. When they see you take out your map, they simply look down and ignore you. They even shout at you while the person queuing behind you tries to move you off. They’re very disrespectful at queuing. We had to take it easy, there was no other way…

How can I buy a ticket at a Russian train station in a relatively easy way?

You can go to a travel agency. I recommend Sidbad, in Saint Petersburg, 2nd Sovetskaya ul., 12-17, ask for Maria! She’s great, speaks perfect English and will help you in everything you need. Another option is looking for a young native who speaks English and tell them what you need and ask them to help you buy the tickets. I think this is the best way to move around if you want to experience some “adventure”. Obviously you can find wonderful people everywhere. Here I have to give many thanks to Maria, from Sidbad, and especially to Daria and Snezhana for all their help in Saint Petersburg. In August there are few tickets to cross the country, so you have to adapt yourself to what’s available. When it’s your turn to buy the tickets, it can take like half an hour. Check all the details of your ticket, I know a guy who was sent to the other end of the country…

The Trans-Siberian

The Trans-Siberian is, without doubt, the most legendary train of all times. It is a railway connection between Saint Petersburg and Vladivostok, approximately 10.000 km. So that you can get an idea of how long that is, I can tell you that the train crosses 10 different time zones. Attention! Trains in Russia move according to the Moscow time zone! We crossed Russia via Saint Petersburg - Moscow - Irkursk (Trans-Siberian rail track), and then got the Trans-Mongolian rail track.

There are several trains, actually, the Trans-Siberian train doesn’t exist. Its real name is Rossiya, and the authentic one, if I’m not mistaken, is the Red Star. Traveling aboard that train can cost you up to 3.000 Euro. At every stop, the train is welcomed with the Russian national anthem at full blast. The good thing about the train is that they hold you by the hand and the train waits for you at every stop.

Given our limited budget… we chose the traditional trains. We paid 500 Euro (Saint Petersburg-Moscow 1st class, Moscow-Irkursk 2nd class, Irkursk-Ulaanbaatar, 2nd class). In those trains you can find the most peculiar people, and also the great problem… vodka. Everything was more or less ok, good feeling on the trains, until one morning we had a sudden wake up call. The door of our compartment opened and in came this guy with gold teeth who shouted something like a welcome cry (aaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggghhhh!!!!!), and started to laugh while offering us his bottle of vodka for breakfast. Pulling our blankets up to our necks, we stared at him, and after several minutes of body language and “guttural gesticulations”, I made him understand that, when it comes to breakfast, I very much prefer coffee and toast to vodka. Then appeared his friend, a 2 meter tall former wrestling fighter… No comment… They were nice people, but they followed you at all times along the coach. A quiet coach where you could stroll along and see a kid with a scooter turned into a deserted place, where everybody was locked up in their compartments, terrified, and waiting for the two guys to collapse in their beds. We affectionately called them “the anthropophagites”.

As a whole, I’ve liked Russia. Cities are monumental, and if you leave aside the alcoholism issue and the few help tourists receive, the general impression is good, especially in Irkursk and the Lake Baikal.

Irkursk and the Lake Baikal

The city of Irkursk is in the east of the country. It’s an amazing industrial city to take pictures. There are several wooden houses, many of them in ruins, but even so, a fascinating place, although it’s unadvisable to go out at night there. From Irkursk we got a boat to the Lake Baikal, where we wanted to relax for a few days. It’s one of the largest lakes in the world (600 km long) and the deepest, with 1.700 m. It has one fifth of the drinking water of the whole Earth. It is also the oldest lake of the planet, about 25-30 million years old. With Jordi and the friends of the route we were always joking, like: “If someone is teasing you when you get home, you look them straight in the eye and ask them: Have you ever swum in the Baikal? I have…” It’s amazing, people are not so “serious-minded” as in the rest of Russia. I would love to know this area in winter. When temperatures plummet to minus 40 degrees Celsius, the white landscapes must be breathtaking.

People

In this stage of the trip we met many people and shared good moments with them. Among them, the group of Sicilians: the two Andrea, Alexandro and Sangmin, from Korea. In Moscow we found two Spaniards, Cristina and Ixchel, who were traveling with Margaret, Ana and Katharina. We had a great time with Cristian, Veronica and Matteo from Milan, and also with Jason, an Irishman who was quite a character. To him, everything was “excellent”. We also met Ano, from Finland, good friends from China in the Irkursk Port and Eric, a German who showed up at the Irkursk train station the last day, just after he had had his wallet stolen, together with all the money and credit cards.

So…

Another train is leaving. We’re heading to Mongolia. Christian and Eric are traveling with us, and Jason is departing in a couple of days. Mongolia is one of the stages of the trip I’m really looking forward to. I want to get lost for a few days in the nomad settlements and take real pictures.

Until now I have seen too many cars, trains and smoke. Now is the time to enjoy this craziness…

Here you can visit the album

And still going on!

At a swift pace, following our route towards Russia, we have crossed 3 new countries, which I lump together in these lines, as they have all made a very similar impression on me.

After leaving Elk, in Poland, we caught a train towards Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. In Vilnius we had to go by bus to Riga, the capital of Latvia. From there, we caught another train to Tallinn, capital of Estonia, bordering the EEC and, personally, the most interesting one of them.

We have spent 6 days moving from here to there, it has been crazy! The reason why we’ve haven’t stopped is that our visa for Russia is only for one month, and we want to be there the first day, as we’re not very sure if we will be able to find tickets for the trans-Siberian. I hope we are lucky, now it’s the holiday season and I read on the travel guides that the trains are packed…

I can say that these three capital cities have left a very good impression on me. You can get to know them a little bit more thanks to the pictures in the portfolio. I thought that the “Eastern countries” and their capital cities would be grey and poorer, and not a very nice place to visit as a tourist. But I found that the three capitals and probably the other cities are safe and ready to receive tourists.

I think that the most interesting thing is that these cities have two sides. The first one is a zone strictly for tourists, and like in a fairy tale, everything is pristine, you can sense welfare, money, and a lot of places to spend it at the same prices as in any European capital. The second one, nearly always separated by a river or a train station, is the real city, the city where the majority of people live. As you have seen in my previous pictures, I like to visit hidden corners and “abandoned” places whenever I can. I really like markets, where you get to know everyday life. It is a great experience, you see lots of things and people are usually very nice.

In those places you find people selling what they grow or produce with their own hands. You can find large stands with a good assortment of produce, but also the typical old lady selling potatoes, honey or garlic gloves. She’s been standing there since 6 in the morning, next to a 1 x 1 table and three jars. If she manages to sell everything she will get 5 or 10 Euro at the most. You can also find another lady selling an old doll, clothes-pins and handkerchiefs she herself crafts at night, after feeding a whole family. These are good people, working people who will go to the market as long as they can, until they depart this life.

You see, that’s how things are over there… Right now I’m on the train, it’s getting dark. My mate, Gadea, is asleep, and I’m writing these lines while listening to “Lágrimas Negras” by Bebo Valdés y el Cigala…

Alcohol addiction is a sad issue in the Eastern countries. It is rather spread, and you can find many people drunk on the street, at all times. They’re not dangerous people, they only ask you for a few coins, if they can keep their balance while talking to you. It’s hard to see this situation, but it’s real. You can see it in some of my pictures. It’s not a matter of morbid curiosity. I only want to show the reality and criticize it from this website.

By the way, in those streets, quarters and markets, eating like a king will cost you only 2 o 3 Euro, instead of the 12-15 Euro they will charge you in the places for tourists. I personally prefer 1 Euro courses to the more expensive ones, although sometimes they rip us off. Maybe they notice we are tourists?

That’s all for now. When you read this text we will be in Russia, looking for the famous salad.

Thanks for following our adventures, I hope I am offering you interesting and useful moments to have a break from your daily life.

Uhmm… sounds great… Bobby Womack is singing “He’ll be there when the sun goes down”… so, I’m going to sleep.

You can see the pictures in the Albums sections

See you in the next lines, and regards to all the new friends we’ve made on the road!

From Budapest to Rumania, getting into Ucrania and, finally, PolandAfter staying in Budapest, we caught the train to inner Rumania (specifically to Transylvania) with our friend Chris. After an interesting trip in the train, we arrived at Sibiu, a small inland city which has been designated European Capital of Culture. Sibiu is an interesting small place, where we spent 3 days before heading to a more rural area, a town called Sangeorz Bai, where we stayed 3 days in a hostel where we felt at home.

The next stage was towards the border with Ukraine. We stayed 2 days in Baia Mare and then arrived at Sighetu Marmatiei, a small town.

We enjoyed Rumania, but we had to be wary, as there you have to face a problem which, unfortunately, you also find in Spain: pilfering by kids and also by some grown-ups. This is a problem which affects the image of these places. In my own country, this situation has been taking place for a long time, and for the moment those who are responsible for solving it can’t find a solution.

After spending the night in Sighetu, we crossed the border with Ukraine by foot where we found a real change. We can summarize our experience in Ukraine as “a bad beginning with a good end”.

It was a bad beginning because at the border, the officers have a quite arrogant attitude towards tourists. Although we looked like travelers, they inspected our bags, and they don’t mind if you don’t speak their language. They look you in the eye, with their chevrons, and keep talking to you in their language, and you just don’t know how to react to this attitude.

When we crossed the border, we arrived at a small village, where fortunately we could catch a train to our destination, the city of L’Viv.

After waiting for 6 hours, we could get on the train. It looked great, as we were the only passengers aboard! We were very happy about how lucky we were, but when the train set off, we noticed the maximum speed was 30 km/h, so we realized the trip would last 16 hours.

In a couple of hours, the train became literally a sauna. In every station more and more people were getting on the train, until it became clear that we would not be able to sleep very comfortably that night… The train was inhabited by a lot of cockroaches, which would appear from walls, ground and ceiling every time the train stopped. At the beginning I was a bit worried about them running around us, but then I kind of got used to them and even found them cute little animals.

Suddenly everything changed: a lady shouting orders to all her family sat down next to us. She was Ukrainian but worked in Madrid, and they were all going to a wedding. Her name was Maria, and she told us we were in the worst train of the country, and, moreover, in third class. Then we realized how our trip would be during the following 8 hours…

Maria and her family took out some bread and luncheon meat and put it in the table, while the men did the same with some vodka. From that moment on (although being in a sauna), it was great fun… We could not sleep at all but we had a good time. Thanks, Maria!

At 6 in the morning we arrived in L’Viv. Although nearly nobody spoke English at all, we managed to get a taxi to the city center and find a cyber to look for a place to sleep. We were very lucky when we booked a hostel called The Kosmonaut! It was small hostel which had been recently opened by Eddy, an Australian who has decided to settle in these whereabouts.

The city of L’Viv is spectacular. I really liked it, that’s why I have a positive impression about Ukraine. As I told you, a bad beginning with a good end!

Something noteworthy about L’Viv is what you see walking along the street… I think the stiffness in my neck is not because of my heavy backpack. I think it’s because of all the 90 degrees rotations I had to do to scrutinize the unceasing procession of top models on the streets… It is something very difficult to explain, specially for a man after a long period of celibacy… I even thought there was a hidden camera recording the foolish expression on my face…

And yet another train…

We set off from L’Viv towards Poland, concretely towards Krakow.

Krakow and also Poland as a whole are fascinating. I had a very wrong opinion of this country. Maybe it was because in Spain, some people call “Polish”, in a dismissive manner, those who speak Catalan or feel Catalan (like I do). Therefore, I though it was because Polish are nasty people or can’t speak properly (in Catalonia we speak Catalan besides Spanish)… Never mind, Krakow is highly recommendable. If you find a low cost flight and have a chance to visit it during a weekend, do it! It will leave you a good lasting impression and you will probably change your opinion on this country and its people. The city, and specially the old quarter, are in a pristine condition, very well preserved and extremely safe. There are officers at all times to ensure tourists enjoy without worries the outdoor cafés and restaurants. In the city center it is mandatory to visit the Jewish quarter, which was a ghetto during the World War II. In the city you can also find several very good musicians playing in the streets.

The extermination camps

This was the first place where I wanted to take pictures from a long time ago. There was something which moved me to visit a place where the irrationality of the human being expressed itself without limits, while nobody could do anything to put an end to it for a long time.

I think that Auschwitz and Birkenau must be visited to feel slightly what happened there. The parents of the “new” teenagers, those who say “that sucks” when they are served a plate of veggies, instead of treating their kids to a PlayStation, the coolest jeans or the wretched cell phone, should take them to this museum to watch the video being shown there.

With the pictures of the album you can get an idea of it. There was one thing in particular which impressed me considerably. It was an experiment cell in which 4 people were locked up, standing up during several days, in the dark, in a space of less than one square meter. I can’t imagine the fight for survival, the self-control, the madness and the anxiety that where experimented in that room.

After Krakow, we headed to Warsaw, where we stayed two days. Afterwards, we followed our route to the North, from where I am now writing this text. We are in Elk, a city in the North of the country surrounded by lakes. It has been raining for two days. Next Friday we’ll leave for Lithuania.

We have already been en route for one month. Jordi says it’s a warm-up month. From now own the real travel starts… Soon we will try to buy the tickets for the trans-Siberian.

A big hug to Chris, who must already be in Chicago, to Harvin “the
dancer” from UK, to Angela and to all the friends from Sibiu. Thanks to all the people from the Sangeorz Bai hostel - Ixiana, Jomela, Luci, Gabriela, Garofita, Aurel, Tic and Julia. Thanks to Anita & Andrea for showing us Sighetu and the prison. To the staff from The Kosmonaut, Eddy and those who helped us to get the train tickets; Peter, Matthew, Rachael (who traveled with us to Krakow), and also to Marc. Regards to Pavel and his wife and son, the blond kid who spent the whole trip running up and down the train.