11347 km Delhi part 2
Door: Erik en Tjeerd
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Erik en Tjeerd
07 December 2007 | India, Delhi
As you can all see we are still in Delhi...
It took some time to get things arranged, but in the end we managed to get it all done. We got a Chinese visa. Not one for three months as we would have liked, but only for one month. But it'll be enough since the month starts only as soon as we enter China. We plan to cycle from Hong Kong to the Vietnamese border and that must be doable for these two Dutchies. We have been looking all over Delhi for a plane ticket and were afraid it would not be possible to get something cheap. We got lucky on the last day and managed to block a ticket from Nepal air for about $ 350 each. So that's been arranged as well. We need to get to Nepal to activate the ticket, but we have time until 27th of December for that. Then after Christmas and New years we will fly to Hong Kong on 01.01.2008.
It was not all hard work though the last couple of days. As we mentioned in our last message we met up with Tjeerds parents and we have spend a couple of days with them. While waiting for the visa application we all decided to drive to Amritsar and Attari. Yes, yes Tjeerd and I thought it would be a little mean to expect Tjeerds parents to cycle there, so we hopped in a car for a change ;)
Amritsar is the center of the Sikh religion in Punjab. In Amritsar we headed of to see the famous golden temple. It was a hard and long drive to get there. we hoped to get there a little sooner then we did, but 460 km can easily take around 12 hours to driving here in India. Roadworks, potholes, crazy fellow road users and a very careful driver can account for that. Well the most important thing is that we did manage to get there in the end and I think it was well worth it. The Golden temple is a must see for anyone travelling to India.
We thought it was a more impressive site then the Taj Mahal we saw last week, but of course that should also not be missed on an India trip :) We shot some nice pictures and almost lost them to a bloke working in a local photo shop. While asking for a picture to be printed for our driver an employee accidentally erased Tjeerds 4 Gb Sd-card! Luckily the pictures have been recovered and are burned on a CD. The card however needs to be formatted, but the most important thing is that the pictures are saved...
In the afternoon we headed of to Attari, bordertown between India in Pakistan. Every day around sunrise and sunset a border ceremony is held here where Indian and Pakastani soldiers open and close the border. As you might know, India and Pakistan are great rivals and still have a major dispute around the Kasjmir province. That these sentiments are still firmly alive here in India is very clear whenever India plays Pakistan in a cricket match. Soccermatches between Germany and Holland are no comparison to this. It was a lot of fun to see the soldiers marching up and down the gates and the speakers encouraging people to shout India (or Pakistan at the other side of the border) as loudly as possible.
At the end of the day we headed back to sleep. Tjeerd parents stayed in a hotel, but Tjeerd and I decided to go for the "budget" option and sleep in the temple. It was not nearly as "Spartan"-like as we expected. We got a nice room for ourselves and in the morning we discovered we even had warm water to take a shower with.... well shower, we mean the usual "bucket over the head" of course, but it's nice to throw hot instead of cold water for a change :)
We left a nice donation at the temple for the services provided and the next day we were off for that very long drive again. It was a little quicker on the way back but still... Not easy to have to sit in a car for that long. In the evening we had one more meal with Tjeerds parents and then we had to say goodbye...
Tomorrow we are moving away again. After a full week of hardly any cycling we long for new adventures. Our next aim is the Nepalese border, then Pokhara and Kathmandu. We're not sure about the internet connections there, so the next update might take a while... As from now on we will unfortunatelly also not be reachable on mobiles any more. Tjeerd and I both lost ours so contact from now on can only be done by mail.
For now, take care all !
Erik and Tjeerd
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/erikopdefiets/18%20Dehli%20-%20Amritsar%20Golden%20Temple/
It took some time to get things arranged, but in the end we managed to get it all done. We got a Chinese visa. Not one for three months as we would have liked, but only for one month. But it'll be enough since the month starts only as soon as we enter China. We plan to cycle from Hong Kong to the Vietnamese border and that must be doable for these two Dutchies. We have been looking all over Delhi for a plane ticket and were afraid it would not be possible to get something cheap. We got lucky on the last day and managed to block a ticket from Nepal air for about $ 350 each. So that's been arranged as well. We need to get to Nepal to activate the ticket, but we have time until 27th of December for that. Then after Christmas and New years we will fly to Hong Kong on 01.01.2008.
It was not all hard work though the last couple of days. As we mentioned in our last message we met up with Tjeerds parents and we have spend a couple of days with them. While waiting for the visa application we all decided to drive to Amritsar and Attari. Yes, yes Tjeerd and I thought it would be a little mean to expect Tjeerds parents to cycle there, so we hopped in a car for a change ;)
Amritsar is the center of the Sikh religion in Punjab. In Amritsar we headed of to see the famous golden temple. It was a hard and long drive to get there. we hoped to get there a little sooner then we did, but 460 km can easily take around 12 hours to driving here in India. Roadworks, potholes, crazy fellow road users and a very careful driver can account for that. Well the most important thing is that we did manage to get there in the end and I think it was well worth it. The Golden temple is a must see for anyone travelling to India.
We thought it was a more impressive site then the Taj Mahal we saw last week, but of course that should also not be missed on an India trip :) We shot some nice pictures and almost lost them to a bloke working in a local photo shop. While asking for a picture to be printed for our driver an employee accidentally erased Tjeerds 4 Gb Sd-card! Luckily the pictures have been recovered and are burned on a CD. The card however needs to be formatted, but the most important thing is that the pictures are saved...
In the afternoon we headed of to Attari, bordertown between India in Pakistan. Every day around sunrise and sunset a border ceremony is held here where Indian and Pakastani soldiers open and close the border. As you might know, India and Pakistan are great rivals and still have a major dispute around the Kasjmir province. That these sentiments are still firmly alive here in India is very clear whenever India plays Pakistan in a cricket match. Soccermatches between Germany and Holland are no comparison to this. It was a lot of fun to see the soldiers marching up and down the gates and the speakers encouraging people to shout India (or Pakistan at the other side of the border) as loudly as possible.
At the end of the day we headed back to sleep. Tjeerd parents stayed in a hotel, but Tjeerd and I decided to go for the "budget" option and sleep in the temple. It was not nearly as "Spartan"-like as we expected. We got a nice room for ourselves and in the morning we discovered we even had warm water to take a shower with.... well shower, we mean the usual "bucket over the head" of course, but it's nice to throw hot instead of cold water for a change :)
We left a nice donation at the temple for the services provided and the next day we were off for that very long drive again. It was a little quicker on the way back but still... Not easy to have to sit in a car for that long. In the evening we had one more meal with Tjeerds parents and then we had to say goodbye...
Tomorrow we are moving away again. After a full week of hardly any cycling we long for new adventures. Our next aim is the Nepalese border, then Pokhara and Kathmandu. We're not sure about the internet connections there, so the next update might take a while... As from now on we will unfortunatelly also not be reachable on mobiles any more. Tjeerd and I both lost ours so contact from now on can only be done by mail.
For now, take care all !
Erik and Tjeerd
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/erikopdefiets/18%20Dehli%20-%20Amritsar%20Golden%20Temple/
-
07 December 2007 - 16:42
Maaike:
Ha erik,
Plannen jullie nog in China langs de sites te fietsen waar je met Chris bent geweest? -
08 December 2007 - 16:27
Gloria @ Gerard:
Hi, we are here in Jaipur! Had a bit of car problem, so we did not do any siteseeing yet. We were rescued by to London girls who towed us to the nearest garage and have just spoken to them in this hotel. It's a small world. Saw the Taj Mahal in Agra this morning. Indeed, very nice, but the Golden Temple is really in use and thus more impressive. Tomorrow to the palace/castle by car, some more sightseeing perhaps and then back to Delhi to fly to Holland Monday morning in time. -
08 December 2007 - 16:26
Gloria @ Gerard:
Hi, we are here in Jaipur! Had a bit of car problem, so we did not do any siteseeing yet. We were rescued by to London girls who towed us to the nearest garage and have just spoken to them in this hotel. It's a small world. Saw the Taj Mahal in Agra this morning. Indeed, very nice, but the Golden Temple is really in use and thus more impressive. Tomorrow to the palace/castle by car, some more sightseeing perhaps and then back to Delhi to fly to Holland Monday morning in time. -
09 December 2007 - 08:56
Christian:
Hi Erik, heb je nog tijd om Yangshuo te bekijken of ligt dat niet op de route? Zou wel gaaf zijn om dat per fiets nog eens te bekijken. Nihao -
09 December 2007 - 11:42
Erik:
Hi Maaike/Chris,
We hebben nog geen kaart van China kunnen kopen, maar als het enigszinds in de buurt van de route ligt gaan we er zeker even langs. Eerst maar eens Kathmandu halen ;) -
09 December 2007 - 15:52
Ning & Olger:
Hello Erik,
We have been quiet for a while, but we are following your adventure journal all the way.
So you are going to enter China by flight in 2008? Are you only going to Hongkong? How about the rest of China?
Yesterday I saw a TV programme about travelling in Vietnam. Two French guys showed up in this programme, they proudly told the story about traveling with bike all through Vietnam, but I thought, compare to you guys, that's not really a big thing, right?
Ok, a lot of good luck on the way. We are looking forward to reading your next update.
Cheers,
Ning & Olger -
13 December 2007 - 09:14
Pisti:
This is Pisti from Domsod, Hungary, you may still remember me. :)
You have covered a very long distance by now. Nice job.
Good Luck! -
17 December 2007 - 11:47
Houthuyse:
Mannen, ik wil jullie vanuit een koud Hoogvliet alvast hele fijne feestdagen wensen, kerst zal daar waarschijnlijk niet gevierd worden, maar toch. Tot het einde van het jaar is deze jongen vrij en als het meezit kunnen we as vrijdag schaatsen......de groeten en een goed uiteinde ! -
19 December 2007 - 21:44
Sabina:
Hallo fietsers in den vreemde!! Goed hoor, al zo ver. En nu dan naar Nepal. Heel mooi moet het daar zijn.
Veel succes en geniet maar. Hier in Nederland is het erg koud, 2 graden onder nul, maar we slaan ons daar doorheen, vergeleken met jullie ervaringen.
Groetjes van je familie (nicht van je vader)Sabina en familie. -
20 December 2007 - 08:20
Schuur:
Hé!
Lukt het een beetje, fietsen in de Himalaya's? Ik neem aan dat jullie al ettelijke kilometers geklommen hebben. Dat is weer een hele andere uitdaging dan de "heuveltjes", die je tot nu toe hebt gehad, of is het wel te doen?
Voor zover mogelijk in Nepal, alvast een fijne kerst toegewnst!!!!! -
25 December 2007 - 11:49
Michiel:
ATTARI? Is dat waar de spelcomputer is uitgevonden? -
25 December 2007 - 11:50
Michiel:
Geslapen in een tempel! Toch wel van de lokale nonnetjes afgebleven? -
25 December 2007 - 13:40
Maaike:
Fijne kerstdagen allebei en een knallend 2008! (nou ja niet de banden dan he) -
30 December 2007 - 21:34
Hans B.:
Beste Erik en Tjeerd,
Vanuit het verre Nederland wens ik jullie een hele speciale laatste oudejaarsdag in 2007 toe met een heel Gelukkig 2008 in het vooruitzicht. Dat jullie voor 2008 komen waar jullie willen zijn onder natuurlijk een gezegend gesternte!
In 2007 hebben jullie al geweldig veel bereikt en ongetwijfeld gaat nog veel meer goeds in 2008 komen! Succes en veel plezier.
Hans
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