Petra

In Petra. The entry fee of 55 JD = 55€ jenseits von Gut und Böse (a beautiful German expression, totally absurd fits it more or less) but worth it. I had known about the place since watching Indiana Jones 3 and was mesmerised by its out-of-this-world beauty ever since. The town seems to be in the middle of nowhere, in fact the whole town of Wadi Musa with all its restaurants, hostels and fallafel places seems to have evolved only very recently, since tourists have discovered the place. Having been in Jordan for just about 24 hours I can't say much about it, the roads are good, the prices steep and the shishas better than any I had in Egypt.

The ruins of Petra spread over a massive area, we covered only about a third of it in one day. What I like about it is that while there is a main path to follow to all the key attractions, you can easily leave it and explore yourself.

Right at the entrance. Lazier people rent horses, donkeys or horse carriages to go around. Tough people like me walk everywhere and feel dead tired when coming home.Most things in Petra are carved in the walls of the valley. Great light and amazing shadows to play with if you've got a camera.
Down the Siq, a narrow gorge to the most well-known building of Petra ...
... the Treasury. In fact it is (like most ruins here) a tomb. The Nabataeans who lived here and built the buildings more than 2000 years ago were nomads and lived in tents and structures that did not survive the centuries since their downfall through the Romans. The structures left are burrial and sacrificial places.
Waiting for the tourists to come.
It's hard to describe how vast the area is. What you see here is just a small portion of what you can explore. Here I just followed up a dustry trek to take this picture of this valley. The little black holes you see in the distance are entrances to caves, made millenia ago.
The entrances in the left hand corner from the former picture, closer up.
And here inside a cave. Somehow the sandstone has formed these incredible patterns of red, white, beige and black. Probably the most fascinating thing about Petra is that it is sometimes hard to tell who made what you are looking at ...
... like here, looking out of a "window" in one of the caves. Was this originally a solid wall, broken down by labourers 2000 years ago, did the floods that must have flown through Jordan and create the gorge grind down the stone or is this simply the result of the ravages of time?
Some tombs are in extraordinarily good condition. Hanna - my travel buddy for this journey - bringing some life to these dead stones.
And me just chilling with the desert behind me.

Dahab, Egypt

It's my last day in Dahab before heading to Nuweiba and then by ferry to Jordan. Christmas here was great, Dahab is some kind of aspiring backpacker hangout, while there are many (young) people on a budget it is also one of the best windsurfing and diving places in the world I was told. But there is also a number of older tourists, often with children, some planning to stay for a week but ending up living there. Egyptian visa regulations don't seem to be too strict ... The town is arranged around a bay, with numerous cafes, bars and restaurants right on the sea, when it's windy it's full with windsurfers, otherwise you see scores of snorkles and the faint images of divers deep down in the sea. The Egyptians I've met here were incredibly friendly and welcoming, of course there is money to be made but it doesn't seem the main interest for many, who just want to have a good time. Understandable, it's one of the closest places to paradise I've seen. (Only to be beaten by the Andamans)

One bit of the shore, lined with restaurants. That's a stormy day, often it's much quieter.
Could be out of a catalogue I feel. One of the more upmarket restaurants right next to where I'm staying.
The view from my bamboo hut. The faint lights on the other side are in Saudi Arabia, which is just across the Red Sea. I like the tranquility of this picture, ocean and sky seem to blend into one!
While the town is not too busy at the moment people seem to speculate on more and more tourists coming. In the foreground you see some kind of play-castle for children, with soldiers overlooking the construction site for huge hotels in the background.
No comment needed ;-)
A bit further down the beach, just out of town. Apparently the coast was full with palm trees until a few years ago, now many have been uprooted and removed to make room for new hotels and beach cafes...

Demo against education cuts

Today I attended the national demonstration against education cuts. It was organised by the NUS and some other unions (teachers and others involved in education in some way or another) and was very well attended. The official number seems to be 50.000 - an incredible increase from the few that came to Downing Street some weeks ago (I think it was around 500 but I can't find the figures now).

From all around the country, students and others involved in education, came to London for today, the guardian has posted an map that shows this impressively:

(from the guardian)

The demo showed groups from different universities, students' unions and employees' unions. What I enjoyed was how many had made their own signs, some serious, others with an ironic twist. Some of my favourites of the latter category:

"What would Beethoven say? Nein!" - KCL, London Music Department

"Education Cuts Never Heal"

"Ancient Norse is not a luxury"

"A plague on both your houses" - Central School of Speech and Drama, London

"To the Winter Palace!"

"Maybe social sciences are a waste of time.
David Cameron: PPE, Oxford
Nick Clegg, Social Anthropology, Cambridge"

"Fuck this, I'm going to Hogwarts!"
(There were a few signs relating to Hogwarts. A debate has started between my friends about tuition fees at Hogwarts. There doesn't seem to be a watertight proof about it, anyone ideas, ideally with source?)

"I wish my boyfriend was as dirty as your policy"

"Over 9000"

(again borrowed from the guardian, I did not take my camera, carrying my own sign was enough)

In the media, the coverage is dominated by a few hundred demonstrants storming the Tory's (the ruling party) headquarters at 30 Millbank, setting protest signs on fire, eventually smashing a front window and occupying the lobby. The security personell there seems rather overwhelmed, look out for the female receptionist. The guardian's leading article online is announced as "Student protest errupts into violence" and entitled: "Student fees protests: 'This is just the beginning'". While the second part of the article focuses on the predominantly peaceful protest, the video, in my opinion, is overdramatic, in line with the heading. A much better piece for the mainstream media is by CNN, maybe because of it's American audience it explains the arguments better.

Now there is a big debate, at home, via text mesages, various videos to be found online and over facebook. The questions could be reduced to:

- What does smashing windows, occupying a government building, laying fire in the building's courtyard, throwing things from the building on the police and others mean, what is its impact?
- Does peaceful protest (i.e. marching with signs) have a smaller impact than violent protest (which could be defined in this case as burning signs, smashing windows and occupying the government party's headquarters, and of course everything after that...)?
- Will violent protest change politicians' and the media's response at all or does it rather harden the positions and thus make a solution more difficult in the long run?

Here a bit of a conversation I happened to be present at:

A: "Name me a violent political movement that has brought positive change."
B: "The Bolcheshevists ... initially"
A: "And then lead to ... what ... Stalin?"

C: "Going to a protest doesn't make you a protester, just as standing in a garrage doesn't make you a car."

X: "I went to a peaceful protest and it didn't work for me. I didn't see anything happening. [Speaking aboout the Anti Iraq War Demonstrations] So I thought I'd try something else."

I've been thinking about them a lot and think I still need time to form my opinion, especially to see how Cameron and Clagg, as well as the national (and probably international?) media representative react. But my gut feeling tells me that burning signs is contradictory to spreading a message and that the voices of 50.000 shouldn't be overpowered by few hundreds. But somehow I feel the frustration while I was not part of that crowd and probably wouldn't join them in the future.

What do you think? I'd be interested to hear from you, email prefered but if I got some interesting ideas I might use them later, anonymously of course.

The Most Beautiful Bank in the World

In these present days, where people question the very route of our societies: money, the key factor to determine social position, opportunities and potential hapiness, many have blamed banks (receiving billions of Dollars, Pounds, Euros or any other currency in order not to die a painful death, dragging with them whole economies, countries, cultures indeed) or even capitalism itself (= evil) I think it is just fair to ask the question if banks have to be soulless, technocratic, heartless institutions or if it wouldn't be possible to bring back blissfullness into banking, merryness into money, [any positive word starting with "i" anyone?] into investment. Maybe Josef Ackermann could to something about his and his institute's image by learning something from the Nepal Bank.

Simply beautiful, this branch in Pokhara, Nepal!

Bhaktapur

Two hours away from Kathmandu is the ancient city of Bhaktapur. It used to be the capital city of one of the three kingdoms in Kathmandu Valley: Bhaktapur, Patan and Kathmandu. Comfortably reached by bus it is a nice day trip to escape the hassle of tiger balm sellers, drug dealers and people trying to get you on the next guided (= expensive) 15 days trek to Everest Base Camp. While many of the old temples and houses in Bhaktapur got destroyed during earthquakes in the last centuries, much has been restaurated, making the place a feast for eyes and soul with its quiet, narrow lanes, weather worn statues and tiny shrines to be discovered as you roam around the city.
Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the old city's center. Not just a place for tourists, many locals hang out here - or do some acrobatics as this boy.
The main temple in town, apparently the largest in Nepal. The statues on the left and right are its guardians: warriors, elephants, griffin-like creatures and some multi-armed gods on the top. By coincidence I met a fellow student from my economics course there... Another friend told me that the "typical" Chinese pagodas actually originated in Nepal and were brought to China by traders via Tibet. Sounds strange at first, but makes perfect sense once one realises that the border to China/Tibet is just about 100 km away from the valley. I wonder how living in these places was like when there was still long-distance trade along the silk route, bringing together goods and cultures of the Middle East, South Asia and China.

While temples and their guardians are important parts of religious practice they seem to fulfill very common purposes, too. Here someone used them to try their clothes.

A boy flying his kite as a storm is closing in. Such motives can be found all around the town, temples next to houses, kids playing next to people offering prayers.

A side street in Bhaktapur, beautifully calm and quiet!
I can't make out whether this man was a beggar, selling just tiny quantities of rice or just chilling there - but I like his dress!
Same with this woman.
An elaborately decorated tap next to a temple. This motive of different animals eating each other is very common in South Asia, but this is an extraordinarily nice one, I find. Note the crocodile (or squirrel?) riding the elephant.

One of the many roadside shrines, in this case depicting Shiva (the woman I guess is his wife Parvati).

If you thought houses are beautifully decorated in Varanasi go to Bhaktapur!

Pokhara Impressions

After a week in bustling, energetic, dirty, rainy Varanasi we decided to follow the number of SOAS students currently in Nepal, meet old and new friends and discover something new. While revisiting places was never boring, because there is always so much more to see, it is a different thing to come somewhere new, approach places without any ideas or preconceptions, go out and discover. And Pokhara is definitely a places for discoveries. Set around the beautiful Phewa lake and lush mountains (sometimes the snow covered peaks of the Anapurna range can be seen from the city) it is quiter and cleaner than most places i've seen in India, at the same time the tourist industry seems to be more efficient, putting a lot of emphasis in decoration and atmosphere in restaurants and hotels. See for yourself.

Pokhara lakeside. 5 Minutes away from our Hotel. A dream!


A fisherman, taken on an evening scooter drive around the lake.

I know I know, but honestly, that's how it feels sometimes! And my traveling companion has proven to be very hug gable (tried in various other situations) Top!

Varanasi 2010

Hello everybody,

again another post, more pictures. Now from Varanasi (those who read earlier posts must have noticed how much I like the place) which is again very different, especially from the barren, tranquil mountains of Ladakh. This is my fourth time in the city and even though the old part of town isn't that big, there is still much to discover. To my own surprise I found architecture and especially the intricate decoration found on the outside of houses and temples most fascinating during my stay here, walking around and looking for these beautiful details also proved to be a good way to talk to people. Although my building-related Hindi vocab doesn't really exist, I managed to find out the history of many buildings, quite a few are around 200 years old and have been inhabited by the same families for several generations. "I was born in this house and I shall die here" said one old man to me. Not too long ago we lived like that in Europe, but to me the concept of spending your whole life in one place seems ... romantic ... removed ... far away.



Two of my favourite doors in town. I especially like the first one with the eagle, it might be Garud, Vishnu's vahan (many gods have an animal companion, the word literally means vehicle, although I'm not sure if they all ride on them...)

A close-up of Ganesh, guarding the door to another house. He is sitting on a mouse, his vahan. Quite nice, the elephan's servant a mouse!

Paintings on the corners between two houses. A maharaja riding an elephant on the right, the left picture shows Shiva, you recognize him through the cobra around his neck and the trident he's holding.

If there is anything like a "main god" in this area it is Shiva. Some people believe he made a puja on the banks of the Ganges 3500 years ago. Yesterday was a major festival for him, when thousands of pilgrims carried pots with Ganges water around the town to pour them on shrines and temples of the god.

The roof of a temple.

The ghats by night. Now, during monsoon water levels are much higher than I've ever seen them, this temple seems to be sinking away slowly...

Tristan enjoying the evening breeze and deep in thought.

Manali to Leh

After heat and dust in Delhi and beautiful but rainy Manali we made our way up to Leh, in North-Western India, just four hundred something kilometers away from Kashmir, where I was last summer, but incredibly different. The way to Leh is an adventure itself, most people take a minibus or a jeep from Manali, if everything goes well the journey takes less than a day and gets you through spectacular mountain sceneries, first the green foothills around Manali, then, as you go up vegetation becomes scarce and eventually the roads lead through an eerie high altitude ice desert, frozen lakes, snow capped mountains, mud/snow slides partially blocking the way. This route is definitely out of this world, I could have never even imagined a place like Ladakh. At the same time it wasn't easy to get here. I got bad altitude sickness at night, when we stayed in tents to get a couple of hours sleep, all joints in my body were acheing, I couldnt sleep, breething hurt my lungs. Fortunately this stop over at roughly 4200 meters was followed by us going downhill, it is amazing how much difference 200 meters in altitude make!

Leh, the capital of Ladakh is yet another very different India. But that seems to be the standard reaction whenever you go somewhere new in this incredibly diverse country. Ladakh has a high Buddhist presence, you see gompas (temples) everywhere and prayer flags are not just put up for decorative purposes. Now, in summer, it's very pleasant, but temperatures drop to -30 degrees in winter. During these months the region is virtually cut off the rest of the world, hard to imagine now! Still, the conditions are extreme. At one point during the journey my right was facing the glaring sun sweating, while my left was in the shade with goosebumps. I wonder if the many workers who try to keep the road free from ice and landslides ever get used to this feeling... After sunrise, our driver had just woken us up and told us that a mudslide was blocking the road. We had to navigate our way around it to get to the bus that was waiting for us on the other side. The bit of road you see here could be considered "good" compared to other bits...
What looks like a nice little hike was actually pretty exhausting. While the constant stream of travellers had formed some kind of path the detour turned out to be more climbing than walking.

Within half an hour the hill was packed with people selling snacks to waiting travellers or offering their help (or rather their horses') to carry luggage up to road.On the road again! Tristan grinning painfully after we had boarded the bus. In the background one of the many stunning waterfalls, sometimes we had to drive through ankle-deep water!
Stunning view at about 3000 meters. Apart from the uncertainties about the road quality the journey was simply amazing. Our fellow Indian traveller didn't even bother to appreciate the view out of his window, after a while tiredness gets you and even the wildest scenery doesn't get you anymore.

"Next Filling Station 365 km ahead" You won't believe it but we saw people on bicycles on the very same road!

The promised prayer flags. If you look at the mountain in the background, you see that its much lighter, dustier than the ones earlier. The massive variety in - what felt like climate zones - was typical for the trip, a nice example is the next picture.Some village on the way, the mountains around this oasis are grey/brownish, but for some reason the settlement is surrounded by lush greenery! Who wouldn't want to live there (were it not for its remoteness?)Time for a chai (and a group hug!)

As we made our way up and down, up and down the mountains the landscape changed within hours. Here one of the long (and cold) bits we compared to Mordor, an extreme contrast between the black rocks and the white snow!

One of my favourite parts of the journey. A frozen lake, between 4000 and 5000 meters high. Here breathing was difficult, none of us spoke when we didn't have to. But the pains were worth it, just for moments like this!

The highest pass of the trip. 5680 meters if I remember correctly. The side of the road was full with little heaps of stones, Buddhists (or just the mountain people in this part of South Asia?) put them there after successfully crossing it.
The day after our arrival in Leh. After 14 hours of sleep I felt nearly normal, just a bit short of breadth but after a while we all got acclimatised and ventured on the first expedition, to a monastery on the mountain that dominates the old part of town.