Lanzarote

Vacation

Camel ride

Jameos del Aqua

Sculptures on a beach

Botanical garden

Bird show

Vineyards

Algae on volcanic rock

Borovnica – Bohinjska Bistrica 2005

Zemljevid poti / Map of my route

V našem lokalnem časopisu je bil članek o tem, kako so člani Planinskega društva Vrhnika šli na Triglav. Pa kaj potem, sem pomislila, saj je vsak resen slovenski pohodnik že bil vsaj enkrat na Triglavu. A to je bilo vendarle malce drugače. Šli so na Triglav - peš iz Vrhnike. In takoj je pritegnilo mojo pozornost. V članku je pisalo, da so najhitrejši prišli na Triglav v 3 dneh, povprečni v 4 dneh in ženske v 5 dneh. Odločila sem se, da moram tudi jaz to poskusiti. Nabavila sem zemljevide, si začrtala smer in se podala na pot. Načrtovala sem, da bom hodila 4 dni in ne glede na to, ali pridem na Triglav, ali ne, se bom z avtobusom vrnila domov po tem času.

Our local newspaper ran a story about how members of the nearby Vrhnika mountaineering club climbed Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain. So what, I thought, every Slovenian hiker has been to Triglav at least once. But this story was different. They went to Triglav on foot from Vrhnika. Now, that caught my attention. The article stated that the fastest members reached Triglav in 3 days, the average ones in 4 days and women in 5 days. I immediately knew that I wanted to try it myself. So I got maps, charted out my route and decided to just go. I planned 4 hiking days and whether I made it to Triglav or not, I would return home by bus after the 4 days.

Izgubila sem se že takoj na začetku / Getting lost first thing in the morning

Zjutraj sem se odpravila iz Borovnice proti Vrhniki. Na Vrhniki sem sicer bila že neštetokrat z avtom in s kolesom zaradi različnih opravkov. Verjetno bi lahko prišla do tja miže, če bi bilo treba. Ampak ker sem bila peš, sem se odločila, da grem po markirani poti skozi gozd, kakor je bilo razvidno iz zemljevida. Našla sem začetek markacij in šla po poti, dokler markacije niso izginile. A pot se je nadaljevala in sem se odločila, da grem naprej, saj vem, da so markacije včasih slabo vzdrževane, gozdarji podrejo kakšno drevo z markacijo, zato oznake niso vedno najbolj natančne. Res je, da se mi je zdelo rahlo sumljivo, ker je pot zavila preveč na levo, a sem si rekla, da je morda pač malo bolj zavita pot in sem šla dalje. Ko se mi je že začelo dozdevati, da sem zgrešila pot, sem se odločila da najbolje, da grem naprej, saj pot verjetno nekam vodi in se bom potem odločila, kako naprej. Končno, pot se je končala, nad ogromnim kamnolomom. Ojoj, ne! Sem takoj vedela, kje sem, namreč kamnolom je dobro viden iz avtoceste, kadar se vozimo proti domu in ni niti približno blizu Vrhnike, kjer sem hotela biti! Preostalo mi je edino, da se obrnem in grem nazaj do začetka poti in grem raje po cesti. Bil pa je res žalosten začetek moje ekspedicije, saj sem porabila dragocen čas in energijo, da nisem prišla nikamor.

The first morning I set off from my home in Borovnica towards the next larger town of Vrhnika. I had been to Vrhnika by car or by bicycle countless times before for various reasons and I could probably get there with my eyes closed. But going on foot, I decided to take a hiking route through the woods which was supposed to be nicely marked according to my map. I found the markings for the start of the route and I followed them until they disappeared. But the path went on and I decided to follow it, knowing that markings along hiking routes are sometimes poorly maintained, trees that had markings on them sometimes get cut down but I went ahead nevertheless. I did find it suspicious that the path turned too much to the left, but I figured it was just a roundabout way of getting to the destination. Not sure any more whether I was on the right path or not, I figured it best to just go, because it had to end somewhere and I would then try to figure out how to continue. And the route ended, finally, above a giant rock quarry. Oh, no! I knew where I was, the quarry is a prominent landmark well visible from the highway when we drive by, but is nowhere near Vrhnika, where I wanted to be! The only option was to turn back, follow the path back to where it started and continue my journey along the road. It was such a poor start of the whole expedition, having spent precious time and energy to get nowhere.

Konec poti: kamnolom / Dead end: rock quarry

Takrat še nisem vedela, da bo taka usoda mojega celotnega pohoda, iskanje prave poti, vračanje nazaj, od koder sem zgrešila, spraševanje ljudi za pot, kadar sem seveda bila nekje, kjer so sploh bili ljudje. Napredovala sem počasi, mnogo počasneje, kakor sem predvidela in počasi sem začela ugotavljati, da tako ne bom nikoli prišla na Triglav. Postalo mi je jasno, da če bi resnično hotela priti na Triglav v 4 dneh, bi verjetno morala iti z nekom, ki pozna pot. Ampak sem vseeno šla naprej, saj sem imela za cilj hoditi 4 dni, pa kamor pridem, pridem. Vendarle mi je uspelo priti do mojega načrtovanega cilja prvega dne, na Goropeke tik pred temo, utrujena in precej brez volje. A sem vztrajala, prespala noč v udobju koče in se naslednje jutro odpravila dalje. Bolele so me noge, ker so me otiščali precej novi pohodni čevlji, težko sem jih zjutraj sploh obula, ker so mi noge zatekle. Vendar ko sem začela hoditi, sem se ogrela in me je manj bolelo in sem pač šla naprej.

Little did I know at the time that such was the destiny of my entire trek, finding the right way, backtracking, asking for directions if I was lucky enough to be somewhere inhabited where I could find someone to get directions from. So the going was slow, much slower than I anticipated and I soon realized that my destination of Triglav was doomed. It became clear that if I were to get to Triglav in 4 days I would have to go with someone who knew the way. But I decided to continue the trek anyway, keeping in mind my second goal of going for 4 days and seeing where it gets me. I made it to the end of my first day’s trek at Goropeke just in time before it became dark, tired and feeling quite hopeless. But I persevered, spent the night in relative comfort and continued the next morning. My feet were aching due to the un-broken in hiking boots that I wore and it was difficult to even put them on in the morning on my tired and swollen feet. But after a while walking I warmed up and just kept going.

Nagrada drugega dne: bazen in točen Heineken / Second day reward: swimming pool and Heineken on tap

Naslednji dan je bil podoben prejšnjemu v smislu, da je bila glavnina hoje posvečena iskanju prave poti, vračanju nazaj in spraševanju za smer. Načrt je bil, da pridem na Porezen, kjer bi prespala v koči. A sem prispela v Cerkno, kjer se začne pot na Porezen prepozno in me je skrbelo, da ne bi prišla do vrha pred temo. Sicer sem bila utrujena in noge so me še vedno bolele zaradi čevljev in sem se odločila prespati v Cerknem. Šla sem v hotel, kjer imajo tudi bazen in ko sem podpisala formularje, da grem na lastno odgovornost, ker niso imeli čuvaja, sem lahko šla plavat. Kako je bilo prijetno, skočiti v vodo po dveh dneh nenehne hoje! Potem sem še odkrila pizzerijo, kjer sem se najedla in zraven dobila točen Heineken, moje najljubše pivo, ki ga je sicer redko najti v lokalih v Sloveniji. Ker je bila ravno sobota, se je v kraju dogajala še veselica, tako da sem večer preživela kar tam, malo posedala, poslušala glasbo, počivala in nabirala moči za hojo v naslednjih dneh.

The second day was similar to the first in that the main focus of my trek was finding the right route to go, backtracking and asking for directions. The day’s plan was to reach the peak of Porezen where I would spend the night in a mountain hut. But I arrived in Cerkno, the town below Porezen a bit late and was worried that I wouldn’t get up there before dark and my feet hurt and I was tired so I decided to spend the night in Cerkno. There was a nice hotel with a swimming pool and after I signed consent forms because the lifeguard wasn’t on duty I was allowed to use the pool. It felt so wonderful to swim after two days of constant hiking! I found a pizzeria where I had dinner and they even had Heineken, one of my favorite beers, on tap which is rare in Slovenia. Since it was Saturday, there was a town party going on so I sat around some more, listened to music, relaxed and gathered my strength for the following days.

Milijon malin / Unlimited supply of raspberries

Gor in dol in gor in dol / Up and down and up and down

Naslednje jutro sem se odpravila na Porezen, kar sploh ni bilo prehudo, saj sem bila spočita, le noge so me bolele zaradi neumnih čevljev, a sem morala naprej. Poti so mnogo bolje markirane v hribih in zato se nisem niti enkrat izgubila. Če sem hotela naprej v smeri proti Triglavu, sem se morala iz Porezna spustiti v Petrovo brdo in se ponovno povzpeti na Soriško planino. Prišla sem na greben, od koder sem videla kočo na planini, a sem se morala še spustiti dol po smučišču. Ko sem prišla do koče na Soriški planini, se je že delala tema, saj sem ves dan hodila gor in dol in gor in dol, zato sem vedela, da bom morala tam prenočiti. A kakšno presenečenje, kočo na Soriški planini so ravno renovirali! Vse skupaj je bilo eno samo gradbišče, vsepovsod stroji in gradbeni material in nikjer žive duše. No, pravzaprav nisem bila čisto sama, čreda krav se je pasla tam, glasno so se oglašali zvonci in krepko smrdeli kravjeki.

The next morning I had to get up to Porezen which wasn’t too bad as I was rested, only my feet hurt because of the stupid shoes but I had to keep going. The routes were much better marked now that I was in the mountainous region and I didn’t get lost even once. But to move in the general direction of Triglav, after Porezen I had to descend to Petrovo brdo and climb up again, towards Soriška planina. I came above the ridge where I could see the hut but I still had to get all the way down there. It was already getting dark after having spent all day going up and down and up and down so I knew I would have to spend the night there. But what a surprise when I finally reached the hut on Soriška planina, it was being renovated! There was obviously some reconstruction going on, there was lots of machinery and building materials, and not a soul in sight. I wasn’t alone though, there was a herd of cows grazing, their bells noisy and their dung smelly.

Porezen

Spanje z vrečo cementa / Sleeping with a bag of cement

Ko sem se pripravljala na pot, sem vzela s seboj tudi spalno vrečo, za vsak slučaj, če mi ne bi uspelo priti pravočasno v kočo ali najti primernega kraja za prenočitev, tako bi lahko prespala tudi zunaj, če bi bilo treba. In ker so se krave sprehajale naokoli, si nisem ravno najbolj želela prespati tam zunaj. Preverila sem gradbišče in ugotovila, da je možno vstopiti in čeprav je bilo vse en sam beton, je bilo pokrito in varno pred kravami.Ob steno so bila prislonjena stara lesena vrata z napisom "Kuhinja". Izgleda, da se je nekdo odločil obdržati stara vrata, kar mi je prišlo zelo prav, saj sem položila vrata na tla, razprostrla spalno vrečo in tako sem lahko spala na lesu namesto na betonu. Ko sem se ulegla, sem opazila vreče gradbenega materiala z napisi Kema Puconci in to se mi je še najbolj vtisnilo v spomin, namreč da sem spala med vrečami cementa ali karkoli že je bilo v njih. Spala pa sem kar dobro.

When packing for my trip I decided to take a sleeping bag just in case I wouldn’t make it to a suitable hut or place where I could spend the night and so I had the sleeping bag in which I could sleep outside in case of emergency. I didn’t really want to sleep outside, what with the cows strolling around so I checked the construction site and noticed that I was able to go inside. It was mostly concrete but at least it was sheltered and safe from the cows. There was an old wooden door with a sign saying “Kitchen” so I guess they decided to keep the old kitchen door. I lay the door on the floor so I could sleep on wood rather than on cement and spread my sleeping bag over that. As I lay down I noticed lots of bags of building materials labeled Kema Puconci and that is what I remember most about this night, that I slept among bags of cement or whatever was in those bags. But I slept reasonably well.

Soriška planina

Naslednje jutro sem se spustila proti Bohinjski Bistrici, kjer se je moja pot končala. Bil je že četrti dan in ni imelo smisla iti dalje na Triglav, saj bi trajalo vsaj še en dan, česar nisem načrtovala, razen tega sem bila izčrpana in se nisem mogla upreti oditi naravnost na avtobusno postajo, ko se mi je ravno ponudila priložnost.

The next morning I descended towards Bohinjska Bistrica where I decided my trek would end. It was my fourth day, there was no point in going further on Triglav because I would have needed at least another day which I hadn’t planned and I just couldn’t resist heading straight towards the bus station when I had the opportunity.

Ugotovitve / Lessons learned

Torej, uspelo mi je, vsaj delno in vsekakor sem se mnogo naučila iz te izkušnje. Če bi želela tak podvig še kdaj poskusiti, sem spoznala da: Morala bi oditi na pot z nekom, ki dobro pozna pot, ali pa sama raziskovati pot po kosih, tako da bi vedno vedela točno, kje je treba iti Morala bi imeti boljše čevlje ali vsaj take, ki so bolj uhojeni Morala bi premisliti, ali je res najbolj učinkovito iti na pot v ravni črti; morda bi bilo bolje iti malo bolj naokrog, ampak z manj hoje gor in dol in gor in dol Ali bom poskusila še enkrat? Priti na Triglav? Kdo ve, resnično me jezi, ker tokrat nisem uspela. Morda se bom nekoč v prihodnosti včlanila v Planinsko društvo Vrhnika in odšla na pot vsaj enkrat z njimi, da vidim, kje je najprimernejša pot.

So I made it, at least partially and at least I learned valuable lessons if I were to ever attempt such a feat again. Here are the lessons: Go with someone who knows the way or explore the route partially to make sure that there would never be a question as to which way to go Get better walking shoes or use shoes that were more broken-in Rethink the idea that going in a straight line is the most efficient way to get there; it might be faster to go the longer way around without having to go up and down and up and down Will I attempt to do it again? To reach Triglav? Who knows, I hate leaving it uncompleted but I think I might join the Vrhnika mountaineering club in the future and go with them at least once to take advantage of a guided trek.

Proti domu / Going home

Po Varanasiju sem odšla še v Patno, kjer pravzaprav ni nič posebnega, ogledala sem si nekaj lokalnih znamenitosti in ogromno tržnico. Med potovanjem sem se pogosto prehranjevala na ulici, saj tam ljudje kar naprej nekam potujejo in tako so tudi povsod stojnice, kjer prodajajo hrano za po poti. Žal je bilo težko se zmenit, kaj hočem, ker ne znam njihovega jezika, ulični prodajalci pa večinoma ne znajo angleško. Kjer se je dalo pokazati, kaj hočem, je že nekako šlo, tako sem recimo večkrat jedla kakšne ocvrte zadeve, ki so jih cvrli kar tam na ulici. Če sem hotela kakšen kari iz velikih loncev, pa je bilo težje, ker so bili vsi lonci pokriti in nisem mogla pogledati noter in nekaj pokazati. Tu sem se nekako zmazala z »dal«, ker je bilo to edino, kar sem znala povedati (škoda, da sem šele na koncu potovanja odkrila »aloo gobi« in še kakšno besedo za jed). Ugotovila sem, da se je težko sporazumevati s kretnjami in s kimanjem, ker je očitno med Slovenci in Indijci toliko kulturnih razlik ali kdove kaj, da kar ni šlo. Recimo, na ulicah so prodajali arašide. Toliko sem že nekako izvedela, da mala merica stane 5 rupij, velika pa 10 rupij. In sem enkrat eni stari mami, ki je tam sedela in prodajala arašide, s kretnjo pokazala, želim arašide, ona pa me je samo debelo gledala, češ kaj hočem. No, če ona tam sedi in prodaja arašide, jaz pa pokažem na arašide, ali to ne pomeni, da bi jih jaz rada kupila? Ker ji ni bilo jasno, kaj hočem, sem vzela iz denarnice 5 rupij in ji jih pomolila. Ona pa še vedno ni vedela, kaj hočem!? Tako da sem ostala brez arašidov, res mi ni jasno, kaj je šlo narobe. V načrtu sem imela obiskati tudi kraja Gaya in Bodhgaya, a ker sem izgubila en dan, ko sem čakala na vlak iz Agre za Varanasi, sem žal morala to izpustiti in se počasi vračati proti New Delhiju, kdo ve, morda te kraje obiščem kdaj drugič. Na poti nazaj sem se ustavila še v mestu Lucknow, ne vem točno zakaj, pač zdelo se mi je, da bi bilo morda zanimivo ga videti. To mesto je bilo nekoč izrazito angleško in se tudi vidi ogromno zapuščenih angleških stavb, med drugim sem si ogledala tudi še kar lep botanični vrt. Ko sem se vrnila v New Delhi zjutraj iz nočnega vlaka, sem spet potrebovala voznika rikše, da me pelje v tisto isto prenočišče Sunny Guest House, kjer sem bila že na začetku potovanja. Pa seveda spet ni šlo, saj me je vsak voznik hotel peljati k nekim svojim znancem. Tokrat sem bila res zoprna in se nisem hotela pustiti spet peljati nekam, kamor nisem želela, pa sem težila raznim voznikom toliko časa, da so potem začeli nakladati, češ da je tisto moje prenočišče poplavljeno (ja, seveda, saj sem bila tam, prenočišče je po stopnicah navzgor in ima teraso, bi morale biti kar resne poplave, če bi bilo res), pa da je polno zasedeno (ja, seveda, zgodaj zjutraj, ko vsi popotniki odhajajo) in tako dalje. Nazadnje sem toliko bentila tam okoli, da me je en voznik potem končno odpeljal tja, kamor sem hotela. V New Delhiju sem imela še dva dni, sem namenoma planirala tako, da sem imela malo rezerve pred odhodom domov, če bi slučajno spet kakšen vlak ali avtobus odpovedal. Tako da sem imela ravno še čas, da sem šla s turističnim avtobusom na celodnevni ogled znamenitosti, potem pa zadnji večer na letališče, kjer sem počakala na jutranji let domov.

After Varanasi I visited Patna which is nothing special, a few local sights and another huge bazaar. I often ate street food during my India travels. There are food stalls everywhere as local people seem to travel a lot and they need to eat on the go. It was often difficult to communicate what I wanted to eat because I obviously don't speak their languages and the street sellers often don't speak English. Whenever I was able to point to what I wanted it went well and so I often ate fried stuff that they made on the street. When I wanted a curry that they served from huge pots it was more difficult because the pots were covered and I couldn't see inside. I usually just asked for "dal" because it was all I knew how to name (unfortunately I didn't learn words for "aloo gobi" or other dishes until near the end of my trip). I found out that communicating with hand signs and nodding was often too difficult, probably because of too many cultural differences between Slovenians and Indians or something along those lines. For example, they sold peanuts on the streets. I already knew that a small packet costs 5 rupees and a large one costs 10 rupees. And so I approached an old lady and pointed to her peanuts and she looked at me not understanding what I wanted. Well, if she sits there selling peanuts and I point to the peanuts, doesn't that mean that I want to buy them? To make it clearer I took out a 5 rupee note and handed it to her but she still didn't know what I wanted!? I truly wonder what went wrong that she didn't get it that I wanted to buy her peanuts. Originally I had planned to visit Gaya and Bodhgaya as well but because I had lost a day waiting for the train from Agra to Varanasi, I decided to skip that and head back to New Delhi. Who knows, I might visit these places some other time. On my way back I stopped at Lucknow, I still don't know exactly why, I thought it sounded interesting. This city was very English a long time ago and there are many abandoned English buildings. Among other things there is a quite nice botanical garden. When I returned to New Delhi on the night train I again needed a rickshaw driver to take me to my Sunny Guest House where I stayed at the beginning of my trip. Again, as I should have known, this wasn't an easy endeavor as each driver wanted to take me to some friend of theirs. This time I was insistent and didn't allow them to take me somewhere of their choosing. The drivers then started making up stories, for example some of them went as far as to tell me that the guest house is flooded (yeah, right, I was there, the place is up on a terrace, it would have been a miracle to be flooded), that it is full (sure, early in the morning, when everyone is checking out) and so on. I went from driver to driver until one of them finally agreed to take me where I wanted. I had two more days left to spend in New Delhi, I planned it so that I had some reserve time before my flight home just in case a train or bus ride was cancelled. I took a tourist bus on a day long excursion to see the sights and I spent my last night at the airport waiting for my early morning flight home.

Varanasi

Vlak, ki bi moral zvečer odpeljati iz Agre v Varanasi, je bil poln nekih delavcev, ki so stavkali in so se nekam peljali, zato vlak ni sprejemal potnikov. Tako sem se znašla na železniški postaji zvečer brez prevoza. Sicer so bili uslužbenci na postaji zelo prijazni, ponudili so nam potnikom ali povrnitev cene vozovnice, ali pa so menjali vozovnico za jutranji vlak. Jaz sem se odločila za jutranji vlak, saj nisem imela kaj početi in sem pač preživela noč na železniški postaji. Tam sem srečala dve Angležinji, ki sta prav tako ostali brez prevoza in potem smo skupaj ždele in si druga drugi čuvale prtljago, tako da smo se lahko vmes malo sprehajale ali zadremale in dočakale jutro, ko smo se uspešno vkrcale vsaka na svoj vlak. V Varanasiju me je seveda najbolj zanimala reka Ganga, zato sem se odpravila tja. Uspelo mi je priti do tja peš, saj sem še kar dobro ignorirala šoferje rikš, malo pa je pripomoglo tudi to, da so v središču Varanasija ozke uličice, v katere rikše ne morejo. Ko sem se končno spustila navzdol po pesku proti reki, sem si oddahnila, saj rikše niso peljale tja dol in se mi je zdelo, da bom končno lahko imela mir in se malo sprehodila. Pa ni trajalo dolgo, saj sem kmalu zaslišala »Boat, madam?« No, sem se res izognila rikšam, na reki pa je bilo vse polno čolnarjev, ki so ponujali prevoz. Na srečo teh ni bilo toliko in so bili manj naporni, res pa je, da sem na koncu vendarle najela čoln, da me je malo peljal gor in dol po reki. Reka Ganga izgleda natanko tako, kakor na fotografijah: umazana, v njej sežigajo mrliče, se umivajo, perejo perilo, po vodi hodijo krave in vse to. Videla sem, da otroci pobirajo kravje iztrebke, ki jih z rokami mažejo na stene, da nastanejo nekakšne potice, ki se potem posušijo in jih najverjetneje uporabljajo za kurjavo. Ko sem se sprehajala ob reki se mi je zdelo, da mi zelo veliko število otrok želi ponuditi roko za dober dan, ampak ko sem videla vse tiste potice, ki so jih otroci razmazali po stenah z rokami, sem se raje odločila, da ne bom toliko vljudna, in jim nisem ponudila roke. Morda se mi je zdelo, da je v Varanasiju še posebno veliko število krav, ki se sprehajajo naokrog, tudi po mestu in med ozkimi uličicami. Tako da sem tudi v živo doživela svete krave. Med ozkimi uličicami v mestu je ogromen bazar, kjer sem se potikala in tudi kupila nekaj svilenega blaga za domov. Res je bilo poceni, a kvaliteta je bila temu primerna.

The night train from Agra to Varanasi was full of workers who were on some kind of strike and therefore the train didn't take on any other passengers. So I was stuck at the train station in the evening with no transportation. The employees at the train station were very helpful, they offered us passengers either a refund of our tickets or an exchange for the morning train. I decided to take the morning train and spent the night at the train station. I met two English girls who were also stuck there for the night and we hung out together, watched each other's luggage and dozed off until morning when we each went on our separate trains. In Varanasi I headed to the Ganges river first. I made it there on foot, succeeding in ignoring the rickshaw drivers which isn't too difficult because there are many narrow streets in Varanasi where rickshaws can't enter. When I finally made it down to the river shore I relaxed because the rickshaw drivers also can't get down there and I assumed I would be able to walk in peace. But it didn't take long until I heard a somewhat familiar "Boat, madam?" So I managed to get away from the rickshaw drivers but the river was full of boat captains who offered rides. There weren't too many and they weren't too pushy, but in the end I did wind up hiring one to take me up and down along the river. The Ganges river looks exactly like it does on photographs: it's dirty, they burn ther dead people there, they wash themselves and their clothes, cows bathe in it and all that. I saw children pick up cow dung which they spread on walls with their hands until it dries and then they probably use them as fuel. When I walked along the river I ran into an unusually large number of children who wanted to shake my hand hello, but after seeing the cow dung on the walls I decided I wouldn't give them the courtesy of shaking my hands with them. I thought there was a really large number of cows in Varanasi that wandered around, including along the narrow streets in town. So I was face to face with the holy cows. There are countless bazaars in the streets of Varanasi and I bought some silk to take home with me. It was quite inexpensive but the poor quality also reflects the low price.

Taj Mahal

Popoldne sem se odpeljala z vlakom proti Agri in zvečer prispela, ko je bila že tema, tako da mi je preostalo le še, da si poiščem prenočišče in grem na ogled Taj Mahala naslednji dan. Tokratno prenočišče je bilo res obupno, sicer sem bila že navajena, da je v Indiji vse zelo umazano, ampak tokrat je bilo pa res preveč. Zato sem zjutraj najprej spakirala stvari in poiskala voznika rikše, da me je odpeljal do drugega prenočišča. Tam sem se sicer malo obotavljala, ker sem želela najprej videti, kako izgleda soba, preden bi se odločila zanjo, pa me je lastnik tako prepričeval, kako krasno da je njegovo prenočišče, celo z razgledom na Taj Mahal – in me je peljal na streho na teraso pogledat, da če se malo potrudiš, tam nekje v daljavi skozi krošnje dreves res vidiš vrh kupole – da sem potem res ostala tam. Nameravala sem najprej dopoldne se malo sprehoditi okoli, pogledati tržnico in rdečo trdnjavo, potem pa popoldne na ogled Taj Mahala. Ampak, kakor mi je bilo itak že jasno do takrat, nisem mogla nikamor peš. Vozniki rikš in v Agri tudi vozniki raznih taxijev in limuzin – konec koncev je Agra verjetno najbolj turistično mesto v Indiji – so me tako oblegali, da sem na koncu morala najeti enega voznika rikše za cel dan, da sem potem imela mir. Ta me je peljal naokrog na oglede, popoldne pa sem končno prišla do vhoda v Taj Mahal. Za popoldanski obisk sem se odločila, ker je popoldanska vstopnina cenejša, pa tudi zato, ker v turističnem vodniku piše, da je Taj Mahal najlepši ob sončnem zahodu. Na vhodu je bilo treba najprej skozi kontrolo, varnostniki so pregledali vsebino torbic in nahrbtnikov. Lepo, sem si mislila, da tako skrbijo za varnost, saj najbrž bi bilo kar nekaj škode, če bi kdo prišel tja z bombo. Pa se je izkazalo, da pravzaprav sploh niso iskali bombe. Kar so iskali v prtljagi in so tudi meni našli in vzeli, so bile pomaranče! Ja, seveda, lahko bi si mislila, v Indiji nimajo košev za smeti, zato ljudje vse odmetavajo kar po cesti. In takoj mi je bilo jasno, kaj bi bilo, če bi dovolili, da bi turisti okoli Taj Mahala metali olupke pomaranč! Varnostnica mi je pokazala, da lahko pomaranče odložim tam ob ograji, kjer je bila že kopica drugih pomaranč, ki so jih očitno pustili drugi turisti. Seveda pa so se okoli smukali otroci, in kadar varnostniki niso gledali, so pomaranče dobile noge. In tako sem pustila svoje pomaranče tam, naj jih otroci odnesejo. Končno, mimo vhoda in zagledala sem Taj Mahal pred seboj! Vedno sem si želela ga videti, že odkar sem kot otrok videla fotografije v knjigi Vsa čuda sveta in zdaj sem bila tam! Neverjetno, res je čudovit za pogledat. Celo popoldne sem se potikala tam okrog, si ogledala kamnite intarzije od blizu, občudovala natančnost kamnosekov, ki so tako lepo izdelali vzorce iz barvitih poldragih kamnov in jih vstavili v beli marmor osnovne stavbe. Resnično lepo, in vredno vsega truda, da sem prišla do tja. Varnostnik, ki se je sprehajal naokoli, je prišel do mene in mi nekako šepetaje ponudil, da me pelje nekam, kjer bom imela res lep razgled za fotografiranje. Ja, seveda, o tem sem brala v turističnem vodniku, pač tudi varnostniki iščejo način, kako kaj dodatno zaslužiti. In sem šla z njim, peljal me je na streho utice, kjer je bil razgled – no, ja, nič posebnega, ampak sem pač naredila nekaj fotografij in mu plačala nek drobiž. Pa se je razhudil, češ, tako malo plačila, jaz pa tvegam svojo službo zaradi tega, ker te takole vodim sem. Ja, seveda, sem mu povedala, da toliko plačam tudi vozniku rikše in se mi zdi kar primerno plačilo tudi zanj. In je videl, da od mene ne bo kaj dosti iztržil, saj sem do takrat že nekaj časa potovala po Indiji in sem vedela, koliko je smiselno plačilo. Verjetno je od raznih turistov, ki priletijo v Indijo gledat samo Taj Mahal in ne vedo, kolikšne so cene, iztržil desetkrat toliko. Med sprehajanjem sem naletela tudi na skupino vojakov, ki so me prosili, če jih fotografiram. Seveda, ni problema, potem pa so mi hoteli plačati, če bi jim poslala fotografijo po pošti. Tudi to je bilo zame prvič in novo, da bi nekdo meni plačal, ker jih fotografiram? Običajno so domačini hoteli, da jaz plačam njim, če sem jih fotografirala. Seveda nisem sprejela denarja, so mi pa v zvezek zapisali naslov, kam naj pošljem fotografijo. Naslednji dan sem imela kupljeno karto za nočni vlak za Varanasi, tako da sem imela še cel dan časa. Ker sprehajanje ni bilo mogoče (bi morala spet najeti celodnevno rikšo, da bi imela mir pred šoferji), sem dopoldne prebila v prenočišču in brala, popoldne pa si še enkrat privoščila ogled Taj Mahala. Tudi drugi dan se še nisem naveličala občudovati njegove lepote.

In the afternoon I caught the train to Agra and I arrived there in the evening after dark. All that was left to do that day was to find a place to sleep and visit the Taj Mahal the following day. This time my place to sleep was really awful. I was already used to everything being so filthy in India but this time it was too much. I packed up my bags first thing in the morning and hauled a rickshaw driver to find me another place to stay. I wanted to see the room first before I would take it but the owner was very convincing in how perfect his place was, it even boasted of a Taj Mahal view - and he took me up to the roof to show me that if you look really hard you can just make out the top of the Taj Mahal dome through the trees - that I had to believe him and I decided to stay at his place. I was going to walk around for a while in the morning, to see the bazaar and the red fort and head to the Taj Mahal in the afternoon. But as I already knew very well by then, one can't walk anywhere on their own. The pushy rickshaw drivers and also various taxi and limousine drivers - after all, Agra is probably the most touristy place in India - were so insistent that in the end I had to hire a rickshaw driver for the day, then they finally left me alone. The driver took me around the sights and I finally made it to the Taj Mahal entrance in the afternoon. I decided for the afternoon visit because the entrance fee is lower and also because according to the tourist guide the Taj Mahal is most beautiful at sunset. The entrance to the Taj Mahal consists of a security checkpoint where officials checked the contents of handbags and backpacks. Nice, I thought, they take security seriously, it would certainly be misfortunate if someone went in with a bomb. But it turned out that they weren't actually looking for bombs. What they were looking for - and they caught me as well - were oranges! Yes, of course, I should have known, they don't have waste baskets in India and everyone just drops their trash on the floor. They didn't want the tourists to litter with orange peels around the Taj Mahal. The security officer showed me that I may leave my oranges by the fence near the entrance where I saw heaps of oranges presumably confiscated from other tourists. Children sneaked around to take the oranges when the security staff weren't looking and so I left my oranges there as well for the children to have. At last, I made it inside and I saw the majestic Taj Mahal in front of me! I had always wanted to see it, even as a child when I first saw photograps in the book "All the Wonders of the World" and now I was there! Unbelievable, it really is beautiful. I spent the entire afternoon there, examined the stone intarsia from close up, admired the skill with which the stonemasons carved the patterns from semiprecious stones and set them in the white marble. So wonderful and so worth my effort to get there. A security guard who walked around approached me and conspiratorially whispered that he could take me somewhere with an excellent view to take photographs. Yes, of course, I read in the guidebook that the security guards are always on the lookout to make extra income. So I went with him on the upper floor of his security post where the view was - oh, well, nothing special, but I took a few photos and gave hime some change. But he became upset, that the payment isn't nearly enough for risking his job taking me there. Sure, I told him, the amount I gave him was what I would give a rickshaw driver for a local ride and it seemed sufficient to me. When he saw he wouldn't get more out of me he let go as I had been in India for a while by then and knew how much something should cost. He probably made ten times as much from the tourists who fly to India just to visit the Taj Mahal and who don't know the local prices as well. While I was walking around I ran into a group of soldiers who asked me to take their photo. Sure, no problem, I took the photo and then they wanted to pay me to mail it to them. This was new to me, someone wanted to pay me for taking a photo? Usually it was the other way around. I refused to take any money and I offered them my notebook where one of them wrote his address where I should send the photo. The next day I had a train ticket on the night train to Varanasi and so I had another day left in Agra. Because I couldn't walk around (I would have had to hire another rickshaw for the day) I spent the morning at my hotel just reading and went to see the Taj Mahal again in the afternoon. I couldn't get enough of its beauty so another day spent there wasn't too much.

Še en luksuzni avtobus / Another luxury bus

Za drugi del mojega indijskega potovanja sem imela v načrtu pogledati še Agro in Varanasi, zato sem se morala vrniti v New Delhi in od tam poiskati prevoz naprej. Odločila sem se spet za nočni avtobus, tudi tokrat luksuzni. Bil je podoben, kakor vsi avtobusi doslej, star, razmajan, ropotajoč. Nisem se nič vznemirjala, ko je malo težko vžgal in med potjo kašljal in krehal, saj sem bila prepričana, da indijski avtobusi vozijo do večnosti. Pa tokrat ni bilo tako, sredi noči je namreč avtobus dokončno odpovedal. Vsi potniki iz polnega avtobusa smo izstopili, šofer in njegova posadka pa so se lotili štopanja. Kljub temu, da je bila noč, je bilo na cesti precej prometa, tudi nočnih avtobusov proti New Delhiju. Kmalu nam je ustavil en avtobus, ki je bil sicer poln, tako kakor naš, ampak so se hitro zmenili in smo se vsi potniki zbasali gor. Nekaj žensk so nas posadili v kabino k šoferju, kjer je bila postavljena lesena klop, na kateri sem imela morda kakih 10 centimetrov sedeža zase, sedeli smo kar drug prek drugega. Ampak gneča je tam nekaj običajnega in nihče se ni pritoževal, smo se pač tako stiskajoče zjutraj pripeljali v New Delhi. Pot sem nameravala nadaljevati z vlakom, zato je bilo treba iz avtobusne postaje priti na železniško, ki je bila po zemljevidu sodeč sicer blizu, a nisem vedela točno kje, pa še ta velik nahrbtnik sem imela, zato se mi je zdelo najbolje, da se pustim peljati vozniku rikše. Kmalu sem ugotovila, da vozniki rikš sodelujejo s svojimi prijatelji, ki imajo potovalne agencije in prav nihče od voznikov me ni hotel peljati na železniško postajo, vsi so mi ponujali, da me peljejo nekam drugam, kjer lahko kupim karte za vlak, »very cheap«. No, bila sem utrujena in ne preveč pri volji za pregovarjanje, zato sem se pustila peljati v eno tako agencijo. Navsezadnje to niti ni bila tako slaba odločitev, saj smo se najprej zmenili, kam bi rada šla, potem pa sem v miru pri njih sedela in čakala, med tem ko so poslali enega mulca na železniško postajo, da se je tam drenjal in mi kupil karte. Postregli so mi s čajem in kasneje tudi s kosilom, saj sem tam čakala kar precej časa. Na koncu sem vse skupaj seveda plačala, predvidevam, da so v agenciji nekaj zaslužili na moj račun, ampak glede na to, da so v Indiji cene tako zelo nižje v primerjavi s cenami doma, se mi vse skupaj sploh ni zdelo drago.

During the second part of my India journey I planned to visit Agra and Varanasi. Therefore I had to return to New Delhi to get onward transportation. I decided to take a night bus again, a luxury one as previously. It seemed the same as all other buses I took previously, that is old and creaky. It didn't bother me when I heard that the engine had difficulty starting and coughed along the way because I came to believe that Indian buses run forever. But this time it was different and at one point during the night the bus didn't want to go any further. All the passengers got off the bus while the driver and his crew started hitchhiking. Although it was the middle of the night there was lots of traffic on the read, including additional night buses headed for New Delhi. A bus soon stopped for us. Although it was full just like ours, they offered to pick us up anyway and we all piled into the bus. A few of us women were directed toward the driver's cabin where I had about 10 centimeters of a wooden bench seat to myself, otherwise everyone just piled on top of each other. But they didn't seem to mind as crowding is quite usual and we successfully arrived in New Delhi in the morning. I wanted to continue my travel by train so I had to find my way from the bus station to the train station. It was supposed to be close by but I wasn't sure exactly where to go and I also had my large backpack so I decided to hire a rickshaw driver to take me there. I soon found out that there is a huge business between the rickshaw drivers and their friends who own travel agencies. None of the rickshaw drivers wanted to take me to the train station, they all offered to take me somewhere I could buy train tickets "very cheap". Well, I was tired and not in the mood to argue so I allowed one of them to take me to an agency. It turned out to be not a bad decision after all. First I explained where I wanted to go, then I sat there in peace and waited while they sent a kid to the train station to shove through the crowds and buy the tickets for me. They served me tea and later they brought lunch as the waiting took most of the morning. I paid for everything at the end and I'm sure the agency made a commission on whatever they sold me but since prices in India are so low compared to prices back home I was satisfied to pay for the services.

Amritsar

Iz hribovskih predelov sem se odpravila nazaj v nižine, najprej v Amritsar, kjer je bil moj glavni cilj videti zlati tempelj. Nastanila sem se v prenočišču, potem pa jo mahnila peš proti templju. Ampak sem se že počasi navadila, da peš se v Indiji ne pride nikamor. Nenehno te oblegajo vozniki rikš in najlažji način, da se jih znebiš je pač tak, da enega najameš, da te pelje. Po nekaj časa potovanja po Indiji sem že vedela, koliko kaj stane in sem se znala dogovoriti za razumno ceno. Zlati tempelj je res prekrasen, nenazadnje tudi zato, ker je zelo lepo vzdrževan. Opazila sem, da je skupina delavcev obnavljala izrezljano kamnito ograjo, ki je postavljena okrog templja in zunanjega bazena. Vsak delavec je imel v roki pilo in z njo brusil delček ograje. Napredek je bil zelo počasen in ko sem to videla, sem bila prepričana, da bodo delavci potrebovali kakšno leto, da bodo končali brušenje celotne ograje, do takrat pa bo verjetno že čas, da začnejo spet znova. Ugibam, da je to eden izmed načinov, kako se v Indiji borijo proti brezposelnosti, namreč da zaposlijo več ljudi, ki vsak opravlja nekaj malega dela, verjetno za bolj majhno plačilo, a vsaj niso na cesti. Za ogled templja je treba imeti pokrivalo na glavi in to velja za ženske in moške. Ženske so večinoma imele rute ali tanke šale na glavi, saj je v Indiji to kar del vsakodnevnega oblačila, tudi jaz sem vedno nosila ruto s seboj. Moški pa so imeli večinoma turbane na glavi, saj je Amritsar središče Sikhovskega prebivalstva, kjer je za moške zapovedano, da si ne smejo striči las in pravzaprav zato nosijo turbane, da si zavijejo dolge lase. Opazila sem tudi, da si nekateri, predvsem starejši moški, tudi ne brijejo brade in zato nosijo nekakšno mrežo, v katero spravijo predolgo brado in jo imajo obešeno z zankami preko ušes. Preostali moški, ki niso imeli turbanov, pa so si na glavo poveznili robce iz blaga, zavozlane na vogalih, tako da je nastala nekakšna kapica. Prav smešno je izgledalo.

I decided to descend from the mountains into the lowlands, first to Amritsar where I especially wanted to see the Golden temple. I found a place to stay where I left my luggage and started walking towards the temple. But I already knew by now that you can't get anywhere on foot in India. Those rickshaw drivers are touting everywhere and the easiest way to get rid of them is to hire one. After traveling in India for some time it gets clearer how much something costs so I believe I got a good price. The Golden temple is indeed beautiful and well kept. I noticed that a group of workers was cleaning a carved stone fence that sorrounds the temple and the outdoor pool. Each worker held a file with which he polished small sections of the fence. It was obvious that their progress was very slow and when I noticed how much of the fence was still left to clean I estimated it would take them another year to finish polishing the fence and by that time it was probably time to start over. I thought this might be one of the ways they address unemployment in India, that they hire several people for a job. They each do a small part, I guess they aren't paid well but at least they have a job. In order to enter the temple both men and women have to cover their hair. The women generally wear headscarves, at least it seemed almost every woman in India wears one. I also always carried a scarf with me. Most of the men wore turbans on their heads, after all Amritsar is the center of the Sikh population where men are not allowed to cut their hair and the turbans are originally meant to wrap their long hair. I noticed that some, mostly older men also don't cut their beards and they wear a sort of net that keeps their long beard out of the way and the net is attached by loops over the ears. All other men without turbans still had to cover their hear when entering the temple and they were given handkerchiefs which they knotted at the corners and put on their heads. They looked somewhat silly.