Page 7 of Delek Delek Travel Blog Posts


Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu March 1st 2017

Nepal was never actually in my original itinerary to visit but I had met so many travellers in India who told me that "oh, you have to go!" that I decided to check it out. In Varanasi, I was already pretty close to the country so it made sense to get up to Kathmandu from there. Also, I do enjoy the occasional hike and Nepal is famous for its trekking and I had heard that the people up there were friendly so I thought that Nepal would be worth a couple of weeks of my time. Shiva's wedding anniversary had occurred at an inopportune time for me as it meant that the direct overnight bus wasn't going on the day I needed it. With a tight schedule in Nepal thanks to the flight I booked from ... read more
View Of Pashupatinath Temple & Bagmati River
Streets Of Kathmandu
Taleju Temple

Asia » India » Uttar Pradesh » Varanasi February 25th 2017

Even the poorest women you see on the streets of India wear the most beautiful, colourful saris. That was the main thing I noticed as I sat in my Uber, having underestimated Kolkata's traffic, which was a pretty stupid thing to do. Watching the local women in their saris, I was starting to get a little nervous about making my train but it all turned out well in the end. And lucky it did because for once, my train was actually on time! Perhaps surprisingly, this was only my second overnight train in two-and-a-half months in India. I've kinda been avoiding them - also, they are often booked out - and taking buses where possible because I get paranoid about where to leave my stuff. As I look to dump my stuff and settle into my ... read more
I See Fire
Narrow Alleys Of Varanasi
Kedar Ghat

Asia » India » West Bengal » Kolkata February 21st 2017

"Sorry sir, I can't let you board the plane without an onward journey." "But I was able to do so when I first arrived in India three months ago?" "They've changed the rules." "What in three months?" The check-in lady shrugs her shoulders. I was livid. This wasn't a requirement when I boarded my plane from London to Delhi back in November. This is the problem when rules are not universally enforced. You get Colombia to Panama: Round 2. So I used the same trick I used back then; using the airport wifi and my phone, I get to the final page of booking a bus ticket from Varanasi to Kathmandu without actually buying the ticket and just showed that to another one of the check-in lady's colleagues. And they fell for it again. Phew. On ... read more
Kolkata Traffic Jam
Chartered Bank Building
Howrah Bridge

Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Kandy February 15th 2017

I'm sitting on a train on one of the world's most scenic routes, next to a very friendly and smiley Buddhist monk; he offers me some peanuts and a pakora. To my right are a bunch of local teenagers clapping and singing along to the beat of a local drum - it seems to be something you see much more often here than you would in any Western country - creating some real atmosphere and even getting a couple of white girls up to dance with them. Here I was again, remembering how cool and lucky I was to be here, to appreciate this moment. With regard to the Buddhist monk, I was surprised to discover upon arrival in Sri Lanka that Buddhism is in fact the main religion here. I thought that naturally, Hinduism might ... read more
Temple Of The Sacred Tooth Relic Of Lord Buddha
Nine Arch Bridge
Sunset At Little Adam's Peak

Asia » Sri Lanka » Southern Province February 9th 2017

Having learnt a little about Sri Lanka and its culture and history on my first three days in the country, it was now time to make my way back towards Colombo via a much more comfortable bus ride than my first one in Sri Lanka, to the town of Hikkaduwa for a bit of R&R - or so I thought - by hitting the main reason why holidaymakers come to Sri Lanka; its beaches. And the reason why things weren't necessarily going to be relaxing was the fact that things were most probably going to be boozy. After all, it was my birthday and I was to meet up with Tom and Alex - two Brits I had originally met in Goa and then again in Hampi, where we enjoyed some good, non-alcoholic times. Thus it ... read more
Hikkaduwa Beach
Lads Lads Lads
Sunset Over Hikkaduwa

Asia » Sri Lanka » Southern Province » Galle February 4th 2017

The only things I really knew about Sri Lanka before going there was that it was once called Ceylon (when the British ruled there), that the country produces a lot of tea and I knew a fair bit about their cricket team. Old playing legends such as Aravinda da Silva, Aruna Ranatunga and Chaminda Vaas, and newer ones such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillekaratne Dilshan. But other than that, I knew nothing about where I was going to go and what I was going to see there. After a day's research back in Chennai, I then had a rough plan of how I was going to spend my two weeks in Sri Lanka. But before getting on a plane for the first time since arriving in India in Delhi, I had one last taste ... read more
Fort Walls, Galle
Buddha Statues, Colombo
Streets Of Galle Fort

Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Chennai January 31st 2017

I've always found that I've preferred the old colonial names for most Indian cities. Bombay. Bangalore. Pondicherry. Mysore. The same goes with Chennai's old moniker of Madras. Although there are many who probably don't think the same, the old names evoke a certain romance, of how exciting it must've been in colonial times to have gone to places so exotic; the beautiful architecture and the cute traditions left behind by the British Empire. This is of course from a Westerner's perspective and of course there was the oppression of the local people that was carried out by the British and the associated arrogance and racism that went along with it. But growing up in a Western country, you're not really taught about those things. Which I guess is a longwinded explanat... read more
George Town
Marina Beach
San Thome Cathedral

Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Pondicherry January 28th 2017

Like a lot of historically colonial places in India, there is a certain romance about Pondicherry - or as it is officially known these days, Puducherry - and having been a French enclave until 1954 and being the setting for the start of the famous novel and film, Life Of Pi, only adds to Pondy's sense of enchantment. I looked forward to yet another pocket of India with its own unique character. Getting over there from the other side of the country proved less of a mission than anticipated although finding your night bus departure point in India is never straightforward. You'll be given a vague address such as "Opposite train station" and then you have to rely on your instincts, experience and common sense to find it. Then after finding it, you're often then redirected ... read more
Rue Romain Rolland
Colonial Architecture & Bougainvillea
Worn French Charm

Asia » India » Kerala » Varkala January 24th 2017

The BBC in this instance, does not stand for British Broadcasting Corporation nor does it stand for something dirty. In this case, it stands for the three things that I was looking forward to about Kerala, the reasons why it tops many a traveller's list of Indian highlights; beaches, backwaters and culture. Supposedly so different from the north and other parts of India, I was excited about seeing yet another different side to this endlessly fascinating country. But first, I had to get there. Already not enamoured by Mysore, my opinion of the place definitely didn't change after a less-than-great last day there. The "best dosa in town" gave me the shits and I should've known better than to drink the water served at the restaurant. But I was thirsty! I also should've asked for another ... read more
Chinese Fishing Nets
Varkala Beach
Kathakali

Asia » India » Karnataka » Mysore January 14th 2017

From the first jarring judder bar, I knew this was going to be a rough ride. This ancient school bus did not have the softest suspension. And Indians sometimes ask the most random questions. The bloke next to me opens a conversation asking me how much I paid for the shorts I was wearing. In which to answer, I needed to remember where I bought it, how much I paid for it and then convert that into rupees. He then asks me which cellphone company I was with. Since I have an international SIM card, this wasn't an easy explanation either to someone who didn't speak English very well. Rolling into Mysore, my first impressions was that this was just another dirty, dusty, hectic Indian town. And a bit of a shithole. My hostel was nice ... read more
Marriage Pavilion
St Philomena's Cathedral
Kumkum




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