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travellers2 - john and penny mitchell

We are about to embark on an overland trip to India. We are going by train to Moscow, catching one of the 'Silk Route' expresses to Bishkek, capitol of Kyrgyzstan. From here its buses, first to Kashgar in Xingjiang, north west China,then along the Karakoram Highway To Pakistan, and finally to India.
We're both 60, with an ever-growing family of children and grandchildren. We're going to be away for about a year, so watch this space for updates!
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Joined on: August 17th 2008
Last Login: August 29th 2009

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By travellers2
June 13th 2009
Nepal Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu
Kathmandu
Kathmandu
Cycle rickshaw
We had heard from media coverage and online websites that it wasn't perhaps the best time to be going to Nepal: there was civil unrest and fuel shortages, with road blocks, strikes and protests. So it was with some trepidation that we left Sikkim on 2nd May, travelling by jeep to the border at Kakarvitta. It was misty and drizzling as we came down the Teesta valley, but it soon heated up as we continued onto the plains. After a cursory immigration check we parted with $40 and were given our visas for Nepal - very quick and easy (wish they [View Full Entry]

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2999 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 44 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: June 16th 2009 | 135 Views | [diary=408049]

clay oven
dung cakes
Bodnath

Having bid a sad farewell to Jess and Bert, we caught the overnight train to Siliguri in West Bengal. This was the end of the railway line, and from then on it was to be jeeps or buses. Our next stop was to be Kalimpong, so we booked our seats beneath a sign announcing ' Buses to the Hilly Regions'. Kalimpong is a smaller, quieter version of Darjeeling on the Sikkim border. It was used as a hill station by the Raj administration when it was too hot in the plains, and we too were very thankful for the drop in [View Full Entry]

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1310 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: June 13th 2009 | 166 Views | [diary=407225]


By travellers2
May 31st 2009
It's a family affair Asia » India » Orissa » Puri
The 5.00am bus to Puri was jam packed - the conductor adopting the usual ploy of allowing all comers and cramming as many people as possible into the available space, and more. With that number of bodies in that cramped a space it was insufferably hot, even with the sun barely risen. We arrived two hours later drenched in sweat, covered in dust, and looking forward to a shower. Puri is both a popular beach resort and a place of pilgrimage for Indians, having had its heyday with Westerners in the 70s when 'freaks' were hitting the overland trail to India. [View Full Entry]

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2984 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 38 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: June 4th 2009 | 229 Views | [diary=403833]

Puri beach
Jaggtanath Temple Puri
Born to be wild

Amravati
Amravati
New monument half finished
We left Mamallapuram on 22nd March to catch the train from Chennai to Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. The part of Chennai that we whizzed through was huge, sprawling and like Bangalore: that unique Indian mix of high tech and third world - shiny, glass fronted skyscrapers, surrounded by indescribable filth and deprivation on the ground. The train journey was uneventful apart from an incident involving a ticket inspector and one of the many vendors who walk up and down the trains plying their wares. The inspector suddenly flared up and lashed out at this guy, shouting and hitting him. Why he [View Full Entry]

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923 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 30 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: May 26th 2009 | 158 Views | [diary=399467]

Araku Valley
 Chatikona market
En route to Puri

Sadhu
Sadhu
Seen in temple, Trichy
We left Trichy on 11th March, heading North to Tiruvanamalai. The bus took five and a half hours, followed by a 14Km rickshaw ride out to the ashram. Sadly, there was a course on so the ashram was fully booked but whilst there we got talking to a local whose name was Princess (really!) who offered us a room back in the town. From the outside, the place looked rather fine, and it wasn't until the evening that we discovered that there was something very dodgy about the electrics. Being very hot at night we naturally needed the fan, but once [View Full Entry]

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2070 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 28 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: May 11th 2009 | 128 Views | [diary=396747]

 Wedding hall
Bride and Groom
Mammalapuram

Shivaratri, Gokarna
Shivaratri, Gokarna
Ganesh comes to the guest house and gets a scrub
We had decided to stay on in Gokarna for the festival of Shivaratri on Feb.26th.,when thousands of pilgrims converge on the town to celebrate Shiva night. We remained in our little hut on the beach with its bamboo and palm cafe looking across the beach, 50 metres from the sea and the days passed languidly with swimming and r 'n' r. Dolphins could be seen not far from the shore and on Pen's birthday one shot up in a vertical salute, whilst an elephant was brought along for a wash and brush up in the sea just opposite. One little oddity [View Full Entry]

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2079 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 47 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: March 30th 2009 | 319 Views | [diary=383653]

Coastal rocks
Shivraratrti, Gokarna
Shivaratri, Gokarna

By travellers2
March 2nd 2009
Backwaters and beyond Asia » India » Kerala » Allepey
Alepphey
Alepphey
shrine to Ganesh
We left Varkala for Allepey, the "Venice" of Kerala, on 29th Jan. The train took two and a half hours, meandering through small villages and across lagoons. The weather was hot and humid, and it looked like rain. The temperature had become a governing feature of our days, as it was too hot around midday to do anything other than flop beneath a fan. Allepey felt like the 'real' India again - dirty, noisy with a variety of interesting shops and stalls; making such a welcome change from Varkala's Western oriented ethnic accessory shops: overpriced and overbearing vendors. We had come [View Full Entry]

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3091 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 35 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: March 6th 2009 | 227 Views | [diary=378068]

Amritapuri
Periyar Tiger Reserve
Periyar Tiger Reserve

By travellers2
February 2nd 2009
Keralan New Year Asia » India » Kerala » Varkala
gokarna
gokarna
bathing ghats
A Happy New Year to all our readers! Thank you for all your news and feedback and those who've donated so generously to our cause.... only kidding! We two are one again, Penny having flown back to England from Islamabad for the birth of Rose's baby, Cissy, while John headed on to India. On Boxing Day, after three weeks in Gokarna, he caught the early morning 'local' bus to Hampi, a boneshaker full of locals all with their various sacks of wares and food etc.. Although it took nine hours, it was a pleasant and sometimes delightful ride through rural India. [View Full Entry]

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2421 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 42 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: February 4th 2009 | 276 Views | [diary=369637]

booth
hampi
hampi

By travellers2
December 9th 2008
Crossing the border Asia » India » Karnataka » Gokarna
I left Lahore sunday morning. The border opened at 9.30am and I wanted to be there when it opened! After fond farewells on the Pakistani side, I headed toward the Indian customs and immigration centre a bit warily, as I now had a cancelled visa, as well as a brand new 6 month job, and if they felt like it, could have given me a hard time. As I was the first through, they weren't quite ready, so chai was sent for me, and I had a very civilised breakfast with 3 customs officers who were very interested to know about [View Full Entry]

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1265 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 14 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: December 12th 2008 | 229 Views | [diary=352727]

Indo-Pak border
golden temple Amritsar
 the golden temple

By travellers2
November 18th 2008
The end of the road Asia » Pakistan » Islamabad
Saudi Pak Tower BLock
Saudi Pak Tower BLock
tower block and tent. Islamabad
In relaying our experiences of Pakistan, certain aspects of daily life got overlooked, simply because they became so commonplace. Power cuts became increasingly frequent, and by the time we reached Lahore 'load shedding' was every other hour, on the hour, across the country. Whilst this was an inconvenience for us, for residents and businesses it must have been a nightmare. Thankfully, at the time of writing, normal service has been resumed. There were also the incidents that we heard about and read about in the paper of the barbaric justice meted out to those having sexual relationships outs [View Full Entry]

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599 Words | 3 Comment(s) | 12 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: December 1st 2008 | 341 Views | [diary=346159]

bright trucks
nan bakers
Polo ground Lahore



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