Blogs from Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India, Asia - page 2

Just got off the train in Haridwar, from where i had planned to go straight to Richikesh, however, it was already starting to get dark when i got off the train and so me and some others from on the train headed to a nearby hotel. Listed in the LP guide as 'mid-range' it was certainly a step up from my last room in Delhi but also a little more pricey. I managed to get the price down from 950 rupees to 700 rupees (da da da daaaaa) because i was alone and although air cooled just meant a ceiling fan and a fan in the window bringing in air from outside (i turned this off because it was actually heating the room), the room was actually far nicer. 3 times the size with a proper ... read more

The journey to Haridwar didn’t particularly start on a high note, what with having a man touch my breast and put his hands on my thighs whilst I was sleeping on the bus. That wasn’t the precedent for the rest of the trip though. As soon as I arrived I could tell I was in good hands. Nikhill hooked me up with one of his dear friends, a very spiritual man, who’s an astrologer. He’s quiet, kind and a perfect host. He owns one of the best hotels here, which is actually listed in the Lonely Planet and is kindly allowing me to stay for free. These people seriously want to spoil me, I’m having to literally fight to the counter to even pay for food. As soon as I’m half way through a dish, they’re ... read more

Write what should not be forgotten.... Hmmm.... Nothing like some big shoes to fill.... Predominantly, a sacred Hindu pilgrimage, Kumbha Mela is the largest spiritual gathering in the world. 'Kumbha' means 'pot' (with no handles) and 'Mela' means 'gathering' or 'fair'. Legend says that at the beginning of creation, all the Gods were under a curse making them weak. Brahma (The Creator) advised them to retrieve the pot of immortality. The Gods sought the help of the Demons. During the battle to retrieve and possess the nectar, four drops spilled in four places: Allahabad (Prayag), Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain. This auspicious coming together, takes place four times every twelve years at one of the four sacred places along the Ganga River, dependent upon the position of planet Brhaspati (Jupiter), the Moon and Sun. A few others ... read more

First of we are very lucky to have made it to Haridwar, we take back all the bad things we have said about the train system and that it is NEVER on time. For once it worked in our advantage :) We had booked tickets a few weeks ago to go to Haridwar for the Kumba Mella festival but we were on the waiting list right up to the last night, but lucky for us we were the previous night at the function for the CEO of trains for northern India (see previous blog) and we used our charm and next thing we knew we had tickets to Haridwar and even upgraded. Why we were so grateful that the trains we late, I didn’t realise that they put us on a complete new train and it ... read more

I’ve been planning to take a weekend out of Delhi for ages and this weekend it finally happened. As always seems to be the way here my plans changed dozens of times in the week leading up to it and I went from going to Varanasi with two friends, to going on a spontaneous field trip with work, to eventually going to visit a place called Haridwar (holy city related to the title) and the nearby National Park of Rajaji. Haridwar was suggested to me by Melissa the volunteer who I live with as she went there when she was last in India and said that it was really nice. I like travelling via recommendations as guide books will always try to make a place sound good and it’s hard to tell if you would ... read more