21 & 22 jan. Short stay at the Hotel Royal in Allahabad
I am trying to awake, my cold is picking up and the small mosquitoes that are in this humid area of India and in my guesthouse room has been extremely active throughout the night. I felt all the time these little plug in the skin, since they do not have strength enough to poke through. There was also a slightly larger insect that as a small helicopter made a tickling whirlwind of fresh air first on one side of my nose and then the other. I tried to barricade myself with the sheet well over my head. I felt also that, as was the fleas that jumped around on one's face. But it must have been only my imagination, because of the unaesthetic situation I am.
Slow I come to consciousness and feeling the cold reality, my nose is in the 8-10 degrees cecius. Here I lie well worn out after a hard MC. days, under two giant quilts on a giant bed with 5 meters to the ceiling and trying to find myself. I feel that here in this room, there is certainly in time immemorial been thought great thoughts, as there is sufficiently high ceilings. It is said that in the great room thinking big extrovert thoughts and in small spaces thinking more near and introspective thoughts.
The decline of greatness is really occurring in the former royal apartments. I lie and fantasize how this room has sparkle like a beautiful cut diamond in the dawn of time. I feel like a Baron, in this huge bed and like Jeppe On the Mount in Ludvig Holberg's famous comedy that suddenly wake up in the Baron's bed, I make my thoughts. Instead, as Jeppe in the comedy that suddenly has come to power, I feel a bit powerless in this giant box of a bed, it feels like being on a giant ship, all have long since left, if they have the strength, economy, insight and reason enough to figure out that this Hotel Royal is a sinking ship.
Slow I come to consciousness and feeling the cold reality, my nose is in the 8-10 degrees cecius. Here I lie well worn out after a hard MC. days, under two giant quilts on a giant bed with 5 meters to the ceiling and trying to find myself. I feel that here in this room, there is certainly in time immemorial been thought great thoughts, as there is sufficiently high ceilings. It is said that in the great room thinking big extrovert thoughts and in small spaces thinking more near and introspective thoughts.
The decline of greatness is really occurring in the former royal apartments. I lie and fantasize how this room has sparkle like a beautiful cut diamond in the dawn of time. I feel like a Baron, in this huge bed and like Jeppe On the Mount in Ludvig Holberg's famous comedy that suddenly wake up in the Baron's bed, I make my thoughts. Instead, as Jeppe in the comedy that suddenly has come to power, I feel a bit powerless in this giant box of a bed, it feels like being on a giant ship, all have long since left, if they have the strength, economy, insight and reason enough to figure out that this Hotel Royal is a sinking ship.
Then there are people like me who just has to visit, to see how some people in spite of progress in the world, yet it must take care to settle for what the wealthy have discarded such as this hulk as Hotel Royal, where only mice and rats with backpack people have nothing against to stay for a short visit. For the less you pay for what you need, the longer it has been financially afford to stay out of the labor market. It requires economy and insight to be a free man, there is not captured by capitalism gears of consumerism.
Royal balcony door
My third and fourth MC. workshop visit
This iron cabinet with a large padlock, filled with the most important tool is his Royal Enfield workshop
Back at the Hotel Royal do I get my 20 minutes. rest in Savasana / rest position in yoga where you lie on your back with your arms down and palms facing upward to physically open up and receive energy from the universe. If you fall asleep is 20 minutes. perfectly fine, since you do not get into the deeper sleep and this makes it harder to wake up again.
It is in Allahabad the great Kumb Mela takes place and not in Varanasi
I decide to drive out to see the city's Historic Fort. Traffic is intense, so after a few attempts to find the entrance I give up. There are crowds without equal and a giant tent camp, where Ganga and Yamuna rivers. The holiest place to swim.
I park the MC. and mixes me in the crowd with their stalls and giant tents. Fascinating but also tiring, as the area is extremely large. You feel like a little boat on the big ocean that can not really find direction or goal, so you bobbing little restlessly about. I am at this time filled to the brim with visual experiences, so I decided to go back to the hotel. Next day I have to proceed to Varanasi, where I have read and understood that the big Kumb Mela takes place. Therefore I had ordered from home a Guest house and a room that should have a balcony out to the Ganga.
Today's various hardships, my cold and now also starting diarrhea, have probably done that I've been a little out of focus. I was fully aware that I am both yesterday and today had driven on the reserve tank. This morning I should therefore have been filled fuel tank. Then suddenly I stopped, the tank was completely empty.
Royal Enfield of 180 kg. is not easy to push, as it is not very good weight balance. It did not help that only one of the side boxes were filled with tools and spare parts around. It was incredibly strenuous pushing, as it also had to keep in balance. I did really need my last physical reserves.
Back in my Hotel Area I found after much searching a Thai massage clinic. It was quite expensive compared to what I have previously given for massage here in India. But when my calf muscles and now my upper body was a little too overwrought, I had to say yes. I got first a foot bath and then massage in a cold room. I had to ask her to cover all the parts of my body she didn't massaged with towels. Her massage was not very deep, so I did not really get the heat, which is probably due to that I have a cold. But the massage worked and took away some of my tension in the body.
23 jan. Allahadbad – Varanasi 123 km.
My fifth MC. workshop visit
The low beam does not work, which I discovered the night before, so I waited to MC. mechanic showed up which he first did at 11:00. In the meantime, I managed to get a little yogurt / hadi as breakfast, for the sake of my stomach.
So first 11:30 I was on the way to Varanasi. After 85 km. I try a smaller way, it gave rather not today being particularly positive results beyond a detour. - Reached without further trouble until Varanasi and its dense city traffic.
Ganparti a dark red beautiful old Guest House
I reach the old town with narrow streets lying along the Ganges. To reach Ganparti Guest House, where I ordered room. To reach Ganparti, I really twist me on my noisy motorbike through very narrow streets, crowded with people, bicycles and other MC. There was always someone who could tell me what spawning now I would choose if I had to reach all the way to the Ganparti Guesthouse.
It was a bit of a trial to drive MC the last very steep piece through the very narrow alleys with full packs. I could feel that I was out of training with mountain driving. There is always a little anxiety in your back of the head, the engine may not have enough power to clear the ascent. You just again have built confidence in your MC and your own driving characteristics.
What a wonderful experience to come to this dark red beautiful old Guest House filled with Hindu paintings on the walls. My room had a balcony right on the Ganges, great view. Just the thing for an old hippie like me and incredibly healing for my delicate visual soul. It was like coming back to Cosy Guest House in Jodhpur in Rajasthan state, where I lived up the hillside in a 500 year old painted blue house overlooking the fort.
This Ganpati Guest House was recommended by a colleague and I had already booked the room before I left for the period January 23 to 27 My body will now have a chance to get back in balance. When I arrived here in Varanasi, I was still in the belief that this was where the festival took place and where the great bathing in the Ganges has to take place on 27 January. Another Dane in Ganparti, who was also taken here to experience Kumb Mela, told me that I was wrong. Now he was on his way to Allahabad, where I had just come from. He would, together with his son and another friend overnight in the tent camp. They had brought warm sleeping bags to cope with the cold of the night. But they would be closer to the event's core and all the holy men - sadhus.
When I was in the tent city of Allahabad, I found myself in a manner outside the center where energy is gathered namely inside the various sacred tent centers. Sadhuerne looking for as I said, loneliness, there where only a few people are like the top of the mountain end.
A place to chill out
Enjoying the Hindu Cermoni that is very visual and musical. It takes place every evening
24 jan.
Sitting still with woolen blanket and jacket in the morning in bed and write. First of 13:00 the sun is breaking through and warms though. It seems that I had stopped my diarrhea with my stop pills. I asked the staff at Ganparti if they could arrange for a masseuse. It turned out that he was currently on site, so I got my second massage. It was now not as good as the first, but the cost ¼ when I put space for.
The elephant god Ganesh is one of the most popular gods. It was the god who was asked for when I was traveling. Ganesh stands for wisdom and happiness and that is why one praying him before a trip or a new job.
25 jan. In Sarnath Buddha held his first sermon
Today the sun is shining through the morning and shines all day for the first time in nearly two weeks I've been here. But the sky is still not entirely clear azure. The sun seen through like a light gray filter.
A person from Servas as I have contacted for perhaps to stay with contacts me. She live 12 km. outside Varanasi in the small town Sarnath, where she and her husband operate a small Guest House 'Namo Buddha'. I was offered lunch and enjoyed my visit here in this small peaceful oasis just that is worth to visit and stay a few days.
In the town of Sarnath Buddha held his first sermon after gaining insight. Therefore, it is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites. So listed some new Buddhist temples in the city.
Japanese Buddhist temple
Chinese Buddhist temple
In Sarnath is also the ruins of Dhamekh Stupa
In Sarnath is also the ruins of Dhamekh Stupa
My fifth MC. workshop visit
In the city there was a MC. workshop I could see the spray washed MC. So before I took from the city, they cleaned my motorbike. When it , there were again problems with the start button. The workshop tried in every way to find out what caused it did not work. So tried 4 man to kick start it. Finally, I did it and I got away back to Varanasi.
27 jan. Have sent the first report off
This morning I experience the sunrise straight from my balcony doors and I have taken some photos. Although being able to feel the heat. I can feel that I am 2 years ago came 10 days later here in India.
Finally has completed the first report to you friends and sent. It is a mammoth task to get uploaded so many photos, cropped and placed into the right rhythm to create a visual harmony in the process, it's like making visual sonatas, some with more resonance than others. Google Blog Program is still incredibly difficult and slow and unpredictable to work with. Suddenly the photo goes from the center to the side. It make one really tired because it takes hours to correct so many photos. Or the photos disappear suddenly. But it is of course also Internet café connection. So it's great when I get feedback on my blog, it makes you think it's worth fighting for the visual images and experiences disseminated.
I'm trying to say all the visual noise and disharmony from and find your way to a more simple and understandable picture of a deeper and more prolific Indian culture that can easily be drowned out, the immediate visible. Especially in big cities is all the dirt and dust swirled up and lies like a gray film over it meets the eye. - The result of a rigid and rigid caste system in interaction with a capitalist politics, where the upper class in concrete stamping on the lowest and poorest and deliberately keep them down in the dust.
28 jan. Varanasi – Mirzapur 118 km.
I just want to get out of these narrow alleys
10:00 I'll go. I've decided to go back to Allahabad, but I decided not to stay in the tent city, although it would be easy enough to buy a thick quilt. I probably can not handle the density throughout the day.
There are many alleyways to get to Ganparti Guesthouse ad. Similarly, there are many different alleyways to take to get out of this dense population along the Ganges. Therefore, it is wonderful that there is a young man who offers to help me out of the tight alleys and claustrophobic hell when you're not familiar with them. But it turns out that he actually lead me further into the, to me unknown alleys, although I several times have gone around and photographed in them. He has just led me to another Guesthouse. I try to make him clear with big words that I do not need a Guesthouse. I just want to get out of these narrow alleys. I think now he understands me. I am forced to use a lot of effort to turn the big noisy machine in the alley on a sloping road. When the starter does not work I do not dare to turn off the MC. With all my riding gear on it starts getting hot. - I think of course that he had understood that it is not a Guesthouse I need, but just to get out of this maze of alleyways. Again, I am led to another Guesthouse. He may simply have thought that I do not like the location of the first. My big words become more violent. I tried to involve other people in English in the hope that they understood me and that they would tell the young man that I just wanted to get out into freedom, out where the wind could cool me down. For the third time shows the young man taking me to a new Guest House. With the help of others I get turned on 200 kg. heavy ship and kick-started again. Now I had no confidence to the young man who otherwise said the few words he could in a very understandable English.
This whole tour the force had taken an hour. My arm muscles were completely finished, because I constantly had to keep control not to hit the oncoming motorbike, bicycle Counter-cutting and merchants' stalls. I was completely finished. My freedom was short, for now, I sat instead in the middle of the dense noisy traffic, where it came to swerve if you would not get stuck in the chaos of loud fog horns and engines, trolleys, cyclists and pedestrians all trying to appear in both directions,
Finally, I came out of this cauldron of a city like Varanasi but no, for now you find yourself already in the middle of a new medium-sized city with noise and congestion. Finally, I find a place where I can get a cup of Thai and relaxing a little physically and mentally.
Bonfire of the dead, you where not to film the cremation. The dead are borne through the city down to the bonfire. Each equal to require 350 kg. Firewood, so it can be difficult for the poor to raise enough money for this ceremony
29 jan. Mirzapur – Allahabad 140 km.
My sixth MC. workshop visit
On the morning of Mirzapur, the young people had to push me, because the kick starter does not want more. After only running 1 km. Towards Allahabad my speedometer stopped. Late afternoon when I arrived at Allahabad and run immediately to my regular Royal Enfield workshop. He looks at the starter and must note that the actual switch off and switch contacts should also be replaced. And now the speedometer works. Back to 'Kumb Mela'
AUM
Bjarne
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