The town close to The nationalpark is a dusty noninteresting place, so the first thing we did when arriving at 0500 in the morning was getting a hotel and some nice sleep.

Once that task was finished(after about 4 hours...zzzzzzzzzz) we set out to find some info about the park, for prices and such. We also needed to rent a jeep for the safari. Luckily we bumped in to an italian guy that wanted to share the jeep with us so it got a little bit cheaper. We also wanted to do a Elephantride, but no one could really tell us much about this, apparently ity is impossible to book, the one who arrives first there gets to go. anyway, we just had to hope for the best.

The gates for the park opens at 0600. so we told our driver to pick us up at 0500, because we wanted to be the first so we could book the elephant ride. He was 45 minutes late though(bastard) and the only answer we get is ok ok, no problem... whenever you complain here it is just like that, no problem. Everything is possible...
Well luckily we were first at the gate anyway, picked up our guide and went in to the park. We arrived at the place for elephants and were told that we had to come back at 1400 to book. So pretty much no one could guarantee us anything.

The Park is very nice though and has lots of animals. We saw three types of deer: Samba

Once back at the camp at 1400 we managed to book a Elephantride for 1530! They are just such cool animals! The ride lasted for 2 hours and took us to places the jeep could

We enjoyed our day, especially the elephant, but the park is a bit disorganised so it takes some fun of it, I think we would have been disappointed without our bigeared friend to ride on.

So much for now, we are in rishikesh and tomorrow heading for Delhi!

Kiss kiss!

Ola and Agnes

written by  agnesola on March 22, 2008 from Ramnagar, India
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We had already booked our train to leave Varanasi 2 days after we arrived, because our guidebook is strangely not so positive about the town so we thought that 2 days would be enough. To our surprise it was lovely, and the feeling of the place is very nice, or as the new saying goes, very shanti! Our guesthouse had ok rooms, but the best thing with it was the rooftop terrace where loads of travellers hang out and we met some really nice people that we spent our days there with! We would like to have stayed another day or two.

As in Pushkar there is alot of bathing ghats where the hindus come to wash away their sins, they do this very early in the morning. At other times the people who live here come

For us, being in this water without a very very good reason seems very weird. Actually, it

We went to the main ghat one night to see a Puja(prayer) ceremony. We met a indian lady there who was a professor in Mombai who had come too see the ceremony and to visit Varanasi. We asked what the ceremony was about and she said that we indians love

The day after it was time to take a rowboat in the morning to see people do the morning puja. This is when they come to wash away their sins. They start very early so the

It is quite a hectic town, but along the ghats it is quite calm too walk, no cars or rickshaws, just people. And you meet alot of different people while walking there. It is cool. The rest of the town is mixed between narrow alleys in the old street to people and cowfilled big streets in the newer part. And with little interesting stores around every corner! even a german bakery, not a german in sight, but still... it had some great food!

On our last day we visited a place 15 km from Varanasi called Sarnath. This is where buddha held his first sermon and where he came after gaining enlightenment under a bodhitree in bodhgaya. There is a few temple ruins here but they are not very interesting. What is nice here is that it is sooooo calm. very non indian. It is a pilgrimsite for buddhists and there was many chinese and thai there. We sat down on the green grass surrounded by trees and meditating monks. It was a perfect getaway for a few hours before we went back to hustle and bustle of Varanasi.

So that is our Holy Varanasi visit...now we are in Delhi, waiting to take a train to Corbett National park for some Tigersafari...

Ola and Agnes!

written by  agnesola on March 17, 2008 from Varanasi, India
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There we are... When you ask someone about India, they can tell you probably a lot of things... from saris to Hindouism to ganges and spirituality...
But one thing that everyone knows about India, is that the most famous building there is the Taj Mahal!

So we arrived in Agra from Jaipur... happy to leave the business of the capital of Rajasthan... On the first afternoon, we haven't done much, we just had a lunch on a

We also went around the area to see where the different entrances for the Taj are, and when it opens...

On the next ay, we got up very early, to be at the Taj Mahal at 6am and see the sunrise

But that doesn't matter, wether it was sunny or not, we cold discover the Taj Mahal... and it wasn't disappointing.

We entered the site through big ochra gates and little by little the Taj was visible...
I don't think that it is necessary to actually tell you how it looks, I will simply tell you that it is a very beautiful building, looking like a fairytale Castle from the middle east, all made in white marble, which makes it look extremely pure.

The inside of the Taj Mahal is actually a mausoleum built by Sha Jahan for his wife, when she died... amazing to see what love does...
The light is very minimal when you enter and it takes time to adjust to the dark... Once you do, you discover all the decorations and beautiful details...

We stayed a few more moments looking at the outside before leaving the site, still very much impressed by it.

And we were very happily surprised too as it was very interesting to walk and wander around the fort, where architecture here as well was pretty impressive, with some very old parts made of red bricks only, and some other, more "royal" made of white marble...

Inside the Fort, are also many green spaces, which makes it even nicer to enjoy...

The rest of the afternoon, we had pretty much only to wait for our next train... so we went top a restaurant and watched movies while it was raining outside! Lovely!

So we left Agra, for Varanasi, our heads still full of images from one of the most well-known site in the world!

Agnes and Ola

written by  agnesola on March 15, 2008 from Agra, India
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It has all the attributes of an indian big city. It is noisy, dusty and polluted. But it is also filled with old buildings, palaces and forts.
There is also an old part of the town with different handicrafts being sold in different streets.

We stay in a hotel that has two nazi indian brothers running it, they are really careful that everyone turns of the water when they are finished with their showers, and sometimes they turn of the main switch when they think someone is taking a too long shower. I guess this would be kind of alright if I thought they were doing it because of ecological reasons, but they themselves use an excessive amount of water everyday to water the colloection of plants they have on the rooftop, so they are just controlling and weird. Anyway, our room is ok and cheap so we don't complain.

We went to visit something called the Hava Mahal. Which is part of the city palace complex. It was built so that the women of the palace could sit and watch the everyday life of the town from a protected place. It is alot of windows facing the old city. We wanted to see the city palace as well, ut the main exhibition was closed so we did not feel like paying to see only a small part.

The next day we went on a long walk to see the city fort, which is perched on a cliff overlooking the city. It was a 2 km zigzag route to the top, but once we arrived the views were amazing and it was very nice to escape the hectic streets of the city for a while.
The fort itself is not that impressive, but it is nice to wander around there, we also stayed for lunce to relax even more.

So, we did not like Jaipur that much, but it was ok. There was a really nice restaurant close to our hotel and we stayed there during the evenings and we hooked up with some people and chatted away our nights with other travellers. So, not so interesting city, but interesting people!

Thats it. next up is Agra and the Taj Mahal!!!

Kiss kiss

Ola and Agnes

written by  agnesola on March 12, 2008 from Jaipur, India
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As I said, the place is quite turisty, but it still has a certain charm to it because it is so small. There is one main road where shops selling clothes, jewellry and other things mix with cows, temples, tourists and motorcycles. Except for the lake as scenery there is mountains surrounding the entire town. This with the lake makes for some very nice sunsets. There is a sunset outlook point where people gather. There is sadhus, drumplayers, jugglers, cows and monkeys. The atmosphere is very relaxing and some people end up staying here for very long.

Our last day here we wandered around the lake and visited a temple. It was called the Brahma temple, apparently one of the only temples dedicated to Brahma in india. The temple is not that impressive, but they give you flowers that you have to donate in the temple, well, half in the temple and half you have to throw in the lake at Brahma Ghat...

So we go to the ghat after the temple to do just this. As soon as we arrive we are approached by someone who says they are a brahmin(priest) that wants to instruct us in what to do and help us. We ask if it costs money, he says no and just says that afterwards you can give a donation if you want...

Agnes and me we both get a brahmin each that talks to us and gives us a mantra in hindi that we have to repeat after him. There is alot of indians around that do the same with brahmins so It is interesting to see how this works. we also have a silver plate with our flowers on, plus some rice, sugar, spices, red color and something more I cant remember now. At the end we will have to throw this in the water.

After the mantra he asks me how many family members I have, then asks if I am married, have kids and stuff like that. And he says some things that will give me a joyous and prosperous life. Then he starts talking about my family again and ask me to donate money for the happiness and wellbeing of my family. And I thought it was just about the spirit, not about money. He tells me the indians usually give a 1000 rupees(around 13 pounds) so he tells me for a foreigner around 500 is ok. I say it is far too much and when i say I will only give 50 rupees and in the donation box later he says that I have to put it on the holy coconut, at this point It was very hard not to laugh. There was a coconut there but I had no idea it was the holy money coconut, anyway, I put 50 rupees on the coconut and the guy says he is not very pleased with me. After this I put my stuff in the water. Afterwards I meet up with Agnes who was sitting further away with another guy and she has decided to give 50 as well, but her guy was not as persuasive as mine and she gave money afterwards, not on the holy coconut. THE HOLY COCONUT! come on...

It was a fun experience, and I am sure there are real priests in this ghat, but unfortunately there are alot of people who try to scam money out of tourists so you never know who you can trust. Anyway, me and Agnes are starting a new religion that worships coconuts. I am sure it will be huge.
This is now year zero, birth of coconutism! Go coconuts!

that is it for now, we have moved on to Jaipur which is the capital of Rajasthan! more on this in a few days.

Pctures to this blog will come when we find a quick connection!

Kiss kiss!

Ola and Agnes

written by  agnesola on March 9, 2008 from Pushkar, India
from the travel blog: Baby and Baby's around the world travel...
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So Udaipur... we arrived very early in the morning in Udaipur after a bumpy bus ride.
So we arrive in the touristy center of the town, and of course everything is closed and a few people try to get us in their "amazing" hotels. After a while walking around not really knowing where to go, we finally follow one of them to his hotel... And we were actually not disappointed at all. The room was relatively big and very charming! So we could sleep for a while and rest from the bus ride.

Udaipur is build around a few lakes, one of them being right at the center of the touristy area. There is an island in the middle of the lake where a beautiful hotel is... but very expensive and you can only go there if you go sleep or eat at the rather expensive night buffet!!! So we only enjoyed looking at it from the outside.

The town is also famous, especially the moosoon palace, perched up on a hill, for being the place where the movie Octopussy, James Bond movie, has been filmed... A lot of restaurants show the movie at night, so we watched it, but it has to be the worst James Bond movie ever!! Anyway, it was fun recognising places from the town!

Across the bridge from the main area, we went for a drink in a garden restaurant and

And last but not least, we visited an haveli (big old house) which was very beautiful and used to be the Maharaja guesthouse!

We also enjoyed going around town and seing the markets and bazaar streets. And doing a little shopping...

Next destination Pushkar! Over to you, Ola!

Kisses.

Agnes and Ola

written by  agnesola on March 8, 2008 from Udaipur, India
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Well! our next destination here in India,Jaisalmer...Is pretty cool!
It is very arabic influenced with a nearby desert, a huge fort made out of golden

It is a very nice little town, easy to walk around and with loads of old buildings. The Hotel we stayed in was 400 years old! pretty cool! The fort that overlooks the town looks like a giant sandcastle! Once again, like in other places in India, it really feels like stepping back in time. There is plenty of things to see and wandering around inside the fort getting lost is a cool way to spend a few hours.

There is old buildings with exquisite carvings, towers and walls with giant paintings of

Another thing that is possible to do in Jaisalmer is to go in to the desert on a camel safari. We thought about it but decided not to. And a good thing we did not!

Because on the night before we left we were walking home towards our hotel when we

The next day we were going to take a bus to our next destination, but check out was at 9 in the morning and the bus at 3.30, so we had a lot of waiting to do and did not know what to do with our day. We sat down at a cafe to have a tea and after a while we heard drums...hmmm. Another wedding we thought. I went to have a look and see a huge elephant coming towards me! The elephant was painted in bright floral patterns and

We stand still and watch people go by, dancing, singing. Then we go with them, talking to some, they give us special shawls around our neck and invite us to dance. All the time there are people throwing a red powder around. Apparently it is for good luck, but we try

While non of us are religious, it is interesting to see spirituality like this, it is really filling these peoples lives, and they celebrate it with joy and energy like you cant find in religion in Europe. Before we left we went back to our hotel to borrow the shower, that red powder was hard to get off....

So that concludes our trip to Jaisalmer! Fairytale forts, magic evenings and spiritual gatherings! we had a great time here!

Bisous, puss o kram! kiss kiss!

Ola and Agnes painted red!

written by  agnesola on March 1, 2008 from Jaisalmer, India
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After starting our trip in India with Mumbai, we took a train to go to Rajasthan, which is a region north of India... The train to get there, was very ... how to say... interesting...!! Actually looking like a real moving prison...!! Not very comfy, but hey!! that's travellling!

So we sat in the train, and after some time, our "seat neighbours for the night" arrived: a lady, her husband, her brother and their servant.
They started chatting with us and asking questions, and we ended up sharing some food with them... which was very nice.
When we had to leave the train at our stop (after the night), the brother gave me a little book full of love sentences!!! He knew that Ola was my boyfriend but it seems like it doesn't matter so much there!!
Anyway, it was funny!! And I have his phone numbers in case !!!

So we arrived in a town called Jodhpur, which is a pretty old and big town... the streets are very hectic there, with loads of traffic...

One thing which is funny, is that we, as westerners, are kind of superstars for kids in the streets. They all come to us and want to know our names and our country and they shake our hands.... it is very cute and funny! They also love to have their picture taken!!

On our way back to town, we visited a small kind of temple made of marble which is a burial site for the former Maharajas. Extremely beautiful as well!!

Next episode soon!!

Love you all!!!

Agnes and Ola

written by  agnesola on February 27, 2008 from Jodhpur, India
from the travel blog: Baby and Baby's around the world travel...
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India is a violent assault on all the senses, and all at once. There is alot of beauty and colors, but also alot of tragedy, there is smells lovely as incence, flowers, food and spices, and also smells that are less pleasant... There is alot of traffic and noise. All this attacks the mind at the same time. Just by going from the airport in to the center I think both our minds raced in many directions and thoughts at once. I do not think we said more than a few words to each other during that trip, just lost in our own thoughts. What you see is just so much poverty, more than anywhere we have been before, but yet this country has some amazing and kind people, curious and helpful, more also than any other country we have visited.

We arrived late at night in Mumbai so we had booked a hotel from the airport, when we arrived the bed was very small, it was very tight for 2 people in the bed but hey, at least the trip brings us closer together =). So the next day we upgraded to something more comfortable with a fan with a noise, well rather a beat, you will all understand when you see our fan dancing video!

We started our first day with walking...we walk alot but it is cheap and healthy. Mumbai

We had been invited by the hotel to work at a indian wedding, well Agnes was going to work(work...I recognise that word...but what does it mean...) and i was gonna hang around. They wanted western girls to dress in sarees and greet people as they came to the wedding party. The place looked more like a event of some kind more than a wedding party. There was a big stage, cameramen and loads of food stands everywhere. As soon as we arrived they got Agnes to change in to a saree and she was put to work straight away. I thought I could just sit down and do nothing for 4 hours, take some photos and
sample the cuisine...

I was wrong, a few minutes after I had sat down at a table some kids came up and asking questions, which I gladly answered. They asked about my country, my favorite sport, are you married, what are you doing in India etc etc. At first this was ok, just a few kids, later it was alot of kids asking the same things over and over again. Then they started asking for autographs, and when I told them that Agnes was my girlfriend they started swarming around her as well. It was kind of like being treated like rockstars. The kids were lovely though, some of them brought me special sweets from the food stands to try, juices and drinks. All of them spoke very good english. I wouldn't say that it was annoying, but in the end it was a bit exhausting, having kids all around and asking stuff for 4 hours, we all know kids have a lot of energy. It was a very nice experience but we both went to bed that night very tired.

The wedding party itself was a bit strange, the two getting married never walked around, they pretty much just spent time taking pictures on stage and shaking peoples hand when they passed them giving gifts. But I guess it is tradition here, htere were fireworks as well, but I could not pay attention to much to the wedding couple, I had my groupies of indian kids to chat with all the time.

The next day was spent with more walking, pretty much the route we walked the day before, but this time we went a bit further, we saw a market that had alot of fruit and veg and live animals. It is a bit sad to see all; the animals; chickens, dogs, birds and more in small cages like that. There was also a cow meat market, the cow is sacred here in india, but not fore the muslim that live here. We just peeked in there becuse it was not open that day but it was just as good, the smell and blood we saw was enough. Sometimes the foodinspectors in Europe complain about a little bit of dirt in between some doors to a fridge or something like that, I think they would have a heart attack if they came to this place. We also visited a nice spiceshop and bought a overpriced bag of spices, it tasted really nice though so it was ok!

Well that is pretty much all of our 2 first days in India, we are now in a town called Jodhpur in the heart of Rajasthan, 18 hours north of Mumbai. We will write about that very soon. It is very beautiful though...

Sorry that we dont have more pictures, but the internet here is very slow so we will put more when we find quick internet!

Until next time, Bisous, Puss o kram and Kiss kiss!

Ola and Agnes

written by  agnesola on February 24, 2008 from Mumbai, India
from the travel blog: Baby and Baby's around the world travel...
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So we are now in India, our last destination! (snif snif)
But that will be for the next blog...

After having spend some time on that paradise Island, and having seen beautiful under-water creatures..., we went back to Bangkok, to visit a few more tourists sights and to say bye to Thailand!

Close to there, we visited a temple with 5 or 6 levels that you can climb up... the place is

We also walked along the presidential palace which is very beautiful and very white! But Unfortunately we were not dressed to the standards to enter and anjoy the park around... so we just looked at it from behind the barriers!

One of the most important attraction of Bangkok, is the Grand Palace. It is the Royal palace, but you can not actually visit the interior, you can just walk outside, but it is also

Around the different buildings, you can find some very tall statues of soldiers and some much smaller of old angry looking fighters!!

The main attraction of the temple is the Emerald buddha, one of the most venerated Buddha in Thailand... It is made of Jade, and it is not very big, but it is placed on a massive golden throne which makes it grand. It is quite an impressive religious thing, even for non believers like us!
(just so you know i wasn't allowed to take a picture of the emerald buddha... but I did it anyway... so sorry for the bad quality but I had to be dicreet and the lights were bad!)

At night, we went to see a night market in one of the red district of Bangkok... It is a pretty soft red district and most of the people here come to see the market and have a drink... but you can't avoid to see that a lot of them are here for the girls, and in some cases the boys...

It made us quite sad at the end of the night to see how many girls do that to survive... and we also had the bad luck to see quite clearly two pedophiles...

I know it kills a bit the light touch of the blog, but you can not go to Bangkok and not see those things... Unfortunately there is little to do in such a short time, but it is crazy to see how open and accepted it is there... and how many europeans or other westerners think that it is allowed for them too...

Well anyway! Lets not let it get to us!!
We are now in India, and here it is another story as most of the women are very covered when dressed! But we already like very much the country...

All in the next blog!!

Agnes and Ola

written by  agnesola on February 22, 2008 from Bangkok, Thailand
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