Monthly Archives: December 2011

December 17 – 22 Pushkar

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I enjoy too much! I realize more and more every day how much I feel at home here. I am back to my old habits: In early morning, after yoga I buy roses and take a walk at the market to give one to all the people who cross my way…. “HariOm!” This where my name is coming from. All people smile with me and this walk takes hours in the first days because of so much chai I have to drink. I see in the peoples faces how happy they are I am back. An awesome feeling!

On one of the first days I meet Barbara and Doro – two beautiful girls from Switzerland at the barber and we make sightseeing tour on the next day. Goamuk temple, monkey feeding, old pushkar lake, Bednad temple – all my favourite places. We all enjoy a lot and promise so stay in contact.

I have lot of fun riding Om tat sat and cant wait to go to Gokarna. It is getting colder in Pushkar morning time is like freezing at below ten degrees. Ansu did Yoga Teacher training too so we do Yoga together in the evening at sunset ghat. We decide to make free Yoga classes again, if possible at the temple so I make nice template. Tomorrow I will go to Ajmer to print it. Yoga classes at old ranji temple are something really special and I can hardly describe the energy I receive when practicing there. Every year I experience something very special there so I can´t wait to enjoy this again.

When sitting in front of enigma café today suddenly a girl from france stopped her enfield in front of us. I know her from spring as we wanted to go north together then. For some reason it did not happen. She plans to go south now too so we decide to meet in the evening to have food together and talk about maybe going to Gokarna together.

At Sukha place everything is nearly too much loving to be true….: A few days ago I come to the kitchen and Saura ask me how I am. Smilingly I reply I am hungry. Saura makes a sad face and says:”Why like this my friend? You make me really sad when you say you are hungry! I am here 24 hours to cook for you so no need to be hungry! Next time please tell me BEFORE you are hungry – ok?”

Leaving Pushkar is planed for December 25. Sukha has planned big Christmas party so it is not possible to go earlier and I have to be back at jan 19. As many people want to celebrate my birthday together with me…!

December 16 Tal Chhapar – Sukha Place (Pushkar)

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[26°28´56”, 074°34´01.5”]

Km today:311

I can´t wait to arrive in Pushkar so I start without even leaving the car. A few kilometers down the road I see an awesome temple next to the road. I fall back to old habits immediately and make morning pooja there. The priest welcome me and give me prassat. Its incredibly sweet but its holy so I enjoy. At a railway crossing I have to stop and use the time (about an hour) to refill the tank with the petrol containers and make some chai. Driving is still a little exhausting as I share the street with goats, camels, donkeys, cows and so on, at least the quality of the street is great so I can go pretty fast. I enjoy being home in Rajasthan – love this dessert country full of colors and great smell! 60km before pushkar I decide to take a shortcut as I don’t like to drive through ajmer if I can avoid it. Street becomes little worse but much more beautiful. I enjoy the landscape even though the last kilometers take ages to pass.

Finally I arrive in Pushkar around lunchtime. I stop in front of enigma café to start saying hello to my friends. For some of them it is completely surprising but most already expected me. I have chai at enigma rooftop and take a nice shower only minutes after. A walk through the market to say hello to everybody takes all afternoon and everybody is happy to see me again as much as I am happy to be back. Menash has a kali painting I get as welcome present – I am blessed! Thank you again Menash! In the evening I decide to take the way through the market with suryananda as Max suggests. Streets are very narrow but now everybody knows I am here after this parade!

At sunset I arrive at Sukha place and can hardly recognize it! This place has changed to become even more like paradise! I got an own toilet and wifi at my hut! We have broadband internet and everything is green like in the middle of the jungle! I love what Sukha has done here in the last months! Unfortunately I break the screen of my computer when unpacking it so no internet at the hut the first evening. Sukha says no problem and 2 hours later a friend of him comes to pick up the computer. He goes to jaipur tomorrow so no problem. I have amazing food and go to bed in my old hut again. It really feels like home – even the birds are still here and have raised a little family by now. I am happy I have my mosquito net to protect my sleeping place from their excrements :).

December 15 Amritsar – Tal Chhapar

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[28°31`30.2”, 074°27`57.6”]

Km today: 418

I get up early enough so I can go to the golden temple before too many people are there. In spring I was just walking around it because of the long queue but this time I am lucky and can go inside without any waiting. The atmosphere is breathtaking and I can take on of the best pictures of the trip around the temple. Next I go to internet to update the blog and find the shortest way to Pushkar. I can´t wait to arrive there. Its still morning time when I leave town and soon I find myself in a chaishop on the road where I already had chai in spring. People there remember me and my painted bike and we have a lot of fun.

A few kilometers further I see a biker on the road. Obviously an overlander too. I stop and give him a lift to where he wants to go today. Sam is from france and speaks better German than English. We have chai together and after I drop him. When it´s already dark I cross the border from Punjab to Haryana – in the same moment the street becomes a million of bumpholes all over. 30km in Haryana take me more than an hour and I am happy to be allowed to pay road tax as soon as I am in Rajasthan. A little later I recognize the change in the landscape when I arrive in the dessert Thar.

At 22.30 the moon rises and gives all the surroundings a real magic touch. Soon I get tired and find a little chaishop in the dessert to spend the night there. I have food, tea and sleep amazingly well. Tomorrow I will be at home: Pushkar!


December 14. Okara – Amritsar (Hindustan, Bharat, India, HOME!)

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[31°37´25.4”, 074°52´44.1”]

Km today: 181

When I wake up at 9 the escort is already ready to go. I quickly get ready too and half an hour later we leave. One of my new police friends changes some money for me so I take some petrol (cheaper in Pakistan than in india!) and on we go. 150km to the border pass like nothing even though there is a traffic jam in Lahore. Pakistani side of the border is done pretty quickly even though they check all the numbers of the car – I am happy they accept that color is nothing important and smiling they write “colorful” in their documents and ignore the “grey” in the carnet de passage.

When I pass the gate to india I have to stop everything to take some pictures of suryananda at Wagah border. When I am exactly at the gate I step out of the car to make a few steps back taking a picture. The guard smiles but says “Sir it is not allowed to go back to Pakistan once you are in india”. I apologize and go back to india again. No problem. As soon as I cross the border all the people greet me saying HariOm because of my jyoti (the little longer hair on the backhead). I enjoy! Custom control invites me for chai and take a look inside (I am happy I cleaned yesterday) suryananda. They like my hindi and I enjoy hearing it again. Slowly I understand more and more of what they say to me – if they speak slowly enough. Because of the chatting it takes nearly an hour on the Indian side to pass the border. They ask me about my job and I tell them Yoga teacher and ecologists being prepared to explain that fact. They smile and say this combination fits very well…. I am at home!

I leave the border and arrive in Amritsar some time before sunset. The road to the hotel where I stayed in spring is blocked for cars so I take the closest guarded car park and walk there. Even though my room is free I am not really ready to pay this price. Not expensive for a room with this view but I know the view and I don’t really want to take my stuff out of suryananda to carry it up 5 floors and down again on the next day. Sunset is over anyway and as the sun set behind the golden temple when being in the room the most spectacular moment is done anyway. I sleep in suryananda. The next hours I spend walking around in town, going to hindu temple (finally), internet and getting some food. I see some dog puppies on the street and there was not much missing to make me be the owner of a dog again. They are supercute!

I go back to suryananda and decide to leave to Pushkar as soon as possible tomorrow morning. I want to update the blog in the morning and check google maps for the best way there. After chalo!

December 13. Sukkur – Okara

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December 13. Sukkur – Okara
[30°48´02”, 073°26`51.6”]

Km today: 643

We leave Sukkur in time and as soon as we are on the Highway we make way. The landscape is incredibly….. boring! (Well at least this is new to me). At lunchtime I get very tired. I feel like sleeping for about an hour but then it gets better. It feels like I have been driving home a long way at night and these are the last 10 minutes of driving. Well at least its only 800 to be done to the border and I hope as soon as we are in Punjab I can drive alone. We cross the border an my bodyguards give me hand sign to drive on. YEAH! 20 more km, I think and then I stop for a chai! (When being escorted this is not easy to do) Suddenly I hear a horn and see the police car again. They stop me and I have to go back with them – it was a misunderstanding and I will get an escort until we are at the border. What to do. In the afternoon we stop in a small village for chai and little food. As soon as we stand we are surrounded by more than 50 people who look at us curious. I am not allowed to leave the car and my bodyguards bring food and chai to me. It feels really strange being guarded all the time. Even on the motorway the have the blue flashlight turned on all the time and the other traffic has to give way for us. When the sun sets I count little more than 400km but I feel fresh so I go on.

Two hours later I get hungry and ask the escort if it is possible to get some food. Several times I tell them I want no hotel, local food and things like this but when we stop after half an hour (after passing many small roadside restaurants) we stop in front of a restaurant with a lot of big cars in front (No, no trucks and no caravans too – more the mercedes and bmw kind of). I want to be polite so I take a look at least but inside there are people in western clothes sitting on chairs at tables eating with knife and fork…. Escort waits outside so I go back to tell them this not possible and to illustrate what I want I sit down on the floor and pretend to eat from the floor. Faster than I can react the take me under my shoulders, lift me up and smile at me. The oldest officer takes me at the hand and we go to a place right next to the first one – this time the escort comes in with me. I get amazing Chana Masala with rice and chapati. Probably the best food on this trip yet. When I want to pay for food and chai they say no. The owner of the restaurant invites me for eating like them and trying to talk in urdu…. What to say – the feelings I have are hard to be described by words – I am more than happy for this gesture of friendship that is offered to me. Pakistan people are really same like Persians in their hospitality – It seems like never ending.
About 160km before Lahore the guards are changing again. 5 Minutes later we stop and they say hello and ask me if I need something, where I want to go and what they can do for me. Wow this is the first time something like this happens until now I had more the feeling like they want to keep me moving…
I tell them a chai would be great and sleeping, well I feel pretty awake now but I don’t want to make them drive all night so I tell them if they want to sleep we can go to the next police station and make it their choice. We go on to stop again 5 minutes later at a chai shop. We talk a little and they tell me they have decided I should sleep at their police station. I accept and 5 minutes later we are there. I am told to put suryananda behind the door directly into the entrance – we can´t drive in the yard because the second door is too low. We block all the vehicles inside but no problem…. I have a nice talk with all the guys from the police station, clean suryananda properly for the border and fall asleep very late surrounded by police :).

December 12 Sukkur

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YEAH I crossed the border a few hours ago so I am in Amritsar now. Blog for today and yesterday I still have to write so you will have to be patient. In the meantime here the 12. December in Sukkur:

Km doday: 0

Yesterday I finally arrived in india. The city made me curious and I have to get some things so I decide to stay here one day. In the morning I have a talk with the police (I sleep at their headquarter) and they give me a police guide (he is police man and tourist guide) who shows me the city and comes with me all day. He shows me the irrigation system – a huge dam system which divides Hindus in 7 huge channels for irrigation of three million hectares in Sindh. Needless to say photography is strictly prohibited for security reason. Endemic river dolphins exist too in town my guide tells me – we are not lucky enough to spot any though.

I have a lot of chai (now finally with milk but without masala yet), samosa and pakistani sweets I take with me for the evening. Compared to Pakistan india is like the west in times of sowjetunion. Here there is a real poverty problem. Still everybody is smiling – at least the men, women I hardly see and if I see any most of them wear chador. Much more than in Iran even though here it is not by law.

Internet in the morning is annoying: connected, no connected, connected, no connected – I somehow manage to update the blog but then my guide is already back to pick me up. I am not allowed to make one step without him. Sukkur very danger he explains. Never mind he is a nice guy who really tries hard to make this day wonderful and he is successful! There is a temple in the Hindus on an island. We go there and when I ask him to take the boat to go there he says “no possible”. Now I am standing in front of the first hindu temple and am not allowed to go there! What to do…?

Chai is always a good solution for any problem so we go to get one. On the way I see a 4 liter water container with a tap. Perfect for suryananda! Much more comfortable for nearly everything I need water for. In the evening he goes home to eat and at 8 he is back at suryananda so I can go to the barber and get something to eat. I pick up a few samosas again and enjoy them at home.

One more decision I make – tomorrow I try to be from Hungary, I am sick of the „no kangaroos“discussion! About Pakistan I have to say I am very surprised in a positive way! Since now all people I met were to some extend afraid of, if not hating their neighbors’ not so Pakistan people even though they are in war with india! „Pakistan & India same same“, I hear many times. People see me on the street and without knowing they call me by my name – „Hariom!“ I enjoy. (One of the records I listen to is Madonnas like a prayer. The first words of the lyrics are: „Life is a mystery everyone must stand alone. I hear you call my name and it feels like home – When you call my name it´s like a little prayer…..”)

Coming closer to india feels like coming home. I have been in Amritsar just a few months ago and know exactly where to go. I can´t wait to see the people there again! Its only 50 km to india, a few hundred to pushkar but still I have to drive nearly 900km to cross the border only. War bahout baggle hai – too much stupid is!

Peace!

December 11. Quetta – Sukkur

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[27°41´52.6“, 068°51´25“]

Km today: 384

Today I wake up late and the others are ready to go already. I quickly put some petrol in and hurry up so I will be ready too until escort is coming. Adam tells me they want to go alone too because of my low speed. I don’t know what to think, however I take the same escort leaving the hotel. (By the way I can’t recommend Bloom Star Hotel – if you go Quetta try to be there at daytime so you have time to search a good hotel!). 2 kilometers after leaving I recognize I forgot my tank cap at the hotel. I sound the horn twice and turn around. What to do, this was a quick farewell at the end.

On the way back a boy rides a small bike next to me shouting at me. I don’t know what he wants but he sounds angry and makes money signs with his fingers. I don’t care and go on while he is getting more and more angry. Only a few meters before the hotel police stops me. I feel some tension as they want my passport and have a look inside the car. I take my camera to take some pictures and in the same moment they say „Ok, go! “. Whatever the boy told them, whatever was his problem, I go to the hotel to get my tank cap and wait for another escort. Soon a police guy comes and takes me to the police station. I am being asked to come in and have chai so I lock the car and go inside the yard to sit in the sun. But what is this? Inside the police station there are two big marijuana plants…. I can’t believe it and ask the officer who got me the tea. He explains what they use them for (making hashish) and laughs at me. Pictures possible? Why not! Crazy Pakistan!

Minutes later I am on the road and as soon as I leave Quetta I am there alone – no escort! Now I take my own speed an start enjoying the drive again. I dance and sing in the car and take a stop whenever I like to take pictures and chai. So I stop at the first nice tea stall I find next to a river. The chai is not here yet when an officer of the levies arrives by walk to protect me when drinking. He is very nice though it is a little annoying to have police next to me at every step I do. The landscape is not to be described by words – one of the most amazing ones I have ever seen, but I look forward arriving in India where I am free to do what I want without bodyguard. I go on and some hours later I recognize a road leaving the highway leading to a close by village. I haven´t seen any escort for some time so I stop to study the map and think about visiting the village for lunch. I haven´t finished that thought as a levies officer appears out of the nowhere. Village nehi milega (no possible) chalo, chalo (go, go). – I have to leave immediately. From the village there is smoke rising – not unusual in late autumn but when I go on I think this might not have been a straw fire…

A few kilometers later I am stopped by police again. I grab my passport to make the usual entry in their book so they know who and where I am – but there is no book. They just want to invite me for chai so I enjoy their amazing place on the roadside and after three cups of tea I am allowed to go on.
At one of the following check points a levie officer jumps in suryananda again to join me for the next kilometers. I am not really sure if he is escort or just has to go the same way, but he is a nice guy and enjoys a lot when I enjoy the beautiful landscape which is getting better and better. He doesn´t mind I stop many times to take pictures, gives me smiles with no end and tells me the best places to stop to take pictures. When we approach a nice river I ask if it´s possible to wash there. He knows a nice place in a few kilometers! We go down directly to the river by car, I wash and we make many pictures. I ask him if he wants chai and start preparing a little picnic. I have to close the door because of the wind for cooking and when I open it again to come out with the chai I discover Mohamed has not been lazy too. My bodyguard and police officer has rolled a joint while I cooked chai. What the….? I can´t believe it and ask him charraz, police nehi samassea hai? (Hashish and police, this is no problem?) Nehi samassea – Pakistan! (No problem – Pakistan) he replies. Being like a wine farmer in Austria I have no chance but to taste a least. He likes me and even though I don´t like this there is no polite solution but tasting at least. After we go on I drive on the wrong side of the road twice so I believe he regrets what he has done soon.

When leaving the mountain area, Mohamed leaves me too and from now on I am in the Hindus flats. Quetta was at nearly 1900 above sea level now I am at 60 (sixty). I am below 29°N and it is really warm for the first time since leaving Croatia. Before sunset police escort starts again (in their own car now) changing every 10 kilometers without any stop. One car stops the next own comes, I have to stop for seconds only every time. Soon I get hungry and tired. I is 100km to Sukkur so I tell the police I want to eat and sleep. Half an hour later we stop at a big road side restaurant, police tells me this is hotel and secure because they have a gunman. I enjoy the first great roadside food I loved so much in India. But sleeping no possible here for foreigners – unsafe area, I have to go to Sukkur. I ask why it is unsafe and they explain there is an uncomfortable landlord in this area – no Taliban.

The land here doesn’t belong to Pakistan in a way – at least they have no authority here without goodwill of the tribesmen. The road to Sukkur is painful slowly as Sukkur is directly at the Hindus and most of the road has been flooded in recent years. I see several tank trucks that have obviously been attacked next to the road so I am happy to go to Sukkur for tonight. I am escorted directly to the police station and get a friendly welcome. Police officer comes shopping with me (nearly midnight but no problem) and when I go to bed this is the first night I don´t need to use the heating. I love too much!

The goodbye with the crew was strange though – I am really happy I am on my own again trying to have no expectations and enjoy. I find out I felt like responsible for the expectation the others had… I think a lot about this – am I responsible for the expectations of others? I believe I can only give my best whatever they might expect.

December 10 Quetta

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Km today: 0

I sleep very well and wake up around eight o clock. I don’t see anybody of the others so I go to the market to get internet, money and the things somebody can get in Quetta. (It’s a border town to Afghanistan so wifi for example not available). At the internet café I meet Adam and Justin. We have a little chat and as I can´t connect my computer here I decide to go to the market. I come across a gun market where many shops are selling every possible kind of fire arms I can imagine. Later Adam tells me an AK47 you can get for 200U$ here. Would make a nice souvenir if it was allowed to bring it home.

I take a long walk in the center but find nothing of interest. I have tea with some hindu people who live here for years and appreciate my language. Slowly I start to learn urdu too but is very hard as all the people talk a lot and fast to me believing I understand them. I don’t! Not at this talking speed. After chai I find internet café where it is possible to connect via cable. Internet is very fast so I can update all the last week in the blog and the pictures on facebook too. No time for utube as there is power cut an hour after I come there.

After not finding some of the things I need I decide to take rickshaw to the hotel. Rickshaw guy is very helpful and organizes everything I need for me. Best food for a long time for example!. Quetta itself is a pretty ugly asian city. People are amazing but it´s pretty cool up here in the mountains. The rickshaw wallah comes to the hotel half an hour before 6 to pick me up. We hurry up to get a new horn for suryananda but there is not enough time to find the right one as I have to be back at the hotel at 6 for security reasons. I invite my driver for chai in suryananda but he has to work until 9. I suggest he should come then and he answers in inviting me to his home. I promise to find out if it´s possible and invite him for tea at my place anyway at 9. At the reception I find out nothing possible. There is no way to visit local people after 6 o clock and local people are not allowed at the hotel area after 6 o clock too. Damnit! Well I am happy I was allowed to move without escort all day at least and we were back about quarter an hour too late anyway.

In the evening the eight of us (well seven – tanja is missing, I believe she has a little cultural shock but I did not ask, I hope she is fine) have nice desert together at the restaurant to say goodbye. All of us go sukkur tomorrow but bikes and cars will go separately. I appreciate this because I will not worry about my speed anymore then. The rickshaw guy doesn’t show up in the evening so no problem about this. Road will be amazing tomorrow. From Quetta we will go Bolan pass and then we go down to Sukkur at hindus river. No pictures today but wait for tomorrow!!

December 9. Nokkundi – Quetta

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[30°11´21.4”, 067°00´18.1”]

Km today: 496

When we leave today in the morning I get lost…. Police tells me to go to main street so I go the way back we came yesterday. When I look in the mirror nobody there anymore. I am glad the village is small enough so it is impossible not to find them. Five minutes later we leave. After ten kilometers suryananda has less power. The street is superflat but its not possible to keep speed in fourth gear. Maximum speed now is 65 in third gear. Out here in the middle of the dessert would be no good place for any engine parts to break. I think about it and get suspicious about the petrol I put in in the morning. It was taken from water bottles and when I put the petrol in there were still a few drops of water inside. I decide this will be the reason and go on in third gear.

After nearly three hours we arrive in the next village which is Dalbandin. We go directly to the police station. On the way there I have seen an amazing market and I am hungry. I ask at the police station if it´s possible to get some food. We get police escort and go to the market by walk to buy chapati and samosa! YEAH!. People at the market have incredibly charismatic faces. I try to take a few pictures but it is hard to find people who are not staring at us. I don’t like pictures of people who know I take a picture – if they don’t know they mostly look much better…

The road is one of the worst but still the most beautiful yet. It’s a real dessert road including sand dunes and camels on the road. I love this view and I would love to spend some time in this area. Unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be possible at the moment. People are super amazing here. Everybody seems to appreciate guests. While driving today I suddenly see a new white car next to the road. I am driving alone as the others take a little break so they don’t need to go my slow speed all day. Three people standing in front of the car and I feel a little strange because nobody here but me and them. Then I see two of them have cameras in their hands to take pictures of suryananda. I give them a smile and sound horn to say hello.

We have to stop several times to register in books at checkpoints so if somebody gets lost they know at least pretty well where to search. All is much better organized than in Iran. We register in a book an on we go – if there is an escort change the new escort is already waiting for us at the checkpoint so we lose not much time. Sometimes there is only one guy with his AK47 (everybody seems to have one here) going in one of our cars, sometimes one car in front of us and sometimes one car behind us.

When the sun sets we still have 130km to go to Quetta. We have a short discussion what to do and decide to go on. The Levies (the military service that is protecting us) seem to appreciate this decision so we go on. Following kilometers we go up an awesome mountain road so soon we reach a plateau. The engine is better now as I put new petrol in so I drive around 80 on a not too bad street. I haven´t seen the others in my backmirror for some time but I don’t mind too much. Everyone of them can go twice as fast as I so if something would have happened they would have stopped me.

Suddenly a Pick up with police kind flashlight goes the other direction. As he sees me the people inside make hand signs so I reduce speed. They turn around so I stop. Seconds later we are surrounded by 6 men with scarves on their head everybody carrying his machine gun. I am not really sure what is happening. I haven´t seen to police officers here wearing the same uniform…. But as they smile at me I am sure it’s the good ones so I open the door and we wait for the others.

The night is awesome. It´s nearly full moon and in the mountains around us there are no lights at all. I have never seen a beautiful moon light night like this before!

We arrive at Quetta pretty late. The guards change several times in town and bring us directly to the best budget option hotel recommended by lonely planet. They charge 5 times more now but police is already gone so we can´t look for another place to stay. Food is very expensive too so I make illegally a jump around the corner to get some food. Again I get a very warm welcome and very tasty and perfect spicy cheap food at the local thali wallah. Nice! I can talk to them, understand a little of what they say and I love it. Unfortunately there is no internet at the hotel and all the internet places outside are restricted area at night. Tomorrow after sunrise we are free to move without escort until 6 pm. I am really looking forward to see the market, get internet and buy some stuff I need.

Mijaveh – Nokkundi (Pakistan)

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[28°50´63”, 062°44´27.5”]

Km today: 137

We stand up early and have breakfast to be ready at eight when escort service is supposed to pick us up. Half past eight still nobody here so we decide to get petrol. While the others go to petrol station I quickly go to a shop and five minutes later we meet at the petrol station. Police has seen me so soon an officer comes to the petrol station to pick us up. We have a short discussion about the diesel price but soon the problem is solved and half an hour later we are at the border.

Crossing the border takes nearly all day. Money changers everywhere but we get the best rate at the bank next to the police station. We are escorted there from the border and after we still have to get our carnets stamped at the custom office. It gets warmer – I change my winter onion style dress to dothi and t shirt. Finally we leave the border direction Quetta.

A cute old military guy is our escort and he is sitting with me in the car all the way. We have fun listening to music and I find out hindi and urdu are really pretty similar. He understands me when I speak hindi! Unfortunately I understand only little of his urdu but still enough for basic conversation. Few police checkpoints and our escort stays the same – not like in iran waiting every time, guys don´t take our passports and not even want to see them. We just have to register our names when we pass a checkpointand that’s it.

At one checkpoint our escort hands over his AK47 to us so we make loads of great pictures in martial poses. Just before sunset we approach Nokkundi and pass the gate of the police station where we spend the night at the moment the sun sets. I hurry to the rooftop to take a few pictures of the disappearing sun and find out this village is really beautiful!

I ask the chief of police if I can make a little walk and he replies “no problem”. As the sun has set this very moment I ask again about safety and he tells me in this village no problem. When taking pictures I meet a few boys and soon I get invited to have chai. I think I should go back as it is getting dark but there is a police officer at the place I am invited to. He calls the police station to tell I am here and he “protects” me. So I stay for chai and make contact with many very nice people in this place. Soon another police officer comes from the place where we stay to pick me up. I quickly finish my chai and we go back by motorbike. The chief officer is a little nervous because I was out alone after dark…. I really don´t understand but apologize many times because he is a really nice guy and I don´t want to cause him any troubles. Probably some kind of misunderstanding.

Later Roberto and Marianna cook their famous pasta again – even better than last time! Our escort on the way told me dhal, sabji samosa milega! (possible) “Kaha” (where) I think but the pasta is too good to think about it any further. Before going to bed I visit the rooftop again. The stars and the moon are amazing out here in the dessert!