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Kolkata

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    • Day 3

      Haora

      November 8, 2019 in India ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

      Botanischer Garten in Haora, der Schwesterstadt Kalkuttas gegenüber einem Mündungsarm des Ganges gelegen. Sehr markant der einzelne Banyan-Baum, welcher eine Fläche von 1,6 Hektar überschattet. Früher war da mal ein ganzes Dorf drunter.Read more

    • Day 13

      Chhath Puja Festival

      November 3, 2019 in India ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      As we left Guptipara, the beginnings of a festival were taking place. It is a festival that celebrates from sunset to sunrise. Our tour director Deep, mentioned that the festival would run all night; thousands of people would attend and there would be no sleeping tonight. Dianne and I both agreed we were glad to leave as it could be noisy.

      We arrived in Kolkata last night after motoring late into the night. We anchored in the middle of the middle of the river and thought we would all settle down to a good sleep. Another fate awaited us. Around 2:30 in the morning we were all awakened by music over loudspeakers, lots of fireworks and bangs as another festival took place. It was on the banks of the river but the noise was still loud and relentless.

      This celebration was held all along the River. There would have been no quiet spot to park. There were a lot of grumpy people at breakfast.
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    • Day 13

      Flower Market

      November 3, 2019 in India ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Next on the day’s agenda was the flower market. Smells not like Delhi.

      Marigolds are abundant and so are bees. No one seems concerned about the bees because as someone said, they are friendly. Marigolds are sold by the pound and are used in welcome garlands, decorations for temples, homes, toto’s, funerals and idols.

      The flower market was a wholesale market, so you couldn’t buy just one flower or even a small bouquet. It was a basket full or nothing.
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    • Day 14

      Off to Nepal

      November 4, 2019 in India ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      Travel day, Calcutta Airport to Kathmandu Nepal. Air India flight 247 non stop direct. Some of our fellow travellers from the boat are on the same flight. It’s about an hour and and a half long and Air India served a hot meal.
      When we arrived in Nepal we arrived at the same time as some other international flights, and the customs area was crowded. Liz and Alan, Dianne and I all have e-visas that we got online. We need to pay the 30 USD each for our visas on arrival. There is a line up to pay, and a line up to validate your visa. There is another lineup for you if you don’t have a e-visa, which we thankfully avoid. Still it takes well over an hour to complete the process. After that’s all done, they scan you for metal before you pick up your luggage. I’m pretty stressed by the time we get our suitcases. A couple of times I thought I was going to have to tune some people up about manners and big crowd behaviour. It all worked out without the extra drama, and we were greeted by our guide Abit.
      It’s dark now as we exit the airport and ride to our hotel. Immediately it strikes us that Nepal is cleaner than the last place we were. The roads are rough, and the air is dusty, but it is cooler and our hotel is an oasis from that.
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    • Day 3

      Belur Math

      July 25, 2023 in India ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      Nach der Ankunft der Fähre sind wir zum Hauptbereich der Ramakrishna Math Bewegung.
      Es hatte eine wunderbare ruhige Stimmung. Und das in Indien!

      Belur Math (pronounced [ˈbeluɽ ˈmɔʈʰ]) is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, Belur, West Bengal, India. Belur Math was established in January 1897, by Swami Vivekananda who was the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Vivekananda returned back to India from Colombo with a small group of disciples and started work on the two one at Belur, and the others at Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas called the Advaita Ashrama.[3] The temple is the heart of the Ramakrishna movement. It is notable for its architecture that fuses Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian art and motifs as a symbol of unity of all religions. In 2003, Belur Math railway station was also inaugurated which is dedicated to Belur Math Temple.“

      „Ramakrishna Math is the administrative legal organization of the Ramakrishna Order, considered part of the Hindu reform movements. It was set up by sanyasin disciples of Ramakrishna Paramhansa headed by Swami Vivekananda at Baranagar Math in Baranagar, a place near Calcutta (now Kolkata), in 1886. India. The headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and its twin organisation, Ramakrishna Mission is at Belur Math (in West Bengal, India).

      Main temple at Ramakrishna Math, Belur. Although Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are legally and financially separate, they are closely inter-related in several other ways and are to be regarded as twin organizations. All branch centres of Ramakrishna Math come under the administrative control of the Board of Trustees, whereas all branch centres of Ramakrishna Mission come under the administrative control of the Governing Body of Ramakrishna Mission.“
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    • Day 8

      Cruising the Ganges

      October 29, 2019 in India ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Welcome ceremony, safety briefing and we are on our way as we eat lunch. The rest of the day we cruise upstream and take in all the sights that both banks have to offer. We are a spectacle. People take out cellphones as we go by and take pictures and videos of our passing. I didn’t expect that.Read more

    • Day 12

      Pottery barn

      November 2, 2019 in India ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      This industry thrives because the cups and bowls are bio degradable and usually considered one time use. The man at the pottery wheel is adept at making bowls, turning out one every 10 seconds or so.

      The best part of this experience was the kids showing up. They wanted to see us because we look way different than the locals. English seemed widely spoken even at young ages. The excitement was infectious and the crowd grew the longer we lingered.
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    • Day 19

      Letzte Dinge...

      April 11 in India ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

      Nach dem Streßtag gestern und vor der Rückreise morgen war heute langsamer und ruhiger angesagt. Harald und ich wollten außerhalb frühstücken, mussten jedoch feststellen, dass wg. des Zuckerfestes vieles geschlossen war. So sind wir bei Starbucks gelandet, was geschmacklich durchaus halbwegs indisch und in Ordnung war.
      Mein Plan war ursprünglich mit einem Uber in die Innenstadt zu fahren und mir den Rest des Zuckerfestes anzusehen. Kurzfristig entschied ich mich mit der S-Bahn zum Hauptbahnhof zu fahren und meine Suche dort zu beginnen. Ich landete in einem Marktviertel, das mich ganz stark an 1984 erinnerte...
      ohne Einkäufe, abgesehen von einer kleinen Süßigkeit aus einer Bâckerei, ging es wieder zurück zum Hotel und einem Rundgang mit Kaffee, Milchshake und Muffin.

      Am Nachmittag brachen wir zu einer Schifffahrt in einem goldfarbenen Phantasieschiff auf. dem Hugli auf, der zum Flusssystem und Mündungsdelta des Ganges gehört. Schwülheiß wars und als Pausestop lag die Ramakrischnamission auf dem Weg. Ganz viele Leute waren festlich gekleidet, aber niemand konnte uns so recht sagen warum... 🤔

      Und wie an allen Tagen, sind wieder die meisten Bilder von Harald... Danke!

      Mit 60+ stellt sich mir auch bei dieser Reise die Frage, war das zum letzten Mal an diesem Ort? Überraschend häufig ist die Antwort dann einfach: wenn nochmal, dann mit Enkel:innen.
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    • Day 18–19

      Flugzeug, Bus und Straßenbahn

      April 10 in India ⋅ ☁️ 34 °C

      Um 5 Uhr sind wir vom Hotel in Pora (Bhutan 🇧🇹) zum Flughafen gefahren und mit der Royal Airline nach Kolkata (Kalkutta) geflogen. Dort angekommen, ging es sofort zur Stadtrundfahrt. Das war eine schöne Idee, aber nach der kurzen Nacht seeehr anstrengend und lang. Am eindrucksvollsten war für mich der Blumenmarkt, den wir am Anreisetag schon einmal von oben gesehen haben, diesmal von unten.
      Es folgte viel Kolonialarchitektur, ein Kaffeehaus und ein Stück mit der Straßenbahn. Bei einer der anglikanische Kirchen begegnete uns eine Gruppe marschierender Pfadfinder...
      Kulinarisch war der Tag von einem erstklassigen indischen Lammgericht und einer ebensolchen Mangolassi geprägt.
      Heute hat das Zuckerfest begonnen, daher ist morgen manches zu....
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    • Day 13

      Girls shopping & final evening on Ganges

      November 3, 2019 in India ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      We were finally let loose in a mall. Avalon seems to keep us pretty close and due to a holiday many shops were closed (disappointing) but we had fun!

      On return to the boat the sun was setting and these are a few of those picturesRead more

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