India (again)

INDIA.

Monday 16/02/2015 to Sunday 15/03/2015. 


Itinerary : 
New-Delhi – Pushkar – Bundi – Ranthambore National Park (Tiger safari) – Orchha – Khajuraho – Chitrakoot – Allahabad – Varanasi (Holi festival) – Tala (Bandhavgarh National Park) – Omkareshwar – Indore – New-Delhi.

CLICK HERE for my 2018 India posts (a new window will be opened)
Pushkar - Jaipur&Amber - Chittorgarh - Udaipur - Ranakpur Kumbhalgarh - Patan (stepwell) - Modhera (Sun Temple) - Little Kuch (Wild Ass sanctuary) - Gondal - Junagadh (Girnar Hill) - Sasan Gir NP - Somnath - Diu - Palitana (Shatrunjaya mountain) - Bhavnagar (Blackbuck NP) - Mumbai.

CLICK HERE for my 2016 India posts (a new window will be opened)
Pushkar - Jaisalmer - Chittorgarh - Bundi - Ujjain - Mandu - Maheshwar - Omkareshwar - Sanchi - Jabalpur - Amarkantak - Varanasi - Bodhgaya - Madhuban (Parasnath Hill) - Puri/Konark - Kolkata - Sunderbans - New Delhi.

CLICK HERE for my 2013 India posts (a new window will be opened)
Mumbai - Goa - Hampi - Fort-Kochi - Backwaters - Munnar - Trivandrum - Kanyakumari - Madurai - Trichy - Puducherry - Tiruvannamalai - Hyderabad - Nagarjunakonda - Ellora&Ajanta - Udaipur - Ranakpur - Jodhpur - Pushkar - Jaipur&Amber - Agra - Delhi - Amritsar - Dharamsala&McLeod-Ganj - Chandigarh - Rishikesh - Auli - Mussoorie - New-Delhi.

1 € = 70 Rs
1 US$ =  62 Rs

1 Rs = 1.4 € cent = 1.2 US$ cent.

Indian Time = European Time + 4.5 hour.

(Click to EXIT)

Day 1 - Monday 16/02/2015.

Aix-en-Provence to PUSHKAR journey, non-stop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aix-en-Provence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushkar 

 Pushkar, the gaths, when I was there in 2013, exactly two years ago.

All four flights together costed 420.45€.

How to reach Pushkar in Rajasthan, India, from Aix-en-Provence, France, in one stroke?

1/ Reach Aix-en-Provence's bus terminal (a 20 minutes walk from home, or 12 minutes in an extreme hurry).
2/ Take the bus from the bus terminal to the Marseille-Provence international airport (40 minutes ride, 8.20€)
3/ Do the check-in, walk to the French border control, reach the gate, and wait.
4/ Take the 14:50 flight to Istanbul Ataturk international airport (Turkish Airlines flight TK1366, Airbus A319, flight lasting 3h, scheduled arrival 18:50 local time, prebooked).
5/ Transit to the gate for the connecting flight and board without waiting.
6/ Take the flight to Delhi Indira Gandhi international airport (Turkish Airlines flight TK716, A330-200, flight lasting 5h55, scheduled arrival 05:25 local time, prebooked)
7/ Pass the Indian immigration control, and find a functional ATM to collect Indian Rupees.
8/ Take the Airport Metro (orange) to the 'New Delhi' terminus in Delhi (100Rs).
9/ Queue a quarter of n hour to buy a new tooken (15Rs)  and change for the Delhi Metropolitan Metro line 2 (yellow) towards 'Kashmere Gate' station.
10/ Change for line 1 (red) of the Delhi Metropolitan Metro towards 'Shastri Nagar' station.
11/ Negotiate a fair price for a cycle-rickshaw ride to the 'Delhi Sarai Rohilla' train station' (1km, 20Rs).
12/ Await the train departure during 1h10.
13/ Take the Indian Rail 9:20 'Garib Rath' "express" train to 'Ajmer Junction' (438km, 7h10 ride, scheduled arrival 16:30, prebooked, 562Rs/AC3T class).  
http://indiarailinfo.com/train/delhi-sarai-rohilla-bandra-t-garib-rath-express-12215-dee-to-bdts/7558/350/303
(Note, for safety, as backup, I also booked the 11:57 'Be Phuj' express train).
14/ Neglect aggressive tuktuk and taxi drivers, and negotiate a cycle-rickshaw from Ajmer Junction to Ajmer's bus stand (about 3km, 30Rs).
15/ Take the next bus to Pushkar (10km, 14Rs).
16/ Ignore the aggressive rickshaw drivers an just walk to the hotel, check-in, take a welcome shower, and rest until dinner (no meat, no eggs, no alcohol in this holy place).
17/ Stay there for three nights to recover from the trip and from the jet lag.
Notice that I forgot step zero... 0/ Be crazy ! 

Whaw, a cook boarded as well, asking for customer feedback about the food.

Each on turn, the cooks of Turkish Airlines are sent on such a mission.

Very nice economy class vegetarian meal,

with freshly squeezed orange juice and Turkish wine.

Day 2 - Tuesday 17/02/2015.
Journey to PUSHKAR (continued). 

Delhi Airport, the passport control.

From the Airport to the Sarai Rohilla train station:
 Orange line + Yellow line + Red line + a rickshaw ride from the Shastri Nagar metro station.

Delhi Sarai Rohilla train station, the railway cooks.

I am not sure those guys will also gather feedback in the trains.

 Ajmer Junction train station, where I left the train (9:20-16:30), on schedule !

PUSHKAR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushkar 

Seventh Heaven Hotel, the lobby.  No major changes since my last visit in 2012.

Seventh Heaven Hotel, my bedroom.

Spicy thali dinner in the Sixth Sense restaurant (Seventh Heaven Hotel).

 
|---| Seventh Heaven Hotel, Pushkar, Rajastan, 1100Rs or ~15€/night (prebooked)
http://www.inn-seventh-heaven.com/
  

Day 3 - Wednesday 18/02/2015.
PUSHKAR, 1st day.

Euro dropping, or Rupee raising?

Pushkar market.

Pushkar, shoe lockers in front of the Brahma temple.

Pushkar, street.

Pushkar, barber shop.

Pushkar, ghats around the holy lake.

Pushkar, siesta time for this guy.

Pushkar, temple donation Box.

Pushkar, my Ashtanga yoga school with Swamiji for tomorrow morning,
"To the Truth".
http://meditationinpushkar.in/ 

Pushkar, Old Rangji temple, pilgrim houses.
This is where the yoga school is.

Pushkar, 'Bienvenu au Vieus", spelling mistake 'Vieu' or 'Vieux' ???

Pushkar, pretty door knobs, 40Rs/knob before negotiation and volume discount.

 
|---| Seventh Heaven Hotel, Pushkar, Rajastan, 1100Rs or ~15€/night (prebooked)



Day 4 - Thursday 19/02/2015.
PUSHKAR, 2nd day.

Yoga lesson.

With master Swamiji Kapri.

A happy teacher with a proud student.

Tea stall.

Climbing the Saraswati hill temple mountain.

Underway I met these Japanese frequent one-year-travelers.
I might meet Morimassa and Hiromi again in Kochi, Japan, next month of May.

View from the hilltop Saraswati temple terrace.

The Saraswati temple at the summit of the mountain.

 On my return I made a stop at exactly the same place, as two years ago,
at the 'Basecamp Cafe', for a cup their famous Ayurvedic tea (30Rs).
Also bought a box to brew this tea at home too.

Tonight I returned to the yoga school, as they invited a 160 years old sadu.
He was born in 1855...  Ho spoke about yoga and healty eating.

 After the old man left, they continued with Sanskrit songs,
and at the end we got a Rrasgulla sweet, served on a biodegradable,
"compostable" plate made from leaves
(the apple, is a personal gift I received from the old man).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasgulla

|---| Seventh Heaven Hotel, Pushkar, Rajastan, 1100Rs or ~15€/night (prebooked)


Day 5 - Friday 20/02/2015.
Pushkar to BUNDI journey.

- Public bus from Pushkar to Ajmer (9:00, 30min, 16Rs).
- Public bus from Ajmer to Bundi (9:15, 5h05, 163Rs).
- Tuctuc from Bundi mains busstand to the hotel (40Rs).


BUNDI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundi

Bundi, my new hotel, reached at 14:30.

 My hotel room for the next two nights.

Bundi, Main street.

 Guy brewing me a very strange+uggly+spicy mix (50Rs),
based on the green balls of the next pixture,
He was unable to describe what it was, and so did I.
Note: afterwards I learned this was the famous Bhang, Oh Oh.

The strange green balls.
No, I became neither 'high', neither sick.

Bundi, the Palace.

 Bundi, wedding ceremony.  The man already looks exhausted,
while there are many more days of celebration to follow.
People tried to involve me in the party but I managed to escape.

|---| Dev Niwas Haveli, Bundi, Rajastan, 1800Rs or ~25€/night (prebooked)
http://www.devniwas.com/
  

Day 6 - Saturday 21/02/2015.
BUNDI.

Bicycling in and around Bundi, searching for famous stepwells.

Stepwell (pictore stolen from the internet).

Bundi, a typical street.

Bundi.

Bundi.

Bundi, the Garh Palace (maharaja's palace).

Bundi, the Garh Palace ticket office.

Bundi, the Garh Palace garden.

Bundi, the Garh Palace.

 Bundi, city view from the Garh Palace.

Bundi, Nagar Sagar Kund, a dirty stepwell...
Incredible, how they let deteriorate these masterpieces, full of trash.

Bundi, Raniji Ki Baori or the Queen's stepwel, built in 1699,
46m deep, a sowehat cleaner stepwell..

Bundi, the inspiring Eighty Four Pillared cenotaph with a Shiva lingam in the center.

Bundi, basrelief of the Eighty Four Pillard cenotaph.

Bundi, Eighty Four Pillard cenotaph, indeed an inspiring place.
 

Bundi, tuktuk transporting an ill cow to the veterinarian.

The waterfall of Rameshwar, 20km from Bundi, with just few little water drops.

Typical Indian long distance transportation truck.

 

No, this no trash.  People comes here to change their life,

They come with their old clothes, and change for new clothes.

This is the place where they abandon their old ones.

The Sukh Mahal, the Palace of Bliss, where Kipling stayed writing the Jungle Book.

 The jungle book.

 Sunset over the palace and the town.

|---| Dev Niwas Haveli, Bundi, Rajastan, 900Rs or ~12€/night (prebooked)




Day 7 - Sunday 22/02/2015
Bundi to RANTHAMBHORE National Park journey.
(12:00-16:40, 4h40, 102Rs)

Bus from Bundi to Ranthambhore National Park (Sawai Madhopur),
over-full, taking minor roads with plenty of potholes, without any suspension.
A nightmare.

My new hotel for two nights, with a spicy rooftop restaurant.

 

|---| Green View Hotel, Sawai Madhopur, 900Rs/night.

Day 8 - Monday 23/02/2015.

RANTHAMBHORE National Park.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranthambore_National_Park

Tiger Safari (sector 5).

(1050Rs, 7:00-10:00).

  

Entrance gate for the national park of Ranthambhore,
at 7:00 in the morning, with the sunrise behind the mountain.

 People selling (or trying to sell) fake panther skins at the park entrance,
with some success as mornings are quite cold.

Sometimes a congestion of gypsies (jeeps) and canters (trucks),
when wild animals were spotted.  Each vehicle has a guide on board.

A typical jungle forest tree.

An artificial lake in the park.

Typical landscape for sector 5.

Most wildlife lives around the pools,
despite the two crocodiles in the center of this picture.

A kingfisher.
 

A peacock.  Also the national symbol of India,
they live in clusters of 10 to 20 birds.

A deer.  There are thousands of them in the parc.

Hyena.  Fortunately not so close.

Male sambar deer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambar_deer 

The famous Bengal Tiger.
No, this picture is not mine, I took it from the internet.
Chance to spot a tiger is about 10% per safari.  Next chance tomorrow...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_tiger 

Afternoon town visit.

Many of the camels have tattoos.

 

Camels are still heavily used for transportation of goods, not yet for tourists.

|---| Green View Hotel, Sawai Madhopur, 900Rs/night.


Day 9 - Tuesday 24/02/14.

Second chance to spot a tiger ??? (sector 4).

 A more dynamic guide this time.

 It starts well, with a tiger foot print crossing the road...

Fighting deer.

Monkey mother with her baby.

A black tailed mongoose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoose

But... no tiger !

Train to KOTA (12:00-13:15, 65Rs).

Kota...

Kota...

Kota.  Now search for the differences between those ducks.

Taking a mixed fruice juice.

 Kota's royal palace, housing the Rao Madho SINGH museum,
showing the belongings necessary for a respectable existence, and a lot of dust.

 ... such as a petrol driven fan and a washing machine.

... ingenious beautiful weapons, here a tiny time programmed canon.

 ... beautiful miniature paintings,
here depicting how the royal family went for tiger shooting.

 ... another funny painting.

The royal apartments are located above the museum.

Looks as if the Maharaja shot almost all of the tigers of this region.

As internet café I took the lobby of the best hotel of town, Umed Bhawan Palace.

I prefered this comfortable place to be out of the crowd and

to compensate for the bad comfort of the coming night bus journey.

Hotel bar, taking a refreshment.
Quite costly, European price (380Rs)

|---| Nightbus to Jahnsi (22:45-6:00, sleeper, 500Rs) + tuktuk to Orchha (300Rs).


Day 10 - Wednesday 25/02/2015.
ORCHHA, 1st day.

The hotel for the next two days.

Orchha.

The Chaturbhuj Temple (to visit tomorrow),

 seen through one of the windows of the Raj Mahal.

 

Confusion. 

The river crossing.

 The Chhatris, cenothabs to Orchhas rulers.

|---| Monarch Rama Hotel, Orchha, 1000Rs/night.


Day 11 - Thursday 26/02/2015.
ORCHHA, 2nd day.

Orchha, Chaturbhuj temple.

On the rooftop of the temple...

Yesterday's Raj Mahal and Jehangir Mahal observed through the temple door.

Bicycling through the Orchha Nature Reserve.

Village life.  People buying new water pots.

Father and two of his sons happy and thankful with the fruit I gave them.

Continuing on the road with my bicycle.

Found a good swimming spot on the Betwa River,

together with 3 Russian bicycle tourists, and a silly Indian dog.

As a fish In 'visually clean water'.  Fortunately without crocodiles.

|---| Monarch Rama Hotel, Orcha, 1000Rs/night.

Day 12 - Friday 27/02/2015
ORCHHA to KHAJURAHO train journey.
(7:15-13:30, 40Rs).

Orcha's little train station.

Vegetable and flower garden.

At Khajuraho's train station.

Hotel room for the next two nights.

Khajuharo, western tempel group.

This temple complex is famous for the erotic carvings, and, as matter of fact,
almost all tourists search just for those,
even if those account for an absolute minority of the carvings.

The lady on the right hand side feels embarrassed and looks the other way.

The lady on the lift hand side, however, keeps one eye closed,
and enjoys with the other eye.  Just look to the smile on her face !

 All of the elephants look right in front, but this one, enjoying what happens.

More fun !

For the lucky guy, I hope this one is a top view, not a side view.

Foundations seem to be build involving also the unseccessfully carved stones.

 Guys cleaning the monuments, with pencil and a lot of water.

Near sunset.

And a last glimpse to the carvings...

|---| Hotel Marble Palace, Khajuraho, 650Rs/night.


Day 13 - Saturday 28/02/14

Jain religious magazines.

 The nude Jain priest.

Worshipping Jain women.

Public transportation.

... more public transportation.

Village life.

Village children asking for a school pen.

|---| Hotel Marble Palace, Khajuraho, 650Rs/night.

Day 14 - Sunday 1/2/15.

KHAJU RAHO to CHITRAKOOT journey.

All people told me it is impossible to reach that place, but I succeeded !
- Autorickshaw from the hotel to Bamitha (10km, 150Rs).
- Bus to Satna, after a long waiting time.
- Bus Satna to Chitrakoot.


Dinner: Annapurna restaurant, Chitrakoot.
|---| Pitra Smiviti Vishramgarh, Chitrakoot Uttar Pradesh, 350Rs/night.

Day 15 - Monday 02/02/2015.

CHITRAKOOT.
A rather dark sky day, in a magic place, a mini Varanasi.
Nearly the only tourist in a still unspoiled region of India.
An extremely basic guesthouse in an old palace, with terrace overlooking the ghat, and the the river looking as the Venice Grand Canal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitrakoot,_Madhya_Pradesh.

Entrance of the very basic guesthouse.

  Early morning activity on the Ramgath.

Mutual shaving.

 Miraculous, refreshing water.

Sadhu, lost in the crowd.

 

Child's morning prayer.

The guesthouse is the pink stone building on the left hand side of the Ramgath.

Hiking the Parikrama Path around the Kamadgiri Mountain.

The tuktuk terminal of Ramgath Chitrakoot.

This man, met on the shared tuktuk promised to guide me.

A barefoot 5km hike around the holy mountain, why not?

 

The first Lord Rama temple on the trail, one of a long series.

 This black statue was not made by man (according to the Hindu legends).

Temple along the pilgrimage trail.

 Temple along the pilgrimage trail.
People write words on the wall.

Temple along the pilgrimage trail.

Temples and ashrams offer meals to the sadhus and to poor people.

 'Scherpenheuvel' shop.

Climbing the Hanuman Dhara Mountain.
A more than 600 steps staircaise leads to the temple near the top.

Start of the climb, also an important pilgrimage for Hindus.

Each and every step of the staircase is nicely numbered.

View from the top of the mountain.

Dinner: UP Tourist Bungalows.
|---| Pitra Smiviti Vishramgarh, Chitrakoot Uttar Pradesh, 350Rs/night.

Day 16 - Tuesday 03/02/2015.

CHITRAKOOT and Chitrakoot to ALLAHABAD journey.

Chitrakoot rowboat river cruise (2x2km, 250Rs/boat).

Departure picture with the "some more strange than other" guesthouse guests.
We had a very pleasant stay together despite the different horizons.

Chitrakoot to Allahabad journey:

Shared tuktuk from Chitrakoot Ram Ghat to the Bus Stand, 12:50,  20minutes, 10Rs.

Bus from the Bus Stand to Allahabad Zero Road Bus Stand 14:20-19:00, 5h20, 109Rs.

Cycle rickshaw from the Zero Road Bus Stand to the hotel, 30Rs.

Dinner dessert.  A very British trifle.

Dinner: El Chico Restaurant, Allahabad.

|---| Hotel Valentines, Allahabad, 1500Rs/night.

Day 16 - Wednesday 4/2/15.

ALLAHABAD (pronounced 'illahabad')
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allahabad 

Lunch at an Indian McDonalds.
A 'McVeggie Combo' and a 'Spicy McChicken Wrap'.

Sangam, where two of India's holiest rivers meet, the Yamuna and the Ganges (plus one of Hindouism's mythical rivers, the underground Saraswati). 

 Another row boat trip, 1 hour, 200Rs return.

At the point where the water of both rivers meet, people celebrate,

pray, take a bath, fill bottles with the water.

The underground Patalpuri temple, crowded with all sort of idols and sleeping priests.
 

Access to the underground temple.

Sleeping priest = no donation.

Another sleeping priest, so neither a donation for his idol.

You might conclude to better visit the underground temple during siesta time.

One more unknown idol...

The 'Undying Banyan Tree', the only tree that ill survive the world,

The roots of the tree run through the underneath temple.

Pilgrims used to climb the tree, jumping to dead.

Holi festival attribute stalls.

Pigments stall.

Successful waterguns stall.

Lunch: McDonalds.
Dinner: El Chico Cafe, Allahabad.
|---| Hotel Valentines, Allahabad, 1500Rs/night.


Day 17 - Thursday 05/02/2015.
Allahabad to VARANASI journey.
Train 'Durg Nautanwa Express', Allahabad Junction to Varanasi Junction, 10:45-14:00, 2h delay, 5h15, 169km, 310Rs (AC3T sleeper).

Allahabad, the 'Indian Coffee House'.

A worker cooperative institution, all over India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Coffee_House

Arriving in Varanasi with a two hours train delay and a lot of confusion.

 My 'en-suite' room for the next two or three nights

With students in front of their Shiva ashram, at the far end of my street.

Holika Dahan, a bonfire on the night before Holi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holika_Dahan

 

A Holika stake built right in the middle of a street of Varanasi
(paper and carton, bags with trash, flowers, a car tire, fabrics, and some wood).

... and a statue of She-Demon Holika with Prahlad in her arms.

Stake firing ceremony on Assi ghat.

She-demon Holika with Prahlad in her arms, on Assi ghat.

The burning stake, consuming Holika, while Prahlad will survive.

(behind, the Assi ghat temple).

Click here to watch the video (http://youtu.be/QHtQ0dw49io).

Another Holika stake.

And one more Holika stake, this one in front of the guesthouse.

|---| Kesher Guesthouse, Varanasi, 12.42€/night.


Day 18 - Friday 06/02/2015.
VARANASI.

Holi colour festival (observed from the rooftop terrace...)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi 

A family celebrating Holi on their rooftop.

 

Children on another rooftop.

...having fun...

...end of the fun.

Walk along the Ganga ghats.

Sadhu.

Fire wood shop.

Cremation ghat (no pictures allowed).

Awaiting the evening pooja (celebration).

Opening of the evening Pooja.

|---| Kesher Guesthouse, Varanasi.

Day 19 - Saturday 7/2/15.

VARANASI

Ganga rowboat trip.
2hours, 5 people on the boat, 250Rs/person.

Sunrise.

 The poor people's burning gath.

Poor old man's body, ready for cremation.

The exhausted boatman, after a two hours lasting rowing workout.

The 'Passage to India'.

Ganga crossing on the pontoon bridge and visit to the dusty Ramnagar Fort Museum.

More than 100 pontoons for this unsteady bridge.

Funny temple.

Maharaja's Minerva car.

I could not make more pictures as it was strictly forbidden.
Anyhow, it was as dusty as here anywhere in the museum.

|---| Overnight train to Umaria (waiting list was successful), 465Rs.

Day 20 - Sunday 08/02/2015.
Journey from Varanasi to Tala.

How to reach Tala from Varanasi ?
- Book your Indian Rail train ticket for UMARIA online through the 'Make My Trip' website. 
When the train appears fully booked, take the risk to put you on the waiting list, it might work (465Rs, sleeper AC3T).
- Take an autorickshaw from the Hotel to the Varanasi Junction train station, make sure to arrive one hour before the scheduled departure time (150Rs).
- Await the train, scheduled for 21:35, arriving late, at 23:55, at a different platform from initially announced.
- Snooze on your 'berth' with clean linen, pillow, and even a towel.
- Leave the train at Umaria some 3 hours behind schedule, at 11:10 instead of 8:04.
- Take a shared autorickshaw from the train station to the 'Bus Stand' (10Rs).
- Take the bus to TALA (35km, 35Rs).
- Reach your guesthouse at 13:45 and go for lunch.
- Take a welcome siesta.

Umaria's bus station, the green bus is the one for Tala.

Along the road to Tala.

Magadhi Gate of Bandhavgarh National Park, entrance of one of the three zones.

Dinner: Her Cafe.

|---| Hotel Bagh Vihar, Tala, 450Rs/night.

Day 21 - Monday 9/2/15.

TALA, Bandhavgarh National Park.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandhavgarh_National_Park 

1st Safari in the Bandhavgarh National Park
(zone 2, Magdhi, the best one of the three).

Cost: ~2000Rs Guide and Jeep rental, for 1 to 6 people + 2800Rs/Jeep entrance fee.
i.e.1200Rs/p when sharing the jeep among 4 people, about 17€ for a 3 hours safari.
To be sure to enter the park, one must be at the Park office at 4:30 in the morning...

Queuing at 4:30 in the morning, and I am not alone, got ticket number 16...

Successful, as the very last one of the list.

Only eleven jeeps were authorized to enter.

National Park entrance.  Safari from 7:00 to 10:00.

The guide quickly discovered fresh tiger footprints.

A dancing peacock.

A crazy monkey.

National park guards go off road using elephants,
jeeps are authorized only on the dust roads.

A first tiger spotted some 150m futher on !!!

Here he is.

The second tiger, this one blocking the road.

Approached by park rangers, as he has problems to walk,

most probably further to a struggle with another tiger.

And a very last one, a hunting tiger.
Three tigers seen today !

A little walk in the countryside.

Buffaloes.

 Awaiting my Paneer Butter Massala at 'Her Cafe' organic restaurant, with a clean kitchen.

Dinner: Her Cafe.

|---| Hotel Bagh Vihar, Tala, 450Rs/night.

Day 22 - Tuesday 10/2/15.

2nd Safari in the Bandhavgarh National Park
(zone 3, the worst one among the three zones).

Still red painted ranger at the park entrance of zone 3.
This sector confirmed being the worst one.  Indeed, no tiger, no leopard seen this time.

A pond, where no animals appeared.

Wild chicken.

Chai and coffee stop halfway the safari trip.

Tala to Indore journey (or maybe even to Omkareshwar).
- Bus Tala-Umaria (13:30, 35Rs)
- Shared autorickshaw from bus station to the train station (10Rs).

- Train Umaria-Indore ('Narmada Express', scheduled 16:17-11:00, real 16:40-11:50, 19h10, 1631Rs/AC 1st class bed).
- 200m guided walk from the train station to the bus stand.
- Bus from Indore to Mortakka (12:20-14:40, 2h20, 80Rs).
- Bus from Mortakka to Omkareshwar (16:00, 20 minutes).
- Autorickshaw from the bus stand to the hotel (50Rs, definately too much for the short ride).

|---| Night train.

Day 23 - Wednesday 11/02/2015.

Tala to Omkareshwar journey (continued).

OMKARESHWAR. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omkareshwar 

Omkareshwar is named after the Om shape of the island in the holy Narmade river.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om 

My hotel for the next two nights.

Omkareshwar (the Mandhata island is on the left hand side in this picture).

Ongoing cremation, only the male family members attend.

Dinner: Narmada Resort, Omkareshwar.
|---| Narmada Resort, Omkareshwar, 1290Rs/night+tax.

Day 24 - Thursday 12/02/2015.
OMKARESHWAR. 

The last steps of the 287 required to reach the temples platform of the island.

The 11th century Gaudi Somnath temple.

The 30m tall Shiva statue.

A donkey visiting an old temple.

Beautifully carved Siddhanatha temple, with elephants around its base.

Inside the temple: priest (sitting at the right), a sadhu (standing),
and a farmer-pilgrim (sitting on the left).  The farmer walked for a while with me.

The controversional dam on the Narmada river.
http://peakwater.org/tag/omkareshwar-dam/

A last lazy river crossing by boat (5Rs), despite the two bridges.

Dinner: Narmada Resort.
|---| Narmada Resort, Omkareshwar, 1290Rs/night+tax.

Day 25 - Friday 13/02/2015.

Omkareshwar to INDORE Journey.
- Autorickshaw from the hotel to the bus stand, 50Rs.
- Bus from Omkareshwar to Indore 10:10-13:25, 80Rs.
- Autorickshaw from Indore's bus stand to the hotel, 50Rs.

INDORE. 
2.2M inhabitants.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indore 

Rajwada, the old Holkas Maharajas Palace, requiring a lot of maintenance.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajwada

Just like the Rajwada, many historical houses in town require some lifting.

dinner: Chotiwala restaurant.
|---| Hotel Ambassador, Indore, 1150Rs/night.

Day 26 - Saturday 14/02/2015.
Indore to New Delhi Journey. 
- Autorickshaw from the hotel to the airport, 150Rs.

- Flight Indore to New Delhi, IndiGo (India's major airline), flight 6E435, 10:00-11:30, 1h30, 5625Rs, ~75€.
- Bus from Delhi's domestic airport to the metro station, 30Rs.
- Airport metro from Aerocity to Delhi Station, 80RS.
- City metro from Delhi station to Karol Bagh station, 12Rs.
- 5 minutes walk to the hotel.

Indore's domestic flights airport, empty at 8:00AM !

IndiGo's A320.  Indigo is India's major airline, and is also Airbus' prime customer.

Dilli Haat market. 

|---| Siverstone Hotel, New Delhi, 1500Rs/night.

Day 27 - Sunday 15/02/2015.

DELHI.

Street art.

Akshardham temple.
Temple or Disneyland?

http://www.akshardham.com/ 

(Picture stolen from the internet).

|---| Silverstone Hotel, New Delhi, 1500Rs (for a short night).

Day 28 - Monday 16/02/2015.
Return Journey. 
- Early morning wakeup, at 4:45.
- Autorickshaw from the hotel to the airport (500Rs).

- Flight Delhi-Istanbul, Turkish Airlines, TK717, 06:55-10:35, 7h10.
- Flight Istanbul-Marseille, Turkish Airlines, TK1365, 11:40-14:00, 3h20.
- Bus from the Marseille-Provence airport to Aix-en-Provence, 8.20€.
- 20 minutes walk to my home, arriving at 16:10.

|---| Home.

(Click to EXIT)