Kia Hal Hai, Hindustan?
How are you, India? It’s been a while, but back in the days Matthieu and I have spend quite some time in India. Always easy to start with something familiar. We’ve spent the change of the millennium—New Year 2000—tucked away in our sleeping bags high up in the Himalayas, we’ve had a memorable South-of-India Paley family holiday with Matthieu’s parents and brothers and Iluka was almost three in 2009 when we spent a month in India before moving on to Tajikistan. India seemed like a good place to come back to. There are mountains and snow, there are beaches and palm trees. There is naan and dosa and rikshaws and cows and colors and chaos. Beautiful.
Time spent in India
November 5th 2015 – April 10th 2016. 5 most amazing months!
Kilometers travelled
Almost 10,000 km with the Paleymobile and another 2000 or so before that in Uttarakhand with public transport.
Favorite mode of transportation
Was definitely NOT the 7-seater shared jeep in Uttarakhand where we were 18 people… Hmmm, let’s see… Matthieu and I still prefer our own feet, ie trekking or walking the most. Iluka loved the motorcycle rides and Timo… I guess he’s ok with anything as long as he can sit on Mommy’s lap. Needless to say that the Paleymobile is the all-time favorite!
Favorite food
Matthieu: Anything spicy
Mareile: Roti (really! I don’t know what’s wrong with me…)
Iluka: Maggie Instant Noodles (unfortunately)
Timo: Dahi (Yoghurt) and rice. Can’t get the Turk out of him, I guess.
Observations
Iluka: Delhi is deli!
(delhi in Turkish = crazy)
Timo: There are so so so so many people!
Mareile: If you explain really well that the kids won’t eat anything spicy, so no mirch (chilli), kara biber (black pepper) or masala whatsoever, the food will still be spicy, but won’t have any salt…
Lessons learned
Don’t leave your shoes outside overnight, when it’s -15ºC outside and you’ve played in the snow all evening. They WILL turn into ice blocks!
Never camp beside a road in visible distance. The temptation for drunk youngsters to check you out and be annoying is just too big.
Always check the tire pressure yourself. (We almost had a huge accident, because at some roadside car workshop they inflated our tires to almost double the recommended pressure. A few more minutes on the highway and the tire would have exploded!)
Lasting impressions & best memories
Living with Reba :: Amarkantak :: Camping beside the Narmada – swimming :: The trek up Tugnath :: The million stars at night when camping :: The kids speaking Hindi :: The birth of a baby goat :: Driving with the windows open and the music blasting ::
Favorite India-related Expressions
Iluka: Namaste — Aloo gobi saste!
Matthieu: Full power, no tension!
Mareile: E-straight, always e-straight!
Timo: Narma-deeeee-HAR!
Reason to Celebrate
Let’s call today flashback sunday… with mixed feelings I am thinking back to our 3 days in Nainital, Uttarakhand read more…
Episode 2 – It’s a girl!
You won’t believe what happened today…
The Simple Life
Just a 15-minute jeep ride from Kausani and then a 25-minute foot march we have found our little nest in the mountains. read more…
Episode 1 – Survival Pack
We will spend the next few days or weeks (?) in this little village called Naughar read more…
Words of Wisdom
Being a fan of the early explorers since our Pakistan days, the stories and accounts of Sir Francis Younghusband, Peter Hopkirk’s The Great Game, Rudyard Kipling’s Kim and many others read more…
Exotic is just an illusion
This is just a little ‘eye opener’ for all of you who’ve been fantasising about the following picture: read more…
Today in Delhi
Ihr werdet es nicht glauben: Wir waren im Auto mit unserem Freund Simone – der hat uns gefahren – da war plötzlich ein Elefant, der über die Autobahn gelaufen ist. Einfach so. Wir mussten sogar kurz anhalten!
Feels Like Home
In the end, it all went pretty fast: Good-byes in Alacati, locking the house, off to the airport with a whooping total of 86kg of combined luggage. read more…