Landshut, Germany

Hubert and Mandy have found themselves again on my blog. If you look back to Peru you will see that we met on the Santa Cruz trek and they were gracious enough to allow me to stay with them during my time near Munich. Thank you guys for everything!

Landshut is a town that is about an hour by train from Munich, although if I were to cover this distance in India it would be more like 7 hours. While I was in Landshut there was a medieval festival and we had a great time watching the parades and people all dressed up in costumes. It is a very nice place and it is also where A. Hitler started up the Nazi party. From a look back in history, I wonder how such bad things ever happened here since the people here are so giving and nice. Germany is a wonderful country to visit.

Mainz, Germany

This is my first castle I have ever been in. After touring through it, I decided I would like one too!

GERMANY......WOW. I never expected Germany to be so nice. Here in Mainz I visited another friend and he was so generous he actually gave me a proper tour of his city and the surrounding area. Things are still feeling weird as I try to adjust back to a western culture, and I try to remind myself when I buy something that I can't barter here. I look at what things cost here and can't stop thinking about how expensive it is here compared to anywhere I have been so far. Lucky for me I have been visiting friends and that has really helped me with my budget since hostels here are around $30 dollars. I also find it amazing how when I take a train, it arrives on time. In India the train was an average of 4-6 hours late.

Frankfurt, Germany

What a reverse culture shock. I never had any clue to how clean and nice Frankfurt was going to be. It really feels like I have gone from the dirtiest place on earth to the cleanest. For my first day in Europe I met up with a friend I met in South America and was thrilled to see a familiar face.

Delhi, India

This is where Gandhi was killed.

This is India. These are the things you see. You can't ever truly prepare yourself for it but it's one of the most memorable places I have ever been.

Manali, India & motorcycle ride toward Leh

In Manali I decided to rent a motorcycle and ride up towards Leh, which is about as north in India as you can possibly go. It is deep in the Himalayan mountains and some of the passes are nearly 18,000 feet. I didn't have enough time to make it all the way, but in 2 days I spent 20 hours riding as far as I could there and back. It was my favorite days in India although by the time I got back, I couldn't sit down for a few days after since my bum was bruised from riding down the bumpiest road in the history of mankind. As I climbed up the last pass toward Manali, I ran out of fuel and had to hitch a ride in a truck over a dangerous mountain pass. At times I wanted to just walk instead of be in that truck, but I survived.

Dharmasala-Mc Leod Ganj, India

I actually took a cooking class! Here we made different types of Tibitan bread and although they were yummy, I wouldn't expect me to start cooking for you when I return home!


The Dalai Lama!

More Dalai Lama

Here in Mc Leod Ganj, the home on the Dalai Lama and around 200,000 Tibitans, along with the the headquarters to what remains of, or is a small government that continues the battle over the infamous area that China took in the 1950's. Although we all know the history of Tibet, I was very happy and lucky to get the opporitunity to be in the presence of the Great Dalai Lama 14th who fled the country as a young man. You can't help but admire his non violent battle for the freedom of Tibet, although it seems as if it is not likely he will ever win.

Amitsar, India

Amitsar is located right on the only open border between India and Pakistan. Every evening they have a closing ceremony where the guards stomp around and people from both sides of the border show up to watch them close their border. You can definitely feel the tension between these two countries as they shout in unison at each other across the border, "Long live India" and then the group in Pakistan responds with the same. The other interesting thing that I noticed about this part of India was how much India guards that border with their not so friendly neighbor.

This is the Golden Temple in Amitsar. It is made of real gold and the amount of visitors that come here everyday is around 30,000 per day. Because it is free people watching here is about as good as it gets. As you enter there are small pools that you wash your feet before you enter. Over half the people that enter the temple drink that dirty water and if they don't drink it they splash it in their face. I don't mind respecting cultures but this is where I need to draw the line. YUK