My friends,

here I am again. I was so busy seeing beautiful sights I was not able to post another entry since Jaipur. Actually, my last entry was the turning point for my trip in India. After I posted the entry I almost missed my train (as 5 (!) Indian people were telling me the wrong direction to the platform) but then I met a nice korean guy in the sleeping compartment with whom I spend the following day. The following cities were just amazing. Crazy (of course) but the people were much more friendly and only 25% were trying to cheat you (not 85% like in Delhi and Jaipur).

After many other beautiful places I arrived in Udaipur, the place where James Bond Octopussy was filmed. I will add some pictures to this blog as soon as I have the possibility.

India has finally turned out to be a very interesting country, offering unbelievable sights and photo motives. Obviously, it is still not easy to travel but you can manage if you are very patient and also just careful sometimes.

I guess I will post the next entry when I visit my french friend Matthieu in about 4 days.

Hope your re fine, too!

Fake care,
Fabian

Dear friends,

right now, as I am waiting till departure of the night train to Bikaner, I have some time to update my blog and even to upload some pictures. As you can see on the picture below, travelling alone can also be a lot of fun.

Since I got sick I was even able to stay in this lovely room for about 24 hours. However, now I have recovered and am able to tell you the 7 great survival rules for India:

1. Rule: Do not dress like a tourist to avoid catching attention and being an easy target for touts, pickpockets and other bad people. I, for instance, jumped into the role of a professional photographer. Just by putting my big camera on my left shoulder and my tripod on the right, people would not recognize me as tourist anymore!

2. Rule: Never pay attention to anyone smiling at you or claiming to help. Better immediately run away, shouting "help"!

3. Rule: Randomly change direction every 5 minutes to make it difficult for other people to follow and eventually kill you!

4. Rule: Pretend to be totally insane by doin crazy actions e.g. sitting on the sidewalk and getting up again or running in circles while screaming. People will be scared. Be creative!

5. Rule: Avoid getting close to suspious people. In India those people are suspicious who do not stare at you. They are the big minority.

6. Rule: Never reveal your true identity and intentions. In India, I am only known as Ottmar Haselnussbaum, a guy in his mid-thirties who gave up his farm near Berlin to help people in India to grow better potatoes and sell them to McDonalds. However, due to the beauty of India he has sold all his belongings in order to afford his camera equipment and become a professional photographer.

7. Rule: If everything fails, however, and someone is trying to do you no good, there is one last chance to safe yourself and your valuables. Go on all fourth and make the sound of a cow - "Muhhh". As cows are holy in India, this might be your rescue of getting away unharmed.

So this is it for today. If I survive the journey with the night train I will post another entry soon!

Cu Fabian

Hej folks,

sorry I was not able to add the pictures of Cambodia but time was running short to my next adventure - 25 days India alone!

After my first three days in New Delhi I can summarize that India is probably the most crazy country I have ever visited. It is annoying, frustrating but also fascinating and amazing at the same time. People are driving suicidal (and you remember I lived in Istanbul for 6 years), touts are repeatedly lying into your face, cows are eating garbage in the middle of the motorway and small children stretch their injured and suppurated hand into your face to get some money. There are so many people, I cannot even remember everybodies name...hahaha

Tomorrow I will take the train to Rajahstan (by the way, getting the train ticket was probably one of the biggest challenges in my life) which is supposed to be the "real" India.

Travelling alone can also be tiring and the bed buggs are already waiting for me so this is it for today.

Hope you are fine!
Fabian

Pictures of Cambodia etc. will be updated in about a month!