| Home sweet home |
Wed, Nov 9, 2005 |
Home sweet home. I have returned in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. That was on Sunday the 30th of October, already ten days ago. Right now I am staying with my mother and sister in their house near Deinum, in the province Fryslân. My father lives in Leeuwarden, a town not far from here. Next week I hope to visit Groningen, the city where I studied in university. I'm looking forward to seeing all my old friends again. Former inmates (i.e. housemates), study friends, etc. Already I have met with some family and neighbours here in Fryslân.
The trip home from Delhi went well. My plane departed from the Indira Gandhi airport in New Delhi at 4 o'clock on Sunday night, so I was planning to leave Satbir's house around midnight. Unfortunately Satbir had to leave town for business, so I had to say goodbye to him in the morning. But around 5 PM that Saturday, a series of bomb blasts struck Delhi. The news was that between 2 and 4 bombs had exploded on crowded markets, one of them Pahar Ganj, an area in Delhi where I had stayed in a hotel a couple of months before. Luckily I had been nowhere near the explosions and the locations were not on the route from Satbir's home to the airport. Around midnight I said goodbye to Sarla and Karuna, and their driver took me to the airport. There I said goodbye to Jatinn and Anant (Satbir's sons).
In the airplane to Istanbul there was an Israeli guy who had barely been on time to board the plane. He was wearing a bandage around his head and later I heard that he had been in the bomb blast at Pahar Ganj. I think he didn't feel like staying in India much longer.
After waiting in Istanbul for 6 hours or so, it was time to board my plane to Amsterdam. It was full with Dutchmen who had spent their autumn holidays in Turkey. Because of this immigration and customs were quick, they didn't ask me what I've done in Cambodia or Myanmar (Burma), and also my 36 kilos of luggage didn't raise any suspicions. Then, on the other side of the customs gate, it was time to meet my mother and sister, who had come to pick me up from the airport. This was the end of my two-year trip.
A few days ago I've put a lot of photos online. Please have a look at some pictures from:
- Delhi (2). These are photos of my sightseeing trip in Delhi. Satbir arranged a driver who took me around on a motorbike.
- Bikaner is a city in the desert state of Rajasthan. There are photos of the Bikaner fort; a temple where thousands of holy rats are worshipped; and a few pics of kids at the bus station.
- Jaisalmer is like a desert city from a dream. Women in colourful clothes, loaded with jewellery; beautiful sand-carvings on most buildings; and a fort that looks like is has been pushed up out of the soil of the desert.
- Camel safari, 3 days, 2 nights. One Dutchman, 2 Swedes, 4 camels, 2 drivers. Sleep in the desert, eat in the desert, walk in the desert, ride the ship of the desert.
- Jodhpur, the blue city. Also featuring photos of a nearby garden-oasis, where many (poor) people come to wash themselves and their colourful clothing.
- Pushkar is a holy lake in the hills. Hundreds of pilgrims taking a bath, hoping for the holy water to cure their ailments. Hundreds of westerners watching them or taking yoga classes.
- Delhi (3). Even more photos from Delhi. Here you can see Satbir Singh, his wife Sarla, their kids and their cousins. Also a lot of photos of me, and on these ones I actually look good!
- Rishikesh & Haridwar. Photos of a family trip to these two places on the banks of the holy Ganga river. Fifty-one friends and family members in one bus. Departure late in the evening, return early morning 30 hours later, no hotels involved. Indian style.
- Schiphol (return). These are the photos I took of my mother and sister when they came to pick me up from Amsterdam airport. I hadn't seen them (in real life) for two years. Welcome home.
I've also spent some time cleaning up this site. To read the old stories, look in the menu on the left underneath 'Visited countries'. Since India is the last country I visited, the most recent travel stories will be on the India page.
Still to come: a 'The best of the best' selection of my photos, highlights of my trip, together with a short summary describing the scene. If you want a compact recap of the nicest moments of my trip, this will be for you. I will also put these photos in a physical (paper) photo album and, if you're interested, I can come by your house and tell you everything you want to hear about my trip. That is, if you don't live too far away. Just contact me by e-mail.
(new address: harmsma@gmail.com)
And, finally, if you live too far away for me to come and see you one of these days, I hope to see you again during a future trip. I'm sure I will.
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