Ready to paddle
Door: Tesse
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Tesse
12 Juni 2014 | India, Haridwār
Namaste!
From now on I'll try to write my blog in english, so that my english speaking friends can also see that I'm still alive (and where I am).
After Delhi, Maarten and me went to Haridwar, from where we want to start canoeing. Not yet though, first we had to find the source of the Ganga and do loads of poojas to be assured of a safe trip. The first Pooja was done there in Haridwar, which is one of Indias holiest cities, located where the Ganga flows out of the Himalya mountains into the indo-gangetic plains. A priest helped us buy a bowl made from banana leafs, containing flowers and 2 little wax candles and led us down the ghats (steps leading down to the water). There he performed the Pooja. After repeating what he said (probably the other names for the river - she has 108 names) and some familymembers names, we had to give money. He was a bit dissapointed with the amount we gave, but I kindly reminded him it is not about the money. Maarten already compared hinduism with christianity in the middle ages: All your sins will be forgiven... for a good price. But we let the bowls float in the water and were a little bit more assured of a safe homecoming.
The next morning we left the boat in Haridwar and took off for Gangotri, near the source of the Ganga. In Gangotri you find one of the holiest hindu temples of India. It took us 2 days to get there, but I did get to experience what I believe is my slowest busride ever. It took the bus 9 hours to cover 200 km. This includes a small engine malfunction and traffic jam because another truck broke down, but mostly we were just going really, really slow due to a bad and winding road through the mountains. But we made it to Gangotri, where we dit another pooja, this time carefully avoiding all the priests trying to help (this was more difficult than it sounds) and said namaste to the Ganga Goddess. From there we hiked up to a village at 3400 meters altitude where we spent one night before hiking up to the Gaumukh glacier, which is where the Ganga starts. We hiked across the glacier to a meadow at 4500 meters altitude, for which we needed to climb up a very (very!) steep slope. At the meadow, a moni Baba (silent baba) provided food and shelter and also shared some of his wisdom, in writing ofcourse, though we didn't really understand it. I think he tried to say that through controlling sex you can control your mind, but I'm not sure. After one night on the meadow we filled some small bottles with (clean) Ganga water to bring home and started our descent, which finally put an end to the altitude sickness that was wearing us both out.
Down in Rishikesh we could finally start the last preparations! We bought peddles and life vests and a guide from Red Chilli adventure ( a rafting agency) gave us very helpfull information, for example to stay in villages, where many people know we are there (instead of camping in the middle of nowhere on the riverbanks). We have bought a pan so when necessary we can cook on a fire, but we will try to eat at much as possible in the villages we pass. Furthermore we carry 40 litres of water, 25 metres of rope, 20 m2 tarpin, food, chai and some herbs. We have everything we need now, so tomorrow we will wake up early and hopefully start paddling around 7 am. Our first goal is Allahabad, another holy city where the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna join. We are hoping to cover about 2250km, from Haridwar to the bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. Allahabad is about 550 km from Haridwar, so almost 1/4th of the total distance. We have no clue how many km we can cover in one day, but we are pretty sure we will have to catch a bus at some point if want to make it to Bangladesh. We have a little less then 2 months for the trip, since I fly out of Delhi on the 14th. The monsoon will this year be later than average and probably bring less water. This is not good news at all for the farmers of india, but means we will stay dry for a little while longer. The next message will probably be sent from Allahabad!
From now on I'll try to write my blog in english, so that my english speaking friends can also see that I'm still alive (and where I am).
After Delhi, Maarten and me went to Haridwar, from where we want to start canoeing. Not yet though, first we had to find the source of the Ganga and do loads of poojas to be assured of a safe trip. The first Pooja was done there in Haridwar, which is one of Indias holiest cities, located where the Ganga flows out of the Himalya mountains into the indo-gangetic plains. A priest helped us buy a bowl made from banana leafs, containing flowers and 2 little wax candles and led us down the ghats (steps leading down to the water). There he performed the Pooja. After repeating what he said (probably the other names for the river - she has 108 names) and some familymembers names, we had to give money. He was a bit dissapointed with the amount we gave, but I kindly reminded him it is not about the money. Maarten already compared hinduism with christianity in the middle ages: All your sins will be forgiven... for a good price. But we let the bowls float in the water and were a little bit more assured of a safe homecoming.
The next morning we left the boat in Haridwar and took off for Gangotri, near the source of the Ganga. In Gangotri you find one of the holiest hindu temples of India. It took us 2 days to get there, but I did get to experience what I believe is my slowest busride ever. It took the bus 9 hours to cover 200 km. This includes a small engine malfunction and traffic jam because another truck broke down, but mostly we were just going really, really slow due to a bad and winding road through the mountains. But we made it to Gangotri, where we dit another pooja, this time carefully avoiding all the priests trying to help (this was more difficult than it sounds) and said namaste to the Ganga Goddess. From there we hiked up to a village at 3400 meters altitude where we spent one night before hiking up to the Gaumukh glacier, which is where the Ganga starts. We hiked across the glacier to a meadow at 4500 meters altitude, for which we needed to climb up a very (very!) steep slope. At the meadow, a moni Baba (silent baba) provided food and shelter and also shared some of his wisdom, in writing ofcourse, though we didn't really understand it. I think he tried to say that through controlling sex you can control your mind, but I'm not sure. After one night on the meadow we filled some small bottles with (clean) Ganga water to bring home and started our descent, which finally put an end to the altitude sickness that was wearing us both out.
Down in Rishikesh we could finally start the last preparations! We bought peddles and life vests and a guide from Red Chilli adventure ( a rafting agency) gave us very helpfull information, for example to stay in villages, where many people know we are there (instead of camping in the middle of nowhere on the riverbanks). We have bought a pan so when necessary we can cook on a fire, but we will try to eat at much as possible in the villages we pass. Furthermore we carry 40 litres of water, 25 metres of rope, 20 m2 tarpin, food, chai and some herbs. We have everything we need now, so tomorrow we will wake up early and hopefully start paddling around 7 am. Our first goal is Allahabad, another holy city where the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna join. We are hoping to cover about 2250km, from Haridwar to the bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. Allahabad is about 550 km from Haridwar, so almost 1/4th of the total distance. We have no clue how many km we can cover in one day, but we are pretty sure we will have to catch a bus at some point if want to make it to Bangladesh. We have a little less then 2 months for the trip, since I fly out of Delhi on the 14th. The monsoon will this year be later than average and probably bring less water. This is not good news at all for the farmers of india, but means we will stay dry for a little while longer. The next message will probably be sent from Allahabad!
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12 Juni 2014 - 11:45
Mariska:
Hi Tesse!
Echt zo super om te lezen dat je zo reislustig bent gebleven!
Shanna en ik hadden het laatst nog over je.
We zien elkaar vaak en met dit mooie weer is het excuus om een wijntje te drinken op het terras natuurlijk snel geregeld.
Kussies voor jou!
xxxM -
12 Juni 2014 - 13:22
Margreet:
Hoi Tesse，
Wat een spannende onderneming！ Heeeel veel succes， hoop dat jullie ervan genieten。 Ik ben nu bij oma， dus ook de groetjes van haar！ -
14 Juni 2014 - 01:33
Anneke:
Hoi Tes, wat een prachtige rituelen die jullie meemaken. Wens jullie veel plezier en succes met de start van de tocht. Tot mails in Alahabad! Groet aan Maarten -
14 Juni 2014 - 22:55
Suzan:
hoi lieffie,
Wat een indrukwekkend verhaal!.Ik zit hier te lezen met een combi aan gevoelens; bewondering,verbazing, trots, maar ook met wat spanning en bezorgdheid. Gelukkig lees ik ook dat je goed dingen navraagt.
Heel veel liefs en heel veel beschermengeltjes gewenst! -
15 Juni 2014 - 14:46
Arnold:
Behouden vaart!
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15 Juni 2014 - 22:29
Carla Fasting:
Je doet het toch maar, voor ons spannender, dat voor jou (lijkt het). Goede tip om in dorpjes te overnachten, maar dat had je vast ook al bedacht. Een gezegende vaart! Carla -
22 Juni 2014 - 18:09
Tymen:
Mooi hoe je al die rituelen uitvoert Martha, en ja daar hoort jammer genoeg bij veel baba's dan ook een klein geldbedrag bij. Ben heel benieuwd hoe je kano avontuur gaat worden maar klinkt wel alsof je je goed voorbereid hebt. Succes en hoor weer van je als je in allahabad zit.
x -
23 Juni 2014 - 23:33
Aris:
Hey Tesse,
Klinkt heel tof zeg. Ben erg benieuwd hoe het peddelen bevalt. Lijkt me dat je India op een hele mooie manier te zien krijgt.
X Aris
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