30; 4/26/2010
Zdravime vsechny!
Dnes uz jsme v Mumbai (drive Bombai), coz je nase posledni zastavka v Indii. Nejak dlouho jsme se neozvali, ale nebylo moc prilezitosti, casu a taky sil. Zjistila jsem, ze zacinam nase zpravy trochu odbyvat a ze jsou cim dal tim kratsi a strucnejsi. Zkusim se zase vybicovat a napsat trochu vic. Zpravy jsou totiz i nasim "cestovnim denikem" a jak mame porad tolik zazitku, tak se obcas vsechno zacina slevat dohromady a zaciname zapominat.
Aktualizace: uz davno nejsme v Bombaji, uz jsme v Turecku!
Posledni zprava byla z nasi velbloudi vypravy. Po vyprave jsme skoncili nejen s bolavymi zadky, ale ja taky bez bot. Nechtela jsem jet v sandalech a tak jsem nosila normalni snerovaci boty a jednou v poledne jsem je sundala, ze je necham vyschnout a vyvetrat. Stin, ve kterem byly se ale po chvili posunul a boty zustaly na primem slunci a nevim, jak je to mozne, scvrkly se vic nez o cislo. Nez mi doslo, co se stalo, tak jsem si rikala, ze mam z te jizdy asi otekle nohy, jak mi porad visi dolu. Ale boty mi byly male i rano a pak uz to bylo jasne. Takze uz mam jen sandaly. Ale zase o neco lehci batoh! Mozna, ze na konci cesty uz pojedem jen s igelitovou taskou , jak se postupne zbavujeme veci (roztrhana tricka, kalhoty, ponozky, boty...).
Ramramsa! ('dobry den' v jazyce, kterym se mluvi v Rajastanu, jinak v Hindi je to 'Namaste'). Dekuji se rekne s'ukrija.
Po velbloudech jsme jeste chvili zustali ve statu Rajastan a navtivili mesta Jodhpur a Udaipur. Ve meste Jodhpur je nad mestem na kopci obrovska pevnost Mehrangarh postavena maharadzou Jodhpuru v 17. stoleti. V branach do pevnosti jsou masivni drevena vrata, ktera maji ve vysce 2-3 metry nad zemi asi 1 m ctverecni velke plochy pokryte zeleznyma bodcema- na ochranu pred utocicima valecnyma slonama. Vedle jedne brany jsou na stene otisky zenskych rukou: tzv. "sati" , znaky vdov po maharadzovi Man Singh, ktere se v r. 1843 vrhly za nim do jeho pohrebni hranice. Zvyk upalit se spolu se zesnulym manzelem byl v Indii zakazan pred vice nez sto lety , ale i dnes se to obcas jeste provozuje.
V Udaipuru par dni lenosime, ja si lecim anginu a Ludvik si beha po meste.
Odjizdime do statu Maharashtra, mesta Jalgaon. Do Jalgaon jen kvuli tomu, ze je to prestupni stanice na ceste do jeskyni Ajanta a Ellora. V Jalgaon spime v guesthousu, jehoz majitel je krapet cvok. Porad se nam klani, Ludvik je "sir", ja jsem "madam" a porad se nas chodi ptat, jestli je vsehno OK, jindy nam prinese rucniky, priste nam nabizi caj, jako pozornost, ZADARMO!!!, jak nekolikrat zduraznuje. Porad se nam snazil vnutit pokoj s klimatizaci, samozrejme 2x drazsi nez normalni pokoj. Byl dost zklamanej, kdyz nas nepresvedcil. Brzo rano jedem mistnim autobusem do jeskyni Ajanta. Je to uzasna vec. 30 jeskyni bylo vytesano do skalniho hrebenu mezi 2. stol BC a 6. stol AD. V jeskynich, ktere jsou budhisticke jsou zachovany nadherne fresky, sochy, vytesavane plastiky (?) "carvings". Nad vchodama do tri jeskyni bylo ve vysce nekolik hnizd divokych vcel. Obrovska, kazde snad 1 metr v prumeru. Nikdy jsme nic takovyho nevideli, a na zemi pod nimi bylo lepkavo, jak med z plastvi odkapaval. Nastesti zadna vcela na nas neutocila. Uz je zase priserne vedro, kolem poledne se neda jit po skalnatem chodniku bez bot, jak je rozzhaveny (do nekterych jeskyni se musime zouvat).
Odjizdime prespat do mesta Aurangabad a rano vyjizdime do jeskyni Ellora. Ellora je malinko mladsi nez Ajanta. Na rozdil od Ajanty, kera je pouze budhisticka, v Ellore je 12 jeskyni budhistickych (600-800AD), 17 Hindu (600-900AD) a 5 Jain (800-1000AD). Nejvetsi jeskyne je hinduisticky Kailasa Temple, ktery 7000 delniku vytesavalo do skalnateho hrebenu po dobu 150 let. Je to neuveritelne videt skalnaty hreben, ktery je najednou prerusen a misto nej tam stoji chram. Zase bojujeme se strasnym vedrem, uz se to ted bude jen zhorsovat, jak jedeme na jih. Nastestı se vsude da koupit lahvova voda a to nas zachranuje. Bez uhony projdeme i "ulickou hruzy". Kolem skalni steny vede ası 200 metru chodnik se zabradlim, na kterem v 50 metrovem useku sedı jedna opice vedle druhe. Ludvık, ktery uz ma s opicema nejednu trpkou zkusenost nasel maly proutek a tak se neohrozene vydavame do jamy opici, Ludvık trimajici klacik jako pochoden, aby byl vsem opicim na ocich. Prosli jsme na konec, kde v protismeru se choulil hloucek vahajicich Indek. Ta prvni odvazna ludvika poprosila, jestli by ji mohl proutek dat, kdyz uz ho nepotrebuje a tak jsme je potom pozorovali, jak prochazeji kordonem opic. Fakt, neni to nejprijemnejsi pocit.
Z Aurangabad jedeme vlakem pres Hyderabad do Hospet a odtamtud do Hampi ve state Karnataka. V Hyderabad prestupujeme a nas dalsi vlak jede z jineho nadrazi. Musime se presunout mistnim vlakem, ktery je pekne narvany. Pristoupila mlada zena s miminem na jedne ruce, v druhe trima bubinek a zacne na nej bubnovat. Jeji druhe dite, asi 4 lety chlapecek, bos a jen v kosilce, chodi od jednoho cestujiciho k druhemu a do rytmu bubinku se skvele vrti a tancuje. Nikdo mu nic nedava. Mne se ho zzelelo a tak jsem z batohu vylovila balicek susenek a nabidla mu ho. Chlapecek bez mrknuti oka odtrdloval k dalsimu pasazerovi, mych susenek si ani nevsimL Sel jenom po penezich. Tak jsem si rekla trhni sı nohou. Ma cloveku byt zebraku lito nebo je ma ignorovat? Musim priznat, ze my uz je vetsinou ignorujem. Z Hyderabadu mame jet pres celou noc a mame jen listky bez mistenek ci lehatek, ty uz byly vyprodany. Tak nam hrozi cesta v te nejnizsi tride, kde lidi spi, kde se da. Po zemi, v ulickach, ve stoje...Riskneme to a nastoupime do lehatkoveho vagonu 2. tridy s tim, ze mozna nam pruvodci neco najde. Pruvodci nam nic nenajde, ale jeden mlady indicky par nam nabidne jedno jejich luzko a pry ze kdyz ve 3 rano vystoupej, muzeme si vzit i to druhe (nakonec je to az nekdy v 5, protoze mame zpozdeni). Tak mame kliku. Mame jedno lehatko a podari se nam obsadit jedine sedatko, ktere je na plosince hned vedle vagonovych dveri. Tak se s Ludvikem stridame v sezeni a lezeni. Noc preckame a prijizdime do mesta Hospet. Odtud je asi 30 minut autobusem vesnice Hampi. V roce 1336 Telugu princ Harihararaya v miste nynejsiho Hampi zalozil Vijayanagar, hlavni mesto sve rise. Behem nekolika stoleti se stalo jednou z nejvetsich hinduistickych risi v historii İndie. V polovine 16. stoleti ale prislai Deccansti sultani a bylo po risi. Nyni jsou zde ruiny chramu, starych bazaru, a take je tu vuz z kamene, jehoz kamena kola se kdysi otacela. Mimo to je tu zase plno opic, nastesti jsou docela pratelske.
Z Hampi zase vlakem do Margao ve state Goa. No a dalsi den rano se presunujeme do Benaulim, coz je vesnicka u MORE !!!!!!! Tady si zaslouzime zustat 3 !!! dny. Spime primo na plazi, 2x denne jime grilovane ryby, koupeme se v teplem mori, courame po plazi. More je strasne teple, docela jsou vlny takze na plavani to neni, spis na skotaceni ve vlnach, ale je tu ticho a klid (kdyz se nejde asi 2 km do vedlejsi vesnice, kde telnate Rusky se nechaji vytahovat na padaku nad vodu a pritom jecej), vecer sedime v triku a kratasech na plazi a ja piju studene pivo a kokosove palmy se klati ve vetru. Ha! Dost romantiky, ale hlavne ja (Zdena) jsem strasne potrebovala mit chvili klid a nicnedelani a ticho v noci. Byla jsem z tech osmi mesicu na ceste uz docela unavena. V Goa se podivame do mesta Stara Goa. Protoze cely stat Goa byl az do roku 1961 Portugalskou kolonii, hlavni nabozenstvi je tu krestanstvi. Je tu plno katolickych kostelu a kapli a i obytne domy maji evropsky styl.
Z Goa jedeme vlakem do nasi posledni zastavky- do Mumbai (hlavni mesto statu Maharasthra). Je to nase posledni jizda vlakem v Indii a uz nikdy neuslysime na nadrazich z amplionu oznameni o zpozdeni vlaku s uzasnym britskym prizvukem: İnconvenience caused is deeply regretted.....
No aspon si v Mumbai ale jeste uzijeme jinych lahudek, ktere jsou v İndii vsude: Indove bez ostychu ocuravaji jakoukoli zed na verejnosti (u domu, podel ulic...) a jak je zed prosakla a pere na ni slunce, tak to silene smrdi. Kolem takovych zdi se musi rychle a se zatajenym dechem. Toulavych psu, ktery se valeji vsude, po nocich se perou, stekaj a vyjou. Rano na chodnikach spici lidi (nekteri bezdomovci, ale hodne lidi spi kvuli vedru radsi venku). Tak se jeste podivame na ostrov Elephanta, kde je par jeskyn s hindi temples a chodime po meste, je tu plno budov po Britech (nadrazi, vrchni soud, posta, unıversita, muzea).
To uz myslim staci, zase jsem urcite plno veci nenapsala.
Vzhuru do Turecka!
Zdravime vsechny a vzpominame,
Zdena a Ludvik
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31; 5/4/2010
Zdravime vsechny, kdo to s myma zpravama vydrzeli az do ted.
Jak jsem psala v posledni, uz jsme v Turecku. Meli jsme trochu nervy, jestli se nam podari odletet z Bombaje, kdyz tisice letu bylo zruseno kvuli vybuchu sopky na Islandu. Nastesti Turecko postizeno nebylo. Tak jsme protrpeli let do Istanbulu- vedle nas sedel manzelsky par s asi rocnim ditetem, ktere vetsinu cesty (61/2 hodiny) zplna hrdla kricelo. Bohuzel zadna Polednice kolem nebyla a tak se ho matka snazila zklidnit tak, ze mu busila pesti do zad nebo ho drncala nahoru-dolu na kline (takhle jedou sedlaci), bohuzel bez efektu.
Istanbul a cele Turecko je po temer trech mesicich v Indii kulturni sok s velkym S. Cisto, klid, tramvaje, restaurace, Starbuck , cukrarny s baklavou (OH!) , nikdo nelezi na ulicich, zadne kravy se nepletou v krizovatkach atd. (ale po Indii se nam uz stejska). Co ale je horsi nez v Indii, jsou ceny. Docela zirame na ceny hostelu, jidla, piti a vseho. V Turecku je celkem draho. Tak se plouzime po Istanbulu a navstivime hlavni turisticke atrakce. Vyhnout se davum turistu z cele Evropy je tezke. Jedine reseni je chodit vsude brzo, hned jak se otevre: Haghia Sofia, Blue Mosque (Modra mesita?), podzemni Basilica Cistern postavena Justinianem v 6. stoleti, Topkapi Palce, Museum mozaiek (z 500 AD), Hippodrom a kdyz je vsechno zavaleno turistama (je tu plno Rusu), tak zmizet a vandrovat, kudy cloveka nohy nesou. Taky zkusime proslule turecke lazne. K Ludvikove zklamani jsou muzi a zeny oddeleni. Ja si pridam ke koupani i masaz a tak me Turkyne v cerne podprsence a kalhotkach vydrbe od hlavy k pate drsnou zinkou a naslednou masaz dost odflakne. Ach jo..., Asi ji znechutilo, jak ze mne drbala ty 9 mesicni hromady odumrele kuze . Jeeezis, ted to vypada, jako ze jsme se na nasich cestach nemyli.... Sprchujem se kazdej den, prisaham na holy pupiky, ale clovek si nedela "body scrub", kdyz cestuje, zejo. Z Istanbulu odjedem lodi na jihovychod do mesta Bursa. Vecer nam pan v guesthousu nabidne jit do mesity, kde tancuji dervisove. Tak jdeme s par lidma z hotelu. Dojdeme do malinke mesity, kde krome nas osmi turistu jsou jen mistni a pak zacne "sema", ritualni tanec reprezentujici spojeni s Bohem. Dervisove jsou obleceni v dlouhych cernych plastich a ti co tanci, maji pod nimi dlouhe bile roby s kruhovou sukni. Na hlavach maji vsichni vysoke cepice konickeho tvaru. Ceremonie zacne tak, ze "hafiz" -scholar (nevim, jak je to cesky), ktery zna zpameti cely Koran rekne motlitbu, potom zacne hrat hudba (bubny, fletna) a potom dervisi nastoupi, obejdou 3x dokola mistnost, odlozi cerne plaste a pri hrajici hudbe se zacnou tocit na miste. Toci se strasne plynule, ze jejich kolove sukne tvori nadherne kruhy (pri pohledu zhora- ja jsem musela z zenama sedet na balkone mesity). Behem tance se p4x presunuli po obvodu mistnosti, bez preruseni toceni. Tanec konci, kdyz hafiz znovu recituje pasaze z Koranu. Nasi ctyri dervisove se tocili 15 minut!!!! a po te, co tanec skoncil, ani jeden z nich nezavravoral a vsichni sli uplne rovne. Bylo to hrozne zajimavy, dalo by se rict, ze pro nas pozorovatele az hypnoticky.
Z Bursa odjizdime do Pergamum, kde je chram Asclepiona, Acropolis a Red Basilica, pobydeme 2 dny, koupime si jahody (mnam) a teple vesty, protoze vecer je asi 10 stupnu a my mame jen tenke kosile. Z Pergamum vede nase cesta do mestecka Selcuk, u ktereho je Ephesus. V Selcuk je strasne moc capu, kteri koncem dubna kladou vejce do hnizd. Jejich hnizda jsou vsude- na kominech, na zbytcich rimskeho aqueduktu, vsude. Strasne hlasite klapou zobakama. Zase pobydeme dva dny a pres Pammukale jedeme do Kapadokia. V Pamukalle jsou slavne prirodni travertinove bazeny, ktere pritahuji (jak jinak) miliony turistu. Tak se pobrouzdame ve vode a odjedeme nocnim autobusem do maleho mestecka Goreme v centru Kapadokie. Pochodime pesky po okoli, je plne rozvetvenych udoli s kuzelovitymi skalnimi utvary, kde uz nekdy 400 BC bydleli lide. Ve skalach jsou vytesany stovky holubniku- lide chovali holuby a sbirali trus jako hnojivo. V nekterych skalach jsou vytesany stare byzantske ortodoxni kostely, nektere maji nadherne zachovane fresky. Lide zijici v tehle oblasti si nekdy v 6.-7. stoleti staveli podzemni mesta jako ukryty pred najezdy armad z Persie, ktera jsou dodnes pristupna. Ja jsem tohle vynechala, protoze si netroufnu lezt nekde skrcena sedum pater pod zem. Takze tak.
Dnes pres noc jedeme na vychod do mestecka Kahta u Mt. Nemrut, kde chceme videt "hlavy". O tech ale az priste.
Doprava po Turecku je skvela- autobusy jedou vsude a jsou to klimatizovane Mercedesy s mladymi muzi jako stevardy , kteri pri jizde serviruji caj, vodu a obcas i susenky. Uz jenom vzlitnout a pridat Campari. (vzdycky vsechno srovnavam s tim, co jsme zazili- autobus v Cambodia, ktery se 3x po ceste opravoval, vezl uvnitr v ulicce dve motorky, autobus v zapadni Cine, kde se uvnitr kourilo a popel se klepal do plechovych krabic, ktere staly v ulicce a do kterych se i hazely pytliky s blitkama nebo se do nich i primo zvracelo, autobusuy, ktere snad ani nemely okna a dvere se nikdy nezaviraly, rvouci karaoke...)
Zdar!
Zdena a Ludvik
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32; 5/11/2010
Merhaba!
Opoustime Goreme v Kapadokıı. Po dlouhe noci v autobusu dojizdime do Kahta a odtud minibusem do vesnicky Karadut, ktera je primo pod Mt. Nemrut. Penzion, ve kterem spime, ma vlastni auto, ktere nas a jeste dva Francouze druhy den rano vyveze az pod vrchol hory. Vsechno je fajn krome te hodiny. Vyjizdime ve 4;30 rano, abychom videli hlavy za vychodu slunce. Uz nekolikrat jsem zminovala hlavy. Jake hlavy? Megalomanicky kral Antioch (64-38 BC) nechal na vrcholu hory Mt Nemrut (2134mnm) postavit chram a hrobky pro sebe a sve pribuzne. Soucasti celeho komplexu byly i obrovske sochy jeho sameho a tehdejsich Bohu. V pozdejsi dobe zemetreseni sochy a cely komplex ponicilo. Dnes zde zustavaji uz jen ruiny. Ze soch jsou tu ale krasne zachovane hlavy (ty HLAVY) a zbytky tel. Tak se jeste za tmy a studeneho vetru doplazime na vrchol a cekame na slunce. İ kdyz jsme s Ludvikem nikdy nebyli na navstevy pamatek za slunce zapadu ci vychodu, tohle docela stalo za to. Promrzli se vracime do penzionu na snidani a potom odjizdime zase minibusem do Malatya a odtud vlakem do Sivas. Ze Sivas se chceme vydat na vychod. Jediny vlak tim smerem jede pred 4. hodinou ranni a tak si na nej koupime listky a spime na nadrazi na lavicich v cekarne. Mily vlak ma 4 hodiny zpozdeni. Tim se nas prijezd do cile, mesta Kars, posune ze slusnych 19,30 na neslusnych 00,15. Ale je to trochu vyvazene luxusem ve vlaku. Mame luzkove kupe s dvema postelema nad sebou, umyvadlem s tekoucı teplou vodou v rohu a skrinkou, ve ktere je zabudovana LEDNİCE!!! Ve vlaku!!!!! Tak aspon muzeme chladit jogurty a syry a olivy a jıne dobroty, co mame na cestu. Jediny problem v tureckych vlakach je to, ze se v nich nic neprodava a musis si vsechno prinest, vcetne vody. Ne jako v İndii, kde nepretrzite proudi prodavaci s vodou, masala cajem, kavou, jidlem, hrackama apod. Do Kars dojizdime v hluboke noci a destem jdeme mestem a hledame hotel, kam Ludvik volal z vlaku a udelal pro nas rezervaci. Hotel najdem a dokonce dostanem horky caj a padnem a spime. V Kars primo v meste neni nic moc k videni. Odpoledne se jdem projit a v male ulicce se zacnou rvat dve Turkyne. Mlada a stara, hroznej jekot, rvou si vlasy a najednou se zacnou sbihat chlapi a jeden se vrhne na tu mladou a zacal ji docela tlouct, pak se pridavaj dalsi, zastavujou auta a vyskakujou dalsi chlapi. To my s Ludvikem uz to radsi otacime, aby nas taky nezapojili do toho melee a jdeme pryc. Projdeme se kolem mesity, ktera v minulosti byla ortodoxni kostel (armensky)- postaveny nekdy kolem roku 600 a pak ale mnohokrat prestaven. Kdyz jdeme zpatky ulickou, uz je po bitve, jen tu jeste postava plno chlapu a parkuje tu policejni auto. Holt horkokrevni Turci. Uz se zacina stmivat a tak se vratime do pokoje, kde Ludvik zapne televizi a tam je azerbajdzansky kanal, kde zrejme v ramci oslav konce valky maji do studia pozvanou staou zenu, ktera ma cely prsa a bricho oplechovany vyznamenanima a pak tam je nejaky general v uniforme, ktery zpiva. Takhle to nevypada jako nic moc, ale kdyz se na to jeden diva a nerozumi anı slovu a v hornim levem ruzku televizni obrazovky vedle malinkeho obrazku prezidenta porad vlaje malinka azerbajdzanska vlajecka, no... . Meli jsme vesely vecer. Rano odjedem do vesnice Dogubayazit, ktera lezi primo pod Araratem. Jsme asi 35 km od hranic s Iranem. Na ulicich jsou v podstate jen chlapi a vojaci, zen tu potkavame minimalne. İ v obchodech a restauracich pracuji jen muzi. To ale v celem Turecku. Tak se jdem podıvat na pevnost nad vesnici postavennou v 17. stol a porad cekame na Ararat. Je hnusne, prsi skoro porad a hora je schovana v mracich. İ kdyz dnes dopoledne jsme ji videli tak 3/4. Ararat je majestatni, cely pod snehem. Skoda jen to pocasi.
Nastesti jsou Turci strasni pijaci caje. Ja vzdycky myslela kavy. Ta tady je jen jako hnusny nescafe, nekdy lepsı jako turecka- malinky koflicek s logrem. Ale caj- v malych sklenickach, je strasne silny a musi se sladit. Vsude, v jakoukoli denni dobu je videt na kazdem rohu plna cajovna, kdyz neprsi, tak se sedi venku, chlapu plno a lejou do sebe caje. S jednim panem jsme sedeli u caje v Goreme v Kapadokii, bylo kolem poledne a on se nam sveril, ze ten den je to jeho asi desaty caj. No kam se na nej Ludvik, pijan caje hrabe! Ale horky silny caj je tady v mrazivem vychodnim Turecku k nezaplaceni. A turecky se rekne cay, tak i objednat je ho lehke.
Uz jsem napsala moc.
Zdar, Zdena
Zitra zpatky do Kars a pak let do Istanbulu na posledni dva dny nasi cesty.
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33; 7/23/2010
Radsi bych nemela psat datum, kdy pisu moji posledni zpravu. Je to 24. cervence.
Prijizdime do Kars a najdeme si hotel, ktery je o malinko levnejsi nez ten, kde jsme spali pred par dny pri nasi prvni navsteve.Protoze mame par dni pred odletem do Istanbulu, udelame si vylet. Pronajmeme auto spolu s americko-kanadskym parem a jedeme asi 45 km na vychod do Ani, ktere je na hranicich s Armenii. Ani bylo v 10. stoleti hlavni mesto tehdejsiho Armenskeho statu. Zilo tu az 100 000 lidi. Mesto ale bylo postupne od 11. stoleti uchvaceno Byzantskou risi, Persii, Kralovstvim Georgie (proboha, jak je to cesky?), mistnimi Kurdy a nakonec v 13. stoleti Mongoly. Ve 14. stoleti silne zemetreseni mesto temer srovnalo se zemi, potom se obchodni trasy, ktere pres mesto vedly presunuly jinam a bylo po vsem. Dnes jsou tu jen ruiny, ale stoji za to. Jsou zde zbytky kostelu z 10.-12. stoleti, nektere maji dokonce i zachovale krasne fresky a armenske napisy. Jako i na jinych mistech v Turecku, fresky svatych maji casto vyskrabane oci, nekdy i cele tvare (nabozenska nesnasenlivost tu byla vzdycky). Je zima, nebe je sedive s cernymi mraky a obcas sprchne. Skvela atmosfera. S Ludvikem mame celou oblast prohlidnutou driv, nez nasi spolucestujici a tak se jdeme podivat do vesnice. Ja jdu napred a za chvilku na me Ludvik vola, ze ho jedna vesnicka zena pozvala na navstevu. Tak se pridam a jsme zavedeny do kamenneho prizemniho domu s plochou strechou na ktere roste trava (typicky vesnicky domek). Bez elektriny, bez vody. Uvnitr jsou dalsi tri zeny - matka a dcery a male dite. Matka sedi u diry v podlaze, ve ktere je zhavy popel a pece v ni chleba. Je to obdoba indickeho tandoru- kotle v zemi, kde na dne je ohen nebo zhavy popel a na steny kotle se priplacnou placky testa a ty se upecou. Tak nam hned daji caj a cerstvy chleba a jogurt a domaci maslo a syr. Neumeji slovo anglicky, my ani slovo turecky, ale mame se vsichni dobre. V mistnosti, kde je teplo od pece je na zemi nekolik beden, ve kterych jsou kurata, krut'ata a kacata. Najednou se ve dverich do domku objevil starsi muz a vsechny zeny (krome matky) si hned zacaly uvazovat na hlavy satky. Myslim, ze musi mit na hlave satek, kdyz je pritomen cizi muz. (Ludvik). No, snad nemely prusvih. Stary pan ale za chvilku odesel a atmosfera se uvolnila. Kdyz jsme pojedli, tak nas ty mlade zany zavedly do jineho domku, kde nam ukazovaly, jak vyrabeji syr a taky maslo- michaly strasne rychle smetanu v obrovskem hrnci, ja jsem se pridala, ale mela jsem toho velmi rychle dost. Nebyla to zadna sranda. Ruce bolely. No ale nas cas se krati a tak se vracime k autu a jedeme zpatky do Kars.
A letime zpatky do Istanbulu. Tady mame par dni, kdy se placame po meste, jdeme se podivat do slavneho Grand Bazaar, pijeme nescetne kofliky caje, navstivime nescetne mesity, obdivujeme rimsky vodovod a uzivame si nicnedelani.
18. kvetna rano Ludvik odjizdi autobusem do Sofie a pak vlakem pres Rumunsko, Madarsko a Bratislavu do Cech a ja odletam odpoledne z Istanbulu rovnou do Prahy.
A TO JE KONEC.
Asi budu muset napsat shrnuti nasi cesty a pridat par slov, jak to bylo v Praze. Vypada to, ze to asi posledni zprava preci jenom neni.
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==============Writen in English by Zdena======================
A; October 30, 2009
We left Red China about week ago. We stayed there about 5 weeks, which was more than enough. We visited Beijing, Xian, Xinning, Maqui, Chengdu, Guilin, Yangzhou, and Guangzhou. Maqui was good- it was small town, more Tibetan than Chinese. We wanted to travel in western parts of provinces that border Tibet. Unfortunately they were closed for foreigners, as was Tibet itself. We were there during China's 60th anniversary and there were incredibly paranoid and horrible security measures. X-Ray checks of your daypack every time when you enter underground in Beijing, the same in all railway stations across the country, police escort in Maqui to the only hotel in town that was allowed to accommodate foreigners. Actually, the policemen and women were OK there, they invited us to their police station in the evening and we played table-tennis together (quite difficult, since the town was about 10,000 feet above sea level). We did not make our trek because of no transportation, problems with guides etc.
In Chengdu, we visited Research Panda Centre, where we watch many pandas eating or slowly moving around. Only the youngsters were a little bit more agile. There were also babies, several of them still in isolettes! One of them was born 9/28- the same day as is Ludvik's birthday! All pink and maybe 8 inches long, still blind.
Chinese are not too friendly, nobody speaks English (why would they when there are 1.3 billions of them), they are not helpful etc. But I have to say that historical sites we visited were awesome, the nature beautiful- esp. Guilin with Li river, rice fields, water buffaloes, tall narrow mountains and mist. On the other side the pollution in China is horrible. And rats in toilets too.
In the market in Guilin I saw people selling dog's meat. There were cages with dogs in them, still alive, standing or sitting, very quiet. Hanging on hooks bellow the ceiling there were different parts of already skinned dogs. On the floor I saw a man with a blowtorch, burning the fur from a recently slaughtered animal. I was shaken and sick from the sight.
In Guangzhou, we stayed on Shimian Island (small island in Pearl River). There were dozens of couples (homo- and heterosexual), who come here to adopt Chinese babies and infants. When we asked, they explained to us that it is cheaper (20K per kid) and faster than in US. Interesting!
We gladly moved on, to Hong Kong, Kowloon, and Macau. Everything on trains, couple times on buses. On Tuesday, we took our first flight, to Bangkok. Will travel around Thailand for while before we cross the border to Cambodia.
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B; November 10, 2009
Hi all!
Here is what's new with us:
We spent almost two weeks in Thailand. Several days in Bangkok, took overnight train and bus to Phuket and stayed on Patong Beach for couple days. We wanted to do some scuba diving there. But the weather is not good yet, rains and winds every afternoon. So we left for Cambodia and maybe we will do some scuba later.
It is so hot here. Since 8 a.m. I am sweating like a pig and dying from the heat. Cannot imagine that it will last for at least 8 more months. Definitely miss CA climate.
Thailand is great. Bangkok with temples, King's Palaces, boats on the river- the best transportation around the town, tuk-tuk drivers everywhere trying to lure you for overpriced ride, masseuses offering all kinds of services (I don't know maybe Ludvik regrets bringing me here), food stalls, souvenirs stalls, peddlers with all kinds of necessities for life, cheap beer and food. Everywhere you can get so called "ichtyotherapy"- you dip your feet or even your whole body into a sink with hundreds of tiny fish and they eat off the dead skin. I tried to put there my hand only and it is a funny feeling- scratchy and tickly. People very nice, smiling all the time. They love their king, who is now 82. He was sick couple days ago and on streets there were books for people to write "get well" notes for him. At railway station at 1800 they played national anthem and whole station was standing up. Everywhere you can see billboards, posters or simple pictures of His Majesty or his Wife.
The overnight train was OK even it was 2nd class. There were 36 bunk beds in the carriage, fans under the roof and the carriage's door stayed open the whole night! Nobody fell out, I hope. Can you imagine this way of transportation in CA?
Patong Beach is all tourists, beach with umbrellas and chairs. I spent couple of hours there under the umbrella- you have to do it if you want to stay on the beach and go for a swim. I stayed in the shade and used SPF 30 and still my shoulders were red beet in the evening and now the skin is peeling off and I look like I acquired some weird skin disease. In the evening there are bars everywhere with Thai girls pole dancing, there are all kinds of "shows". One day we took a boat trip to James Bond's Island (one of his movies was done there) and couple other islands with caves, where you went in with a small kayak and were hoping that bats won't poop on you. In the afternoon the sky turned dark grey, the wind blowing was quite strong, it was pouting and the boat ride got pretty wild. Some weaker characters were becoming hysterical, especially one Spanish speaking lady. Everything ended OK. The boat did not sink although trays with lunch were flying across the deck.
We returned to Bangkok and from there we took a bus to Cambodia border. The crossing is one big madhouse. people walking, pulling carts empty or loaded up to the sky with goods, cars, motorcycles...From the border we took a minibus to a small town about 60 km east, where we stayed for a night in a guesthouse (room with fan and cold shower for $4). There was a market in the evening. I didn't dare to try local delicacies such as fried roaches, grasshoppers or snakes. The next day we arrived to Siam Reap, where we are right now. We plan to stay here couple more days. The Angkor Wat complex is magnificent! It is indescribable!
The motorcycles are everywhere carrying anything: long wooden pole across rear seat with chickens hanging from both ends. Wooden board across the rear seat with four pigs on their backs, bellies up, still alive- I saw them kicking in the air with their feet. In front of the hospital dad carrying about 4 year old boy with IV attached to his forearm, mom holding wooden stick with IV bottle taped to the top. They rode off on motorcycle. Dad at the front, mom at the rear holding the ÏV pole and the boy between them. Nobody wears a helmet.
Oh, so many things to see!
Zdenka
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C; December 17, 2009
Right now we are in Laos. I think my last email to you was from Cambodia, from Siam Reap. After that we visited Phnom-Penh (capital) - there are museums showing Pol-Pot regime and its atrocities (the cruelest prison with its torture chambers or Killing Fields with mass graves). From P-P we took a bus to NE Cambodia, Ratanakiri province. The bus ride was supposed to take 10 hours, in the end it was 18 hours!!! Several repair stops and finally the last third of way was only dirt road that was at one part flooded, everything turned into red colored mud and on top of it there was half overturned truck in the middle of the way. We had to wait there for about two hours for the road to be cleared. Half of the time our bus stayed in the middle of the water and who wanted to go pee had to take shoes off and wade away through the water and mud. This was happening around midnight. All the time there was a DVD player on playing pop music very loudly (speakers were placed right above our seats). Our bus was full up to the roof with people and baggage (there were only 4 of us white) and we carried even two motorcycles (in the isle). We arrived at our destination at 2:30 am. Two days later we did a 3 days hike-motorcycle-boat ride trip with a guide through some remote minority villages around Ratanakiri. The poverty there is unbelievable. Wooden structures with thatched roofs and walls, mostly standing on stilts. People cook either outside or inside. The floor is made from bamboo and in the corner there is 2x2 ft square of dried mud and there they build fire for cooking. Mostly rice, sometimes greens from the forest. Meat- we saw a rat, fish and pig's skin on a stick, already charred. One woman lost her all four cows during floods, her kids dresses in rugs, dirty. Other woman's story- her husband abandoned her and somebody's water buffalo ate all her rice from the field and she and her daughter doesn't have anything left. Small boy who is "crazy"- retarded? tied at this ankle to the hut. In other village another "crazy" man locked up in a wooden cage, yelling that he wants to eat. And so on and on.
The next journey was to south Cambodia where we crossed border to Vietnam. Two biggest cities- Saigon and Hanoi are crowded, polluted, horrible traffic; you cannot almost cross the road because of motorbikes that are everywhere all the time. We visited some interesting places there like Cu Chi tunnel that Vietcong built during the Vietnam war to fight the South and US - about 200 km net of tunnels that I cannot fit in. After that we stayed couple of days in Sapa in Northern Vietnam and we climbed the highest peak of Indochina, Fansipan, 3143 m. (10,380 ft). It was 2 days trek, we stayed overnight at a small cabin with big draft and very thin sleeping bags. But we survived the night and reached the summit the next day. My leg muscles stayed sore for 4 days.
From Vietnam we went to Laos, for two days we took boats instead of buses. It is good because in this part there are only dirt roads and it means dust and dust and dust. And slow ride and a lot of construction sites with delays. From the river we can see a lot of villages, fishermen, women collecting weeds from the river, wooden canoes and overall it is more enjoyable.
We will probably stay in Laos for Christmas, New Year looks like somewhere in Northern Thailand. We will see. Our memory cards are bursting with pictures, I would guess we are somewhere around 10,000 pictures. I cannot imagine the editing when we get back.
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D; February 11, 2010
We are well and in good spirits still. We spent one month in Burma (or currently Myanmar). It was great and horrible at the same time.
Great were places, temples, villages, nature etc. We stayed by Inle lake with floating gardens full of tomatoes, green beans, flowers, where wooden and straw houses are built above the water. There was beautiful. Bagan was large area full of amazing old temples and stupas. In the north Burma, we made a wild three hours journey over mountains on a dusty unpaved road riding a Toyota pick-up with locals. The bed of the pick-up was full of baskets, boxes, bags of who knows of what and twenty of us were sitting high above the car on metal construction with narrow wooden benches, enjoying the view and clouds of the finest light brown dust that got everywhere. Guesthouse in our destination didn't have any running water so we stayed looking like painted light brown for three more days! We climbed a holy mountain (8 miles up, 8 miles down) like proper pilgrims to see Golden Rock- huge boulder covered with golden leaves balancing on the mountain. Once we got up at 3 a.m. to see a ceremony of Buddha morning cleaning and washing starting at 4 a.m. Ludvik used services of local barber and is bald and without his 6 months beard again. And much, much more.
Horrible was internet (basically non-existent, extremely slow if any, with frequent interruptions when government-supplied electricity failed and it took time for private generator to kick in, many web pages being blocked by government). Burma is governed by military junta, which is very strict and send its spies after tourists. Spies don't hurt travelers but it is quite unnerving if taxi driver brings you to your hotel without you telling him where you stay. Or one guy told us that he saw one guy (whom he met somewhere on a bus to Yangon, capital) three times during one day two days later. Food was quite bad. We survived on fried noodles or fried rice with veggies. Were afraid to eat any meat after visiting local markets. No electricity means no refrigeration. We didn't want to take buses or fly with local airlines. So we took trains. That was also a challenge. Luckily we survived roaches, mice, stinky toilets, and wild rides on rails, which were falling apart. Sometimes it was impossible to walk as the carriage was bouncing up and down or from side to side. The train had to slow down to walking speed sometimes, mostly when crossing bridges. Even locals were saying prayers. There aren't any ATMs, you have to bring $$ but only the best quality, otherwise they won't except them when you want to buy local money or pay entrance fees, buy train tickets and so on. Once happened to us they didn't like and didn't accepted one dollar bill that had one corner folded. Darn! No more writing notes on banknotes! God forbid to make a microscopic hole in it!
Anyway, on Feb 5 we left for India and flew to Kolkata (Calcutta). There we spent couple of days and later took a train to Darjeeling, where we are now. Kolkata was great. I love India. People bathing and washing clothes at riverbanks, rickshaws running barefooted around the town pulling carriages with passengers and avoiding collision with cars, buses etc, delicious food, friendly people, chaos everywhere. Ludvik made me to take a rickshaw ride too. I didn't want to, feeling bad to make a skinny old man without shoes to work so hard, pulling the carriage and me sitting there like a memsahib. Since Ludvik's argument was that if I won't take the ride, the poor man won't make any money because of me and will have to go to bed hungry, I took the ride. It is said that rickshaws in Calcutta are the last in India. So the opportunity cannot be lost. Kids here love to have pictures taken. It makes my life easier since I am still pretty shy at taking close pictures of people. But I am getting better at it. From Darjeeling we will travel more around India. But it is such a huge country that one year in India itself would not be enough!
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E; March 23, 2010
We are still in India, slowly drifting around this incredible country. After Calcutta, we went to Darjeeling and from there to state named Sikkim, where we did some hiking and saw snow covered Himalayas. From there we moved to several other places. Most memorable was Varanasi, which is on river Ganges. A lot of pilgrims come here, either to take a bath in the holy river or to die here (and thus go to nirvana) or to have their deceased family members burned on wooden stakes on the river banks and their ashes scattered in the river. Since it is Hindu holy city, cows are sacred and they wander through narrow alleys or lie down on streets and nobody does anything about it. They also cannot kill an old or sick cow, they just let them die. On our first night in a guesthouse which was situated right above the river, we were awakened by men shouting and dull thumping noises. We went to check it out and found several men pulling dead cow towards the river and rolling her down a steep flight of stairs. After they pushed her all the way to the water, they left her there, maybe 20 ft away from the river bank to sink. In the morning, at the exact spot, people were taking bath and washing their laundry. We also saw several places called "burning ghats" with dead bodies engulfed in flames. (the dead body is brought on bamboo stretchers and dipped three timers into the river before it is put on the stake and the fire is lit). During our stay there was "Holi festival", during which people throw colored water or colorful powders on each other. We had a lot of fun with this until I realized couple days later that I cannot wash it from my clothes. So now my pants look really nice.
Beside Taj Mahal and Delhi we visited Amritsar in state Punjab, where is a Golden Temple, the holiest place for Sikhs. Do you remember a lady in L&D with a dagger and her husband with a sword? They were Sikhs. It is one of five things they wear (beside uncut hair and uncut beard, a comb, a bracelet, and loose underwear- all applies to men only). There we observed ritual bathing, chanting, praying, and had our lunch in community dining hall- they serve about 50, 000 lunches for pilgrims a day. Hundreds of people eat sitting on the floor in huge dining hall, when they are done they leave, floors are swept and next hundreds come in. They served chapatti, lentil soup and water. Yum! The highlight of visit to Amritsar was our trip to Pakistani border. Every afternoon there is a closing the border ceremony. On both sides of the border are big stages for visitors. Indian side was full of colorful saris, Pakistani side was black with burkas and white with men's dresses and hats. Before the ceremony, there was a lot of music, dancing and yelling "Long Live India", something similar from the Pakistani side, and both sides were trying to be louder than the other. When the ceremony started, on both sides, soldiers in ridiculous uniforms were wildly marching back and forth, kicking their feet up, almost touching their foreheads. They met each other at the border with bulging eyes, moustaches curled up and were showing each other their biceps! No kidding! And crowds were yelling and cheering. We were laughing so hard... (tried to hide it though, since we didn't want to offend anybody).
Next unforgettable event was Kumbh Mela in Haridwar (city in state Uttar Pradesh). This is the main Hindu festival, which happens every 4 years. Haridwar is a town with about 200,000 people, during the festival it grows to 9 millions!!!! Pilgrims, gurus, and sadhus (holy men) from the whole country come to bath in Ganges, meditate, etc. Bathing in Ganges during this festival washes away all your previous sins. That is why Ludvik went under three times and now is as clean as a baby. . There was a several hours long parade of all gurus and holly men through the city and we almost got run over by hundreds of naked sadhus with their bodies painted with ashes and their hair and beards in dreadlocks (some of them had their dreadlocks long all the way down to the ground or even longer). In the evening we walked through sadhus' tent camp in the middle of the town. They were sitting in their tents, burning fires, preaching and blessing people and smoking dope. Pilgrims were staying in numerous tent cities around the town or sleeping on the streets or basically anywhere. Thousands of policemen were trying to keep everything in order with help of bamboo sticks and whistles. One morning around 5 o'clock we were climbing through several fences and one policeman punched me with the stick. It was still dark, I was wearing pants and loose shirt and since I got a haircut in Delhi and am almost bald , he mistook me for a man. You can look it up if you search "Kumbh Mela". It was indescribable!
Now we are in Rajasthan state in town Bikaner and tomorrow we are leaving for 5 days camel safari. We will go on camels to the desert. I hope we will survive it! It is so hot here- about 100F. Cannot imagine how it is in summer.
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================Toto psal Ludvik============
2; November 11, 2011
PAR RADEK Z CEST OD LUDVIKA
xxxxxxxxxxxxx 20 March 2010 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
HNUSNI DICTATORI
No mylil jsem se v zivote. Ja vzdy nenavidel komouse, jako treba ty co se nachazeji v Rusku, Cine, Vietnamu, Laosu a ti co byli (a chteli by zase byt) v Cechach. Mozna jsem trochu take omlouval rezimy ktere maji vojenskeho dictatora jako je napriklad Burma, nebo nejake jine mizery (Cambodia) kteri omezuji svobodu svojim lidem, kradou, manipuluji je a diktuji narodu co ma a co nema delat. Dnes jiz vim lepe. Vsechny nedemokraticke rezimy jsou spatne a lid by mel tyto vlady svrhnout, hodit viniky do kriminalu a ty hlavni pachatele postrilet (ale pomalu a sadisticky a hlavne je nehladit sametem).
CINANI V RUDE CINE JSOU ME HNUSNI
OK, jiste ze vsech 1200000000 lidi co tam zije nejsou hnusaci, ale ja si nemohu pomoci, kdykoliv tam prijedu tak se me chce z toho narodu a hlavne politickeho rezimu tam blejt. Z Rusu se me take dela trochu nevolno, ale lidi tam me spise byva lito.
MONGOLCI
Zeme je to krasna a zajimava, hlavne lide tam jsou hodni a hlavne prakticti. Kdyz videli ze komunismus stoji za prd, tak pritahli buldozer a mausoleumum kde hnil jejich prvni komouzsky diktator na hlavnim namesti zbourali a bylo to. Dali tam jejich stareho hrdinu, take jiste diktatora, Genghis Khana, ale ten mozna jim jiz nepripada zly nebo jiz zapomeli. Od nich by se Rusove mohli ucit. Dodnes ve v kazdem meste v SSSR je par velkych bronzovych Leninu a rudych hvezd je tam stale vice nez je potreba. Vsechen ten Leninsky bronz by sel pouzit na vyrobu vodnich pohoutku do splachovacich zarizeni nad toaletni misy. Tyto sochy zbytecne matou lidi a ti si pak rikaji, "proc mame kapitalismus a ne ten komunismus a je stale ten Lenin frajer nebo zloduch"?
INDIE
Poprve jsem byl v Indii v roce asi 1975. Je to moje zamilovana zeme a jsem rad ze se zde moc nic nezmenilo. Indie je stale krasna, lide hodni, je tu stale jeste dost lacino, je tu stale dost zmatek a chaos a lid zije dost svobodne. Navice maji democracii a je to citit ve vzduch. Ve vzduchu je citit take jine veci, jsou hnede ale o tom az priste. Indie je o neco chudsi nez Cina asi, ale kdybych si musil vybrat absolutne bych nevahal a zvolil Indii. Jedeme ve dvouch lidech, nesetrime na nicem, spise rozhazujeme a stoji nas to asi v Indii vse i s vlakami prvni tridy $48.00 denne. Z toho Uncle Sam plati $46.40. Mozna ze na penzi zkoncim v Indii a dam se k Hindum.
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PHOTOS
stale dokumentuji svoje cesty fotkami, ale nekdy na to nemam moc naladu a jsem liny. Kdyz to zacne byt okolo me nezrizene krasne, tak casto se jen divam a nedbam ze je kamera okolo mojeho krku a nechavam ji v klidu. V duchu se pak omlouvam sam pred sebou tim ze ti co sem nejeli a nenechali se hlodat blechami (no moc jich nebylo celkem) a neriskovali pad se starym autobusem bez brzd do udoli aby se sem dostali si to stejne neaslouzi videt. Na moji pristi snad rocni cestu ktera zacne asi May 15, 2011 si kameru jiz brat nebudu, ale za to si vezmu dalekohled.
CESI Z CECH NA CESTACH (CZCNC)
Je videt stale vice CZCNC a to je dobre, nebot se tak narod ve svete neco priuci. Vetsinou to jsou mladi a vzdelani lide, ale ne vzdy. Nekdy s nimi trochu zarertuji. Prave vcera jsem stal pred Taj Mahal a prede mnou asi 5 CZCNC stavbu obdivovali, a ja zacnul dost hlasite, "No toto je ale o hodne lepsi nez ty nase Hradcany, jsou cele sede a nudne. Meli by se zborit a postavit lepsi a z bileho mramoru jako toto tuna. Nebylo by to lepsi mamo?" Na toto skupinka CZCNC trochu hnula brvou, na sebe se bleskove podivali a tise se vyparili. Ani me nedali moznost zacit rozvijet moje theorie o Indickym jidle v porovnani s nakladanymi burty u nas v hospode (byvalem Agitacnim Stredisku) ve Vonoklasech. Skoda.
CESTOVANI
Jiste si mnoho lidi mysli ze to je totalni blbost si dobrovolne sundat backory, zhasnout fajfku, vztat s houpaciho kresla, nechat vyhasnout krb a odjet nekam do tramtarie kde jsou jenom divosi a kde se k snidani jedi idlii a rasgulla a ne krupava housla s maslem a uherakem. Navice to stoji extra prachy, clovek tam muze onemocnet, je tam spina vsude i v tom idlii rano. Maji pravdu ale zapominaji ze vse negativni vzdy prinese veci dobre.
Pro me to je nejenou dobrodruzstvi ale take moje zamysleni se nad sebou a svetem okolo me. Kdyz se clovek narodi a povyroste tak vidi jak lidi kolem veci delaji, co se jim libi, co chteji, co ma pro ne hodnotu, a z toho usoudi co on bude chtit a jak bude videt svet. Je proste zformovan svojim okolim. Samozrejme ze si pak mysli ze toto je vse zpravne absolutni a jinak ze by to ani neslo.
Na cestach clovek pak vidi ze mnoho veci jini lide delaji jinak, veri v jine veci, jine veci jsou pro ne dulezite, jine veci a ciny je povznaseji v jejich spolecnosti a ze nejedi housky s maslem a uherakem ale idlii. Pak se zamysli a mozna zacne delat veci po svem a lide okolo at se treba staveji na usi.
PAR LISTU
Mozna ze jednou napisi malou knizku s titulem "Jak efectivne a lacino cestovat po svete". Mozna ze me to vydela par korun a ja si budu moci dovolit cestovat par tydnu nelacine. Mozna ze o knizku bude trochu zajem, nebot nekdy kdyz vidim jake voloviny lide delaji na cestach tak ve me roste nadej.
Ludvik
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