Gallivanting the globe 2019 - RTW and then some

[JohnM]

Museum displays depicting aspects of Tibetan culture and tradition. Temple.



On to the nearby large teaching monastery.



The lunch bell rang.

 

[OZDUCK]

As usual very good photos. I was amused to see that Earl Elgin, as the son of the 'Elgin Marbles' Earl, managed to get a little bit of marble on his memorial.

 

[JohnM]

Mongoose and onward through the eucalypts to the heritage village of Pragpur. Unfortunately, absentee wealthy traditional owners who have moved out of this small, isolated but deeply historical village are mostly not interested in maintaining the buildings.



Then a short distance to Garli, another heritage village, and the stop for the night. Again, some lovely old buildings crumbling, although there were more attempts at restoration in this village than Pragpur.



Upper levels are residences, while underneath were storerooms and warehouses, now mainly small shops.



My hotel was a renovated wealthy merchant’s house.

 

[JohnM]

Next day it was continuing SE to Kalka to then take a section of the narrow-gauge ‘toy’ train uphill to Shimla, which used to be the summer capital of British India.

Post automatically merged: Jan 14, 2020

 

[RooFlyer]

Whats with the 'post automatically merged' notice? You been moonlighting on other threads?

 

[JohnM]

Whats with the 'post automatically merged' notice? You been moonlighting on other threads?

I saw that, but I have no idea of why it popped up.

 

[RooFlyer]

I noticed @support used it in another context today, so I'll just alert in case some unexpected behavior is happening with a new function.

 

[JohnM]

Next morning was a walk through the hills above Shimla. These are the location of the famed rhododendron forests, but they are not in flower in September.



The Viceregal Lodge was built in 1888. After Independence it became the official summer residence of the President of India. In 1965 it was handed over to become the Indian Institute of Advanced Study.



Jakhu Temple, dedicated to the monkey god Hanuman, the large statue of which looks down on Shimla from the highest peak at 2455m.

 

[JohnM]

Christ Church, opened in 1846, is Shimla’s most famous landmark.



Clarkes Hotel, originally named the Carlton. Famed for eventually being the first hotel owned by the well-known M. S. Oberoi and the start of a major hotel empire.



Groovy outdoor bar and resto attached to my hotel.

 

[support]

Whats with the 'post automatically merged' notice? You been moonlighting on other threads?

I saw that, but I have no idea of why it popped up.

I noticed @support used it in another context today, so I'll just alert in case some unexpected behavior is happening with a new function.

It is working as expected but we did envisage this might happen in the TR forum, and we may turn it off in this section.

Essentially, it is a new feature that determines if you have made 2 (or more) consecutive posts within a minute, and then merges them together... as you really should have used multi-quote. In this forum the reason is more likely because of the 10 image per post rule of course. It essentially stops post padding.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Thanks for the photos of Shimla and the Toy Train; brings back memories of our trip a couple of years ago. A interesting part of the world.

 

[JohnM]

The next afternoon was a drive down from the mountains followed by a c. 3h train journey to Haridwar, an ancient city on the banks of the Ganges River and an important Hindu pilgrimage site.

Despite old pictures of people clinging to the roof of trains in India, the reality – as usual – is vastly different. Train travel in India is a very good way to go. It’s safe and easy and overnight trains are fun IMO. The stations are well-signed and easy to use and porters are present in large numbers to carry bags up steps and even find your carriage and seat, lead you to it and drop your bag – or heft it into the overhead racks.

The area around Haridwar is where the Ganges emerges onto the plains at the base of the Himalayan foothills and it has deep Hindu religious significance. There are numerous ashrams (Hindu hermitage or retreat, typically for spiritual instruction and meditation) throughout the area.

The huge Shanti Kunj ashram at Haridwar is essentially a self-contained town, with vast accommodation, teaching rooms for all sorts of things, prayer halls and food halls.

 

[craven morehead]

The next afternoon was a drive down from the mountains followed by a c. 3h train journey to Haridwar, an ancient city on the banks of the Ganges River and an important Hindu pilgrimage site.

Despite old pictures of people clinging to the roof of trains in India, the reality – as usual – is vastly different. Train travel in India is a very good way to go. It’s safe and easy and overnight trains are fun IMO. The stations are well-signed and easy to use and porters are present in large numbers to carry bags up steps and even find your carriage and seat, lead you to it and drop your bag – or heft it into the overhead racks.

The area around Haridwar is where the Ganges emerges onto the plains at the base of the Himalayan foothills and it has deep Hindu religious significance. There are numerous ashrams (Hindu hermitage or retreat, typically for spiritual instruction and meditation) throughout the area.

The huge Shanti Kunj ashram at Haridwar is essentially a self-contained town, with vast accommodation, teaching rooms for all sorts of things, prayer halls and food halls.

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Looks very clean

 

[JohnM]

The swastika means ‘well-being’ in Sanskrit and is commonly seen in temples and the like (Swastika - Wikipedia); unfortunately misappropriated in the 1930s. The library/bookshop, clothing/fabric store, supermarket, blocks of flats, hospital.

 

[JohnM]

Next, up to the Chandi Devi temple by cable car. Ganges in the background and the abrupt edge of the foothills is evident. Photos are not permitted at the temple.

 

[JohnM]

Then back down to Haridwar to the banks of the Ganges and a lot of ritual bathing. The river flows quite fast – and I presume most of these people cannot swim. Solid chains offer support.



India really is the most extraordinary place.

 

[JohnM]

Moving on to Pawan Dham temple which features many very intricate glass and mirrored ornaments.

 

[JohnM]

That afternoon it was on to Rishikesh, another holy city on the banks of the Ganges, a little upstream from Haridwar. It styles itself as the ‘Yoga capital of the world., with masses of ashrams and yoga and meditation classes.

First order of business was to head to the river in the evening for the ganga aarti (river worship – River Ganga is regarded as mother) ceremony – lots of drumming, bell-ringing, chanting, candles, flaming torches.

 

[JohnM]

The next couple of days was spent taking in various sights in and around Rishikesh – ashrams (including the now semi-derelict Beatles ashram, the river, dodging people on scooters, walking around cows, ceremonies on the ghats – just all the usual Indian day-to-day stuff, really. Rafting is popular.

 

[JohnM]