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I was pretty hooked from the previous trip to Australia. So I saved up some more money in Holland to travel in India with some mates I made in Australia. The trip quickly expanded to Nepal and later into Pakistan, Turkey and Israel.
New Delhi streetscape
The road towards Rishikesh in the Indian Himalaya’s where a truck had just fallen over the edge. The driver ended up in my taxi to be driven to the local hospital.
Rishikesh street performers and their pets.
Accessories are serious business here.
Jodhpur is a wonderful place.
A view from Mehrangarh Fort which was never taken.
The palace inside the fort.
The colours of the Rajastani women.
Luke and I mobbed by the local teens.
Not sure what this is called, but it's one of my favourite places in the world.
Another angle.
The fortress city of Jaisalmer. At night you feel like Aladdin. Off course the bang cookies help with that experience.
Jaisalmer is famous for it's camel safari's.
The beauty of the Nepalese Himalayas on the way to the Annapurna Base Camp. The base camp of one of the 10 7000m+ peaks in the world.
Is that her? Who knows.
The only way is up.
Four days of this. Buns of steel!
Can't complain too much when these guys are walking with bare feet.
Or on thongs (flip flops to some).
Base camp. Finally.
All that for this view?
Sometimes you could just make it out.
The famous Golden Temple in Amritsar in the Punjab near the border with Pakistan. This is taken the day before we were entering Pakistan and Musharraf took control of the country in a coup.
Lahore is just across the border.
The real beauty of Pakistan is in the Northwest Frontier province and the Karakorum mountain range. The Karakorum highway is cut between these immensely steep 7000m high peaks.
Snow capped peaks everywhere you look.
We met this couple with a map of a trail drawn on the back of a napkin leading to a base camp of one of those peaks.
It turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip with the trail being along side this massive glacier.
It must get really cold here at night.
A river of ice.
Base camp. A bit different this one.
Sun light in the morning to warm you up never felt as good. And than there was the view.
Off course the other side of Pakistan is the infamous border region with Afghanistan. You can't visit this region and not have a look around Dara Adam Khel in the lawlessness of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Which mean, Pakistan has no say here. The entire town evolves around gun making.
With basic tools these guys can copy and manufacture the latest rifle in two weeks. There are some craftsmen to be found here.
Keeping the kids off the street and out of trouble.
Each place makes a certain part....
Which gets assembled at the end.
Some bullet making.
Pen gun probably inspired by James Bond.
I quite like the design of the revolver shot gun.
The people here are immensely proud. This is an old tribal guard.
We couldn't get an Iranian visa so we ended up having to fly to Turkey. No pictures sorry but have a look in the 2005 bike trip for some Turkey photo's.
We were offered to stay at a mate's place in Israel, so from Turkey we flew to Israel. A very interesting place.
The walls of Jerusalem.
Probably the most controversial piece of landownership. The dome of the rock, where Mohammed leaped on horse back to the heavens. Unfortunately also the site of the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount. The first two were destroyed and apparently according to the bible there is meant to be a third one built on this site. Too bad it's the second most holy Muslim site in the world. Sound like there is going to be some trouble in the future.
The only remains of the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount. The wailing wall.
Bloke wailing.
