Only those who are willing to embark on a journey can escape from paralyzing habituation. (Hermann Hesse)

Today I don't even know how to start. The impressions of the last 14 days are so diverse again and I can hardly keep up with processing them. You take a night train here and suddenly you're in a different world. I usually need some time to adjust to a new place and then it often moves on already.

Darjeeling was so different from the India I got to know in the previous weeks. First of all, it was really cold and you had to sit fully dressed in restaurants and cafes because there were no heaters. The city seemed like one big construction site, a new hotel is being built in every free space. Huge jeeps try to squeeze past each other in the narrow streets and there are traffic jams everywhere. 

We had one day to acclimate ourselves and then we were off on our five-day trek through the Singalila National Park. Sometimes we hiked on the Nepalese side, sometimes on the Indian side, between eleven and twenty-one kilometers a day, and on the second day we climbed the highest peak on our tour at 3636m. 

The panoramas with views of four of the five highest mountains in the world were breathtaking. Just look at the pictures and imagine absolute silence:

and the next morning there was snow

Ajay, our guide, who took great care of us, woke us up three times at 5:30 a.m. to see the sunrise. Every time I cursed internally when we had to climb up the next hill half asleep to have the perfect view. But as soon as we reached the top, the effort was quickly forgotten.

And it's not just for sunrise that Ajay challenged us. Even in the afternoon, when we were glad to finally reach the destination for the day, we would still head out again after a short tea break to the next viewpoint to see the sunset. 

What I learned on the tour:

1. 'Nepali five minutes' are at least 'German fifteen minutes' (this time estimate was always the answer to my question how far we have to walk to the viewpoint.

2. 'Nepali flat' is by no means the kind of flat that a North German imagines and for my terms steep uphill or downhill was more like climbing.

3. when hiking (at least here) the distance you have ahead of you is not given in kilometers, but in hours ('today six hours walk')

Mount Everest is hidden behind the clouds, Makalu is to the right of it, and Lhotse is to the left

On the next day, February 16, 2018, the Tibetan New Year was celebrated. All hikers were given a holy scarf as a gift.

In the towns of Sandakphu and Phalut, there is no running water. Everything necessary must be laboriously fetched from lower-lying towns.

I have never seen a starry sky like the one over Phalut that night. Unfortunately, it was too cold to just lie outside and look at the sky for hours.

We spend the final evening with Leora from Israel and Arnauld from Holland at this idyllic place between Sikkim and West Bengal, surrounded by pine forests.

This tour was unforgettable and I would love to come back at some point when the giant rhododendron trees and magnolias are in full bloom. Although it won't be that long until then, unfortunately, I can't wait this time because the next train is already booked. After a night of rest in the hotel, we will take a taxi to the train station in New Jalpaiguri the next afternoon. We had already arrived here from Kolkata a week ago - really not a nice place. I have never seen so many beggar children at any other train station. As soon as you arrive, you are surrounded by them. Some of them are very young, some with infants in their arms; they cling to my legs. I feel quite helpless here and no matter what I do, it doesn't feel right somehow...

The excitement when the train is not displayed or announced even though it should depart soon distracts me for the time being because we have to somehow manage to be on the right platform and get on the train that will take us to Varanasi. With a three-hour delay, we manage that as well, and so we arrive in the holy city of Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh state) on the Ganges the next afternoon. At first, it's a chaotic Indian city with a lot of traffic, nothing new. 

However, Varanasi is also one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth and in the old town, which is located behind the ghats directly on the Ganges, everything suddenly looks different.

When a cow comes towards you, it gets tight and it gets dangerous with motorcycles that drive around here at a much too high speed, honking.

Varanasi's walls are full of spiritual street art.

In the rough travel planning in Germany, Varanasi didn't really attract me that much. However, after meeting other travelers in Mumbai on New Year's Eve who recommended going there, and since it was on the way between Darjeeling and Agra anyway, we decided to make a stopover. I have to say that it was rather difficult for me to immerse myself in the spiritual atmosphere that is certainly present here in a special form. I was too busy rejecting or simply ignoring the constant offers from vendors who sell everything from boat trips to blessings to jewelry. When you constantly have to walk around with crossed arms to avoid getting your hands massaged without asking, I find it somewhat exhausting. But after I had adjusted a little bit, I found Varanasi and the many different people here totally fascinating. Many come here to take a bath in the holy river Ganges. I find the idea rather unpleasant, especially after a dead cow floated past us in the water during a morning boat trip. But I could sit for hours on the steps of the ghats and watch people. It was most beautiful in the twilight for the Ganga Aarti, a Hindu ritual that takes place every evening at the same time in the three holy cities of Rishikesh, Haridwar, and Varanasi. The sound of rhythmic songs, bells, and drums and the scent of incense fills the air. To me, it had a bit of the character of a folk festival with the hundreds of tourists who watch the ritual from boats on the water and the children and teenagers who sell flutes, brightly flashing plastic toys, and jewelry. But I also noticed many people in the crowd for whom the Ganga Aarti really seems to have a deep meaning, and that, in turn, I find exciting.

or simply celebrate exuberantly

Oh, by the way, I didn't succeed in successfully defending myself against all the vendors, so suddenly I had one of those typical tilaka marks on my forehead and for a few rupees, I was promised a long life. 

What you absolutely have to do in Varanasi (according to guidebooks and tips from other travelers) is a morning boat trip on the Ganges. It starts shortly before 6 a.m. together with many others who obviously had the same idea. The view from the water of the awakening old town and the morning hustle and bustle on the banks was quite nice though.

Varanasi is a remarkable place and you can spend much more time here and still not even come close to understanding the meaning of many things that happen here. You are constantly confronted with death because devout Hindus come here to die in order to break the cycle of rebirth. They are cremated in public and the ashes are thrown into the river. Despite this fact, there is no atmosphere of mourning in Varanasi, rather the opposite.

Among all this, I drank the best lassi of my life in Varanasi and that alone is a reason to come back here someday.

Yesterday morning at around 7 a.m. we arrived in Agra. Our host family kindly welcomed us even at this early hour. We could already see the dome of the Taj Mahal from the bedroom despite the clouds - the most beautiful building on earth is only about 500 meters away from here. The view from the rooftop was already impressive.

...I don't expect an attack from the pigeon

...it's different with the monkeys, which are quite aggressive

This morning we got up very early to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. After a pretty long queue at the ticket counter and an even longer queue at the entrance - enough time to develop aggressions against some fellow human beings - we eventually reached the interior of the huge complex. Even though I have seen many pictures of this huge mausoleum made of white marble, it is different to go through the impressive entrance gate and stand in front of this palace yourself. It is truly breathtakingly beautiful!

Tomorrow afternoon we will take the next train, heading west - you will find out exactly where next time.