(Dubai, UAE) Who broke the washing machine???

Going to Dubai after India was like going from one extreme to another. I don't think we could've asked for more contrast than this. Dubai is the land of materialistic bliss and superfluous extravaganza! It was from rags to riches in reverse. Where Dan and I repeatedly were assumed to be "cash cows" in India we are now among the poorer, less fortunate people here in Dubai. We got less than sympathetic stares when we walked into the hotel lobby in our sweaty gear....'cause of course we walked the last km with our bags in 35 degree (Celsius) heat rather than spending a budget-breaking amount on a taxi, which for most people here would be spending only loose change! You may ask yourselves, why then are we staying in hotels? Well, there are really no alternatives. Budget accomodation here on the Arabian peninsula is unheard of and may explain the lack of cheap backpackers like ourselves! Despite this we did feel that this was a nice change and treat for us and we have resorted to using expedia to get pretty decent hotel deals.

On our arrival to Dubai, we reached our expedia-booked hotel late, with our only goal to check out the washing machine. The only reason we actually chose this hotel was because they offered washing machine with dryer in each room. We were in desperate need of clothes washing. For the past week/s we've been accumulating laundry in anticipation of this one massive washing-session that would revive our slightly soggy and sad-looking outfits and hopefully get rid of some of the worst dirt, dust and smell. The first thing we did was in the room was to load a machine full with clothes. We thought we should save time and run one machine-load overnight. Hmm, the machine wouldn't start no matter which buttons we pressed. Either we were slightly technically challenged at this late hour or the machine was broken. After a while we had to concede and just deal with the fact that no laundry was being done that night. The next day, we had a busy schedule. Apart for laundry we were going to the bus station to organize our tickets for our onward trip to Oman, we were going to check out the biggest mall in the world AND we were going to IKEA to buy some salty liqorice. Ridiculous maybe, but I had a craving for turkish pepper = yummy salty candy (fellow Swedes will understand this) and with the concidence that there was an IKEA here, the opportunity of eating good old meatballs and pick up some supplies was too good to pass up:).
However, first on the list was the laundry. We got up early and I stopped a room-service guy in the hallway and asked him to have a look at the washing machine. He did as we had the night previously, pressed random buttons and turned the dials back and forth. Nothing! Damn it! He called for back-up and by the look of this guy he may know a bit more (he had a repair-guy outfit and tools). After over an hour and a lot of mess, still no progress. We were patiently waiting for something to happen and with the time ticking away, I was a bit frustrated. Finally, they decided to roll in a "new" washing machine. They got this "new" machine running, but on the program setting for "cold wash of wollen clothes". Of course we did not have any wollen clothes, but was just happy that it was running and thanked them profusely. However, this "new" machine seemed to be a bit NQR (not quite right) since the wash setting was set for cold wash, but our clothes were in boiling hot water. Fearing that we would end up with clothes only big enough for smurfs, we tried to stop the washing and set it for something else. Turns out that "the wollen program" was the only one that worked or we could manually turn it to rinse, spin etc. Also this machine had no dryer, but we figured that after a good spin the clothes would be dry enough to air-dry. After manually wash-rinse-and spin we were happy and went to retrive our clothes! Oh-oh the door wouldn't open! This was not good! Dan tried too. Nope, it was a fact! Our clothes were no longer dirty but trapped!!! That really sucked! We had to go and get help. I found  the room-service guy again, explained that the door was stuck. He pulls the door several times, puts more water in (so much for the spin-dried clothes) and had absolutely no clue what he was doing. He calls the repair guy again. He turns up and pulls the door even more! Concludes that the door is broken. He calls the manager who asks if we pulled the door. Well of course, otherwise we wouldn't know it was stuck!!! The manager pretty much claims that we broke the door since this machine was new. I'm not willing to pay for a machine, that I'm thinking must be a pretty shitty machine if it breaks that easily. I explain that I have 15 years experience with machine washing and that I know that we did not break it. After all, it is hard to pin-point who broke the machine with so many people pulling the door. The repair-guy eventually manages to open the door. It's been 4 hours since this whole thing started and the result is soaking wet clothes. We end up dodging any payment for the machine, but have to bring the clothes to professional laundry service for drying. Severly delayed, we still managed to get our bus-tickets, eat 15 meatballs and buy salty fish (no turkish pepper available) and be amazed by the mall all in the space of 10 hrs!

(Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand-Delhi) Shit happens!

Our trip from Amritsar and onwards mainly consisted of government-run buses. These are pretty much tins with seats, but were the only option available and actually not as bad as they sound. Just a bit crowded at times, which always makes me a bit stressed about how the hell we are going to get out with all our luggage. Fortunately we were for the most part the first ones on and the last ones off.  We slowly made our way up into the mountains to Dharamshala/McCleod Ganj which is Dalai Lama's home away from home so to speak. This is where Dalai Lama is located in exile along with thousands of  tibetan refugees. The tibetan presence was very noticable, which was nice for a change. Lovely, friendly people and  we spent some well-deserved lazy days there before continuing on to Haridwar. Haridwar was a place that supposedly was meant to be like Varnasi, but as soon as we got off the bus we both got a bad vibe from the place. Can't say exactly what it was, but we just didn't like it very much. Didn't help that down by the Ganges river we were cornered by "official"-looking donation ushers! We were pretty much coerced into making a donation to god-knows-what. (Later we found out that it was for feeding homeless people) Believe me, I don't mind making a donation for a good cause, but not when it's enforced like "either you pay or else...." kind of thing. What was even worse was that the donation-collectors complained and laughed at the money we gave even though I know that the amount was good for at least one meal. Slightly annoyed and insulted we decided to move on already the next day. Our last stop before returning to Delhi was the Corbett National park. Even if we were told that sightings of tigers had been frequent the last few days, we saw no tigers or much of any other animals or even animal droppings. A bit disappointing, but hey that's the way it is!

Back in Delhi, both Dan and I was surspised to find that we thought it seemed much cleaner and less busy than when we first arrived. We concluded that there could only be two explanations for that: 1) either they had hired a new cleaning crew over the past few weeks (and we swear that we now saw street sweepers that we hadn't seen previously) or 2) we had become de-sensitized. Either way, Delhi was definitely less unappealing than the first time. As we walked there and marvelled at this new-found charm to Delhi a motorbike came driving in the narrow street that we were on. This is usually not a problem and you just step to the side. As I did this, I noticed a black plastic bag in the street. It was slightly broken and the contents was undoubtedly brown and suspiciously similar to poo. I was thinking that if the motorbike hits it, the contents will go flying and I'm in the firing line. Shit (literally)!! I had just finished the thought when "whoosh" the motorbike hit the bag spot on and the "brown stuff" splashed around. A nice speck of (what I was now convinced must be poo) landed on my shin,  about the size of a US quarter. Breathing heavily trying to calm down  I walked to Dan (who had no idea what had just happened) and asked him for some paper that we usually carry around for a different kind of emergency. A quick wipe and a long, thorough washing later I was finally able to relax again. Dan amused himself by speculating from which animal (or human!) it may have been from. In my opinion it doesn't matter. Once it comes out that end it is all the same anyway. It was a bit ironic though and so much for a cleaner Delhi :) To make matters worse, the next day a bird landed a big one on my shoulder. I know that this is supposed to be good luck, but I'll be happy if this luck extends only to not being shit on again :)    

(Amritsar-Golden Temple) Cockroach dinner

Amritsar- the location of the golden temple and Sikh headquarters. I have to admit that I was very ignorant about Sikhs and their religion. My only previous exposure and contact with Sikhism was through a pure-bred Swedish co-worker with a big red beard. All I remember was that  food crumbs would get stuck in his beard and he was dating an over-the-top jealous Sikh girl whom would call constantly all day long! Not the best scenario to get a feel for what Sikhism is really all about. As soon as we reached Amritsar we felt that this was a place with a completely different atmosphere and much of it was due to the people. We found that the Sikhs were not only very proud and majestic people, but they were also very kind and helpful. It also helped that we didn't see a single Sikh litter or spit in the street. That always is a plus in my book :)
The Golden temple is the holiest temple of the Sikhs and it was with much anticipation that we visited it. It was beyond our expectations. After following the crowd (to make sure we behaved appropriately, which included hand and feet washing and headscarves for both of us), we were completely blown away by the beauty of the Golden Temple and it's marble surroundings. Through the loudspeakers chanting and hymns were heard, which added to the magical feeling. If there's one place that I truly do recommend to visit in India, it would be here.

Despite the glorious sight and the peaceful feel to the temple, we finally had to get going and get something to eat. Food in India has been great and we both like Indian food a lot. However, it does get to a point where every curry is just another curry and you start craving for some variation. We've been pretty careful with what we eat, probably more so than most fellow travelers. I've had some bad experiences with food-related belly upsets in the past, so it is called for to be a bit paranoid and we also did not want to waste time being sick if it is possible to avoid. Considering that probably 90% of the Indian people are vegetarians, we have followed suit. Their reasons may be religious, but our reason is that we both studied microbiology! Being a short-term vegetarian, if you're not used to it, is actually a bit difficult. Dan, in particular, has been obsessing about meat and protein for over a week at this stage. He's been talking everyday about what he will eat once we get to Dubai and Oman, that apparently have really good Shawarma. Also during this meal he was talking about it with watery mouth and great anticipation while eating his noodles (a quick alternative to his usual curry). Now there's one thing you should know about Dan. He has proven to have a talent for finding hair in his food. On numerous occasions he's managed to pull out even the smallest eyelash or dare I say armpit hair (or so we think/ hope?!) from his food. Suddenly, Dan stops eating and I think "oh no another hair", but instead he fishes out a baby cockroach. Eeeewwww, I think I would've preferred a hair from any part of the body......or maybe I take that back, almost any part of the body, to this find. I absolutely hate cockroaches and definitely the ultimate disgust is to find them in the food. True that Dan has been wanting some source of protein, but this was not it! Dan being gentlemanly and all, takes it out discretely since he didn't want to make a scene and continues to eat!!!! His comment is that "at least it was a baby cockroach so there shouldn't be any eggs", but he is looking carefully before each mouthful. Now, I too fully concentrate to scrutinize and examine every bite of my meal. We almost finished everything, but I felt slightly uneasy, worrying about what I might have missed spotting in my food. The waiter brings the bill and mumbles something about service charge. We don't regularly tip here so that was a bit unexpected.  The waiter of course doesn't know about the cockroach incident, but we could not make ourselves leave a tip. The waiter clearly got annoyed and we ended up looking like cheap tourists.... 

Kaziranga National Park-Rhinoceros spotting

After our rough ride to Guwahati we were faced with a city with completely booked out hotels and hostels. We probably walked around to 15 places and they were either full, too expensive or they didn't want dirty and sweaty tourists to stay there. (Can't blame them really, we were not a pretty sight coming off the nightbus). We finally settled with a place (US$30)  way above our normal budget, but had no choice. The next day we were out of there anyway and made it to Kaziranga National park. Once again we encountered accomodation issues and ended up in a 12 bed dormitory. No one else showed up so we had the room to ourselves, although not sure if that made the situation better. The mattresses were beyond decent and all I could think of was BEDBUGS!!!! We ditched the mattresses and slept on our camping air-mattresses that I've been cursing that I brought along. I'm glad it finally made it worth while to bring it. In the end it was not the bedbugs that got me but the mosquitoes! They really had a grand feast on my legs and back....even if I had pants and a shirt on and slept under a towel. Nasty little buggers!

The park range area was an interesting place! It was very hard to get any information and we were constantly a bit confused. We did eventually manage to book an elephant ride at dawn to see the rhinoceros. The elephant ride itself was pretty amazing, but the excitement was doubled with all the rhinos that we saw and very close up! They were not that ugly really, and I think I want a rhino as a pet for Christmas now....or an elephant will do as well :). Dan and I was so stoked from the morning adventures that we also went on an afternoon jeep safari! Completely different scenery, but equally good.... although we could've done without the group of birdwatchers blocking the way every 20 meters boring us with their unwarranted excitement ('bird guide! pigeon at 2 o'clock! bird guide! it has gold banding!')

Back in Guwahati we were faced with yet another issue. We wanted to go back to the west side of the country by train, but everything was booked out for weeks. No matter which train we tried it was the same. Seems like Guwahati is almost like a bottle-neck and there's only one way in and out by train. If we had been a bit better organized we could've booked ahead, but what fun is that! Eventually after a tiresome day back and forth to the train station we decided to fly back to the west side where our next stop would be Amritsar.