How to travel alone: 9 months in India and Nepal
Traveling has always been my passion. Perhaps the reason for all was the transfer of "Unlucky Notes" by Dmitry Krylov, which I looked in my youth as hypnotized. One day it became clear that it was time to drag on. I opened my treasured sign "where I want to go." There were four columns: the country, the best time to travel, that there is no way to miss it and that I would like to take a picture there. I opened the tablet in October - this is the perfect time to relax in Nepal. I went there, with a one-way ticket, and then to India, which is very easy to get from Nepal.
I did not think out the route beforehand and did not plan anything - interesting people often meet on a journey, and they become peculiar guidebooks. Someone advises where to go, based on their own experience, or just going to some kind of freaky place. During the nine months of traveling in Nepal and India, I saw and felt infinitely many beautiful things. I will try to tell you about the places that are missing is a crime.
Places not to be missed
The first and most important impression is tracking in the Nepalese Himalayas. Everyone was very scared of Nepal because of the earthquake, although right now it is necessary to help the country with tourist money. What I reliably know is that the most popular tracks in the area of Everest and Annapurna are available as usual. Nepal is a paradise for trekking. There are also wild places where you can go with a tent, so that no living soul is near. And you can travel on popular tracks with overnight stays in guesthouses. In this case, you will be surrounded by many of the same travelers: in the evenings everyone will gather in the common room for dinner and share experiences and stories.
My Indian point of attraction was the city of Varanasi. There is a stereotype that there is dirty there, corpses swim in the Ganges River and have nothing to breathe. All this is nonsense. Dirty there exactly the same as in all of India. It should be understood that Europe and India are not material for comparison, they are different worlds. Yes, cows and their livelihoods, indeed, can not escape - but the streets in Varanasi sweep every morning. The most important thing in the city is the sacred Ganges River and the reverent attitude towards it of the Hindus themselves. Orange flowers and small candles are what mostly floats in the Ganges.
Every evening puja take place on the main ghats: specially dressed Indians read prayers, wave beautifully with burning lamps and shower them with flower petals of the spectators. And in Varanasi, the most delicious lassi - in the cafe Baba Lassi. This is not just a dairy product takeaway, but a work of art. Air yoghurt, seasoned with pink and saffron water, with a special milk crust on top, sprinkled with the finest almond chips and pomegranate seeds. All this is served in a clay pot with a wooden spoon.
The most peaceful Indian place for me was the mountain village of Wattakanal in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. There is only one street, one restaurant. It is inhabited in Vattakanal mainly by Israelis and Europeans. Everyone knows everyone and is extremely friendly. In the evenings, we would gather at someone's home — usually with my neighbors, a Frenchman and a Dane. They had a huge mansion with columns and a spacious kitchen. They chatted about everything in the world and listened to how our Indian friend Sandy ingeniously played a didgeridoo. In the afternoon I walked through the forest hills, photographed stunning views and wild buffaloes.
For the Buddhist-Tibetan flavor you need to go to Ladakh, an area in the very north of India. Mostly Buddhists live here - probably, no one, except these patient and friendly people, would agree to live in such a climate. Hot summer, desert landscape and very cold winters. Although in a month and a half in Ladakh I did not have time to get tired for a minute from the cosmic desert landscapes. Monasteries, well-dressed local people in national costumes (could not resist and bought herself the same, now this is an excellent autumn coat), trekking in the Indian Himalayas - for all this they go to Ladakh. Fly to Le, the capital of Ladakh, can be year-round. But by land, you can only get there for five months: the Manali-Le high-altitude road, going through the Tanglang-La pass at an altitude of 5328 meters, is open from June to October.
There is no European sterility in India and Nepal, therefore the frames are lively and emotional. In addition, there are 28 states in India, and each has its own language, culture and customs. Was it your eyes and everything seems familiar? Just moving to another state - and everything will be different. I like to shoot people, I am interested in working with them, and Hindus and Nepalese in this sense are just a gift. We may not understand each other at all, but after having chatted with me for a few minutes in sign language, the characters relax completely in front of the camera. The main thing is not to turn into an insane tourist and not to climb people "in the face" with the lens at the most inappropriate moment. In addition to portraits, I love to shoot nature and the starry sky, and here my main character is the Himalayas. For landscape photos, I often go to the tracks for a period of a week or more. Yes, you need to go for good shots as if you were hunting, so simply they do not come across.
Comfort and safety
Unsafe in India for me was exactly once. And about this potential danger honestly warns a huge poster, hanging on the main square of Varanasi. On Holi holiday. It is on this day in Varanasi that women are prohibited from leaving the house. Representatives of the lower castes are allowed everything, and they, befuddled, behave, to put it mildly, incorrectly towards women. At best, grab all the protruding parts of the body. For me, Holi in Varanasi was of interest primarily from a photographic point of view - I really wanted to capture all this madness. So I took a chance, grabbing a tall American from a nearby guesthouse as a bodyguard. As a result, we cheerfully escaped from the overly cheerful Hindus, smeared with colorful paints to their ears. And even in such a mess, I still managed to make some excellent shots.
The second time was more unpleasant than unsafe. Europeans for some Indians are still strange white people from the TV. So, when I was riding a moped on Maharashtra, one Hindu decided to touch me on the shoulder for the sake of curiosity. Not such a terrible case, but the sediment remained. Otherwise, I was a princess for them, which definitely need help. Hindus and Nepalis are very responsive people who are always trying to help tourists. The main thing to look and behave adequately. Do not wear short skirts, do not expose shoulders - there it is not accepted. After this trip, I had a whole wardrobe of scarves.
Insanitary conditions, of course, present. But this is the same as two subspecies of parents: one howl like a wolf because their child touched a dusty window sill with his finger, while others think that they should be lying in a pool, the main thing is to be pleased. And, as a rule, children and those and others are sick in equal amounts. An incident happened to me in Varanasi, these were my first days in India. For several days I suffered from poisoning, drank an antibiotic, and I felt better. After that, I ate hundreds of times from street trays, drank a lassi from public glass glasses and did not disdain when the seller put sweets in the bag with his bare hands. More, pah-pah-pah, poisoning did not happen.
I gave my vaccinations before departure for free in a clean and tidy vaccination center on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. After a few months, their action was over, I did not renew them in India. I went to a hospital in India once, and then with the aim of consulting, rather than undergoing treatment - I was wondering if I could do an eye correction surgery in Russia. In the eight-story eye center of the city of Thiruvananthapuram, Indian oculists did all the research on modern equipment, consulted, gave a positive verdict and asked: "How much does it cost to do such an operation in Russia?" Medicine and medicine in India on a great level. It is worth all pennies.
During the trip with one backpack for 9 months, I realized how little a person really needs. A pair of trousers, a pair of skirts, three T-shirts. Of course, I occasionally went shopping, and then 6 kilogram parcels flew to Moscow - gifts to friends and things I couldn’t pass. Yak wool scarves, a national Ladakhi costume, even managed to buy a sari. Now I will make a skirt out of this fabric. At the same time, I spent quite a bit of money. My budget was in the 30-40 thousand rubles per month, although if you go in the "economy" mode, you can meet in 20 thousand. I earned a photographic and journalistic craft - I rented for magazines, made several beach photo shoots to order, and even managed to work remotely as a photo editor at a Moscow photo exhibition.
For the most part, all work with the footage is happening now in Moscow. In the journey all the time goes on moving, shooting and analysis of the footage. In October, I will go back to Nepal. I will go to the track to the mountain lake Gokio to shoot mountains and nature. I don’t guess further: it all depends on where my work leads me and what interesting places fellow travelers will tell.
