Bollywood

Cinema has always been celebrated in India and the Bombay film industry is older than Hollywood. I see a dramatic love story rolled out to epic length. The fact that I don’t understand a word of Hindi only adds to the exoticism. Highlights are the elaborate dance interludes, partly shot in Switzerland. In these, mostly … Continue reading “Bollywood”

Mount Abu

Mount Abu is a kind of Indian honeymoon resort. We didn’t come here for that, though, but for the impressive Jain temples nearby. These temples, almost 1000 years old, are carved out of marble in such detail that it’s hard to believe they took only 14 years to build. LP aptly writes that it looks … Continue reading “Mount Abu”

Udaipur

How fabulously beautiful Udaipur must be when the old city and palaces are reflected in the lake! It’s just too bad when, in a dry year like this, all that’s left of the lake is a sad puddle. The City Palace is nevertheless impressive, the rooms grouped around beautiful courtyards. The rooms themselves reveal that … Continue reading “Udaipur”

Gujarat

Ahmedabad is a rather noisy and smoggy city. Well, some interesting mosques and pretty old houses between Le Corbusier concrete, a fascinating fountain house, but never a quiet place to linger. The bugs I discover in the morning when I take down the mosquito net finish me off. But I only get one bite and … Continue reading “Gujarat”

Hyderabad

Between two trains and alone again, I am in Hyderabad, where I didn’t really want to go. At least time passes faster here than in boring Bangalore. The Golconda Fort is interesting, however “… is a must-view” (Lonely Planet) is exaggerated. Nearby are some royal tombs, somewhat similar to the Taj Mahal – but with … Continue reading “Hyderabad”

Kerala

A man who comes to Kochin immediately forgets his wife, because of the beauty of the city. So they say. Indeed, there is something about the cosmopolitan flair with a mix of Portuguese, Dutch, British, Jewish and Indian culture. The city, situated on a narrow peninsula, is very green and the best thing is that … Continue reading “Kerala”

Goa

The beach vendor looks at me incredulously: “why do you come to the beach if you don’t want to buy anything?” Well, why? To forget the stress of university, to swim, relax in the sun or read a book in the shade. Eat delicious fish in the evening… And just in time for the European … Continue reading “Goa”

Zermatt-Saas Ophiolite (excursion)

The rocks of the Zermatt-Saas zone are an ophiolite, i.e. originally oceanic lithosphere (of the Penninic Ocean, the deep-sea basin of the Alpine Tethys). However, the unit is highly deformed, so that the normal sequence of serpentinite (mantle), gabbro, basalt and sediments cannot be found in one piece. Furthermore, they were metamorphosed (eclogite facies, retrograde … Continue reading “Zermatt-Saas Ophiolite (excursion)”