Ta-ta

So this is it. Six months in India are over and we are literately sitting on our packed luggage, waiting for the taxi to bring us to the airport.

In the last days we had a small "farewell party", spend lots of time shaking hands and taking pictures


If you want to see some pictures from our work place:
http://corinna.over-blog.de/article-goodbye-ta-ta-auf-wiedersehen-54918863.html

This blog (probably) ends with this post. Thank you for reading the blog in the last 6 months and for all your comments.

Ta-ta
Heiko

Sinhagad Fort

Sinhagad Fort was built 2000 years ago and is about 30 km away from Pune. We had planned to go there for quite a while but always postponed it, waiting for the rain season.


Nice about this place is not really the fort itself, but the view on the surrounding area.













Since it is a very popular destination as a weekend day trip for people from Pune it can get very crowded. Especially on Sundays (why again did we go on a Sunday?). However it is nice that it is mostly a getaway place for locals, so although you can buy some stuff, hardly anyone is hunting foreign tourists and tries to talk you into buying something.


You get all kinds food along the way, as peanuts for example.


A nice snack to eat while you walk up the stairs, especially if you carry your bag on your head to have your hands empty.


But you also get corn ...


... fruits ...


... and typical maharashtrian food.

Mahabaleshwar

Mahabaleshwar is a large mountain plateau only a few day rides on "camelback" away from Pune.


It was a beautiful day and the small group of the remaining interns enjoyed the last official trip.


Once again we came across some mysterious forests. Mahabaleshwar is up to 1400 meters above see level and therefore often hidden in clouds.



On the first view point we saw this breathtaking view:


... and when the clouds suddenly disappeared it got even better.



It was nice to experience this great place all alone ...


... without any other tourists around.




Unfortunately we didn't have much time for walks to explore more of the area and had to stick to our means of transport.






In this picture we are standing in front of the beautiful Bhilar waterfall.

Yeah, you cannot see it. We are standing IN FRONT of it.




Mahabaleshwar is definitely worth a visit. A nice place to get away from the hectic and crowded cities.

Pune

The very different faces of Pune, most of them seen from the Rikscha while driving by ...


A large western shopping mall with all kind of brands ...


... and a little copy shop at the side of the street.


Great for refreshments in the heat, one of many CCDs ...


... or the more traditional place.


That's where most of our trips start ...


... while locals usually use their bikes. Still fascinating to me how you can ride a motor bike like that, especially in Pune's insane traffic. We have seen five people on one bike, and heard rumours of six.


But there are also cars, elephants (as you all know by now!), donkeys, dogs, cows, goats, pigs, trucks, ...


... and of course camels on Pune's streets.


The houses of wealthy and poor people in direct neighbourhood


The central post office!!!


And a few more impressions. From dusty streets...





... to fashion shows at expensive restaurants.