India 2013
India 2013 | Hyderabad |Sonepur Cattle Fair
In late November, Chris and I headed for Patna, Bihar to visit the Sonepur Cattle Fair, reputed to be the largest cattle fair in the world. It was wild! There were probably a couple million people (literally) in the small town of “Sonepur”, and pretty much zero western tourists. It was a strange mix of a religious festival and secular carnival.
This market was packed! I was worried about getting crushed.
We woke up at 4am to take a boat ride, along the river.
Pilgrims congregating in the early morning near the Ganges.
Strange side shows at the carnival – very secular!
The fair is famous for having lots of elephants.
Click here to see a short movie of the cars below: Carnival show
This guy grabbed 10RS (about 20 cents) out of Chris’s hand, while driving a motorcycle parallel to and 50 feet above the ground.
We were happy to find out tents, which were put up by the Bihar tourism department. They are the only place to stay in Sonepur, all the pilgrims just sleep on the ground.
There was no food that looked appetizing to us – no running water anywhere! We ate chi
For Diwali/November 2013, we headed to the largest city in India that we have yet to visit – Hyderabad. We enjoyed a couple days of wandering the sites.
This obscure mosque featured some tile work with obvious connections to Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
- This collection of 7 tombs from about 500 years ago was very atmospheric.
The local rulers were doing it up in style from about 1750 to independence.
“Four minarets”, Hyderabad’s iconic landmark in the center of the old city.
The main mosque in the background
Hey Keir, Robin and Zoe, checking in on you 3. I am not sure how to navigate this site. How are things? Drop an email if you get a chance. I don’t have an email for you or robin. Let her know I am sending kind regards. Would like to catch up. Any chance on being in Cali in the next year or so? if so, let’s connect. Cheers, Catherine