Nepal Part 2 - Canyoning and Temples - By Marisa

Canyoning

I think Brian and I signed up for “canyoning” before we actually had a definition for it, but basically, you go rappel (or abseil) yourself down huge waterfalls. We used an outfitter called Borderlands, and not to plug for a company, but they were fantastic! Borderlands was great in helping set up our Annapurna trek, canyoning, and Gokyo Ri trek …super honest and informational. Okay, but anyway…when you go canyoning you get to wear awesome 40 year old purple wet suits with holes in them and giant body odor ridden yellow fleece sweatshirts that you shove into your wetsuit top. This stuff is going to be on the catwalk next season-just you wait.

Some of you know that Brian is a little leery of heights, but even he felt pretty comfortable. The waterfalls can be pretty slippery, but honestly the scariest part is when you unclip from one climbing rope into a second rope halfway while using handmade footholds. But our guide, Prim, was spastically great and the group of people we were with was also fantastic. The tallest waterfall we did was around 45 meters (150 feet!) and the water wasn’t too cold. I’ll let the pics speak for themselves, but we highly recommend giving it a try!

Brian's well worn wetsuit

Brian on one of the "training" waterfalls.

Hiking up to the waterfall sites

Wipe out! (actually this is what we were suppose to do, when we got down to about 20 feet over the water they told us to just let go of the rope and jump out backwards)

Brian gives canyoning a thumbs up.

This is only the second half of this waterfall-pretty awesome

Temples

Following our trek on the Annapurna circuit Brian and I headed back to Kathmandu to set up our canyoning trip and see the more cultural side of the city. We started with a visit to Durbar Square, where former Nepali kings used to be crowned, although this is no longer the case since Nepal’s king was given the boot a few years back. The square itself is plopped right in the middle of Kathmandu and is south of the area Thamel, where 99.9% of tourists end up booking accommodations, so it’s an easy walk to get there. The buildings are really great examples of traditional 17th and 18th century Nepali architecture. An earthquake in 1934 supposedly caused damage to some of the temples, so some of the buildings are not original, but we couldn’t tell the difference. A couple of high points of Durbar Square included the intricately carved wooden windows and “the living goddess” or Kumari.

The Kumari of Nepal is the bodily reincarnation the goddess, Durga, and must be a prepubescent, Buddhist girl of the Newar Shakya caste. The selection process is very strict. The girl who is chosen as Kumari is without disease or having shed blood, have specific eye shape, hair color, voice, horoscope, etc. etc. She also goes through a series of tests to evaluate her qualities of fearlessness and serenity since she is considered the goddess’ vessel. Anyways, this girl remains the Kumari and lives in a 3 story brick building in Durbar Square and performs ceremonies until she reaches puberty and becomes mortal again. If you see photos of a giant wooden chariot in Nepal, it is usually carrying the Kumari. Although you may look at her, no photographs of her allowed…unless you’re National Geographic, I guess!

Another well-known temple in Kathmandu is the Monkey temple, Swayambhunath (say that 10 times fast), and is actually a stupa; not a temple. True to name, the stupa has many entertaining monkeys that will steal your chips and sodas if you are not careful. And a piece of advice if you are ever wanting to go to this stupa…. if a cycle rickshaw offers to take you to Swayambhunath, just say no. The journey to this stupa is an uphill climb, so unless you want to sit on a rickshaw that is being pushed (not ridden) up the hill by a sweaty, laboring and uber-dramatic rickshawer-we don’t recommend it.

And if you aren’t tired out by looking at temples in Kathmandu, you can always head to Bhaktapur, a city outside of Kathmandu, which is an UNESCO world heritage site. You have to buy tickets to get in, and everyone in the town will initially offer to be your tour guide, but we just followed a walking tour recommended in Lonely Planet and that was nice enough. The city of Bhaktapur comes off as almost sterile at first because many of the temple areas are pedestrian only and are shockingly clean, but it is well worth a day trip to visit. I won’t bore you with more details on the temples. The kids in this city very much enjoyed the limelight, so we took advantage of it (photos).

Check out these hams - I particularly liked the boy in the middle who posed gangsta style with one lens in his sunglasses

Girl on a garuda-Bhaktapur

Ganeesha statue

Potters square in Bhaktapur - those are all pots/vases that are either drying or ready to be fired in the straw/dirt kilns

This would be great in the front yard at home

Picture of the Kumari (www.nationalgeographic.com)

Prayer wheels at the Monkey Temple

Temple tops Kathmandu

Durbar Square

Enjoying daily life in Durbar Square from one of the temple platforms

Nepal Part 1 - By Marisa

The route from India to Nepal turned out to be a little more challenging than anticipated. It literally entailed using trains, planes and automobiles. We boarded yet another night train in Varanasi, where for the first time in our train riding we were almost fighting to get on. Even though you have a ticket doesn't mean you know where you sit. This means that everyone piles on the train and then pushes toward the conductor to find out which cab you are in.

We found out we were in cab E, where 2 Israeli hippies were sitting on the bunks and an Indian businessman. I asked if there were also supposed to be in cab E and mentioned that we had been assigned this cab. Now, I wasn't expected people to jump up and get out of the way, but I did sort of expect them to move their luggage so that we could put our bags in our cab rather than getting run over in the train aisle. Finally I asked the girl if she could please move her fish from the top bunk. This girl was carrying a large jar of water with a couple of fish in it...huh? I doubted the fish enjoyed the train travel. Anyways, they finally got up and left to find out what cab they were suppose to be in.

That left the Indian guy who had decided to take a weird passive aggressive position. So he sat on the bottom bunk of our sleeper cab (that he didn't belong in) and stared out the train window. Brian asked if he would mind going to his cab. The guy ignored Brian. Then another Indian guy hollered at the guy from the aisle...we assume he was also telling the guy to get out. The man just sat staring out the window. Brian again stated that we would like to go to sleep and so he should leave the cab. Ignored it. The result was Brian raising his voice, and almost hollering "Our cab, not yours. Get out." After a few of these the man finally left his briefcase and stormed out to talk to the conductor. So Brian picked up his briefcase, put in the aisle and closed and locked the door. Finally, after about an hour we had secured our cab and were on our way.

Then next morning, caught a bus to the border town, Sunauli, where we walked to the border crossing. Now, we had heard rumors that the border was closed, but this was not the case...we went right through and got our visas for Nepal.

That's when the trouble started....

Apparently, the area in Southern Nepal near the border and up to around Chittwan National Park decided that they wanted sovereignty. To make their position know they held a transportation strike. And for those that were not part of the protesting group, they wouldn't drive as their cars or motorbikes would be stoned. We had planned to take a bus to Pohkara- no dice. No buses, no taxes, no autorickshaws. According to the locals, all we had to do was make the 29 km to the next town, Butwal. We contemplated taking a cycle rickshaw - can you imagine...some poor man biking us 29 km to the next town....we ruled that one out. Instead, we heard there was an airport, and so we took a cycle rickshaw to that instead. The news at the airport was not good either. We would be able to get out 2 days later on a Kathmandu flight in the evening.

And then we got a lucky break-we had signed up for a waitlist and it turned out that a couple of people didn't show, so we hopped the plane to Kathmandu and breathed a sigh of relief. We found out later that this strike went on for over a week, so thank goodness we opted for a flight.

Kathmandu is a crazy little city, with winding streets, lots of traffic (and pollution), and beautiful old temples and stupas. One of the funniest quirks of Kathmandu that the guidebook failed to mention was it's power outages. The city and shops on average have around 8 hours of power, earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon. This means that hot showers are generally only during certain hours and after about 9pm the streets are pitch black. The first night we were there, Brian and I thought that if there was a city we'd get mugged in, it was surely going to be Kathmandu. As you walk the alleys back to your hotel at night the only light provided is usually by passing taxis, and everywhere young men are following you whispering, "Hashish? Do you want some Hashish"....creepy. We also had one man on a motorcycle approach us and ask where our hotel was stating "I am cop"....yeah right. We told him to go away, and when he wouldn't Brian and I pretty much yelled at him to "Go away!!"...this seemed to work. Nonetheless Kathmandu is a good city and worth seeing for a couple days.

We felt, however, that when you are in Nepal it be nearly sacrilege to not go on a trek. We packed up our gear headed to Pokhara where the Annapurna mountains rise up, and went for a 3 day trek. It was a very nice time, and the views were pretty good, though sometimes hazy (photos). We also got to watch the Nepalese celebrate the festival Holi, which is somewhat like the water festival in Thailand. This festival comes at the end of the dry season and so water (and pigment) is sprayed and thrown as a reminder of the coming monsoon. Brian managed to avoid getting any powder attention. I ended up with green hair and a red chin. If you watched the Amazing Race last season, there was an episode where Holi was being celebrated.

So the lowdown on Nepal thus far is that it is pretty awesome and well worth a visit. If you have at least one adventurous, outdoorsy bone in your body- you should come see the Himalayas. Brian and I enjoyed our brief Annapurna trek enought to book a longer trek up to Gokyo, a lake region with views of Everest. We contemplated doing Everest Base Camp, but the Gokyo trek is one valley over and has better views (you can't actually see Everest when you are at Base Camp) while still reaching the same altitude (about 18,000 ft). We'll follow up with our experiences canyoning and Goyko in a few weeks. Off to see Everest...

Pigment powders for sale on the way to the India/Nepal border.

Holi festival celebrations

View of mountains flying into Kathmandu

Lentils for sale at roadside stop

Gurung cottages on the Annapurna trekking circuit- cost $4.50 a night

Gurung village is filled with beautiful stone houses

Sharing the trail

Brian with Annapurna South mountain

Morning sunrise looking over the Annapurna region on top of Poon Hill

Porter bringing goods up the mountain....these weren't empty tanks

Waterfall after Gorenpani

River bridge with prayer flags.

The Taj and the Ganges - By Marisa

We had heard from some people that Agra was thick with touts and not a very nice city to visit. People who had spent a fair amount of time traveling in India sometimes even argued that the city of Agra was worth skipping all together-even though the Taj Mahal resides there. But we decided that a trip to India would not be official without seeing the Taj (the greatest monument to love ever!), and so we boarded an overnight train from Jaisalmer... for a full 16 hour ride to Agra, where we'd spend the day before hopping another overnight train to Varanasi....killer. We arrived in Agra around noon, grabbed a autorickshaw from the station and headed to the touristy area where the Taj could be seen.

Our touts insisted the Taj was closed due to a BIP. What? A BIP? Oh, right, a VIP, which was somewhat funny given that we had intentionally arrived Agra on a Thursday knowing that the Taj is closed on Fridays. Fortunately the "BIP" was only there for a few hours, and we were able to occupy this time by grabbing lunch on a rooftop cafe where we could peer over the huge foreboding walls that surrounded the temple. Word to the wise, don't ever eat at the Shanti restaurant (recommended by Lonely Planet). The chicken that arrived in Brian's curry looked abit funny and smelled somethin' fierce...not to mention the other dishes we had were the worst food we had in India. But on the bright side, the restaurant did have a good view.

Towards mid-afternoon we were finally able to get inside the grounds of the Taj Mahal, after paying 750 rupees ($15) for a ticket-ouch!!. Indians pay 20 rupees ($0.40). Once inside the fortress, Brian and I were greeted by lush green lawns, tall trees, beautiful gardens and ahhhh.......quiet (no touts allowed). And when you look down the glassy pool that leads up to the monument, you are pretty awestruck (at least we were). The Taj Mahal is definitely worth the stop in Agra. The white marble dome towers into the sky against a great blue backdrop. And it's hard not to be impressed by a structure that was so beautifully constructed between the years 1631-1653. Brian and I took our time wandering around the Taj-admiring it, going inside to look at the king and queen's tombs lying side by side, and lastly, watching as the setting sun caused the white marble to glow pink.

We then wandered outside the gates to a fancy hotel where we hoped to find cheap cocktails and a nice setting. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to enter unless we were guests at the establishment. Still wanting to get a nice meal before we got back on the train, we were advised to continue further down the road to the Sheraton hotel. At the Sheraton we ordered a couple of beers and a mojito while loading up on the free peanuts and spicy potato chips they kept providing us-yeah for free food. When we finally ventured down to the restaurant to get dinner, we just about choked on the prices...approximately $32 an entree. Agck! Given that you can eat the same Indian food for $3 at a local restaurant, we promptly went to ask the hotel staff where we could find a good cheap restaurant. The woman looked sheepishly at Brian and said that the Sheraton had 4 restaurants to choose from. When Brian insisted it was too expensive and that we'd just like to go into town for a meal, she replied that due to hygeine reasons the staff at the Sheraton could not recommend for any of their guests to leave the grounds. Wow! India's dirty, but c'mon...! So I guess we saw how the other half of people enjoy their visit to India- inside the confines of beautiful hotels where they pay way too much!

We wandered out the gates, picked up a rickshaw who brought us to a very unhygenic (I'm sure) place with delicious food for a reasonable price, and that completed our visit to Agra.

The following morning as we rolled on down the tracks to Varanasi, we had nice conversation with some Indian businessmen who were sharing the sleeper cabin with us. During this conversation the businessmen chuckled as they mentioned casually they would never eat train station food because you'd probably get sick from it. Brian and I simply kept our mouths shut and didn't bother mentioning that we hadn't had that problem.

Now a sidenote: Riding Indian trains are truly an experience that you should have if you travel to India-it's a whole nother world. The first time we rode the train we sat in the second class non-AC cab. We were sitting in upright padded booth seats with barred open windows and hawkers going up and down the aisles yelling "tea, water, coffee, sandwiches, etc" the whole time. In fact, you may have one tea vendor come down the aisle, followed 2 seconds later by second or even third tea vendor....who knows how they make money?....not to mention that just trying to get down the aisles of these trains can be very cumbersome because on Indian trains there are no seat reservations for the general public, so people stand in the aisle and sit on the floors near the exit doors. And if you leave an inch on your seat...they'll even sit nearly on top of you (poor Danish girl:)). And if that doesn't want to make you try riding an Indian train-every time the train stops people fight to get on the train. I mean fighting in the literal sense... pushing, shoving, pulling, yelling, and bickering even after they have finally made it on...it's absolute chaos. Meanwhile you have more hawkers standing outside your window yelling for you to buy items, and children sticking their hands through the bars to try to get a rupee or food. On the platforms of the train stations piles of people waiting for trains sleep under blankets. Rats run along the track lines and because the train latrines are just holes in the floor, there are people poo piles everywhere on the tracks and the place often wreaks of urine. Did I mention the giant banks of garbage that line the railway as you enter the larger cities? In India it's rare to see a trash can. People with trash simple take their bottles and miscellaneous garbage and whip it out the train windows. In fact, when Brian folded up his paper plate after eating dinner one time, a passenger politely leaned over to Brian to show him how to throw his trash out the train window. Unbelievable.

Okay, but I digress....So we finally reached Varanasi, secured a hotel room, and headed to the river. Varanasi is a very religious city in India and it is the place that people hope to go when they die. By being cremated in Varanasi you break the cycle between life and death in Hinduism. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, down by the river bodies are carried down the stairs (ghats) to the river Ganges. Here the family members dip the body in the water before bringing them back up the banks to be burned. They are carried on cots and covered with brightly colored cloth. Depending on what you can spend, people may purchase several different kinds of wood (sandalwood being most expensive) to burn the body. There is an art to weighing the body so as not to waste the family's money on wood and still complete the burning (which takes around 3 hours). Once the body is burned the ashes are then put into the Ganges. I, personally, did not care to get too close, but Brian was a bit more curious. I don't mean to sound cold or morbid, the process is interesting but I don't think I could call it peaceful or a heart touching ceremony...it was simply unique.

The riverfront is mindboggling because you really see that death is just a part of life for these people. While these bodies are burning, the marigold wreaths that had adorned the cot are being eaten by goats and cows. Kids are 100 feet away playing in the water while further upstream people are bathing, doing their laundry, and washing their buffalos....all in that same god awful water...ugh. We met a pediatrician on our travels that informed us 1 in 3 babies die after being dunked in the river for their Hindu "christening". Apparently, there is now a campaign to get people to cover the mouth of babies and pinch the nose so they don't take in so much water.

Anyways, there is so much activity going on in Varanasi. Brahman priests (highest caste) performing prayers for people (photo), tourists and families taking rowing boat rides along the shoreline, small children selling tiny floating candle boats, and many other things. Brian and I did send little leaf candle boats down the river for Grandpas Bargsten and Ehrle, and Grandpa Hoffman.

All in all, Varanasi was another good city to visit in India. We enjoyed it almost as much as Udapuir and the people were very friendly. Many Indians attempted to describe Hinduism to us, show us local food dishes (photo), and talk politics. Nonetheless, Brian and I were relieved to be leaving India for Nepal. We didn't find India to be logistically difficult, the travel was pretty straightforward, but the issues Indians face (such as poverty and education) and the general dirtiness everywhere can really start to wear on you. Thank goodness for the awesome food and the cheap prices! On to Nepal!....Namaste!

Taj Mahal as the sun was setting.

The ghats where daily life (or death) takes place.

Eating dosas with the locals in the back street labryinth next to the river.

Brahman priest performing at night on the river front.

Boatride on the Ganges

Camels - By Brian

We came to Jaisalmer mainly to ride camels in the desert. Several people we met in our travel said that they had done it and it was a good time and very reasonable. Well, they were right about it being reasonable. Marisa and I booked a two day safari that would include a 50km jeep ride in to the desert, our own camels, meals, and a jeep ride back to town $25 each.

After finding out the British couple that was going to join us were "sick", departing and hour late and stopping for smokes for our driver we finally arrived. We loaded up our camels, hopped on and were then lead by our guides who walked. About 40 min later we arrived in a "village" for what many books and guides say is a cultural experience, not. After standing around a smaller version of Jaisalmer for 30 min we got back on the camels to move on. This time one of our guides was replaced by the seven year old nephew of one of our guides. So while the one guide lead Marisa's camel, mine was following a 7 year old in flip flops.

Another 40 min later we stopped for lunch. This involved starting a fire, making veg curry and chipatti and napping for a few hours. So by 3pm we had been on camelback for not quite 2 hours and traveled maybe 2 miles. That said, I would have been fine with calling it a day at that point but for the fact that we paid for two days and Marisa really wanted to ride camels in the desert.

I have never been so uncomfortable on an animal before. Some of you know about my 8 hour horseback ride on a kids size saddle in South Dakota. This camel ride put that ordeal to shame. On top of that, camels are nasty animals. They might look cute from a distance or have a romantic appeal when seen in some sunset desert photo, but when they are flinging crap and pee (Marisa actually got hit while riding) all over and burping and farting non-stop your opinion changes in a hurry.

So after lunch we load up the camels to continue, having been joined by the other guide again, who found his missing camel. In the process of this, one of the camels wouldn't stay sitting so the guides could load him. Solution...take a stick about an inch thick and smack the camel in the face 3 three times until it sits and it's bleeding. Needless to say we were both horrified, and let our camel guides know. Of course our protesting does little good as this is just how they treat animals. We should have abandoned the trip at that point, asked for a refund and not tipped.

So after another 40 min of riding we stopped at another village and were told to walk around as if it was our home. Yeah! At this point I was ready to be done. The complete lack of comfort in riding the camel, the fact that the scenery wasn't really all that exciting and the camel beating had me tossing in the towel. After a bit of discussion Marisa and I hoped to go back to the road and just have the jeep come get us. That didn't happen as it was too late, but were told we could leave first thing in the morning. We proceeded to our campsite, watched the sunset and had another meal of veg curry and chipatti.

We woke up the next morning feeling as disgusting as might be humanly possible. It might have been the sand or the campfire, but I am going to bet it was the blankets than were last washed during Clinton's second term. Skipping breakfast we loaded up and headed for the pick-up.

After a couple hours of waiting our driver arrived. To pass the time, I read while Marisa played games with the 7 year old who had acted as our second guide. I think this kid actually did more work on the trip that either one of the actual guides individually. He was really a nice kid and one of the high points of the camel safari. I enjoyed listening to him sing songs while he was helping make dinner around the camp fire under the desert's night sky. That was the best moment of the trip for me.

We departed, giving our guides, the kid included, a small tip as they were really good aside from the stick incident. Our driver headed up the road in the opposite direction of town. He pulled into some village and stopped at some sort of guest house. He asked if we wanted to come in for tea. We just wanted to go back to town, which I am sure he knew as we cut our trip short. Turns out he just wanted to have tea and conversation with some dude at the guest house. This guy was one of the big shots, or thought he was. Like many of the places we have been, including the Middle East and Egypt, the guy at the top of the totem pole (e.g., hotel manager, etc.) really thinks he is something and feels like can do what he likes. It's really funny actually. Total case of big fish, small pond.

Finally we arrived back in Jaisalmer. After a shower we headed out for lunch and some cold beer. We then boarded a night train for Agra around 5pm.

All said and done, we should have ridden some camels in Jordan or Egypt to get our fix. But, now we know.

Marisa and the guide (with her sunglasses)

Just like the Four Seasons

Yup, hate camels

This is that "romatic photo"

Jaisalmer - By Brian

We left Udaipur on an overnight bus for Jaisalmer in western India near the Pakistan border. Maybe it was the 2 great nights we spent at our Udaipur hotel, or maybe it was just a fact that the "sleeper" compartment we had on the bus was nasty! Neither of us were fond of the feeling that something was crawling on us all night and for a good part of the next morning. Word to the wise, if you are in India carry a sheet to use on trains and buses. And if possible avoid trips on buses all together.

We arrived in Jaisalmer in the late morning and were nicely helped off the bus and away from the touts by a guy that "worked for the bus company". Turns out he had a jeep at the bus terminal and was nice enough to drive us to the center of town. And in fact he even had a hotel with his best room available. What are the odds? For those of you that might not pick up on my sarcasm here, this guy was a tout with a good trick. Get on the bus an hour out of town, pose as a bus employee offering to help out tourists, then lead them to his hotel.

At the end of the day, we stayed at his hotel and booked a camel safari with him. It was cheap and easy, and a pretty good value.

We spent the rest of the day walking around the town of Jaisalmer. We visited the fort and several of the Jain temples that have fabulous carvings. We then holed-up in a nice restaurant for the rest of the evening to avoid he filth.

I think I mentioned in a previous post that India is a filthy place, but Jaisalmer is really something special. Every place we visited in India had trash all over (people just toss it on the ground, out the train, etc.), cows wondering the streets, stray dogs, men peeing behind buildings and a general disregard for hygiene. Jaisalmer, however, really took the gold. There was so much trash, cow shit and stench that I just wanted to get out of there. Sorry, but I just can't sugar coat it.

Separating out the nasty bits, Jaisalmer is a beautiful place. The fort carved out of sandstone sits hit above the surrounding desert and the temples really are something special. For me however, I just couldn't separate the two, and as many of you know, I can deal with some pretty unpleasant situations.

Up next...camels in the desert.

Marisa at a Jain temple

Jain temples