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...
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.
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