Nepal

When I decide to travel to Nepal I had only a vague idea that there had been some recent political turmoil. A few days before heading out I decided to check to the State Dept website and found out that there is currently a "travel advisory" for Nepal. Last march the old king was overthrown and the Maoist party took power. There had been some fighting and bombings in different places. Since the Maoists have taken power though things have calmed down quite a bit and the US is in the process of revoking that travel advisory.

Aside from this initial worrisome picture Nepal has been my favorite place to travel so far. The weather here is amazing compared to India and the streets clean. We are staying in the Thamel region of Kathamndu which is very touristy but nice. Also, I must have a sign on my forehead that says, "I do drugs" because at least a dozen people will ask me if I want hashish or "magic mushrooms" on any given day. It is weird. Other than that Kathmandu is a very nice place. Since one of Nepals biggest industries is tourism there is lots to do here.


On the first day we were able to go white water rafting and it was amazing. It was one of the first times since leaving the states that it has felt like summer. The sun was shining we were floating down a cold mountain river. We stopped on a sandy beach for lunch and I was even able to swim in the river.The water was clean(no floating garbage) and cold. It was possibly the most refreshing experience of my life.

The next day we went to Nagarkot which is a small town in the hills at about 7,200 ft. When we got to the bus station the last bus was leaving and it was packed full with an additional thirty people sitting on top of the bus in the luggage cage. No room the bus so we climbed up top. After taking off I asked the guide if he had ever seen any one fall off. He said that he had only seen one person fall to thier death. Well. It was not too scary. The bus went pretty slow and as we climbed in elevation the the air got colder. The first pine trees that I have seen since leaving began to show up. It made me thing of the Northwest and also being in Alaska last summer. Sitting on the top of the bus I got my first view of the Himilayan mountain range and the sun began to set. Far below I could see the city sprawled out in the Kathmandu valley. By the time we reached Nagarkot the sun had set. Only a small hike to our hotel. And after dinner we went to sleep so we could wake up for the sunrise the following morning.

Nepal is a very beautiful country. I wish that I had more time to spend here but I will move on soon. We will go to the city of Pokara on Sunday and stay for a few days. After which I say goodbye to the last of my friends and head on alone to Darjeeling.

Six hours of sleep, five days, and four cities

It has been quite a trip lately. Seems like a month has passed since I left Pen and my internship but it has just barely been a week. On friday we left for Mumbai got there late. Aoi and I had to stay up even later figuring out our flight to Kathmandu. When all was said and done we got about two hours of sleep befor we had to go to the Mumbai airport for our flight to Delhi early Saturday morning. We headed straight for the bus station and then endured a five hour bus ride to Agra. Blistering hot. We checked into our hotel, called Shanti's Lodge which had a rooftop resturaunt with an amazing view of the Taj Mahal. Sitting on that rooftop was possibly the most sublime moment in India yet. After two days of travel and business it was the first time we had to relax. The sun was setting directly in front of me and the Taj was to the right. We sat and talked with the other travelers and listened to the evening prayer song drift up from the streets.

We went early the next morning to the Taj to aviod the rush and it was pretty epic watching the sun rise hit the palace. Later we spent the day relaxing, went to the movies and saw Rock On, a pretty decent Bollywood movie. Afterward we got word of the bombings that had happened in Delhi. Another traveler who had just come from there had been in the market place when it happened. Overall I think there were five different locations in the market place that were bombed and twenty people killed. Very scary because if our flight to Kathmandu had been as planned we would have spent that day in Delhi shopping. When I mention to Aoi that maybe it is a sign that we should not shop so much she says, "If I die, I die." which I take to mean, "I REALLY like shopping."

That same night we take an evening bus back to Delhi and go straight to the airport for our early flight to Kathmandu. All of this traveling, bus rides, plane rides and airports, takes place in a sleep deprived haze. I have not yet figured out the trick of falling asleep on suicidal bus rides and the airport is a most uncomfortable place so over this period of time the only real sleep that I get is at Shanti's lodge. We arrive in Kathmandu early in the morning and get pushed into a hotel by the tourist machine. After getting settled in the machine takes us to book tours for our stay here but on the way I run into two people that I went to college with which is the last straw for my sleep deprived mind. It was very strange and unexpected to see someone from home on the other side of the world. We talk for a bit and decide to meet up later. After the machine is done with us we are allowed to go to our rooms where I get to take a much needed nap.

After a while

I guess it is time to end my blog boycott and start writing again. I have three days left in Pen and then my program is over. I will slowly say goodbye to all of the friends that I have made here and then fly to Delhi on the 13th.

For the past nine or ten days the whole state of Maharastra has been having a celebration for Ganesh. The people here get a statue of Ganesh and put it in their home treating it as an honored guest, giving it the best food, inviting other guests over to see the statue etc. Yesterday the celebration culminated with a procession through the streets with Ganesh all decked out in flowers and sitting in a cart that is pushed along the street as people dance, light fireworks and pound on drums. We followed this procession through the winding streets of Pen for a good three hours dancing in the rain and waving flags.Periodically someone will shout out the phrase, "Ganpati bappa!!" and the rest of the crowd replies by shouting "Morya!" at the top of their lungs. A pretty exhausting, but very cool thing. The march ended at the lake which is at the center of town. The lake is surrounded by a walkway and there are steps going down into the water. Ganesh is floated out to the middle on an inner tube and then dumped into the water where he is left to dissolve. Next we all headed to the nearest temple and sat down to drink spicy tea.

Lately I have been feeling very at home in India, and a half months I finally feel that being here is comfortable and normal. Just in time to move on. I guess thats how it goes. I can already tell that I will miss India when I leave. There are so many parts of my experience here that are completely beyond description. Sometime I look back at past posts that I have done and they just do not come close to conveying what it is like to be here.

I am excited for the next leg of my trip. The idea of spending the next month traveling in Nepal and India is intimidating but after my time here I feel more confident that I can handle it. I am most excited to see the Himalayas. As long as I don't get laid out by the altitude sickness I am planning on a five day trek through the mountains near the Darjeeling. Three days to go.