I Love Nepal!!

It's my birthday today and I'm extremely happy to be in a beautiful country on a grand adventure!  This country has been on my 'to visit' list so long and I'm not one bit disappointed with it.


This week we have stopped for one night at three different places - Bhaktapur, Nuwarkot and Bandipur.  Bhaktapur was a heritage sight and filled with ornate buildings, alleyways, outdoor cafes and bustling everyday life.  There were lots of different squares in the town to explore, 'pottery' turned out the be my favourite.   It was filled with open kilns and people making clay pots.  Going down early in the morning allowed you to see the square covered with neat rows of freshly made pots.

By the temples in the main
square.

Busy at work in Pottery Square.

The cobbled streets of Bhaktapur.

Nuwarkot and Bandipur are small villages set high in the hills above the Trisuli River.  Winding and steep switch backs roads led to small villages filled with a beautiful local people.  I know that I said the people in India were friendly, but they are even more so here.  The narrow streets and paths are filled with the cries and shouts of 'NAMASTE!!' which is the local greeting for hello.  The children come running up to you, waving and even the adults who initially look serious blossom into a gorgeous smile when you greet them in the traditional way.

Views from the climb up to Nuwarkot.

A local lady carrying
the basket in the
traditional way.

Rural mountain villages.

We have been very lucky with our accomodation in both villages as Intrepid have bought and restored some beautiful 17th century farm buildings and lodges.  The food was plentiful and fresh and the views were unsurpassable.


The itinerary on my trip has changed due to the monsoon rains causing a landslide and blocking the road that we needed to take to the Langtang region.    Consequently, we have moved things around and are now trekking in the Annapurna region.  I'm ecstatic as trekking in this region is more dramatic and beautiful than the Langtang region.  The mountains are bigger and higher so hopefully all the cloud will clear to give us the views seen on all the postcards.


Hopefully the next post will come with amazing photos attached and reports that my knees have held out for the 6 day trek!  Keep your fingers crossed please :-)

A busy week in Kathmandu

It's been a lovely week in Kathmandu.  I've discovered a clean, friendly city filled with bustling life and endless temples and shrines.  Walking the back streets whiled away several hours and enlightened me to a really lovely place.

Sheltering from the heat.

The bustling back streets of Kathmandu.

Rickshaws at the ready!

Colourful beads for sale.

Sunset over Kathmandu.

I've visited some of the main Buddhist temples and seen beautiful views of the valley that Kathmandu is nestled into.  I had a local guide and took a walk up  into the Shivapuri National Park on the north side of the city.  We climbed to a hidden monastery where 25 Buddhist monks live and work.  Sadly, the spectacular views that I had expected to see where blocked by cloud, but on the way down through the forest, glimpses of the vast city and lush green hills were awarded to me.

The Bhudda temple

Views across the city.

Preparing food for the pigeons.

As I had several days in the city I decided to venture out a little and booked a 2 day white water rafting trip along the Trisuli River.  I had already had the pleasure of admiring the scenery from the bus on the drive from Chitwan to Kathmandu but the perspective is always different when you look up rather than down.  The river cuts through a deep valley of steep, terraced mountains and hills.  Along the path of the river are many little villages on both sides that are linked by suspension bridges.  Locals cross to go to school, deliver supplies and watch tourists on the river!!


The journey to the river was on a tourist bus from the city and we were trundling along nicely until we came to a complete stop.  Turns out that a truck had hit a tourist bus and nothing could happen until the police arrived.  Everyone from the various pieces of transport was stood in the middle of the road throwing in their ideas and comments.  It took about an hour for the police to arrive and then everything cleared surprisingly quickly.  The whitewater was quite mild compared to previous trips that I have done, but the breathtaking beauty of the area and observing the local life made the trip worth while.  We stayed over night on the edge of the river in lovely little tents and ate fantastic home cooked food.  In the morning we rafted again a little further down the river to the exit point.

Our camp for the night.

Views from the bridge across the river.

Relaxing at lunch on the rafting trip.

I had to get a local bus back to Kathmandu and with no obvious stop, the rafting guides just flagged it down and told me to get on!  It was certainly an eventful ride to say the least.  The road is very windy and extremely busy as it is a main highway.  Lets just say that there were several occasions where I was grabbing the seat with my eyes shut!  I was unfortunately sat next to a man that can only be described as crazy and who insisted on talking to me by shouting in my ear.  His English was good so I couldn't even plead that I didn't understand what he was saying.  We stopped at a cafe for the driver to have a break and a very lovely lady told me to move and sit anywhere I liked, so I did and the second half of the journey was much more pleasant.


Getting off the bus in the right place was always going to be interesting.  Another man on the bus spoke a little English and asked me where I wanted to go.  I showed him on my map and he then told me when to get off.  I was extremely thankful as without him, who knows where I would have ended up!!  I needed a taxi to get back to the hotel and once again, luckily there was one little taxi man in a shop along the road from where I had got off the bus.  Certainly an interesting journey home anyway!


My next trip starts today so I'm switching hotels (although I'd rather stay at this lovely one) and meeting the new group tonight.  It's full this time with 12 people which will seem a lot after travelling with 4 and then 7 people for the previous 2 trips.


I'm excited about seeing more of this fabulous country.

On into the jungle

Animesh turned out to be right and the movie was excellent.  It was really funny and had good songs with great dance routines.  


The monkey temple was great to see as we visited on a day that just happened to be a day of the week to worship Lord Hanumana, the monkey god.  Consequently the temple was packed with worshipers and had an amazing buzz and vibe pulsing through it.  Music was being played, chants were being said, people where writing wishes on the walls of the temple and chatter filled the line of people queuing to enter the temple.


India has been an amazing place to visit  I have discovered so much about the Hindu culture that I didn't know, met some of the friendly people that I have ever come across on my travels round the globe and survived the heat and humidty with only a few grumbles here and there!  I found out that the only Indian food that I like comes from south India and is called a Dosa.  It is absolutely delicious and is a rice pancake filled with potato and vegetables.  I am certain that I will return to this fantastic country as I want to experience the Ganges properly and return to Varanasi when the water levels are not so high.  Also, a trip to South India may well be on the cards to eat some more dosas!!

The river Ganges.

A rather full load on the bike!

Colourful sweets and sices!

Crossing the border in Nepal was a pretty hassle free experience, once we had got the right papers from the dodgy immigration men on the Indian side.  The countryside in Nepal is lush, green and filled with rice paddies  .  It reminds me a lot of northern Thailand.  We stayed one night in Lumbini and visited the place where Lord Buddha was born before heading to Chitwan National Park.


The park is located in the south of Nepal and home to rhinos, tigers, crocodiles, sloth bears and heaps of bird life.  Once again the high water levels scuppered our plans and 2 days of jungle adventures was reduced to one.  We took a jeep into the jungle, travelling though picturesque little villages with waving children, rice growing in the garden and corn drying from the eves of the houses  We got dropped off in the middle of the jungle at a check point and began our walk.  It was hot, humid and threatening rain.  Luckily, within the first 5 minutes we found a one horned rhino not too far from where we were and got a few pictures.  Then the rain began and we headed to shelter.

Everyday life in rural India.

Sheltering from the rain.

My jungle guides in Chitwan - Lashmi and Sooc

The rest of the day continued in a similar fashion but the walk was pleasant, if not a little too hot.  All of the high levels of rain made the terrain wet and muddy.  At one point we found ourselves wading through mud that was knee deep.  It was an odd sensation as one step would put you ankle deep and the next had you sinking down to your knees in cold, slimy mud!  Leeches were also a huge problem and not a jungle creature that I enjoyed having an encounter with!  The two fantastic guides Suc and Lashmi looked after us, although they did think that my reaction to the leeches was pretty funny.


Overnight we stayed in a little guesthouse on the edge of the Rapti river and watched the sunset over the river.  Ladies collecting grass, children fishing and elephants going for an evening cool off in the river provided a picture perfect image of local life in the jungle.

Collecting grasses.

Local boys fishing.

Elephants heading for their afternoon swim.

Next day we returned to the tranquil village of Sauraha to enjoy the views over the river, indulge in a little shopping and meet a few more of the locals.  Heather and I wandered into the village and found a cute group of children sitting outside what was labelled as an orphanage.  However, with lots of hand gestures and some broken English, we discovered that it was a family of four children, grandma and mum.  The children were so lovely and keen to take pictures with our cameras.  One of them took the one below!  We think that the family had fostered some of the other children.  I got ushered into the house when I said that I was hot and made to stand right in front of the fan!  It was a jolly interaction with a delightful Nepalise family.

Helping mum with the laundry.

Corn hanging to dry, ready for grounding.

Heather and I with the children at 
the 'orphanage'.

With the two weeks from Delhi to Kathmandu over, we went out for a final meal in Kathmandu before parting ways.

This foot resides on the wall in the
'Rum Doodles' restaurant in Kathmandu!

A week of ups and downs

The ups being the places I'e visited and the downs being a poorly tummy!  I finished my trip around Rajasthan on the Sunday and decided to move to a different hotel to save some money.  Ravi laughed when I told him how much the hotel room was costing and wished me luck!!  I didn't think that that was a particularly good sign, but then I'd come to understand that Ravi quite liked his comforts!!

The hotel certainly was a step down from what I'd stayed in for 2 weeks, but it was clean, had a fan, a cold shower (there is definitely no need to a hot shower in this heat) and I was only there 2 nights, so all was good.  It was in a much more touristy area of Delhi within easy walk of the main centre of New Delhi.

The memorial arch.

Views across the central park.

I had a bit of a revelation on my return to Delhi...I actually quite like it.  I was not expecting this but it really is so easy to get around.  The metro train is dead cheap, clean, air conditioned, easy to use and I totally love the fact that they have women only carriages.  I took myself round to some of the monuments and did the touristy photos before hopping back on the train and going to South Delhi to hunt out the Hard Rock Cafe to buy a pin for mother.  It's become a tradition that I bring one back for her.  My whole journey on the train, which totaled about an hour cost me the equivalent of around 60p!!

I departed Delhi on Wednesday with a new group of travel companions, a new leader and a very dodgy stomach.  I'd had a drink on the Tuesday afternoon in Delhi and forgotten about the ice.  The drink was cool, refreshing and delicious, but the aftermath was not!!  It took me 12 hours to recover by not eating anything and drinking only water.  I almost missed my second visit to the Taj Mahal but luckily felt better by 5pm and went.  It was as beautiful as it was the first time and luckily, no rain!  I decided not to go in and just sit and admire the view and sheer magnitude of this amazing building.  We were treated to a stunning sunset that just got better with every passing minute. It definitely goes down as the most beautiful building that I have ever seen.  It's simply magical.

A clear view of the Taj Mahal.

The classic pose!

Next stop on the journey was the rural town of Orchha.  I had been told that it was very picturesque and pretty and it most certainly turned out the be that.  A longish train ride followed by a CRAZY ride in tuk tuk's took us to the town.  We happened to arrive on the final day of the 10 festival celebrating Lord Ganesha.  There were people everywhere, dancing, singing and throwing brightly coloured paint all over peoples clothes.  Tuk tuk's are small and only designed to carry 3 to 5 people.  However, we saw some that must have had at least 15 in, all smiling, cheering and generally have an absolute ball.  The music was unbelievably loud as we passed vans with these humongous speakers strapped to the back, blasting out decibels of music that blew your ears off!!  On the vans and tuk tuk's, there were large statues of Ganesha that they were taking to put in the river.  It signifies the end f the celebrations when they are laying at the bottom of the river.  The atmosphere was electric and was an experience that I was thrilled to have witnessed.

The small town of Orchha is rural and set along a gently flowing river.  Small shops, fruit and vegetable markets and souvenir shops line the short main streets.  The palace dominates the town skyline.  We stayed in fancy tents in Orchha with air conditioning, fridges, tv's and showers.  A very luxurious style of camping!  It's a small town, so easy to walk around.  Locals were once again friendly and wanted to talk to us and shake our hands.  

The town of Orchha.

Twilight over the castle.

We visited a wonderful local family to have a cooking demonstration in their house.  The mother cooked fresh, gorgeous looking Indian food that was rich in colour and filled with spices and aromas.  I had a go at rolling a chapati which is a type of unleven bread that is a stable of the Indian diet.  It was not to tricky, bit like rolling pastry but quite hard to get the perfect round circles that they manage!  I, of course, didn't sample anything that she cooked but she had prepared me my own special lunch of rice and lentils, with no spice.  I was so touched that she has done that.  Everyone enjoyed the food and said that it was delicious.  The experience was worth everything.  Visiting local people like that gives you an insight of what Indian life is really all about.  She has two beautiful daughters, one shy, one extremely not shy who came home from school while we were eating lunch.  The younger, not so shy one was happy to hold court and entertain us with her rendition of 'Heads, shoulders knees and toes'!  Very adorable!

The family who gave us the cooing
demonstration.

Having a go at rolling chapatis!

We visited a paper factory that was an initiative to give local village women work.  They take scraps of old fabric and turn it into paper.  It was fascinating to see these piles and bags of scrap fabric and how it finally ends up as paper.  They turn it to pulp and press it, then let it dry on the lawns and washing lines outside.  The people were lovely there and wanted us to have a go.  I did and discovered that the frames were really heavy; I got a squashed finger!

The big sheets of paper
get laid to dry outside.

Having a go with the heavy frames.

After Orchha we were supposed to be sailing on the river Ganges for 2 days to Varanasi.  However, the river levels are so high that we were not allowed on the river and have come straight to Varanasi.  It's a bustling city with extremely narrow streets, filled with the usual traffic.  We were in a traffic jam today and the traffic consisted of cars, motor bikes, tuk tuk's, bicycles, cycle rickshaws and buffalo!  I've visited the place where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon, and seen been to the edge of the river.  There are hundreds of ghats (steps leading to the river) but they are all hidden by the high water level.  It's a shame that we can't go on the river, but nice to see it all the same.

Tomorrow will be my last day in India before crossing the boarder into Nepal and we are off to the monkey temple and venturing to my third Bollywood movie.  Animesh, the leader says that this one is filled with dancing and is easy to follow.  I'll wait and see

Rajasthan - The place of kings

Well, what a busy 2 weeks it has been.  I was always a little apprehensive about coming to India.  It was a place that had never really been top of my travel list.  However, I have found it to be a filled with genuinely lovely, friendly people, beautiful country side and extremely spicy food, which has proved to be my nemesis!!

Arriving and transferring to the hotel in Delhi was easy and without hassle ( I think is would have been less so if I hadn't arranged an arrival transfer).  Driving along into the city it was interesting to see a cow wandering down the middle of the road.  However, as the 15 days have progressed, I have come to realise that the cow is a consistent traveller on the roads of India.  Everywhere you go there are cows, it's the equivalent of sheep in New Zealand.  The cow is a sacred animal in Indian culture so the don't eat them.  Therefore, there are HUNDREDS of cows milling around the towns, strolling down the roads and munching on grass along the winding country lanes.  It still makes me chuckle now, after 2 weeks!

Cows just roam around!

We have explored only a small amount of this area of north India known as Rajasthan.  Our guide for the 2 weeks has been Ravi, a very comical, extremely tall man local to Jaipur.  He has been insightful, kept up safe and educated us on the wonderful culture and beliefs of the Indian people.  We took a visit to his family in Jaipur and met his mother, father, sister and wife.  All very lovely people who fed us traditional Indian snacks.

Our guide, Ravi.

Having explored both countryside and city, I think I definitely prefer rural India.  We stayed for two nights in a stunning castle in Bijapur as well as one night in a fort in Madhoghar.  Strolling out into the villages we found humble people who just wanted to say hello and shake your hand.  It seems that life in India is happy to breath and take everything in.  Nothing is a hurry or too much trouble.  Tea points in villages are places to hang out and chat about politics!  It's so refreshing to see people just 'being', rather than rushing from one thing to the next, not really enjoying or appreciating life.

The beautiful castle at Bijapur.

Rajasthan is crammed with old palaces and temples.  By far the most amazing has to have been the Taj Mahal.  Sadly it decided to rain, and when I say rain, not the English style.  This was full on monsoon rain, coming down in sheets and bouncing up off the pavement.  My trousers represented an item of clothing that had been in the washing machine without the spin cycle!  Thankfully the rain was not cold though, and we soon dried off.  Even with all the rain you were totally in awe of this beautiful, beautiful building and it's grounds.

View of the Taj Mahal from across the river.

The Taj Mahal was still beautiful, even
under an umbrella in all the rain!

Using the transport here has been an education.  Initially, we started off on the super fast, air conditioned train from Delhi to Agra.  This was a very pleasant experience with drinks, breakfast and large comfy chairs.  As I'm sure you can imagine, this lulled us into a false sense of security as what followed was, lets just say, in a different league!!  We had to experience what the locals do so later on took a train that was very local indeed.  Luckily, there are only four of us in the group as none of us could imagine our journey had the group been at it's full capacity of twelve.  The platform at the station was busy and the train even worse.  We battled our way onto the train with our big bags but a seat looked highly unlikely.  Ravi came to the rescue though and forced some people to move up.  The seats were in bench rows, with a bottom and a top.  I managed to squeeze onto the bottom, others had to clamber up to the top bunk.  Next to me there were four men playing cards.  The journey passed quickly and I was entertained by card playing, tried to join in, but only succeeded in shuffling as I couldn't get the rules and no one spoke any English to explain them to me!

Rajasthan really is a beautiful part of India and I have enjoyed the two weeks.  Villages, cities, deserts and mountains as well as camels, cows, a terrific guide  and a long and confusing Bollywood movie have made the experience one that I won't forget.  The jury is still out as to whether I come back to India or not.

We are catching to overnight train to Delhi tonight and then it will be the next section of my journey that begins on Tuesday.  Luckily, I haven't ran out of tomato ketchup yet!

Camels are certainly NOT the most
comfortable method of travel!