BACK IN (AND ALMOST OUT OF) THE LAND OF BOBBLE HEADS

Ahhh (or really AGH!), I am back in India again, land of the bobble heads. That is not to say that the Nepali people don't bobble their heads as well but not nearly as much as the Indians. Come to think of it, what exactly does all this bobbling of the head really mean? After 5 weeks in India, I still have absolutely no clue! It seems the options in response to a question are:

• Lots of bobbling with no words
• Lots of bobbling with a grunt or a sigh
• Bobbling with an eye close then continuing to bobble
• A half head nod to one side (this is most confusing as it is often in response to a question about directions and can be confused for the giving of a direction that you should be walking). I really think this means I don't give a $#&%.
• Bobbling with the words "ah, cha, cha, cha". If you get this one, which I never have, you have hit the nail on the head and know you are right on track. I only know of one person that claims to have received this response.

In any case, it was with a HUGE amount of mixed feelings that I decided to catch a bus back to India and into Darjeeling rather than heading up to Kathmandu with Ella and then catching the flight to Mumbai from there. Part of the swaying factor was the $300 that I would have spent to get back to Mumbai (Bombay) and the other part was the fact that, well, really, I did come to India to see India and I had just spent 3 weeks in Nepal - almost half of my trip.

So, on that note, I decided to hop on the bus from Chitwan National Park - my last place in Nepal - and head for the hills of Darjeeling. Supposedly I was going to be traveling on one of the luxury buses (a step up from the tourist buses in Nepal, which are really just crap old buses that run the major tourist routes). Hmmm, lets see, luxury is not quite what I would describe it. After arriving at the stop at 6:00am for the bus and waiting for an hour for it to show up, I was really hoping that it might offer a bit of comfyness. Hee,Hee, HAH! The bus trundled on up, they threw my luggage on top, I prayed they strapped it down as they ushered me on board and stuck me right up next to the front and pointed out the front windscreen and said, "Hah! TV, Yes? You see!" Not sure this is exactly what I wanted. I did want to sit at the front of the bus as it is less bumpy and painful but I really didn't need to see what we were about to hit on a regular basis, and believe me, we were about to hit A LOT of things on the 11+ hour journey.

That brings me to attempting to define a luxury bus...to you or me, luxury bus might be defined as:

Big, clean seats that recline a bit and have arm rests

Air conditioning with tinted windows

Bathroom at the back in case of emergency

Bus built after 1995 with some comfort about it

People all sitting in their respective seats with luggage stowed below the bus, not in the aisles (people and luggage that is, not just luggage)

So what do you get with a luxury bus here in India or in Nepal? You get:

Seats that don't recline or recline so far your head is in the person's lap behind you

An engine that threatens to die every time the bus driver stops to pick up a new passenger, which is frequent and for the most part, not at a bus stop but along the road where they are flagged down by people wanting to go places

Minimum of 20 people in the aisle standing or sitting or really, leaning on you

Possible child in your lap or person next to you in your lap or spitting whatever it is that they chew here over you out the window or into the aisle and hopefully not on the people in the aisle

No toilet, but a couple of stops along the way with the possibility of a shack with a hole dug in the middle for a toilet or a hay stack to crouch behind

A bus built in hmmm, 1940? OK, maybe lets say at least 1950 and if you are lucky, 1960.

Stickers of random American pop stars and Indian Bollywood stars plastered on the front window and if you are lucky, above each seat to help denote where you sit...maybe they should just say, "miss, you are in Brittany Spears Pepsi Commercial pic"

A driver with a horn that won't quit - sometimes held down for a span of 30+ seconds. This is particularly nice when you are at the front.

Oh, again, if you are really lucky, you might get a man next to you that feels the need to attempt to rub his legs against yours or his arms across your chest. Yes, I did get lucky enough to have this happen. Started with excessive staring - he was facing me (should have picked my nose or something). Then he moved into the seat next to me. First attempt was rubbing my ankle with his nasty dirty foot, which resulted in a quick stomp - me hoping it was on his toe. His next approach was with the arm. Started with pushing up against me more and more and then an attempt at sliding his entire elbow across my chest. As you can guess, this resulted in a quick arm up and push from my side. Had he kept it up, he might not have had any family jewels to start a family with.

Overall the bus ride was fairly uneventful and mostly just uncomfortable. The most frustrating thing was getting rid of my Nepali money at the border as all of the money changers appeared to be out of money or just not bothered to help as they all had their windows up and were sitting at there as if waiting for someone to come along and change money. Very frustrating. In the end, the immigration officer changed my money into Indian rupees and I carried on my way across a very long bridge - thankfully my pack is not too heavy and after the long bus ride and frustrations of trying to change money, I needed a good walk to clear my head.

It was quite clear that I was back in India. As soon as I tried to take a bus, I had five different people grabbing me an telling me their bus was better or faster or cleaner or cheaper. Really they all looked the same and they were all the same price and well, all took about the same amount of time. I think a shop keeper took pity on me as he stopped me, asked where I wanted to go and helped usher me on to a bus and very clearly said "Pay 15 rupees...no more, 15 rupees!". I was hoping to head all of the way to Darjeeling after crossing the border but it was already 7:00 at night and another 3 - 3 1/2 hours in a bus did not sound too fun. So, I opted to stop in Siliguri - or sort of was forced to stop as I have no idea if the jeeps were even going to Darjeeling that late. Found a pricey hotel as there were no other options but did get a TV and room service! Boy this sounds posh eh? Really it was still a drab, white walled, slightly dingy room with a tiny little 10 inch TV and the room service was only because they did not have a restaurant area. Still, it was nice to relax and see a little bit of what is going on in the world.

Next day I was up and out for my 2 1/2 hour roller coaster ride up the hill to Darjeeling. The road is absolutely crazy. This was one time that I wished the driver would use his horn a little more often. We came flying around blind corners on a road that was meant for one way traffic, barely missing flying off the mountain. All along the route were signs about living and not driving too fast. Two of my favorites are: "Donate Blood, Just Not On This Road" and "Go Slowly on Earth, Not Quickly to Eternity". There was one other about if you were married drive slow or something but I didn't catch all of it. Hell, I just wanted the guy to stop trying to pass every car and truck while four others were coming at us. Made it safely though and have been spending my last few days here in Darjeeling drinking tea, hanging out with other travelers and wandering around the small, quiet city.

When it is clear you can see the Himalayas and it is quite amazing. The city itself drapes along the mountainside and where it stops, turns into tea plantations that continue all the way into the valley. It is quite beautiful.l As you can imagine, I am consuming my fair share of tea. It has been very pleasant wandering around the tea plantations, stopping in at the zoo to see red pandas, tigers (that I didn't see in the wild) and snow leopards as well as going to the Himalayan Hiking Institute to see the history of climbing Everest. Oh, did I mention that I am at the base (well not really base but within seeing distance) of the third highest mountain in the world? It is called Kanchanjunga and is 8,834m high - the second highest being K2 and highest being Everest. Supposedly on a clear day you can see Everest from here but it has not been that clear.

This morning we gave it a try with an early morning sunset (left at 4:00am) but no such luck. Got a nice sunset and a quick glimpse of the mountains before the fog rolled in but that was about it - oh, other than the 300 other people up there who, when the sun just started to come out, all went "ahhhh, oooohhh, ahhhh"(it wasn't even that spectacular of a sunset). and the vendors shouting "coffee, coffee" "postcards". Where the tea was, I never discovered, which is quite funny for India since they drink so much tea and also a little odd since we are in a major tea producing region. Back down from the sunset now and just passing some time before I get my jeep back down the hill to the train station. Looks like another hair raising ride before I hit my very last overnight train in India. Cannot believe that I have only two days left here. Have to get my mind ready for the noise and chaos of Calcutta and Mumbai (sigh).

Oh, I have a new favorite word - Pagael - it means crazy or mad. We started calling Ella "Ella Bola" on the hiking trip, which means "Crazy Ella" as she was always giggling. When we got to Chitwan, we told the Guest House manager and he taught us Pagael. Of course, that resulted in me calling Ella "Miss Pagael". It is a fun sounding word anyway...

ELEPHANT DRIVER EXTRAORDINAIRE!

When I last left I was in Pokhara soaking up my last few days of good food and resting a bit from the trekking and well, otherwise just being lazy. Ella and I hopped on a tourist bus earl in the morning to Royal Chitwan National Park in the hopes of seeing the rare Indian One Horned Rhino and, of course, a tiger. The bus ride was OK, not too much horn, we didn't go over a cliff into the river and we actually had an entire back row of seats for three people. Basically the ride was uneventful until about an hour before we arrived when the touts started getting on board.

The touts never make for a pleasant ride as they always start with "hello! where are you from?" and you know for sure the next thing is going to be a brochure stuck in your face and them telling you how great the hotel is and that you should stay there and that it is cheap and the rooms big and there is hot water etc. etc. etc. None of it is ever true, OK, rarely true. They were particularly bad this time and particularly early. Usually they get on one stop before the end or even wait until you get off the bus. Not this time, we had a joyful hour of them nattering in our ears despite the fact that we said "no thank you" over and over. In this case, they all kept starting with "so sorry to bother you but...." or "miss, I know you do not like to be bothered but..." Ella finally lost it and almost shouted at them, "Look, if you don't want to bother us, or you are sorry, then shut up and go away and don't bother us!" The result was peace for about 10 minutes and then more apologies and brochures. Getting out of the bus was even worse and at one point, I was surrounded by around 20 guys waving brochures, shoving cards in my face and grabbing my arms and hands and trying to carry my pack off without me. Ella got lucky and escaped out of the mess and managed to actually find the place we wanted to go. For some dumb reason we didn't go there first but went to another place with a French guy who promised his place was fantastic. The deal was, that they drive us to that place, if we didn't like it, we got to move to the other place. So much for that, we didn't like it but it became a big mess to get them to move us to the other place. In the end they did, but they did it with much grumbling and a bit of a wait.
The place we settled into was just grand! Big beds with mosquito nets, right on the river across from the national park and with very friendly people. Although I am sure they still took us for a bit of a ride and still kept a bit of the truth back (don't really want to say they lied about stuff, but hell, yes, they did). In any case, we booked for an all inclusive deal and got all food, room, elephant safari, canoe ride on the river, jeep safari and walking safari – oh, and all the tea we could drink. I don't think they quite counted on getting a 'real' tea drinker like myself but lets just say they started bringing Ella and me big pots of tea rather than the small ones as we kept having to ask for refills.

Unfortunately the great Siberian Tiger remained hidden from us during our various trips into the park and jungle but we did get to see about 8 of the One Horned Indian Rhino. They were quite spectacular and looked like they were covered with plates of armor. Very different looking from the African rhino. On our walking safari we came across three of them in the tall grass and had to walk past them in an open area. This was a bit freaky as they have been known to attack on a fairly regular basis and if they do, you are supposed to climb a tree. We looked around before crossing the open area and well, there were NO trees anywhere. That meant, if they did decide to charge that we needed to run in a zig zag pattern and throw an object (clothing or backpack) off and to the side so that they would stop to sniff it. Neither a very fun option. I definitely prefer the tree option. So, before heading out, our guides debated if we should actually cross (it was a male, female and baby). They decided yes and about mid way across the open field, the biggest (of course) perked up his ears and looked at us intently. They can't see very well so god knows what he actually thought he was looking at but I wish he thought we were elephants. At this point, the lead guide waved a bit more frantically and said “come, come, quick, quick” and we picked up the pace. Then the nice little rhino looked a bit more serious, ears flapped forward and he even took a step toward us out of the brush. The lead guide started to run, Ella and I started to run and the guide behind us started to run. I think it became serious when the guide following us overtook both Ella and I and was about five paces ahead of us. Clearly I am still alive, as is Ella in case you were wondering. Personally, I think they may have been doing it to add a little drama to the walking safari. They stopped a number of times on the walk and said things like “I smell a crocodile” or “I smell a tiger”. I don't really think you can smell them but one of the times when he smelled a crocodile, there actually was one on the banks of the river. We did see a number of tiger prints and also some scratching on a tree but that was about it. Hell, I am not going to take the chance though and if they say “run”, I'll run!

The jeep safari was nice. Couple of rhinos but mostly birds and LOADS of Chinese tourists, which were something to see in themselves. They were all covered up with their towels over their heads and their gloves and their cameras. We all had a laugh at them and prayed that we didn't come across them while out on our safari as they would scare everything away, which they did as one point we were up in a tower watching a rhino and sure enough, here came three truck loads of Chinese and off went the rhino.

I think our last day was probably the most fun as it was the day we played with the elephants. In the morning we went for a bath with them in the river and that was an absolute blast. As Ella would say, “that was soooo WICKED!” Basically you hop on the elephants back and head out into the river with them. The elephant trainer/driver gives commands and the elephant fills up his trunk with water and sprays it back all over you. We had a particularly playful elephant and driver and they took us into the deeper part where we played the game of “lets see if these silly people can stay on top of me while I shake about and then sit down in the river”. The elephant clearly won but we had a grand time climbing back up on her and then getting tossed about and back into the river. The elephant and driver were having such a grand time tossing us in that we finally had to stop and ask to be finished with our elephant back. After we fed the sweet little elephant bananas. Their trunks are so funny, they reach right out and sniff you, slobber on you and then scoop the banana right out of your hand.

After the bath, we headed off for an elephant safari. Not the most comfortable sitting arrangement – four people in a box/stand type thing on the back of the elephant but really a fantastic way to see the jungle. Also not the driest of things as the elephant kept blowing spit and dust up at as. Good thing I saved the shower until the evening. We had two rhinos straight off and you can get really close to them as they don't mind the elephant. Again we had a really sweet elephant and she kept making this purring sound that you could feel go through her body. I can't remember her name but the translation was Happy Girl and I guess she really was. The purring means that they are happy. Of course, it didn't hurt that her friend was up ahead and as she got closer she purred more. At one point we even stopped for them to have a conversation and they were both purring and tossing their trunks about and blowing dust and trumpeting. It was really sweet but also VERY loud. We spent about two hours crashing our way through the jungle. getting whacked by trees and bushes, and plowing through small rivers and it really was quite a joy. At the end of it all, the driver turned around and asked if I wanted to drive the elephant. Now who could turn down such an offer? I jumped on that and think I have found my new profession! It was much more comfy up there and a lot less snot/spit came up my direction although I really don't think I was doing much. The driver walked along side the entire time and occasionally grunted something. Still, it was fun to do and the locals faces looking at a westerner driving the elephant were enough to make us laugh.

Otherwise, Chitwan was a very mellow pleasant place and we spent our time wandering around, hanging with a Danish guy we met in Pokhara and sitting in lounge chairs along the river drinking tea and cocktails and watching the sun set. A very agreeable place I must say! Too bad I had a 6:00am local bus out....but that is another story.

Mountain Pixs

Yeah! Finally got these pixs uploaded...slow interenet is a real pain in the...Anyway, this is just an idea of what it looked like out there but really nothing can describe how incredibly spectacular it really was. If you read my last post (from yesterday- see below/last update), I attempted to describe it but think I did a real crap job as I was tired and on a super, super slow connection . This one is a little better but 3x the price - although in town and it is raining today so a good thing not to have to walk out of town to cheaper internet.

Anyway, really enjoying just relaxing in Pohkara and the mountain life up here. It is so different from India and the craziness there - and so much quieter. The food is also fantastic - not to say that the Indian food was not good but I can only eat so many palak panners (curd and spinach currey) and Aloo mutter panner (potato something). I do miss the nan bread but the Momos (potstickers) and Thupka (fat noodle soup) are quite tasty and doing a good job of filling my belly. It also doesn't hurt that there are about five million German bakeries in town with yummy pies and chocolate treats. Good for the tummy after 10 days of trekking.

Anyway enjoying it. Met a real freak the other day - go figure eh? When will I stop attracting these people? Or maybe it is India and Nepal that attracts them, which I actually think is a big part of the case. Lots of whakos running around this part of the world. So, Ella and I were happily enjoying our meal when up comes this guy, walks by, says "hello". Rule #1, never make eye contact with anyone who looks like they might have freak tendencies. Both Ella and I made contact. Then came, "Well, may I join you?" and really, how do you say "no" when you aren't sure the person has lost their marbles yet? So we said "OK" and down he sat. The conversation that ensued is one that I still have not grasp completely. It ranged from the tsunami really being started from India blowing up underwater nuclear bombs off the coast of the Andaman Islands to drinking your urine first thing in the morning (remember, mid to end stream only) to keep you healthy and help ward off diseases. Oh, lets not forget that all babies are swimming around in urine in their mothers wombs, just another reason to continue drinking it - ah, and well, the vaccination thing for kids....bad, bad idea. This is really what creates sick and autistic children. Basically only us strong and lucky ones survive from this hideous vaccine thing. After having received this glories information (and much, much more) we were told (as we escaped out the door), that he hoped that the information he had imparted would better allow us to be the angels that we were. Guess "his connections on earth" as he referred to them had a bunch of info to download onto the world. Needless to say, it was an odd evening.

That said, can I tell you again how great the trek was? I wish I could show or describe or even impart a little of how spectacular it is out there. Sad thing is that in a few years, a road will connect everything and there will be no need to walk it...guess people will have to branch further out.

Oh, and one other thing before I head off into the blue again for a few days...you remember the blanket wearers I mentioned in Lesotho (Africa days), well, it isn't such a bad idea after all. I have even taken to wearing one and boy, in the mountains, was it a blessing. Highly recommend that Vogue take this fashion statment up for next year's season!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!

So, well, there you have it…the trek was WOW! I cannot believe how amazing it was. The views were incredible and like nothing I have ever seen before. Then again, what do you expect from the Himalayas – nothing less than spectacular! It was one of the absolute best things that I have done on this trip.

Quick recap: Arrived in Pohkara after a really long 24 hour journey of rickshaws, trains, buses, walking and more buses and got sick. This had pluses and minuses – plus that I was in Nepal with a comfy bed and a fairly quiet place to get some rest, minus that I was sick and here I was in what seemed to me, at the time, the culinary delight capital of the world. The menus were expansive and had all sorts of goodies from pepper steak to lasagna and even fresh salads. Things I have not seen on a menu for AGES! Here I was only able to eat soups or, actually only wanting soups. I did managed to get out of the guest house at least once a day to run down to the hotels where Tom and Ella were staying, a couple of people who I had met via email while trying to find a good place to stay in Pohkara (I am flying guideless/bookless at the moment). In any case, I managed to find some people for Tom wanting to do the Annapurna Circuit (a 18-21 day trek) and stole Ella from him to do the shorter Jomson/Muktinath trek (about ½ of the Annapurna Circuit). Once I was feeling half well, which was really not all that well as my stomach cramps did not abate until day 3 of the trek after talking some antibiotics that I brought with me for things like this, we headed off for our 10 day march.

As I cannot possibly explain everything we saw and how I felt along the journey, I will try to do a quick recap:

Day #1
Taxi to a village called Naya Pul. Hop out of car and head off and up, up, up, up. Our porter (Ella and I were a bit lazy and hired someone to carry our bag) said that we did around 11km that day and it really was all up. We wound through all sorts of little villages stacked up the mountainside with gardens terraced all around until they reached the edge of the cliff where the mountain dropped steeply to the river far, far below. The scenery was amazing and as we reached the top, we got a peak at some of the raggedy, snow-capped mountaintops. Stomach – ugh, pain! Ended the day at a nice little mountainside Guest House in Ghandruk with views out over the houses, fields and mountains. So nice!

Day #2
Up early and off after a bowl of steaming porridge with apple and a hot cup of tea to tackle the mountain. No big hills today just rolling along through more villages with more and more spectacular views of the mountain range as we climbed little by little along the cobbled path. Stomach still in ouch mode and tempted to take the cypro immediately but hold off. Arrive late afternoon to a very cute family run Guest House in Tadapani (means Far Away Water) with a stunning view of the mountains and some evening snow. Ella went wild with excitement for the snow. Lukewarm shower – as you do get up in the mountains with no electricity or gas heat.
Day #3
Up super early to see the sun rise on the mountains. Spectacular! Another yummy breakfast of porridge with apple and tea (oh, there are loads of apples in the mountains here for some reason). Big down followed by steep up with tea at the top looking over the mountains and sighing with relief at our accomplishment. This was before Krishna (guide) informed us that we were to head back down, then WAY back up again to 3,120m when we reached Ghorapani. Like walking through the Chronicles of Narnia all day – just waiting for Aslan to pop out of the trees and lead us along the path. Basically we were walking along a beautiful creek with loads of trees around, green with flowers at the low points and snow covered paths as we climbed higher up. Just gorgeous. Arrived early afternoon and after a boiling hot shower (oh so nice!) settled into the common area with mugs of hot chocolate and our feet resting happily next to the oil drum fire place. More views of mountains with a lovely sunset and expectations of a sunrise climb back up to 3,120m (we had come down a fair bit) to see the view of the entire mountain range from Poon Hill. Stomach still ouch and time for cypro.

Day #4
Up at 5:15am to find cloudy skies and no need to hike up to Poon Hill for sunrise. Happy to be back and cozy in my sleeping bag but also sad to miss out on one of the most spectacular views in the Himalayas. Big down day today – 2,000m down to a village called Tatopani (Hot Water) where there is a hot spring by the river that cuts through the mountains. As usual, but not to be taken for granted, spectacular views. Loads of cute little villages along the way and well, our first day of rain. Drizzle set in quite early and stopped, appropriately, just as we did for lunch. Ate basically at someone’s house with fresh veggies picked right out of the garden – walked straight out there once we had ordered to get what she needed. Amazing veggie noodle soup and just what the doctor ordered for the stomach. Thunder and lighting just as we are heading back out (of course). Misty drizzle and rain the rest of the day but with the HUGE reward of the hot springs at the end of the day. Lovely soak and time for my first Dal Bhat and rice. Even gave it a go with my hands…not overly impressed but hey, they keep brining more and more food so perfect after a long day of trekking.

Woke to a surround sound thunderstorm and buckets of rain that kept up all night. Nice to listen to as you are tucked up in the sleeping bag but a little mousy in my head kept saying, “Hey, you, yes, you do have to walk in this all day tomorrow!”

Day #5
Rain in the am, turning to drizzle early afternoon then low and behold, sun, just in time for our lunch break right next to a massive waterfall. Yummy lunch of fresh picked and cooked (on demand) pumpkin soup and a corn bread type thing that they fry in a skillet. Aghhhh…so nice to have the warmth. After lunch we carried on along the river and then up, up, up (again) to a town called Ghansa. Tucked ourselves under/into the blanket covered, fire filled (they put coals under the table) table and tried to warm up, drinking hot chocolate and rum while waiting (not too patiently) for our dinner. Seems to be that your order and the food shows up about two hours later. This gets a bit tough when you have been walking for 5-6 hours, are tired, cold and starving.
The area we walked through is called Kali Gondaki Valley and it is the world’s deepest valley tucked between the mountains Annapurna I and Dhaulagiri. Both mountains are over 8,000m high and only 38km apart. Again, stunning to look up at them and see their snow flecked tops with clouds stringing across like cotton candy sticking to a tree branch.



Day #6
Rain, rain and more rain followed by snow, hail, sleet, wind, thunder, wind and more rain. If there was a weather pattern, we were getting it, well except for loads of sun. Amazing walk though – surrounded by the mountains in what seemed to be a desert or riverbed in a valley but was really at the top of the mountains. Cold and wet we arrived for lunch in Larjung. By that point, wet and tired. After some fortification, we debated our about an hour (see, I am not the only one who can’t make a decision) if we should continue on to the next town about an hour away. As the wind seemed to have died down, we voted to carry on. Well, the wind had not died down and it pushed us right along and off our feet as we scrambled across the riverbed valley to reach Tukche. Thunder started just as we arrived and thankfully, the place was nice and cozy and had a blazing fire in the corner of the room. Bucket hot water showers are NOT nice in cold drafty bathrooms. Neither is wet laundry dried on a dust and soot crusted fireplace. Hell, I was somewhat clean and the apple brandy they served was mighty tasty! Finished the night off with apple crumble and then it was off to bed, bundled tightly in the sleeping bag and blankets (you need both) to ward off the freezing room.

Day #7
Sun, glorious sun! We woke in Tukche to clear skies, brilliant mountain views that we couldn’t see the day before and they were amazing. Carried on that day to Jomson, where many people finish their trek and fly on back to Pohkara. However, we were not to be faint hearted and pressed on to the little village of Kagbeni where we found a very warm welcome from a nice Tibetan lady who ran the Shangri-La Guest House. At that, we decided to settle in for a two-night stay and rest our weary bones.

Day #8
So much for resting – on our day off, we decided to climb a 4,000m mountain going up 1,200m from our base of 2,800m. It was absolute pain with straight up switchbacks and slushy, snowy places. However, the views at the top were well worth it and we just about skipped down the hill (well, not really) to reach the bottom where I grabbed a warm piece of apple strudel. Not quite the flaky crust I was hoping for but tasty nevertheless. Big dinner and early to bed after warming our sore legs under the table and having HUGE meals of just about everything we could get our hands on.

Day #9
The final climb – Kagbeni to Muktinath (pilgrimage site at 3,760m).
No easy task after the previous days climb and that fact that we were walking through clay mud and snow melt. Rivers were running down our path and we slipped all over trying not to find ourselves wallowing in mud and donkey crap like a pig or falling into the creek that ran along the path (Ella did). Quite the hard climb up due to conditions but again, rewarded with stunning views. We even mustered the energy to walk the remaining 200m up to the shrines and ghompas, a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists and Hindus. Of course, while there, we had to douse ourselves with water from the 108 taps to wash away our sins and bring good luck. Talk about brain freeze! That night we reveled in our accomplishment, drank more rum and hot cocoas and playing rousing games of Nepali Rummy while watching the sun set on the mountains. A lovely way to end the day and rest our weary bones.

Day #10
Back down the mountain with creaking knees and, fortunately a path that had not yet defrosted. Made it down to the Hil-Ton Mountain Inn for lunch and a break before the path really turned to mush and carried us right down our assess. From there it was a three-hour, painfully slow (Ella had a bad heel/shoe) trek back to Jomson for our flight early the next morning. Arrived in good spirits and had the obligatory celebratory beer and popcorn, which went straight to our heads. Stumbled back to our Guest House, the waiter’s laughter ringing in our ears as we wobbled off on our way. Finally! A real hot shower! Then dinner…two hours after we ordered it – patience please! Devoured it right quick and carried on with the rousing rummy game before all passing out from fatigue.

Day #11
Back to Pohkara! It took a bit of time as the weather was not quite right and our little 18-seater plane was not about to take off with the wind in the wrong direction. After five hours of waiting we finally got the call, and boy did we get it – everyone was on the plane and buckled, and ready to go in less than 10 minutes - pretty impressive. Then again, there hadn’t been a flight out for three days so we were all counting ourselves pretty lucky to be getting back via plane and not via our feet or various combinations of motorcycles, feet, jeeps, feet, more feet and buses, which a few people did opt for.

Now just hanging out in Pohkara finally enjoying the culinary delights of the city, relaxing with fellow hikers and just enjoying the peace and calm. Looks like we (Ella and I) will head to Chitwan National Park next but we are still sorting all that out and well, I am still sorting out how the hell I am going to get back to Mumbai for my flight in two weeks! Don’t think I am really looking forward to heading back into India but that will pass as soon as I cross the boarder, I am sure.

Sorry that I could not be more interesting on the hike and do a better job of explaining what all we saw but well, brain really isn’t yet completely out of the clouds! I just have to say it again - WOW!!!!!

SILENCE.....

Wow, so Nepal = Silence...so nice...not too much to report here right now as I spent the last part of Holi in Varanasi heading to the train station and then waiting and waiting and waiting and well, you get the idea. The train finally left around 1:30am. It was an overnight train so we arrived about 8:30am and then had to catch a bus to the boarder. Basically my next 13 hours were spent on buses or between buses winding their was up through the mountains (an occasionally almost falling off). There was a good group of people on the bus so four of us banded together and decided to fight the hordes at the end as one group to get a better hotel rate. While this meant all four of us plus driver plus one other guy - never figured out really what he was there for - and four huge backpacks all squishing into a tiny little ford fiesta type car, it meant much less hassle for Rachel and I as we let the two boys take over and handle the negotiations. Hell, they don't really want to negotiate with women anyway so that helps too.

Unfortunatley the cold bus ride with no blanket and only my thin fleece was the last straw on my body and the past three days I have been sick and spending vast parts of my day in the hotel room. The bonus, though, is that Nepal is CLEAN and QUIET! The beds in the hotel and soft and big, not like the hard ones in India AND we have our own bathroom WITH hot water. I ask you, what more could a girl ask?

On top of it all, and despite being half locked up, I have still managed to find a few people that also wanted to head out on a 10 day trek through the Himalayas. So tomorrow, despite a few stomach rumbles still going on, we are escaping to the peace and quiet of the Himalayas. I cannot wait. Will have much more to tell when I get back. For now, happy to be in the mountains and away from all the rubbish and people in India.

BACK ON TRACK

Well, if you read my last blog, you might be feeling a bit sorry for my pathetic little self crying in my mango lassi, but alas, all righted itself as it always does and I have spent two fantastic days in Varanasi. I am sad to leave but also at the same time glad that I am leaving it with a bit of sorrow in my heart to leave. That means I have not overstayed my welcome and will always remember it as a magical place where I met some incredible people. Yesterday I spent wandering the streets with a Canadian guy I met at a food stall and just talking about places all over the world. Most of the day was spent at the Ghats, the waterside steps where people wash themselves, their clothes and basically cleans themselves. It is considered a very holy river. In fact, when people die, they wrap their bodies and bring them to a special ghat where they are put on a pyre and burned before their ashes are thrown into the river for re-birth. You can go watch it and it is really an incredible place. Holi, a festival day, started that night and boy did the festivities begin. Of course, it is a male geared festival and all women had to hide themselves or risk being attacked by the drunken men in the streets. It is a color celebration and starting in the afternoon, people begin to throw colored water at each other. As the night wears on, they drink and drink and dance and celebrate their one day when the gods look away. We watched all the men dance and bump and grind against each other until they told us it was best for us (safer) to head back to our hostels. I really did look like something out of the Castro it was all males and there was more bumping and griding and faux sex on the ground than I have ever seen. I didn't get to find out what happened later that night as I was locked safe and sound in the hostel until after noon today. By the time we got out, much of the town had returned to daily activities (but shops were closed) and it was almost as if it had never happened (but for the mess in the streets). A few men ventured out of the hostel and they came back covered in paint with torn clothes. Probably best I wasn't let out.

Today I spent with one of the most beautiful women I have ever met (an Indian/Canadian here to find her roots). She had an incredible, wise soul and we wandered and talked and I cried for my mother and missing her and felt a bit silly but safe and right and good and we talked about life and love and the heart and truth to oneself. It is very much a spiritual place here and if there is one thing that comes more and more to mind for me is how important connections with people are. It is not as if I didn't know this or don't know this but it is really what life comes down to. I see all of these poor people - in Africa and here in India - and they have nothing and yet they still smile and laugh and are together and have that community and family and connection with people that is so disappearing with our high tech society. Anyway, enough of this...here are some general thoughts/impressions of India:

A sunset CAN be like going to a movie! When in Mt Abu, we went to Sunset Point to watch the sunset and on the way up, one could buy popcorn, peanuts and soft drinks. Hundreds of people packed in at the top, many on bench seats set up for the purpose. As the sun dipped down, these hundreds of people clapped and cheered as if it was the closing act at the theater.

The McDonalds Chicken McMaharaja is a tasty treat but still as greasy as the burgers back home. Hot fudge sundays are always the way to go - oh, and the bathrooms can never be beat as they actually have toilet paper.

The world is my garbage can - well at least the Indians think it is. I cringed as I was asked to throw my trash out the train window rather than tuck it under the seat for clean-up later. Guess the train never really gets a good clean-up.

India really does smell like a sewer in most places. Unfortunately, it is a smell I am getting used to.

Rickshaw driver will always try to take you where they want to go and not where you want to go. They will do anything to convince you your choice is wrong from telling you the bus has already left to your hostel has burnt down.

The old women that grab you on the street and as for money are exactly like the old lady in Princess Bride that shouts BOOOO, BOOOO when her husband claims Wesley didn't say "True Love" when asked why he should live.

People selling you things will grab and pull on your arm, tap your leg or foot and follow you for blocks on end whether you acknowledge them or not. I will be quite good at ignoring things when I get home I think.

Prophetic cows really do exist. They even get all dolled up and sometimes have a fifth leg - extra bonus when attempting to collect money for the cow owner. Come to think of it, a number of people I have seen also have extra body parts.

Minimum five cups of Masala Chai are required per day. Not just for its yummy taste but also to keep the chin up and sustain you when things get tough.

Cows, pigs, monkeys, buffalo and humans CAN all live happily together in the city.

The Taj Mahal really is as beautiful as you think it would and is bloody expensive to boot! It was 750 rupees or $16 to get in just to see it.

2 Rupees is the standard up charge for any item being sold to a foreigner. Water, which clearly has the price of 10 rupees market on it, often gets the price of 12 rupees for foreigners. If you drink 10 bottles, you could have bought another two if you paid the extra two rupees each time. Us wiser travelers know this and just hand them a 10.

The sandwiches that I was so tired of in Africa would be good about now to break up the curry and nan bread.

A constantly running nose is pretty much the norm for us travellers as the spice in the food tends to get to you...After a meal, I feel like I was five again running around with my snotty nose - where is my Uncle Dar's pant leg when I need it eh?

Cows can and will sneeze on you and it is not pleasant. I watched a British guy get sneezed on and well, a big green glob landed on his foot and it was NOT nice looking.

Lying to foreigners is the rule, not the exception. I have learned not to trust what anyone says and find that everyone has a different answer - even the tourist information center. You pretty much just have to go with what seems to make the most sense and keep your fingers crossed. I had five different answers for a train departure one time.

No, they don't want to really help you, they just want you to buy a shawl or scarf or something else from their shop.

Mom really was right, porridge is not a bad breakfast after all. I think since I have been here, banana honey porridge and a glass of chai has become my favorite breakfast.

And with that, I will bid you all a good night (it is almost 10pm here) as I must wander off to catch my train to Nepal.

FOUND, UZBEKISTANI ARCHAELOGIST THAT SPEAKS 40 LANGUAGES

So, they say that you either hate India or love India. That statement really does qualify and right now, I am falling into the category of really really hating this place and counting the moments until I can escape to Nepal. I can out of a couple of frustrating days, followed by a 12+ hour car ride only to be dumped on a hard platform bed with about ½ inch thick mattress on the front porch of a temple as my bed for the night. The hostel informed me they had plenty of room and when I arrive at around midnight, they showed me the most expensive room. Out of principal and the fact that I had just paid 600 rupees to get to Varanasi I declined and took the temple porch bed. It seems at this point that I am counting pennies but alas, 600 rupees (about $15) can pay for my accommodation for three to four nights so having just blown it on transportation, I was in no mood to pay 300 for a mediocre room.

Maybe I ought to back up a bit and get back to where I left off. Spent a couple of days in Jaipur, which was an OK city and had some decent sights then took another hell bus ride – trains are so much better than buses here! – to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Despite all the people’s negative comments about Agra, Paul and I managed to have quite a good time there and both really enjoyed it.

The first night was spent attending a local festival/fair, similar to our state fair. We were the only foreigners there and had a great time walking around looking at things, eating cotton candy and NOT getting bugged by anyone as they were all there to enjoy themselves as well. We capped the night off watching the fashion show they had for the evening. It was amazing – some of the sarees they brought out and also some of the Indian style clothes with a western bent were so beautiful and colorful. I think we spent over an hour there. My favorite bit was that the show was brought to us by a sewing machine company and they had three machines proudly displayed on the side of the stage. I just can’t imagine Singer or Bernina sponsoring a fashion show in the US but hey, maybe I am running in the wrong circles.

Over the course of the next two days, we saw the Agra Fort (most of which is closed off), a dead/abandoned city called Fatehpur Sikri (absolutely amazing) and the Taj. The Taj really is as beautiful as you expect it to be.

So, this is also where my frustration with India really begins – Fatehpur Sikri. This amazing place and you can barely moved without a kid asking for money or a ‘student’ wanting to practice his English and then sell you something or guide you around the place. This is where I became the archaeologist…I was so fed up that I very sternly told the man, after he informed me that I would not understand anything without a guide that I was an archaeologist and that I had been studying Indian history all my life and I knew EXACTLY what I was looking at. It did shut him up and get him to go away but I still had to fend off begging children and trinket salesmen. Funny thing is, little is known about Fatehpur Sikri so the guides appeared to be imparting really useful knowledge such as, this shelf/ledge was build for the Sultan to sleep on as he did not like scorpions. Hmmmm, little fishy to me!
After three days in Agra, oh and the best mixed fruit lassi ever – like a desert with a sweet yogurt and layers of fruit topped with a sprinking of coconut, cashews and chocolate powder – Paul headed back to the US and I headed on to Khajuraho.

Again, another hell bus ride to get there. I tell you, again, take the train when you can. Arrived around 9:30pm to several hotel men trying to pull me into a million pieces and bring me to their hotel. I did get dragged one direction but after, went to check out my first choice place and made a move. It was very pleasant and I had my own room with my own bathroom and I felt like a queen. Well, not quite like a queen but a step up from always sharing and walking down the hall. The reason for Khajuraho is the Khama Sutra temples.

I woke up the first morning, and absolutely loved India as I wandered around on my rented bike (30 rupees for the day) to get to some of the temples further out. By the time the day was ending, I absolutely hated India. I couldn’t look at a single temple in silence as there was always a guy trying to guide me or a child grabbing and poking at me trying to get a rupee or two. Despite my several pleads to just leave me alone, that I wanted to look at it in silence and that I did not need a guide, nor have an rupees to give, they just would not go away. Hence, I decided to create multiple personas and see what they would do with that. Basically it just confused them and not much more. They still didn’t go away.

In any case, the temples are lovely and highly recommended but getting a train ticket out before you arrive is also recommended. I had the slight problem of all the trains being booked. Finally I was able to wait list for one but at an upgraded status, which meant paying 3x the price I would pay if I went general class. Of course, the minute I book the ticket, a man in a shop, who for once, I think was really out to help me and not rip me off, found a driver and a car to take me to Varanasi for 150 rupees more. While this is quite a bit and I really did not want to upgrade, my body was telling me that it was just about on the verge of getting sick (my stomach hadn’t been too good that morning). Given that, I opted out of the overnight train ride with a 4:30am arrival and took the car. Looking back, I am not sure if that was really a better plan as I arrived at around 11:30 after over 12 hours in a car with horrible Indian music blasted in my ear. I believe, that unless it is rap, all Indian music is based on the same two guys – one playing a tambourine type thing and the other playing some instrument that sounds like a drop of water would sound in a base tone like a bwlooop. It has a special beat that does the bwloop, bum, bum, bwlooop, bum, bum and meanwhile the tambourine goes ch, cha, cha, ch behind and the women and mean moan above it all.

When I finally did reach the hostel, as I mentioned above, I got a hard bed on the porch steps of their temple and the manager asking me why I arrived so late. Well, if I had a choice, I would not have arrived so late you dult! Unlike many others, I am not finding the charm and grace in Varanasi and think I will look into booking a train to Nepal for tomorrow night. It does have a lovely setting along the Ganges River, which is so polluted it contains 1.5 million faecal coliform bacteria per 100ml of water while safe bathing water contains less than 500. People are actually bathing in the stuff…something I will NOT be doing.

So, having bitched away for a bit, I am going to head out and face the world and see how many more beggars I can swat away.