Up about 4:20, showered, finished packing and got to Ultimate Descents at 5:00, got my big backpack and my valuables stored away. We walked to the bus and left at 5:30. We drove through Kathmandu, part of the way, then got stuck in a HUGE traffic jam!! We didn't move until about 9:00. We drove (slowly, behind all the other traffic), for about 30 minutes, got just outside Kathmandu, and got stuck again for another two hours or so! You see, for the last 10 days, there has been a general strike called by the Maoist rebels, and all road travel has been pretty much shut down for the past 10 days. Today is the first day anything can get out of Kathmandu, and all the busses and good carriers are itching to get to their destinations. The army has many checkpoints scattered throughout Kathmandu, but they don't let anyone pass until they have orders to start letting vehicles through. Everything was at a standstill until they opened up the checkpoints. Then, it's slow going, because the army does random vehicle checks too.
So, here we were, one bus in a line of vehicles that stretched for miles, all trying to get out of Kathmandu.
Once we finally got going, the views of the Kathmandu valley were amazing. The road followed the Trisu river west, then south, then finally opened up onto the terai (the flat bit that runs along southern Nepal). We stopped at Chitwan National Park and dropped a few other backpackers off that were just getting a ride with us. We stopped at a town called Mugling for lunch (Dal Bhat).
There were four of us on the rafting trip, two of them, Steph and Shaun, opted to fly east, rather than endure the bus ride. So, it was just me and Will on the bus, along with the bus driver, his girlfriend, and 5 guides and some other guy. Of course, the bus was packed with all our supplies, the rafts, the kayaks, etc.
We were supposed to meet Steph and Shaun in Dharan tonight. We didn't make it. By a long shot. We were about 6 hours behind schedule, because of the checkpoints, and the army has imposed a curfew on night travel, so we were forced to stop in some two-bit village for the night about 7:30. Our guide arranged accomodations for us, and we ate Dal Bhat (rice with potatoes and other spicy things). Dal Bhat isn't that tasty to my taste buds.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Monkey Attack!
Up about 9:30, showered, took some laundry in to get done.
Went for breakfast at a cheap restaurant that was showing Lord of the Rings: The REturn of the King. It finished about noon, went back to the hotel and wrote in my journal, read, used internet, walked around.
Went for lunch, had a BLT sandwich and a mochacinno about mid afternoon.
Listened to my MP3 player in the courtyard. As I was sitting there, there were other people around, chatting, having something to drink, snacking, whatever. Then I heard a commotion behind me, and turned around, and there was a monkey. It had jumped down into the courtyard, and was looking for food. Then I noticed another monkey. They were terrorizing the people sitting at another table, lunging at them, and baring it's teeth, trying to get something from them. They backed away, grabbing all their stuff, but the monkey was pretty aggressive. Finally the hotel workers arrived, but they wouldn't do anything, they just threw cushions at them...which didn't do much, they just watched them fly by. Finally, another guy came out with a slingshot and started throwing rocks at them, and they jumped back up and took off.
Sabine came around about 5:00, then Andrew showed up. We decided to go for supper after my rafting meeting.
I went for my rafting meeting at 6:00, and met the othe rafters. I'm the baby of the bunch. There are three others, two from Scotland (Steph and Shawn) and one from England (Will). We have to meet at the Ultimate Descent office at 5:00am tomorrow morning.
The meeting ended shortly after 7:00, and I went back to the guest house, and was expecting a message for me at the front counter, but there was none. I checked the courtyard, they weren't there. I went up to my room, and two other girls were in the hallway, one of them asked me if I was Todd. Yup. They told me that a message was put in one of their key boxes by mistake, a message for me. I'm to meet them at the Typical Nepali Restaurant for supper. So, headed over to the Typical Nepali Restaurant about 7:15, and they were there.
After supper (9:00), we went to a bar/restaurant and listened to a live band. Andrew left about 9:30, Sabine and I left about 9:45. Went back to the guest house, got laundry, paid my hotel bill and went to bed about 11:00.
Went for breakfast at a cheap restaurant that was showing Lord of the Rings: The REturn of the King. It finished about noon, went back to the hotel and wrote in my journal, read, used internet, walked around.
Went for lunch, had a BLT sandwich and a mochacinno about mid afternoon.
Listened to my MP3 player in the courtyard. As I was sitting there, there were other people around, chatting, having something to drink, snacking, whatever. Then I heard a commotion behind me, and turned around, and there was a monkey. It had jumped down into the courtyard, and was looking for food. Then I noticed another monkey. They were terrorizing the people sitting at another table, lunging at them, and baring it's teeth, trying to get something from them. They backed away, grabbing all their stuff, but the monkey was pretty aggressive. Finally the hotel workers arrived, but they wouldn't do anything, they just threw cushions at them...which didn't do much, they just watched them fly by. Finally, another guy came out with a slingshot and started throwing rocks at them, and they jumped back up and took off.
Sabine came around about 5:00, then Andrew showed up. We decided to go for supper after my rafting meeting.
I went for my rafting meeting at 6:00, and met the othe rafters. I'm the baby of the bunch. There are three others, two from Scotland (Steph and Shawn) and one from England (Will). We have to meet at the Ultimate Descent office at 5:00am tomorrow morning.
The meeting ended shortly after 7:00, and I went back to the guest house, and was expecting a message for me at the front counter, but there was none. I checked the courtyard, they weren't there. I went up to my room, and two other girls were in the hallway, one of them asked me if I was Todd. Yup. They told me that a message was put in one of their key boxes by mistake, a message for me. I'm to meet them at the Typical Nepali Restaurant for supper. So, headed over to the Typical Nepali Restaurant about 7:15, and they were there.
After supper (9:00), we went to a bar/restaurant and listened to a live band. Andrew left about 9:30, Sabine and I left about 9:45. Went back to the guest house, got laundry, paid my hotel bill and went to bed about 11:00.
Monday, April 11, 2005
Gone away
I'm going away on my 12-day rafting trip tomorrow morning, bright and early.
There will be no updates for the next two weeks or so!
Bye.
There will be no updates for the next two weeks or so!
Bye.
Another Day of Nothingness
Lazy this morning. I woke up about 10:00, got up about 10:30. Showered and crap. Walked out front of the guest house and checked at G's Terrace to see if Andrew was around, but he wasn't. Decided to have the morning buffet breakfast at the guest house, fill me face and skip lunch. Andrew came along about 11:30, and we talked abotu going to the party in Bhaktapur with fried-brain buddy. We were kind of both of he opinion that if we went, we wouldn't stay the night, but come back to our guest house, but we were both kind of thinking of simply not going.
After breakfast, I went to the courtyard to read, Andrew came by and said he was going to wait at G's Terrace for buddy. He was supposed to meet us there between noon and 1:00. Andrew came back at 1:00, and he didn't show anyway.
About 2:00, I went shopping again for sunscreen and long pants, which I needed for my rafting. Continued walking and found some streets I hadn't seen yet. I ended up getting kind of lost, and walked around for a couple of hours, but eventually found my way back.
Stopped at a bakery on the way back to the guest house and had a chocolate brownie and cinnamon bun, then back to the guest house and wrote in my journal and read. I met my new neighbour in the room next to me, a Japanese guy. Sabine came along about 5:30, and we sat around and talked. She had a good day at work, and thinks she'll enjoy it there for 3 months.
About 7:00, she got her stuff from my room and took it to her new hotel, and was going to come back an hour later, and we'd go for supper.
As I was waiting for Sabine in the lobby, the Japanese guy, speaking in his broken english, came in the lobby with a couple of his Japanese friends, and he said hi to me, then walked past, then came back and asked me if I wanted a wooden elephant. I recognized the wooden elephant as souvenirs a lot of hawkers are peddling on the streets, they are quite persisent when they try to sell them. The Japanese guy, told me he bought four of the elephants, while his two Japanese friends behind him were laughing quite hysterically. I chuckled and asked him why he bought four of them. He laughed and said he didn't want to buy any of them, but he said his stress level was very high as the sale was being pitched at him from the peddler, and he ended up buying four. Now he's trying to give them away, because he doesn't want four. Anyway, we all got a good laugh, especially his friends, because now he has these four big wooden elephants he has to carry around with him.
A short while later, Sabine showed up, and we went for supper.
Got to bed about 10:00.
After breakfast, I went to the courtyard to read, Andrew came by and said he was going to wait at G's Terrace for buddy. He was supposed to meet us there between noon and 1:00. Andrew came back at 1:00, and he didn't show anyway.
About 2:00, I went shopping again for sunscreen and long pants, which I needed for my rafting. Continued walking and found some streets I hadn't seen yet. I ended up getting kind of lost, and walked around for a couple of hours, but eventually found my way back.
Stopped at a bakery on the way back to the guest house and had a chocolate brownie and cinnamon bun, then back to the guest house and wrote in my journal and read. I met my new neighbour in the room next to me, a Japanese guy. Sabine came along about 5:30, and we sat around and talked. She had a good day at work, and thinks she'll enjoy it there for 3 months.
About 7:00, she got her stuff from my room and took it to her new hotel, and was going to come back an hour later, and we'd go for supper.
As I was waiting for Sabine in the lobby, the Japanese guy, speaking in his broken english, came in the lobby with a couple of his Japanese friends, and he said hi to me, then walked past, then came back and asked me if I wanted a wooden elephant. I recognized the wooden elephant as souvenirs a lot of hawkers are peddling on the streets, they are quite persisent when they try to sell them. The Japanese guy, told me he bought four of the elephants, while his two Japanese friends behind him were laughing quite hysterically. I chuckled and asked him why he bought four of them. He laughed and said he didn't want to buy any of them, but he said his stress level was very high as the sale was being pitched at him from the peddler, and he ended up buying four. Now he's trying to give them away, because he doesn't want four. Anyway, we all got a good laugh, especially his friends, because now he has these four big wooden elephants he has to carry around with him.
A short while later, Sabine showed up, and we went for supper.
Got to bed about 10:00.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer
Woke up about 8:00, but didn't get mobile until about 9:30. The nighttime temperature here (and room temeature) is so nice...in India, it was so flippin hot in the room, it was uncomfortable to even try to "soak" in bed...here's it nice!
Today was my day to relax and not do too much.
I showered, and went for breakfast and a restaurant behind a big bookstore.
Then I had to bring a picture of myself as well as a my insurance policy information to the rafting company, for their records. On my way there, a boy started talking to me, asked me where I was from, I told him Canada, and he said, "Canada, capital city Ottawa." He then wanted me to ask him any country in the world, he could tell me the capital. I rattled off half dozen countries, and without hesitation, he knew each and every one. I figured he'd want something from me at some point, so I kept ducking into shops, but he would be waiting for me when I came came out. Then he asked me if I would buy him milk powder, for his baby sister at home. Milk powder? What could I say? I said I would, we went to a store, they had a big can of it for 500 rupees, but that was too much, I told him. The store owner dug up a smaller package, for 150 rupees, which I bought for him, he was thankful and ran off. I heard later in the day that they may do that to tourists, then they'll take the milk powder (or whatever they coerce the tourist to purchase for them) back to the store and get the money for it. Don't know if that's true or not.
Heading back to my room, an into a German girl, staying in the room next to me. Sabine, she's here to work at a hospital as part of her education, she's workign towards being a doctor. We went for lunch, I had a apple pie, then walked around a bit, then we did our own thing. She wasn't happy with this guest house, and was going to check out he same hotel she stayed at last time she was here for work (3 years ago), so made arrangements to meet later in the day.
I went off for some shopping and bought a nice local print (can't remember the term that describes this type of print) and a long sleeve shirt (for my rafting trip), and a book. The book I bought in India sucked, I sold it to Sabine.
Later in the afternoon, we met up in the courtyard at the hotel. She talked to the people at the hotel she stayed at last time, they remembered her (from three years ago!) and gave her the same price for the room she got last time. She's staying 3 months. We also met a British guy, Andrew, who had just arrived. He's on his way to New Zealand, but spending two weeks in Nepal first.
After the sun went down, the three of us headed out to have supper. I had sizzling steak, and was it ever delicious!!! Yum!
We walked around Thaml for a bit, I ordered a silk sleeping bag, which I have to pick up tomorrow at 6:00pm. It's too easy so spend money here!
Abot 9:00, we headed to G's Terrace, a rooftop restaurant/bar that has a live band. The band was great, they did both English and Nepali songs, we had a drink. They stopped playing at 10:00, then started talking to some locals at the bar...one was too funny, he had long hair, kind of "hippie" looking, and very excitable, and I'm sure his brain was half cooked from too many drugs! He didn't speak english very well, but he always seemed to get his point across. I told him I was rafting, he asked me which river, I told him the Tamur...you should have seen him! I got so excited, telling me that's the wildest river in Nepal, he was standing up, telling me about great it is, he was so exctied talking about, he wouldn't sit down. I wish I had a video camera! We were all laughing hysterically at this guy.
He then started talking about a party in Bhaktapur (abotu 1 hour east of Kathmandu), it's a multi-day New Years Eve party (the Nepal New Year, is April 14, the year 2062 (or 2063, I forget now)). He got all excitable talking about it, and me and Andrew decided to go with him to the party tomorrow (Sabine had to start work tomorrow).
We left the bar about 11:00 and went to bed.
Sabine left her pack in my room, because she wouldn't have time to move to the other hotel tomorrow morning, so she'll get her stuff from my room tomorrow after work and make the move.
Today was my day to relax and not do too much.
I showered, and went for breakfast and a restaurant behind a big bookstore.
Then I had to bring a picture of myself as well as a my insurance policy information to the rafting company, for their records. On my way there, a boy started talking to me, asked me where I was from, I told him Canada, and he said, "Canada, capital city Ottawa." He then wanted me to ask him any country in the world, he could tell me the capital. I rattled off half dozen countries, and without hesitation, he knew each and every one. I figured he'd want something from me at some point, so I kept ducking into shops, but he would be waiting for me when I came came out. Then he asked me if I would buy him milk powder, for his baby sister at home. Milk powder? What could I say? I said I would, we went to a store, they had a big can of it for 500 rupees, but that was too much, I told him. The store owner dug up a smaller package, for 150 rupees, which I bought for him, he was thankful and ran off. I heard later in the day that they may do that to tourists, then they'll take the milk powder (or whatever they coerce the tourist to purchase for them) back to the store and get the money for it. Don't know if that's true or not.
Heading back to my room, an into a German girl, staying in the room next to me. Sabine, she's here to work at a hospital as part of her education, she's workign towards being a doctor. We went for lunch, I had a apple pie, then walked around a bit, then we did our own thing. She wasn't happy with this guest house, and was going to check out he same hotel she stayed at last time she was here for work (3 years ago), so made arrangements to meet later in the day.
I went off for some shopping and bought a nice local print (can't remember the term that describes this type of print) and a long sleeve shirt (for my rafting trip), and a book. The book I bought in India sucked, I sold it to Sabine.
Later in the afternoon, we met up in the courtyard at the hotel. She talked to the people at the hotel she stayed at last time, they remembered her (from three years ago!) and gave her the same price for the room she got last time. She's staying 3 months. We also met a British guy, Andrew, who had just arrived. He's on his way to New Zealand, but spending two weeks in Nepal first.
After the sun went down, the three of us headed out to have supper. I had sizzling steak, and was it ever delicious!!! Yum!
We walked around Thaml for a bit, I ordered a silk sleeping bag, which I have to pick up tomorrow at 6:00pm. It's too easy so spend money here!
Abot 9:00, we headed to G's Terrace, a rooftop restaurant/bar that has a live band. The band was great, they did both English and Nepali songs, we had a drink. They stopped playing at 10:00, then started talking to some locals at the bar...one was too funny, he had long hair, kind of "hippie" looking, and very excitable, and I'm sure his brain was half cooked from too many drugs! He didn't speak english very well, but he always seemed to get his point across. I told him I was rafting, he asked me which river, I told him the Tamur...you should have seen him! I got so excited, telling me that's the wildest river in Nepal, he was standing up, telling me about great it is, he was so exctied talking about, he wouldn't sit down. I wish I had a video camera! We were all laughing hysterically at this guy.
He then started talking about a party in Bhaktapur (abotu 1 hour east of Kathmandu), it's a multi-day New Years Eve party (the Nepal New Year, is April 14, the year 2062 (or 2063, I forget now)). He got all excitable talking about it, and me and Andrew decided to go with him to the party tomorrow (Sabine had to start work tomorrow).
We left the bar about 11:00 and went to bed.
Sabine left her pack in my room, because she wouldn't have time to move to the other hotel tomorrow morning, so she'll get her stuff from my room tomorrow after work and make the move.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
In and Around Kathmandu
We had a pretty good storm last night. About 12:30 last night, I woke up from booming thunder and a nice, strong rain. It was nice to see/hear after no moisture at all in India.
Up about 7:30, showered (beautifully hot!) and met Shawna and 8:00 for breakfast. The restaurant at the hotel had a breakfast smorg, so I did it. She ordered off the menu.
About 9:00, we walked to Durbar Square, a World Heritage Site, got a guide to take us around and explain all the Hindu & Buddhist things that were there. It was ery interesting. The most interesting thing was Kumari, Hindu Living Goddess. The Kumari is a Newari Buddhist (Newari is the term for the native population in Nepal). She is chosen at a young age, 3 or 4 years old, and must satisfy 32 physical requirements, as well as being strong in mind (not getting scared in a dark room, while people try to scare her my making scary noises and having to listen to animals being sacrificed). And her astrological chart must not conflict with the Kings. At our guides request, she appeared on the balcony, where we could see her, apparently a rare sight, especially for foreigners. (My Let's Go said a couple of years ago, she stopped appearing for tourists altogether.) She only stood there for about 7 seconds, and we were not allowed to take pictures. She will continue to be the living Goddess until she hits puberty, at which time she will be taken back to he village, trying to adapt to a normal life, and a new Newari will be chosen. I believe she is about 7 years old now. This is a pefect example of the fusion of two religions in Nepal.
After Durbar Square, we started walking to Swayambhunath, the Monkey Temple. We got about half way there, then a taxi offered us a ride for only 30 rupees, so we took it. Swayambhunath is the holiest place on earth for Newari Buddhist, it was built more than 2000 years ago. It's a temple, pagoda complex atop a hill in Kathmandu. We walked around, had lunch up there, and bummed around until 3:00, when the monks start chanting in the monastery. They allow tourists in to watch the chanting, which was pretty cool to see (I got video).
We started walking back to Thamel, got most of the way there, then decided to get a cycle rickshaw the rest of the way. I didn't know exactly where we were (streets here have no names, and go in circles), but figured we were close...we were, around a corner, and we were back in Thamel. We could have kept walking and got there ight away. Oh well.
AFter we got back, I headed to Ultimate Descents Nepal and booked the 12-day rafting trip! It leaves on April 13. Two days transportation, then 3 days of trekking to teh put-in point on the Tamur River, then 6 days of rafting, I believe it is. http://www.udnepal.com/nepal_rivers.htm for information. I'm doing the Tamur River.
It was wupposed to leave earlier, but the Maoists rebels called a nationwide strike, and pretty much all ground transportation is at a halt right now. For those not in the know, the Maoist insurgents are a group of rebels fighting with the government. A couple of months ago, the king of Nepal fired the government, took control, and Maoist insurgencies have increased during that time. It's a time of political instability (which is why we see police and army everywhere...even walking around Thamel sometimes).
The weather was nice all day, partly cloudy, not too hot. Late in the afternoon, dark clouds moved over, it got windy, cooled down a bit and started raining. The weather is beautiful here!
Back to the hotel and was sitting in teh lobby, and saw a posting for a trek to Everest Base Camp on the board. I went over and started reading it, and a couple of older women (50-55 perhaps) asked me if I was doing the Everest Base Camp trek. I said no, I just saw it and was reading about it, and they told me they just got back from that same trek. I was kind of shocked...if two old women could do it...I certainly could! It's a 12 day trek, including everything. And this is the time of year to do it to, April/May is the only time that Everest Base Camp is "open for business"...the rest of year, it's pretty desolate, because April/May is the only time of year Everest can be summited. It got me all excited to do it! I could trek to Everest Base Camp! How incredibly wild would that be??????????????
I'll have to see if there's another one going after I get back from my rafting.
There's so freaking much to do here. I don't know what to do. I want to do Everest Base Camp. I want to go to Pokhara (another city in the mountains) and parasail. I want to go canyoning! I want to go visit the jungles in southern Nepal. I want to go overland to Tibet. I want to bungy jump 160 metres! I want to do everything! I'm definately coming back to Nepal again in the future!!!!!!
And you know what? I think my mom could even enjoy it here. I'm sure it's no Hong Kong, but there are shops galore, the restaurants are fabulous, the hotel I'm at is swanky, if you want to pay for swank. There's so much to do. There are huge resorts in the mountains to lounge and relax.
There are tons of olde tourists here. I'd say 70% are older tourists (45-50 years old and over). And there all here for adventure, just like the old ladies that did Everest Base Camp.
I want to remark about women in Nepal too. In India, women have a role...stay at home, look after children, cook, clean...they traditional things. It's the mans job to support the family and work and make money. I really had zero interaction with Indian women in India. Nepal is much more progressive, women work in the shops. Women are allowed in the army. I've seen a number of uniformed women in army fatigue, carrying machine guns. And they're very cute too! Our guide at Durbar Square said only in the past 4 or 5 years have women been allowed in the army. Nepal is a fascinating country.
I expected things to be very similar to India...but they are not. Everything is so different.
Up about 7:30, showered (beautifully hot!) and met Shawna and 8:00 for breakfast. The restaurant at the hotel had a breakfast smorg, so I did it. She ordered off the menu.
About 9:00, we walked to Durbar Square, a World Heritage Site, got a guide to take us around and explain all the Hindu & Buddhist things that were there. It was ery interesting. The most interesting thing was Kumari, Hindu Living Goddess. The Kumari is a Newari Buddhist (Newari is the term for the native population in Nepal). She is chosen at a young age, 3 or 4 years old, and must satisfy 32 physical requirements, as well as being strong in mind (not getting scared in a dark room, while people try to scare her my making scary noises and having to listen to animals being sacrificed). And her astrological chart must not conflict with the Kings. At our guides request, she appeared on the balcony, where we could see her, apparently a rare sight, especially for foreigners. (My Let's Go said a couple of years ago, she stopped appearing for tourists altogether.) She only stood there for about 7 seconds, and we were not allowed to take pictures. She will continue to be the living Goddess until she hits puberty, at which time she will be taken back to he village, trying to adapt to a normal life, and a new Newari will be chosen. I believe she is about 7 years old now. This is a pefect example of the fusion of two religions in Nepal.
After Durbar Square, we started walking to Swayambhunath, the Monkey Temple. We got about half way there, then a taxi offered us a ride for only 30 rupees, so we took it. Swayambhunath is the holiest place on earth for Newari Buddhist, it was built more than 2000 years ago. It's a temple, pagoda complex atop a hill in Kathmandu. We walked around, had lunch up there, and bummed around until 3:00, when the monks start chanting in the monastery. They allow tourists in to watch the chanting, which was pretty cool to see (I got video).
We started walking back to Thamel, got most of the way there, then decided to get a cycle rickshaw the rest of the way. I didn't know exactly where we were (streets here have no names, and go in circles), but figured we were close...we were, around a corner, and we were back in Thamel. We could have kept walking and got there ight away. Oh well.
AFter we got back, I headed to Ultimate Descents Nepal and booked the 12-day rafting trip! It leaves on April 13. Two days transportation, then 3 days of trekking to teh put-in point on the Tamur River, then 6 days of rafting, I believe it is. http://www.udnepal.com/nepal_rivers.htm for information. I'm doing the Tamur River.
It was wupposed to leave earlier, but the Maoists rebels called a nationwide strike, and pretty much all ground transportation is at a halt right now. For those not in the know, the Maoist insurgents are a group of rebels fighting with the government. A couple of months ago, the king of Nepal fired the government, took control, and Maoist insurgencies have increased during that time. It's a time of political instability (which is why we see police and army everywhere...even walking around Thamel sometimes).
The weather was nice all day, partly cloudy, not too hot. Late in the afternoon, dark clouds moved over, it got windy, cooled down a bit and started raining. The weather is beautiful here!
Back to the hotel and was sitting in teh lobby, and saw a posting for a trek to Everest Base Camp on the board. I went over and started reading it, and a couple of older women (50-55 perhaps) asked me if I was doing the Everest Base Camp trek. I said no, I just saw it and was reading about it, and they told me they just got back from that same trek. I was kind of shocked...if two old women could do it...I certainly could! It's a 12 day trek, including everything. And this is the time of year to do it to, April/May is the only time that Everest Base Camp is "open for business"...the rest of year, it's pretty desolate, because April/May is the only time of year Everest can be summited. It got me all excited to do it! I could trek to Everest Base Camp! How incredibly wild would that be??????????????
I'll have to see if there's another one going after I get back from my rafting.
There's so freaking much to do here. I don't know what to do. I want to do Everest Base Camp. I want to go to Pokhara (another city in the mountains) and parasail. I want to go canyoning! I want to go visit the jungles in southern Nepal. I want to go overland to Tibet. I want to bungy jump 160 metres! I want to do everything! I'm definately coming back to Nepal again in the future!!!!!!
And you know what? I think my mom could even enjoy it here. I'm sure it's no Hong Kong, but there are shops galore, the restaurants are fabulous, the hotel I'm at is swanky, if you want to pay for swank. There's so much to do. There are huge resorts in the mountains to lounge and relax.
There are tons of olde tourists here. I'd say 70% are older tourists (45-50 years old and over). And there all here for adventure, just like the old ladies that did Everest Base Camp.
I want to remark about women in Nepal too. In India, women have a role...stay at home, look after children, cook, clean...they traditional things. It's the mans job to support the family and work and make money. I really had zero interaction with Indian women in India. Nepal is much more progressive, women work in the shops. Women are allowed in the army. I've seen a number of uniformed women in army fatigue, carrying machine guns. And they're very cute too! Our guide at Durbar Square said only in the past 4 or 5 years have women been allowed in the army. Nepal is a fascinating country.
I expected things to be very similar to India...but they are not. Everything is so different.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Kathmandu - Heaven!
Up at 6:30, about 6:35, the front desk called because my 7:00am taxi was here. Oh brother. I told them I would be down shortly.
Got downstairs, me and a U.S/Korean dude were sharing the taxi. The taxi left about 7:15, got to the airport and found the Cosmic Air counter, and checked my baggage and asked for a window seat on the left side of the plane. I was hoping to see the Himalaya's as we flew towards Kathmandu. The lady remarked that I'd have to identify my luggage after immigration.
I headed through immigration. Holy, talk about a three ring circus. The lines moved so slow, like the queue at the train station in Jaisalmer. And the immigration agents would just up and leave, or move to a different station, abandoning the people in the queue. What a joke. Needless to say, it took me about an hour to get through immigration. Once I got to an agent, she had me done in less than a minute.
After getting through, I was hungry, and spied a Subway restaurant sign! So, I went and got a submarine. Mmmm.
As I was getting ready to eat my sub, a woman came up and asked me if I was flying Cosmic Air. Yes, I wsa. She told me that I didn't identify my baggage. Ack! I thought I had to identify my baggage once I got through Nepal immigration, not here. She took my baggage claim ticket, disappeared for a few minutes, then brought it back and said everything was good, and asked me to go through security and wait at the gate.
BTW, security at the airport is everywhere. They are always checking your ticket and your carry-on luggage for approval tags.
At the gate, I ate my sub, then saw the lady (Shawna) that I met last night, and sat with her. Then we had to pile on to busses, which whisked us away to a plane waiting on the tarmac. Once on the plane, we had to wait for more passengers that were stuck at immgration. Flight was supposed to leave at 10:05, but we didn't leave until about 11:00.
The airline was a Nepal airline, and the two flight attendants were HOT!
The flight was only 1 hour, and I couldn't see the mountains at all. There's a lot dust or something in the air, but I suspect that you just can't see them flying in from the west.
Kathmandu airport is NICE! Unexpected! Delhi's airport is pretty much a dive, I expected the same in Kathmandu. You need to purchase your Kathmandu visa in American dollars. Of course, I didn't have any. The two customer relation ladies kind of implied I was SOL, there was no way to get US money, but I headed over to the currency exchange booth and the man was kind enough to cash one of my $50 US travellers cheques, give me $30 US cash and the rest in Nepalese rupees.
Immigration and customs went very quickly. Me and Shawna booked a prepaid taxi to the Kathmandu Guest House.
Outside the airport, the army was in full force, with armed guards walking around, toting massive machine guns. And, there wasn't a mob of touts at the airport front door...very calm and quiet! Very nice!
The taxi ride to the guest house showed us lots of greenery, very clean city. They definately don't just push all their trash onto the streets, like they do in India. And NO COWS!!!! As we got close to the guest house, in the heart of the backpacker/tourist area, the shops were amazing. Quite a number of tourists around, and they weren't getting mobbed by 100 locals at every step, trying to sell something. It looked so much calmer .
Along the way, we also saw many more army personnel, standing around, guarding "important" locations.
For those not in the know about Nepal, there is no government right now. The king fired the gov't a couple of months ago, and the Maoist insurgents have been calling for nationwide strikes periodically, and occassionally clashing with the armed forces and police.
As the taxi pulled up the guest house, we were in for another shock. The guest house is protected by security personnel (not army...private, I believe), who open the gate to let the taxi in. The taxi drove up a long, tree-lined driveway....it looked like we were entering a 5-star resort hotel! The prices here range from $2US for the cheapo backpacker to over $60/night for luxury. I booked an $8/night room, overlooking the great courtyard/grassy garden area.
Kathmandu is AWESOME! So very different from India. I expected it to be so similar to India, but it's not.
Thamel, the area of town we're in, is the main backpacker and tourist area in Kathmandu. It's full of nice shops selling everything from mountaineering/trekking equipment, pirate CD/DVD's, fabrics, clothes, shoes, trinkets and everything in between. Beautiful, open-air restaurants, serving any kind of food you could imagine, western, Mexican, middle eastern, Chinese, etc. Bakeries galore. Everything is so very clean. They don't push their rubbish out on the streets here.
I love it here!!!! This is the best backpacker haunt I've ever been to in any Asian city (better than Bangkok).
Me and Shawna had lunch at the hotel. Very good food. She lectured me on eating my veggies.
After lunch, I walked around the streets. Everything is so much tamer than Delhi. You still get the store workers trying to get you into your store, but they don't harass you and follow you for blocks...it's just so much tamer. And not a million touts around.
I checked out a couple of respected rafting companies. One is doing a 12-day trekking/rafting trip on April 13, it's $700US. The other company didn't have any planned, because of lack of tourists. The political instability has really hit tourism hard here. This rafting trip I'm looking into was supposed to go earlier, but because of a nationwide strike called my the Maoist insurgents recently, all overland travel is at a standstill, so they had to delay it.
There is so much to do here. Treks to the Everest Base Camp. Worlds 2nd highest bungy jumping. Paragliding. Rafting trips. Trekking trips. The bulletin board at the guest house has posters looking for people interested in doing an inexpensive overland trek into Tibet. Kathmandu KICKS ASS!
Back to the hotel and sat in the courtyard, had an Everest beer (160 rupees - there is about 55 rupees to 1 Canadian dollar) and wrote in my journal.
The temperature is pleasant. Not to hot, not to cold. I started to get a tad cool in my shorts and shirt about 5:30, as I was sitting in the courtyard.
My bank card works here. Go figure.
I can buy STEAK here! YES!!!
The big Everest beer I had (650 mL) made me drunk...it's been a while since I had antyhing. I went back to my room and laid down for a bit. About 7:00, I walked around and bought an apple muffin from a bakery. As I was walking, I had a number of offers to purchase drugs, and a couple of rickshaw drivers asking if I wanted a woman for the night.
Went to sleep about 9:00.
Got downstairs, me and a U.S/Korean dude were sharing the taxi. The taxi left about 7:15, got to the airport and found the Cosmic Air counter, and checked my baggage and asked for a window seat on the left side of the plane. I was hoping to see the Himalaya's as we flew towards Kathmandu. The lady remarked that I'd have to identify my luggage after immigration.
I headed through immigration. Holy, talk about a three ring circus. The lines moved so slow, like the queue at the train station in Jaisalmer. And the immigration agents would just up and leave, or move to a different station, abandoning the people in the queue. What a joke. Needless to say, it took me about an hour to get through immigration. Once I got to an agent, she had me done in less than a minute.
After getting through, I was hungry, and spied a Subway restaurant sign! So, I went and got a submarine. Mmmm.
As I was getting ready to eat my sub, a woman came up and asked me if I was flying Cosmic Air. Yes, I wsa. She told me that I didn't identify my baggage. Ack! I thought I had to identify my baggage once I got through Nepal immigration, not here. She took my baggage claim ticket, disappeared for a few minutes, then brought it back and said everything was good, and asked me to go through security and wait at the gate.
BTW, security at the airport is everywhere. They are always checking your ticket and your carry-on luggage for approval tags.
At the gate, I ate my sub, then saw the lady (Shawna) that I met last night, and sat with her. Then we had to pile on to busses, which whisked us away to a plane waiting on the tarmac. Once on the plane, we had to wait for more passengers that were stuck at immgration. Flight was supposed to leave at 10:05, but we didn't leave until about 11:00.
The airline was a Nepal airline, and the two flight attendants were HOT!
The flight was only 1 hour, and I couldn't see the mountains at all. There's a lot dust or something in the air, but I suspect that you just can't see them flying in from the west.
Kathmandu airport is NICE! Unexpected! Delhi's airport is pretty much a dive, I expected the same in Kathmandu. You need to purchase your Kathmandu visa in American dollars. Of course, I didn't have any. The two customer relation ladies kind of implied I was SOL, there was no way to get US money, but I headed over to the currency exchange booth and the man was kind enough to cash one of my $50 US travellers cheques, give me $30 US cash and the rest in Nepalese rupees.
Immigration and customs went very quickly. Me and Shawna booked a prepaid taxi to the Kathmandu Guest House.
Outside the airport, the army was in full force, with armed guards walking around, toting massive machine guns. And, there wasn't a mob of touts at the airport front door...very calm and quiet! Very nice!
The taxi ride to the guest house showed us lots of greenery, very clean city. They definately don't just push all their trash onto the streets, like they do in India. And NO COWS!!!! As we got close to the guest house, in the heart of the backpacker/tourist area, the shops were amazing. Quite a number of tourists around, and they weren't getting mobbed by 100 locals at every step, trying to sell something. It looked so much calmer .
Along the way, we also saw many more army personnel, standing around, guarding "important" locations.
For those not in the know about Nepal, there is no government right now. The king fired the gov't a couple of months ago, and the Maoist insurgents have been calling for nationwide strikes periodically, and occassionally clashing with the armed forces and police.
As the taxi pulled up the guest house, we were in for another shock. The guest house is protected by security personnel (not army...private, I believe), who open the gate to let the taxi in. The taxi drove up a long, tree-lined driveway....it looked like we were entering a 5-star resort hotel! The prices here range from $2US for the cheapo backpacker to over $60/night for luxury. I booked an $8/night room, overlooking the great courtyard/grassy garden area.
Kathmandu is AWESOME! So very different from India. I expected it to be so similar to India, but it's not.
Thamel, the area of town we're in, is the main backpacker and tourist area in Kathmandu. It's full of nice shops selling everything from mountaineering/trekking equipment, pirate CD/DVD's, fabrics, clothes, shoes, trinkets and everything in between. Beautiful, open-air restaurants, serving any kind of food you could imagine, western, Mexican, middle eastern, Chinese, etc. Bakeries galore. Everything is so very clean. They don't push their rubbish out on the streets here.
I love it here!!!! This is the best backpacker haunt I've ever been to in any Asian city (better than Bangkok).
Me and Shawna had lunch at the hotel. Very good food. She lectured me on eating my veggies.
After lunch, I walked around the streets. Everything is so much tamer than Delhi. You still get the store workers trying to get you into your store, but they don't harass you and follow you for blocks...it's just so much tamer. And not a million touts around.
I checked out a couple of respected rafting companies. One is doing a 12-day trekking/rafting trip on April 13, it's $700US. The other company didn't have any planned, because of lack of tourists. The political instability has really hit tourism hard here. This rafting trip I'm looking into was supposed to go earlier, but because of a nationwide strike called my the Maoist insurgents recently, all overland travel is at a standstill, so they had to delay it.
There is so much to do here. Treks to the Everest Base Camp. Worlds 2nd highest bungy jumping. Paragliding. Rafting trips. Trekking trips. The bulletin board at the guest house has posters looking for people interested in doing an inexpensive overland trek into Tibet. Kathmandu KICKS ASS!
Back to the hotel and sat in the courtyard, had an Everest beer (160 rupees - there is about 55 rupees to 1 Canadian dollar) and wrote in my journal.
The temperature is pleasant. Not to hot, not to cold. I started to get a tad cool in my shorts and shirt about 5:30, as I was sitting in the courtyard.
My bank card works here. Go figure.
I can buy STEAK here! YES!!!
The big Everest beer I had (650 mL) made me drunk...it's been a while since I had antyhing. I went back to my room and laid down for a bit. About 7:00, I walked around and bought an apple muffin from a bakery. As I was walking, I had a number of offers to purchase drugs, and a couple of rickshaw drivers asking if I wanted a woman for the night.
Went to sleep about 9:00.
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