Something besides Kathmandu
11, Aug. 2004
I’ve been away from civilization for a while, but I’m back (at least as close as I can get over here). Thanks for all the E-mails, but don’t worry about me. I AM a ninja!!! 😉 It’s been a while, so this one might be long, but here goes.
OK, I’m done volunteering – wooohoo! It was cool, but I’m glad it’s over. It was a rewarding experience for me, but I’m definitely not ready to work yet (especially 6 days a week and 8 hours a day…. for free)! Still, I’m glad I did it. The students did some of the funniest things (I noticed while grading their tests).
The students were great though, they gave me and the other teacher a gift at the certificate ceremony, which was much more than they should have. At that ceremony, I met the head of the Nepali tourism board (they think it’s Nepals third major religion…yeah, tourism!) who Kata’d me (not sure of the spelling, but a kata is a scarf like thingie that is a great honour to recieve). I also met the head of TIA (Nepal’s International Airport) and recieved, as well as, handed out certifates of completion to all of the students, while two T.V. camera’s were there (in my face) and a few photographers. Not the kind of experience I expected when I started this trip, but an experience none the less!
Anyway, I’m still in Nepal and back in KTM (Kathmandu) as of last night. I took a trip to Janakpur (southern Nepal, bordering India), it’s the most holy Hindu city in Nepal. On my way there (I took a local “chicken bus”) some guys (on the bus) invited my to stay in their village. In KTM a tourist really can’t trust anyone (unfortunately), so I was reluctant, but I still wanted to go. After long strenuous internal debates (that’s a dangerous thing coming from me ), 10 seconds, I ended up going. It was the right decision, and some of the harder traveling I’ve done.
There are no cars there and we had to hitch a ride on a potato tractor for 7 kilometers just to get there. Individually they are kind people (villagers), but in a crowd like they always were, (gathering around the whitey) they can be intimidating. My friends making the rounds, or showing of “THEIR whitey” didn’t help much either. I think about half the village had never seen a whitey in person! Anyway, I stayed a few days, bathed in a lake with the whole damn village, slept on the floor of there porch (it was too hot inside), ate on the floor with my hands, drank well water (not smart, but I had no choice) and had a Tika put on my head by a Sadhu (spl?), or Hindi holy man.
The nights were great, no lights and when I looked out over the village ( I was on the first floor) it looked like I went back in time, with all the mud and stick houses under the moonlight! It was a great experience, but it was HOT, and I started missing fans, showers and at least SOME privacy. Even though it’s their custom to treat a guest like a God (literally), and they did their best, it was exhausting meeting everyone and giving “a full introduction”, smoking a cigarette or drinking tea, or taking pictures of the whole village, person by person and trying to explain way I (an American) can’t pay for everyone to come live with me in America. As kind as they were, I never had one second to myself, they even tried to tell me “it’s time to use the toilet” (though that’s just someone’s back yard), so I said thanks and peace! I caught a wooden wagon, pulled by cattle to the main road, then caught another chiken bus to Chitwan National Park, were I could be a tourist again!
The bus didn’t drop me off in the right spot (of course) and after two check points (everyone has to get off the bus with their bags, because the soldiers are looking for Maoist’s) and a drunk soldier boarding the bus saying “bla bla bla….Militia?” to everyone, I arrived at 9:30pm somewhere! I checked out a hotel, but they wanted $20 a night. I said no and tried to figuer out where the hell I was (looking in my guide book). Luckily, the manager came out and told me “curfue is at ten o’clock, in 15 minutes, don’t let the soldiers catch you out here then”! He asked what my budget was and I said one dolla!!! He was cool though, he took me to a local guest house (that I NEVER would have found), on the back of his motorcycle and I paid 100RS. or a $1.25. It was shity, but I beat the curfue and found out where the hell I was. The next day I took a bus (20 minutes), then a rickshaw to Sauraha, the village touching Chitwan N.P. (National Park).
When you’re on a roll you’re on a roll, I stayed in two other local homes there, before I happily became a tourist again. My first day as a tourist (again), two Rhino’s got in a fight, and the looser, with a huge gash in his side, ran through the town (Sauraha), right down the street into the river! I ended up taking an elephant ride through the jungle and rivers and saw a mother and baby Rhino! That was sweet! No Tigers though, but I already knew that it’s a slim (to none) chance to see one in the wild. I also took a canoe ride and a jungle walk in the N.P. The town / village of Sauraha was so laid back, that I stayed a few more days and just rented a bike and explored the jungle (buffer zone to the N.P.) on my own. It was a cool!
I met some friendly locals who invited me to “Opening Day” at a church (they were all excited). While that’s not my idea of a fun vacation, I figured I’d check it out, since I’ve been to enough Buddhist and Hindu temples, I might as well check out a local church. Well, it wasn’t much to look at! The building was about the size of my living room and was made of mud and sticks! Everyone sat on the floor, but they were soooo happy to be there! When they started singing, I couldn’t understand a word, but the girls voices were like angels! All the villagers came running to see what the music was all about and soon there were people crowded around the building and looking through the holes in the walls just to see what was up! It was the first real church I’ve been too, and I’ve been too a bunch!
I came back to KTM the next day, yesterday, and Jenah (or Jena-hhhhh, as I call her) and Peter (or Pedderass, as I call him) were gone. Pedderass is going to India and then Spain and back to Sweden. Jena-hhhh is in Pokhara (Nepal), then she’s also heading to India. It’s been cool travelling with them (I haven’t had that kind of fun since high school), and I wish them the best (I only said that, cause they’re on my mail list now!)! So, after about seven months of traveling with Pedderass and about two months traveling with Jena hhhh, and about a month with the Dutch girls, I’m gonna be alone for the first time in almost 8 months!
I’m getting ready to start trekking. I’m gonna start off easy and then work my way to Everest (I’ll do about three different treks). I’ll be in Nepal for a few more months, and then I’ll head to India, around Nov – Dec. My camera just broke yesterday, so no pic’s till I figuer out the problem (it’s in the shop now). OK, my fingers are sore from typing! I’ll write again later… no, you can’t escape!
Tags: Nepal
Bear