Now, onto todays post. Our last day in Nepal consisted of a bike ride around to Buddist temples. I am not really sure why I went because a) I dont particularly care for biking and neither does my bottom and b) I dont particularly care about buddist monestries but alas I went for a bit of exercise. I should have known and learnt from my experiences in China that bikes in these countries are not built for anyone over 160cm tall so I felt like I was riding a kids bike. It was also really hot and very sunny. We had been biking for about 90 min when I decided that seeing budda birthplace (a tree) was not really worth the pain so turned around and waited under the shade of a tree for the rest of the group. I dont know what was the better decision a) to stay with the group and die or b) sit under the tree and get chatted up by three Nepalese guys. In the end (30min), it got a bit much so I got back on my bike again and headed off into the dust leaving three very keen men in my wake (why is it not that easy in Australia!).
I arrived back at the budda garden hotel (which neither had a budda or a garden) and sorted myself out with a couple of liters of water. I think I was in bed at about 9.30pm absolutely exhausted and perhaps suffering a bit of heat stroke.
Nepal, turned out to be a country of contrasts with the busyness of Kathmandu and the very simple, third world life of the rural people. The people in Nepal were really friendly and very willing to help. I wasn't bugged by beggars and felt really safe whereever I went even after dark. It is very much a third world country. THere is virtually no signs of development though I did see a road being sealed. Most people live with marginal to no power in their houses and life is very basic. If they ever have an earthquake I fear for them as many houses are made of brick and mortar made from marginal materials. They love New Zealanders and that has definately helped. The usual conversation on the street was
Them: Mam, where you from?
Me: Have a guess
THem: America?
Me: No
Them: British?
Me: No
Them: Canada?
Me: No
Them: Oh, you are tricky, Australia?
Me: I am from New Zealand
Them: Oh, New Zealand very beautiful country. You live Wellington, No?
Me: No
It is easier when I am overseas to say that I am from NZ rather than a NZ'er living in Australia because it just gets weird and confusing when I say I am from Australia and then pull out a NZ passport.
The next day (yesterday) was to be the biggest travel day. Initially advertised as being 8 hours on a bus, it ended up being 14 hours and 14 hours of sitting on a bus after having a big uncomfortable bike ride the day before does not make for a pleasant ride. We made it to the boarder about 8.30am and took about an hour to negotiate all the immigation hurdles. In my head I was having the following conversation:
"Great...boarder crossing....shouldn't take a photo...oh, what the heck, I'm going to take a photo...oh, look man with machine gun....perhaps shouldn't take photo....well, I will get the camera out of the bag and wait for man with machine gun to look away...man looking away...take photo...eww, whats that stuck to my shoe...ew, its brown and now things are sticking to it....is it poo?...probably...need to get plastic bag and poo off shoe...why is man with machine gun laughing?....man its hot....and stinky...ah, made it to India...what a dump...something else is on my shoe...what is it?...it is brown...wheres the immigration office...oh there it is..."
You know that you are going to have no problems when you are standing at a wooden desk and a partially collapsed building waiting for your passport to be stamped when the immigration guy looks at your passport photo and says "oh, very pretty" and merrily stamps it. I have never had that happen before.
The first perhaps 30kms into India was like driving through a rubbish tip with garbage everywhere and with smells wafting through the bus that are best left on the outside of the bus. The temperature was probably 30 degrees and the bus didn't have air conditioning but some nice puny little fans which didn't work after about the first 30 minutes. The trip was about 320km long and took us 12 hours to complete. We had one food stop and two toilet stops. The road was rutted and pot holed from the monsoon season and meant that we couldn't really travel fast. It was a bone rattling day and very hot. We got to Varanasi about 9.30pm starving, hot and I had a ripper headache. Dinner was about 10.30pm and I couldn't really eat because I was really nauseated from the trip.
First impressions of India. Initially the amount of rubbish everywhere was amazing. There was rubbish everywhere. For all that the western world is doing to save the environment there is a need to help india clean up its act, at least in this part of the country. As we got closer to Varanasi the amount seemed to decline but there was still alot of mess and filth. Another noticable thing is the amount of children and adults begging for food and money and it is constant. As soon as you step into India world there are kids there saying..."mam, money, rupee". Also it seems that there is always somewhere for indians to go. There are people everywhere. I know there is a billion people here but there seems to be people two or three deep even in country areas, in the cities it is just people everywhere. Also, the women are either walking or are in rickshaws only the men seem to be riding bikes or motorbikes.
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| This is a pic of the group that I am travelling with. Aussies, Swiss, South African and Me |
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| Road side living in Nepal. Very basic and very similar to Africa (except the buffalo perhaps) |
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| Farewell Nepal. Note the clean, uncluttered road but look what awaits!! |
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| This is looking back towards Nepal (standing on the India side). Let the filth and dust begin |
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| This actually belongs to the previous post but this is the reason why I am having trouble with internet. It is a bit prehistoric and todays would make you laugh as well |
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| Walking to the bus on the india side. Not the clean sides of the road |
I will come back later and do todays details.
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