Are we there yet?

"Are we there yet?" This is the bookend phrase to my 15 splendid days in Nepal.

At first, I couldn't wait to get in. A long bus journey brought us to the border and with only minor obstacles (surprising how not having a measly $5usd can stop you in your tracks). Once across the border (checking off my 27th country!), we learned that Diwali or Dipawali, the fantastic festival of light and renewal that we had just celebrated on the Ganges in Varanassi, lasted a week in Nepal and therefore, most of the money changers, rickshaw drivers and busses were taking the holiday(s) off. Id been told repeatedly by everyone that I would find Nepal so much easier but I didnt see much of a difference yet!

Ignoring the locals trying to steer us onto the 'only' bus from the border that day, going to a different city than we wanted, we hired a rickshaw to take us to the local bus station - that was completely abandoned. One man sat behind the bars and told us that there might be a bus running to Pokhara in a couple hours, but he wasn't sure. Our luck held though and after a short wait, the little bus did arrive and accepted a full load of tourists with no options.

Another long bus ride took us into the heart of Nepal, lush green countryside, villages perched precariously on stilts off the edge of the winding road and people gathered together. Men on their haunches playing games, chewing and spitting paan, kids with toothy grins waving and playing with scraps and if we caught sight of women they were usually carrying something - always something to be carried somewhere. Staring out the window I tried to discern what distinguished Nepal and my first thoughts were one, the people seemed to fit. I don't think order is exactly the right word, but there was space in Nepal. Everything had not only space enough to exist, but to breath, move around... I could take a deep breath and not wonder how much of that "air" was sticking to my lungs. Also, literally right across the border, men started wearing a Nepali style hat. I saw fewer saris, but just as many salwar kamis on the women and a new style basket worn on the back but strung across the forehead - perfect for carrying.

We shared a taxi down to the tourist sector along the lake with a brilliant dutch girl, Brigitte, who would, although we didnt know it then, turn our duo into a trio and provide wonderful company the next two weeks. Sebastiaan and Brigitte decided they wanted to test the local rapids so while they were away rocking on whitewater (and flipping into icewater I later found out), I took the time alone to wander around the lake and hike up the surrounding hills to places like the World Peace Pagoda and a breathtaking view of some of the worlds highest mountains from the village of Sarangkot. It was absolutely ideal for me, blue skies, chatting with locals, playing with kids and of course stopping to take photographs whenever the moment touched me.

The colors were unusually saturated and while sitting in my favorite lakeside cafe, savoring a fresh baked croissant, I honestly pondered the possibilty that there were two juxtaposed heavens right there in front of me. One for the paragliders and hawks to chase eachother in and one brought down for us to bathe and float in. Hills flanked the lake and faded slightly like open pages from a good book... Pokhara was a happy place for relaxing trekkers just about to leave or just returning from their respective journeys in the wild. It also offered me a reprieve from the cow revering country of India by serving up a thick juicy steak on my first night there :).

Sebastiaan returned with a stomach bug that wouldn't give up so he regretfully had to stay behind in Pokhara to get well while Brigitte and I set our sights on a 4 day trek to Poon Hill, supposedly the most impressive viewpoint of the entire famed Jomson Trek.
We each paid Rs2000 (about $35) for a permit to hike within the Annapurna range and also hired a porter for our things because, no we weren't being lazy, thats just what you do when you're in Nepal! Our porter turned out to be quite the character and almost a burden. He actually complained we were going too fast (and no, we did not give him bricks to carry. We gave him just one pack with essentials - honest)!

I must admit the hike did not exactly live up to my dream of an arduous, sweat inducing, adventure in the Himalaya. The first day, though pretty steep and ending in a long string of steps up, up, up, we never really got too far away from civilization. We walked from guesthouse to tiny village to tea house and passed too many people along the way. Once I got past my expectations though, it was a marvelous hike. The crowd thinned each day and we found more nature. Agriculture lands, rice being harvested, rivers, woods, rickety bridges and falls with rudimentary water collecting systems that were awesome to watch. Reminded me of the ol' gold panning days in the wild west... or at least movies Ive seen of those times ;).

Poon Hill made every other mountain vista hang their peaks in shame. We opted to hike there for sunset rather than sunrise to the protest of both our porter and hotel owner, "No, no, no, you go for sunrise, you go in the dark, frozen, morning, thats what everyone does..." We can always go again I thought and up we went. The sun set in front of the mountains, some of the highest in the world, so we were rewarded with ever-shifting hues sliding from gentle pastels to searing reds and oranges and the best part was - we had it all to ourselves! As opposed to the traffic jam we were told about in the morning with every other hiker in the area fighting to take pictures and climb the observation tower. We were quite pleased to stay in bed 'til the late hour of 7am :).

Brigitte was the perfect hiking partner as we spent an evenly proportioned time together chatting and apart, going our own paces, sometimes sharing our favorite songs from our ipods.
Each night, we stayed in quaint little tea lodges that felt like tree houses and served surprisingly delicious dishes by a fire and hot ginger lemon tea in the crisp mornings. It wasn't roughing it, that's for sure, but it was magical in its own right. Part exercise, part relaxing, part socializing... Lovely! On the last day down, I found a large flat rock in the middle of the river and I could not resist climbing out to it. The water cascaded all around me and little droplets bounced on a trampoline like crystal popcorn on either side. I have not been so completely content in a long time.

Once back in Pokhara, Sebastiaan was back in action and the three of us enjoyed some last comfort foods before we took a bus to Kathmandu. On first glimpse, it reminded me of Delhi with its slum-like dwellings and cement, lifeless building, but once we came closer to the heart of the city I realized it was nothing like it. In fact, once again, the space was what I noticed. Our hotel room had a balcony that looked out onto a square. Every morning, as I awoke around 6:30am, earlier than the others, I would watch the locals play badmitton, shops open, fresh chai being served (although I never found a real good chai in Nepal), uniformed kids on their way to school and various animals looking for breakfast. I also splurged a little on the many bakeries in town - my weakness ;).

Seeing the sights ended up being more expensive than anywhere in India, everything charged, even just walking through Durbar square was Rs250, but the sights are incredible. I have never seen so many temples and historic buildings packed into such a small area! Sitting up a long set of stairs and watching the parade of men carrying massive loads of mysteriously wrapped goods strapped to their heads, arguments instantly gathering crowds, kids weaving through traffic of people and rickshaws, tourists snapping photos left and right... Ahh, the life in this place! We also visited two very impressive Buddhist Stupas, one being the most recognizable symbol of Nepal, Swayambunath (nicknamed the monkey temple, rightfully so - one even snatched my chocolate away and seemed surprised when I tried to snatch it back!) It was a really peaceful place that I wish we would have spent more time at. I also quite enjoyed circumambulating the stupa at sunset with hundreds of people including monks, locals and a handful of tourists... for someone that doesn't have too many spiritual experiences, I could not deny the power created by the faithful.

Unfortunately, we were only given 15 day visas and our time was up so we looked into getting to Darjeeling. Travel agents were surprisingly friendly but unhelpful. They all told us that it would be cheaper to go ourselves to the bus station as hey would have to charge us an extra fee (yes, isnt that what travel agents do?) so we wandered out to the place that sold bus tickets, nothing was in english and most people insisted we couldnt even go that way because the monsoon this year had washed out the bridge. Better to take a 24hour journey out the side of Nepal and go all the way around they said. I, perhaps partly out of stubborness and partly out of intrigue in the challenge, decided I would rather chance it and go straight. We bought tickets to the river and off we went!

Once at the river, in the darkness of 5am, we were ushered onto another bus for the last couple kilometers to a bamboo foot bridge they had built over part of the river. Every step creaked and strained under the weight of me and my backpack and I imagined crashing through and being drug underwater - that was the most nerve-wracking crossing of my life! Next, we walked a couple K to the real crossing that had to be done with boats. We faced sheer chaos. People pushed and shouted to get a spot on overcrowded craft, as more and more arrived. Boatsmen argued over who was next and how many people were too many people. All of this with a backdrop of the sun rising over this calm river that had completely flooded the region not too long ago and left thousands without home, forced into flood victim tents. The rest of the region was a waste land. The worst part of this all, was that my intense interest in this whole scene was hampered by the fact that I desperately needed to 'use a restroom'! It was making me sick, but there was no place for a girl to go - Sebastiaan tried to shield me with my blanket but there were too many people on all sides that stopped to watch the second that the only foreigners did anything and I couldn't.

The boat finally left the shore, belching and sputtering the thickest black smoke towards the 20 or so people unlucky enough to have gotten a spot at the back of the boat. We disembarked into the water and walked another half K to a final small crossing and the busses onward.

You would think the adventure was over... The bus stopped an hour or two later in a small town behind several others. "There is a strike ahead". We are told... Great. Nobody knows when it will end, if it will end, "Go back the way you came" was their advice. Not a chance. We waited a couple hours until we noticed busses moving. Apparently they were all lining up and we were going to get a police escort... in maybe two more hours! Good thing Sebas and I are patient people. The only worry was that the border might close and we would have to pay a fine for our expired visas. By the way, the one good thing about this unscheduled stop was that I was finally able to find, literally, a hole in the ground with 4 walls around it - this marked 28 hours!!

Enter tourist bus full of 50+yr old Aussies- our saving grace. Sebas struck up a conversation with them and soon enough they had permission to go on and invited us to come with them! The only vehical larger than a motorcycle allowed on the road and police at various points riding on our roof or driving ahead of us, we made it through the turbulent area to the border! Are we there yet?? Almost! Paperwork completed, we strolled across the border and I could feel the Indian soil under my feet! Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed Nepal, but I tell ya, it was good to be back!

Sebastiaan and I spent a few days enjoying the famed hillstation of Darjeeling and besides of course sharing several pots of pure darjeeling tea, hiked around, read and relaxed before we took a memorable 8 hour ride on the World Heritage Toy Train (a trip that takes 3 hours by jeep) and parted ways in NJP. I had grown accustomed to having my dear friend around, we shared many good days together and it was strange to suddenly be on my own again. But there I was, waiting for my 11 hour overnight train to Calcutta, which was sold out of sleeper seats so I got to sit on a wooden bench surrounded by men releasing too many of their gasses... I never said travel was always enjoyable ;)

I've now got a couple days to explore Kolkata, a city less threatening than I expected, with deliciously cheap street food and the last bastion for hand-drawn rickshaws, before I board my 25th flight of the year to Bangkok (with a 25 hour layover in Dhaka)! I can't wait!