Nepal!

So I was wrong. I know, no one is shocked. It's okay. I have some things to write about.

After my last post in Varanasi I went down to see more of the ghats. I found the cremation ghat, where they cremate people 24 hours a day. It's surrounded by huge piles of wood, which is incredibly creepy when you're walking up to it (no pictures because this computer is a solid decade old). I went to the top of the place to look down on the ceremonies and was overwhelmed not only by the smoke, but by seeing several bodies burning in front of me. I left quite quickly from there and went back to the hotel (although to be fair I stopped for a quick glass of freshly crushed pomegranate juice for 40 cents).

That night I went to McDonald's. It was pouring rain and it was the closest restaurant (plus I really wanted to see what it would be like without beef). It was located in a new mall, and I went in as the only tourist there. The place was absolutely packed; people were eating standing up and were just hanging out outside the restaurant. As soon as I came in every last person turned and stared. Usually wherever I go I get a few, but this was 100+ people staring at me. I ordered (a chicken majaraja mac, the closest thing to a big mac) and was told it would be 5 minutes. So I stood and waited while a circle formed all the way around me. They stared...and stared...and stared. A couple of the braver teenagers came up to talk to me while the rest, well they stared. I changed my order to have it to go and got the heck out of there. The sandwich (my first meat here) was fine, but not what I would expect from McDonald's. It had some curry going and was pretty good, just not at all like home.

The bus ride was interesting, just insanely long. Going through the northernmost parts of India was crowded and hot, as usual. We arrived at the border after dark, and I paid my $40 for a visa. Border security was nonexistent so it didn't take long. We then slept in a dorm room in a pretty awful hotel. Three beds, five people, no a/c and a bed that was too short (with a baseboard). I've slept better.

Today was a ride through the mountains. This place is stunningly beautiful. There are mountains covered in green, lush jungle, crashing down into gorges with winding rivers and rice paddies. The weather is cooler, just warm and not hot. The people here are very friendly and not nearly as pushy. To put it simply, it's fantastic so far. I'm in Pokhara, a tourist town right on a lake near the Annapurna range of the Himalayas. I haven't seen it in full daylight, but it looks amazing so far. Oh, and there was a goat on the bus, so that was entertaining. I also had my first taste of dal bhaat, the national dish of rice with lentil soup. I sat with the locals and ate it with only my hand during a 10 minute bus break. It was pretty good, very messy and a lot of fun to eat.

I'm staying in a hotel tonight with an Englishman by the name of Dan that I met on the bus. It's not bad for $3. Air conditioning isn't even needed so it's been great.

Okay so I promised answers, so here they are (with not many questions, I must be an amazing writer - or maybe there were other reasons).

Have you had many desserts/have you had the herb seed/sugar mixture after meals?
-Dave

I haven't had too many sweets, but I have had a couple versions of rice pudding as well as the sugar fried ball thing and a couple others in Rajasthan. They're okay, I'm acquiring a taste for them, but not my favorites. And yes, I've had the herb seed/sugar mixture after many meals, it's popular in India.

are the monkeys nice or are they mean? it would be sweet if they were sweet and friendly so you could play with them!

Also, when are you going to help scrub down the elephants?

-Annie

The monkeys tend to keep to themselves. I intend to go to a monkey temple in Nepal where there are tons of them so I'll report back after that.

If I make it to Royal Chitwan National Park here in Nepal that would be within the month, but I'm not sure if I will. I hope to because jumping on an elephant and cleaning it off sounds entertaining.

where will you go next trip? Will you go with Lisa? Do you
wish you had gone for a shorter time?

-Davis relatives

I don't know where I'll go. My current leaders are: Turkey, Southeast Asia, Australia, Western Europe and Bolivia/Brazil/Argentina. I know, way to narrow it down, right? If Lisa wants to go she knows she has a standing invite! I have mixed feelings about the length of my trip. Nepal is very exciting right now and I feel like I'll be short on time here, but it is a little crazy because I feel like I've been gone a long time yet I have two thirds of my trip left. I would say I'm happy with the length of my trip at the moment.

Well I'll be around to update plenty until I head off for whitewater rafting or trekking. And hopefully next time I'll find a computer with a USB port.