Chen(*yawn*)nai

Today I'm in ugly, boring Chennai (formerly called Madras). I arrived here last night from Vishakapatnam (not sure about the spelling). I arrived there at about 11pm from Puri.

When I got to Vishakapatnam I knew I would be leaving at 6am the next morning for Chennai, so I just booked a room at the train station (yeah, I didn't know I could do that either). That was interesting, it was a huge room with a tiny bed (but no footboard, so I didn't mind), just right above and next to the trains. It wasn't so bad considering at first I thought I would just have to sleep on the ground by the trains (like many, many people here do all the time). Anyway, I was there all of 7 hours or so, then back on the train to Chennai.

Like I said before I arrived in Chennai last night, around 8pm. I booked a hotel room (not easy here, they fill up early according to the guide book), and luckily this hotel room is for 24 hours, so I don't need to check out until tonight, right before my next train! Well this morning I went out to see the "sights". The most apt word would probably be "underwhelming". I went to see St. Andrew's church (one of only 3 churches in India with circular seating! That's exciting, right?!?), then went to see the "fort", which consisted of some old office buildings. Don't worry, I got to walk next to heavy traffic for an hour each way in order to see all the glorious buildings.

Well luckily I'm out of here tonight as the only worthwhile thing here is the food. I got dinner last night, served on a giant banana leaf, all you can eat for 70 cents (excellent eggplant curry by the way). I plan to go back tonight before I leave. Tonight I leave for Madurai, which should be excellent. It's over 2,000 years old, referenced by the Romans and Greeks, with some very cool temples and a reputation as the quintessential South Indian city. I'm looking forward to it. It's also about as far south as I plan to go, so it marks the end of my east coast, south-bound train journey. Hooray!

Oh, and Happy Halloween. I plan to dress up as a really tall Westerner and see how many people stare and ask for pictures. It should be fun. Maybe I'll do a little trick or treating as well; I'm sure that would go over really well.

Puri

Today I spent the day entirely in Puri, and basically without sickness. It was a good day for that reason if nothing else.

The plan was relax and go to the Lord Jagganath temple. Of course had I read the guide book more carefully I would have recognized that non-Hindus are not allowed in the temple. So I rented a bike (with the hardest seat every created - I'm convinced it's made of forged steel and industrial diamonds) and rode down the road along the beach, eventually turning and heading toward the temple. I took the long, long way, but it was an okay ride and I figured I would get to see a cool temple at the end. Well, not really. I saw a wall mostly. I pretty much felt like an idiot as I walked up the stairs and was turned away. I hopped back on my wheeled torture device and was on my way.

A delicious lunch of Palak Paneer cheered me up a little bit, then a little rest and off to the beach. I took a swim in the Bay of Bengal (yesterday I just waded in a little bit), which was fantastic, then found a thatched wall-less hut and laid underneath it. Of course just as I was falling asleep a couple guys woke me up to take pictures with me. Oh well.

Tomorrow I head off to a coastal city whose name I can't hope to spell, let along pronounce.

NOTE: Pictures added later

Puri

I'm now in Puri, feeling marginally better, I'm almost actually healthy. I would normally write a post longer than this will be, but across the street some guy is singing in Hindi and it's absolutely killing my head, so I'll just give you the highlights.

I hung out in the park in Kolkata yesterday. It was nice.
I caught the train at night at the enormous (23 platform) train station.

Puri is pretty nice, I spent the afternoon at the beach and the water is amazingly warm, like the Caribbean.
Tomorrow I'm going to Lord Jagganath temple, the reason this is a popular place for pilgrims.
I booked train tickets, eventually to Madurai by the 31st.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go strangle this "singer".

Kolkata....eventually

When I last posted I was in Kathmandu, ready for my long journey onwards. It was to be a miserable one. That night in Kathmandu I came down with a fever and felt generally terrible. Not good.

The next morning I woke up before 6 to catch the 7am train to Birganj, the horrendously disgusting border town. I took my usual seat at the back with extra leg room and nodded in and out, eating a couple of cookies and nothing else. By the time I got to the border I was a little out of it, just in a haze. At immigration I met a Canadian guy and we went across and through customs together, then found a room. I crashed, still without really eating, at about 7pm.

The next morning we went to the train station at about 7:30am, even though my train was at 10. I didn't have a seat assigned yet though, so it was good to get there early. My Canadian friend chose to take the bus instead (HUGE mistake), but I waited and talked to some random Nepali. By the way if any single girls want to get married to a Nepali teacher, he said he wants to marry an American girl, so if I bring an American girl back to Nepal, he'll marry them. Just that easy.

The train ride was okay, I do love the trains here. There was a nice family next to me, but then their kid started crying and didn't stop for a couple hours. I was in and out of sleep, not exactly happy about much.

I got to Kolkata (Calcutta) at 4:30 in the morning and attempted to walk to the tourist portion of town. It seemed like a good idea since I felt relatively better, but it was a bad choice. After almost 2 hours of walking I took a cab and got a hotel. I spent the whole day, save for a lunch trip to Dominos in the hotel watching TV and napping. Being sick I just wanted to be home, which is why I opted for Dominos, then sparkling apple cider and American TV.

Today I'm feeling pretty good, not quite all the way better. I met a nice Bangladeshi this morning and we had lunch at a traditional Bengali restaurant. They basically love fish here so that's what I had (we're right next to the ocean so I'm good with that). One was spiced, then fried whole, the other in a curry sauce. They were both very good, but it was a little bit of a surprise for my stomach I think.

After lunch I had another rest, then I went to the Victoria Memorial, a beautiful marble building in a very nice park. I expected this place to be desperately poor and depressing but it's not at all. The weather is nice, the park, monument and streets near the park look like Europe, and there are fewer poor people here than some other Indian cities I've been to. Basically it's very nice and it's all Mother Theresa's fault it has such a terrible reputation. Tomorrow night off to Puri, but first more Kolkata.

NOTE: Pictures added later

Swayambhunath

Today I saw the sights in Kathmandu. First this morning I walked to the bus station and bought my bus ticket to Birganj (where I'll cross the border tomorrow into India). There aren't any tourist buses that go there, so I'm taking a local bus (not fun) for 8 (or more likely 10) hours (for all of $4.50).

From the bus station I walked to Swayambhunath, aka the "Monkey Temple", because there are a bunch of monkeys that call it home (they don't worship monkeys there is what I'm trying to clarify). There were dozens of monkeys all over the place, completely unfazed by people. I learned pretty quickly not to look them in the eyes too long because they would start to look at me as a threat and begin to look mean. I don't want to be the first case of the next weird monkey flu/pox/rabies/etc, so I steered clear. Anyway, it's like being in the monkey cage at the zoo; they run and play and pick at each other like no one is around. I held myself to "just" 35 pictures or so (of only monkeys), as well as this video.

There was actually a Buddhist temple there as well (another stupa), and great views of hazy, large-landmark-free Kathmandu. I doubt it would be anywhere near as popular without the monkeys, in fact I know it wouldn't (I doubt I would have gone). Well from the awesome monkey temple I walked back for lunch (momos, chow mein, and thenthuk - like chow fun soup - all for $1.35).

I took a little break at the hotel, then headed over to Durbar Square. Durbar Square here is the central square, with temples as well as where they used to house the royal family. It was pretty cool, I really like the look of these temples, especially how they're set right in the middle of the city. You can just sit on the steps and hang out or look out over the city. There isn't really an inside to them, at least not one I'm allowed to enter, so they're pretty much just eye candy.

Kathmandu grew on me a little bit today. Before today I considered it to be much like every other big city I've been to on this trip; pollution, overcrowding, hassle, traffic, etc, except without the major sites of cities like Agra or Varanasi. Once I really walked around today I saw it was much less crazy than those other place once you get away from the dead center of the tourist neighborhoods. It was relatively quiet and traffic free in some parts of the city, making for a pleasant walk on another beautiful day in Nepal.

This is my last real day in Nepal, which is sad. It's been a fantastic place to visit, with some of the most incredible natural scenery I've ever seen, very friendly locals, good food, and (mostly) good weather. It is time to move on, however, so now it's back to India. I'll have almost a month there to cover the east coast (quickly), then the south and back up to Delhi, home just in time for Thanksgiving (if my flight is relatively on time I'll be home the day before Turkey Day). I'll be traveling quite a bit the next couple of days, so there may or may not be any posts, however there definitely will be when I reach Kolkata (Calcutta).

Thamel

Happy Diwali! Ugh, I can't wait for this horrible festival to be over. Sure, it adds a little extra atmosphere, and it's a cultural experience, but at this point I just want to survive without any serious physical disabilities resulting from fireworks going off a little too close to me. Last night in Bhaktapur, the supposedly sleepy, traffic free town, there were horns and fireworks going off late into the night (just outside my window!). On my walk back to the hotel a teenager tossed a lit firework up into the air and towards me. It exploded mid air, but if he would have timed it worse I would be in the hospital right now (darn kids with their tomfoolery and their ballyhoo). Many shops and restaurants are closed as well, so it's an inconvenience (don't they know that I don't celebrate Diwali, therefore I should not be inconvenienced by it? Maybe I should tell them).

Anyway, I came back to Kathmandu by bus this morning, and I spent the better part of today researching what to do for India and getting out of Nepal. It looks like I'll be taking the bus to the border, crossing to India and Roxaul Bazaar, then taking a train the next day to Kolkata (Calcutta). I'll spend two nights there, then move on to Puri, one of the holiest cities in India (I think I've heard that before). From Puri I plan to go to Madurai, then on to Kochi. I booked the train tickets to Puri already, so those plans are relatively concrete (for me). The train to Kolkata is 18 hours long, 693 km (430 miles), and I'm riding 2nd A/C class (I usually go with 3rd A/C class, but that was full. 2nd has fewer people per train and lockable cabins) for...$20. Not too shabby. From Krakow, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic I took an overnight train (that was less comfortable than Indian trains) and paid about $100, so I'm pretty happy about the prices and quality of service.

I also watched a good old fashioned baseball game today. They were showing the Angels/Yankees game 3 on ESPN here this afternoon, so I sat down to watch it. It was good to get some Americana, although here in Kathmandu it's not hard to find.

Tomorrow I plan to do a little sightseeing, including the main square and the monkey temple, as well as booking my bus to the border.

Diwali

Happy Diwali!

I'm writing now from Bhaktapur, just east of Kathmandu. Since I've last posted I've been to Bouddha, Nagarkot, and now Bhaktapur (forgive the spellings, they may be wrong). I have some great pictures, but I'll have to add them later because the computer I'm on doesn't recognize my camera.

Boudda

After a night in Thamel, Kathmandu (the tourist neighborhood), I headed to Boudda (also called Boudnath). It's a Tibetan town just east of Kathmandu, and home to one of the world's largest stupas (a type of Buddhist structure, click on the link for pictures). It's full of Buddhist monasteries, and thus full of Buddhist monks. After the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu (even for a night) and tourists everywhere, this town is a nice change.

I first walked around the stupa, which has 108 prayer wheels lining the outside rim. Buddhists walk around the outside and spin each of them as they pass. From there I wandered around town a little bit and then went to a few monasteries. They are all very open, some with tons of tourists, others with none at all. The best experience was when I found one with just one other tourist that was having a service. I went in and they began to play their instruments; horns of various shapes and sizes, shells, and cymbals. It was like being in a whole different world, and it filled the room with impressive and very different (to my ears) sound.

At night the power was out pretty much the whole time, but the locals didn't mind because they were too busy celebrating Diwali, or Tihar as they call it here (Diwali is celebrated nationally in India and Nepal, but in this region they call it Tihar, I have no idea why. What that amounted to as far as I was concerned was firecrackers, and then more firecrackers later. They don't have the multiple firecracker strings like in China, but they have single loud ones that everyone from 5 years old and up seems to enjoy. For the first few minutes I thought there was a war breaking out, but no, it was just Diwali, Festival of Lights (ironically enough in a city without power, and therefore with little light).

I stayed the night in a relatively nice hotel ($10!) after staying the night before in a cheap (for a reason) hotel in central Kathmandu. I planned to wake up early the next morning to walk to Sankhu, something like 15 or 20 km (10+ miles) away.

Nagarkot

Well the title gives it away, but I didn't stop in Sankhu. I set out before 7, and with beautifully cool weather continued past Sankhu at about 10:30 or so after a tea break. From there the road (then trail) started up the hill. Nagarkot is located on the top of a hill along the ridge of Kathmandu Valley. It's known for having spectacular views, which is in fact pretty much the only reason to visit.

I continued to the top of the hill, making it to the ridge to see some mountains peeking through the clouds. There was a fork in the road, so I took it. Unfortunately for my tired legs, I didn't choose correctly.

Another hour of so of hiking later I realized completely that I went too far. I turned around and went back to the fork in the road, finding some tourist restaurants shortly afterward for a drink. There I met another American, and we headed up the hill to Nagarkot, about a half hour away. The town is situated in a pine forest overlooking all of Kathmandu Valley in one direction and another valley with Himalayas behind it in the other direction. Unfortunately for me, those mountains were clouded up the entire time I spent there.

At dinner we met a Belgian, and we all decided to walk down to Bhaktapur the next day.

Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur is a very old city, at one time bigger and more important than Kathmandu. Now it is restored and kept very nice by the Rs. 750 ($10) entry fee to get into the city (for foreigners). I paid the fee and it was well worth it.

It feels like I've stepped back in time several hundred years here (with some notable exceptions). The buildings are beautiful red brick, with some fantastic temples and old winding streets devoid of cars. There is one main street (which the hotel is located on) connecting a few different squares, with fruit stands and shops set up along the way.

Today there are Diwali parades here, which entails a lot of honking, yelling, drums, and cymbals. Everyone seems to be having a grand old time, and I am as well. We got some delicious homemade ice cream then sat and watched the parade. Tomorrow I will head back to Kathmandu and then decide how to get out of the country from there. My visa expires soon, so I have to be out of the country by the 23rd. I was thinking I would go to Darjeeling, but it turns out it's a 17 hour bus ride to the Eastern border normally, but a bridge is washed out on the main "highway", so it would be much longer. I may just go south, and then connect to Kolkatta (Calcutta). We'll see. For now, Happy Diwali!

Royal Chitwan National Park

Greetings from Kathmandu!

I arrived tonight from Royal Chitwan National Park, so I'll start with all my activities there.

I left Pokhara the morning of the 14th on a tourist bus for the Park. I splurged and booked the $70 safari package rather than the $55 one because it turns out the whole thing is arranged through the hotel, meaning all the meals, guides, and activities are either run directly by the hotel or booked by them, so I figured I would go for a mid level package rather than pure budget.

The bus arrived in the early afternoon and we all had lunch at the hotel. A Spanish couple, two Dutch brothers and an English woman were included in the group as well. From there we went on a little tour of the village (forgettable) and a walk through the jungle at dusk (more memorable). Walking along the street to the park I saw my first elephant here, which was a nice early surprise. It's warm at the park, but not excessively hot, so I'm happy with the weather.

At night we attended the Tharu Culture Programme, which was a series of traditional dances. They had some "stick dances", basically a bunch of guys sword fighting with bamboo, then a funeral dance performed by a man dressed as a woman, and then my personal favorite, the peacock dance. That was a guy in a peacock suit awkwardly "dancing" around, then giving a woman in the front row a rose. It was a crowd pleaser, to be sure.

The next day was more eventful: elephant-back safari, elephant bath, canoeing, jungle walk, and finally a visit to the elephant breeding center.

A safari on elephant back sounds like a good idea. Faithful readers may remember I declined to go on a camel safari in the desert of Rajasthan because I didn't want to ride the thing. An elephant seemed like a better bet, and I think it was, but it was still very uncomfortable. They seat you in a little wooden "cage" for lack of a better term, with three other people (a squeeze), and for nearly two hours the elephant lumbers along (video) as everyone looks for rhinos, tigers, deer, and whatever other animals there may be. Well, we saw evidence of a tiger and that was about it. Evidence of a tiger is in this case a tiger paw print and a half-eaten deer (I'll save you the picture of that). Rhinos are fairly common, but we were unlucky. By the end of the safari I was more than ready to be off the elephant, and I was a little disappointed.

Luckily, my disappointment was short-lived. We got back to the hotel and went a few minutes later to give the elephants a bath. They say to wear a swimsuit, but I didn't bring one, so when we got there I just stripped down and volunteered to give the elephant a bath. There were about 50 people watching from different groups, but I just walked on up and climbed on. Now saying I was giving the elephant a bath is a stretch; it was more like the elephant was giving me a shower. The handlers yell at the elephants in Nepali and then the elephants spray themselves and mostly the people on their back. After a few sprays they tell the elephant to lay down and the people are swept into the river. It was an absolute blast, and on a hot day it felt good to take a little swim (by the way special thanks to my Dutch friends for taking pictures).

After my bath, we went back to the hotel for lunch and a short rest. In the afternoon we left for canoeing. It was in the same river as the elephant bath, not far from the hotel. We rode in a traditional dugout canoe (and I wore the traditional hat as well - very stylist), looking for a couple different types of crocodiles as well as birds and other less exciting things (they also have a type of dolphin but it's extremely rare). This time we got a little lucky and spotted the Ghandrial crocodile, an endangered and thus quite rare fish eating crocodile. It has a very long, slim snout (I guess it's called a snout), with teeth sticking out every which way. It slid into the water shortly after we saw it, but I got a good look first. We went down the river for about an hour and got out for another jungle walk.

We walked through the elephant grass (tallest grass in the world, it was easily taller than me and in many places easily taller than large elephants) to the sal forest. We crossed a small stream on the way, and the English girl found a leech on her foot a little while later. I figured I would check myself while we were stopped and I found a little surprise. Actually make that four little surprises, as I found two leeches on my left foot, one on my right and one on my right leg. I pulled them all off, no harm done, but they were pretty gross little suckers. We continued through the jungle (video) to the elephant breeding center.

The breeding center is home to a very rare set of elephant baby twins (super cute), as well as a bunch of older elephants and babies. It was pretty cool, although they're all on pretty short chains so it's a little sad as some of them struggle to get free all the time. They babies aren't on chains, so I got a chance to pet a few of them (video) and the trot along happily between the adults.

After the breeding center we went back to the hotel. This morning I woke up early to go bird watching. I saw some birds, nothing too exciting, but it was another nice jungle walk. That was the end of the package, as they fed us and put us on a bus to Kathmandu. It was a lot of fun even if we didn't see all I hoped.

The bus ride was uneventful (luckily) and we arrived in Kathmandu at about 5. I found a hotel near the center of town and wandered around a little with dinner thrown in there as well. It's more like India, very busy, more polluted, and loud. There are a ton of tourists here, more than anywhere I've been yet. Tomorrow I plan to get out of town into the Kathmandu Valley, I'm not sure exactly where.

A little rafting

Shalom!

Rafting is a good time. I just got back from 3 days of rafting the Kali Gandaki river and it was great. The rapids are big (class 4), but the boats are big and the guides are good. The boats hold as many as 10 people, although for some stretches we had only 5 (along with everyone's stuff). Of the people I talked to only one had ever been rafting before (they don't really have it in Israel and nearly everyone except me was Israeli), so I was a relative expert.

Well I don't have much time to write as I need to book the safari trip in Royal Chitwan National Park tonight, but I'll get a few little tidbits in, as randomly as possible:

• Israelis don't eat potatoes for breakfast, and if they do they complain that they're too full afterward
• A class 4 rapid in a huge boat led by a guide is less scary than a class 3 rapid in a two person boat captained by yours truly
• Spaghetti sauce should not have ginger as a main ingredient
• Hebrew is a difficult language to learn in three days
• Himalayan runoff is very cold, so swimming is best done a couple minutes at a time
• Trying to flip a large raft is more difficult than you might think
• Israelis are the one nationality of foreigner I've met that isn't so crazy about Barack Obama or his Nobel Peace Prize (they even go so far as to prefer our last president)

Well there's plenty more, but I'm out of time here, so I'll try to get some pictures and an actual description up when I get to Kathmandu (after my 3 day safari). There may be Internet access at the park as well, I'm not sure. Either way, I survived rafting (rather easily) and now I'm off for my next adventure.

Batman!

Today I went to the Bat Cave, as well as Mahendra Gufa, a separate cave nearby. Unfortunately this computer has a vendetta against me so I can't seem to get pictures to upload, so I'll have to draw you some word pictures.

I awoke to another beautiful day today and had another great breakfast at the Asian Tea House. From there I set off for Mahendra Gufa, a mere 6 km away according to the guide book. I took a bit of a roundabout route and walked an extra couple km (I think). When I arrived at the cave it was very busy with Indian tourists. The cave has a stalagmite (coming from the ground up) that resembles an elephant, so Hindus worship it as the elephant god (Ganesh, I believe). I was the only non-Hindu, so it was like I was back in India!

The cave wasn't really anything special besides the elephant rock thing, just a dripping wet, fairly high-ceilinged cave (I still managed to hit my head a couple of times). There were other Hindu shrines along the way to the final elephant rock, and most of the people would stop and say a quick prayer at each of them. Each was lit and had some offerings of flowers and other such things.

As I got to the back of the cave I had to wait in line to see the final stalagmite. There were some tricky stairs and a woman of about 40 tripped and grabbed on to me so as not to fall. I pretty much saved her life. If I wouldn't have been there she would have fallen face first down about 3 meters (10 feet) into rock. Yeah, I'm a hero I know.

After that I helped about 5 more women down the stairs, then got back in line. When I made it to the front I got the tilak (the vertical red line on the forehead), and saw the elephant-like rock. It sort of does look like an elephant, with a long trunk extending to the ground and ears turning into legs at the bottom.

I went back out from there and headed over to the bat cave. I found the entrance and went into the main chamber (after hitting my head a couple more times nearly crawling through one spot). It was a large area, with what they say was thousands of small bats on the ceiling. They just sleep, so it's not all that exciting, but it was kind of cool I guess. I was hoping they would all fly around me, I would have a life altering experience and then become a superhero, but they just hung there; taunting me with their laziness.

To exit the cave was pretty tricky. You have to do some decent climbing up some slippery rocks, and out through an entirely too small exit. I though as I exited that I imagine it's what being born is like, and I heard others say the same thing independently. Of course given my unusual (especially for here) frame, it was even more difficult. I emerged (barely) and looked up to see about 15 people watching me. They all laughed and applauded as I got out, stood up and brushed myself off. That part was less like being born, I think.

I took the bus back, and I've been figuring out my plans for the coming weeks. It looks like rafting is a go tomorrow morning, so that will be the next three days (away from any communications as well). Everyone except me canceled from the last trip, so this time 26 people are going instead of 11. It will be me, a French girl, and 24 Israelis. I hope the French girl speaks decent English.

I get back to Pokhara the night of the 13th, and then I plan to book an elephant safari (through the same agency) to Royal Chitwan National Park leaving the morning of the 14th. It includes transportation from Pokhara to the park (5 hour bus ride), 3 day, 2 night safari on elephant back, accommodation and food for...$55. It also includes a bus from there to Kathmandu (another 5 hours or so). It would be an 8 hour bus ride Pokhara to Kathmandu, so this breaks that up with a safari in between. I'm told there are a lot of Rhinos there, plus a small chance of seeing a tiger. It should be lots of fun.

From Kathmandu I'm now thinking I won't fly to South India. It's about $300 to the south, and there are a couple of places I kind of want to see on the east coast of India. So my plan now is Kathmandu, then a bus to the border and a jeep from the border to Darjeeling, India. Then I'll take a series of trains to Kolkatta (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), and hopefully Madurai, then down to the southern tip of the subcontinent. Then I'll work my way up the western coast and back to Delhi for my flight home. That's the plan (for now), so I'll be updating when I get back from rafting. Enjoy the weekend.

Sarangkot

Yesterday I went with my Brazilian and German friends to visit the Tibetan village nearby, called Tashi Ling. There we met Bobby, a guide I became friends with on the trek. Both of his parents are Tibetan, but they fled to Nepal, where Bobby was born and has lived his entire life.

He showed us around the village, which was actually very nice. Various charities have taken up the cause, so there were nice schools and community centers. It was very peaceful, quiet, and the people we did see were very friendly.

We visited the shop where they make Tibetan rugs, which was incredible because of the pace the workers set. Their hands are moving about as fast as is humanly possible, but for hours at a time, like a machine. From there we went to Bobby's house. He lives with his family in a humble place that felt like home from the moment I ducked through the door. His sister and father were there, and they greeted us with some juice. His father is a healer, and spent most of the time speaking to my German friend about Buddhism and healing (translated by his sister). We spoke to Bobby about his charity work as well as the Tibetan community here. It was interesting stuff.

They served us a light lunch of rice and vegetable curry and we went on our way. Bobby came with us to meet a mutual friend (also on the trek) in Pokhara. We stopped off first for momos (which I originally thought were Nepali but are actually Tibetan) at Bobby's favorite restaurant, called Yak Restaurant. There, I ate meat (for just the second time on my travels). The only momos (dumplings) they make are buff (buffalo), so that's what I had. They were okay, really a lot like a beef potsticker.

After that it was back to town. Once in town we met with Paul (the mutual friend), so Paul and Bobby could catch their flight to Kathmandu. Someone realized that we had five people all from different continents (missing only Africa, although that is admittedly the most difficult to find around here), which I though was pretty cool.

Today it hasn't rained at all, which marks the first time that has occurred where I've been since I was at the top of trek. To celebrate I hiked up to Sarangkot, basically a little town on the top of the hill overlooking Phewa Tal (the lake), Pokhara, and on clear days the mountains. I got a peak of the mountains, but not all of them. It was about 700 meters of climb in two hours, so it was fairly intense.

I should also mention my new favorite restaurant here, the Asian Tea House. It's this little hole in the wall place down a small alley from the main tourist strip. I've been going every day at least once (more often twice). Just today I ate breakfast (eggs, potatoes, tea, toast, and a delicious banana pancake for $1.50. He started making it before I even ordered. I'm a regular at this place more than anywhere in the world and it's 12226 km - 7597 miles - away from home) and lunch (a huge plate of momos, some potato and cheese, some vegetable for $1.30) there. I may just head over there now for some dinner. The picture of it is nearly the entire place, there is a table that seats about 3 just out of view, but besides that the entire restaurant is just there. I've met so many people there because it's so small (I even met a guy that grew up in Belmont. Small world).

Tomorrow: the bat cave!

Trekking - Day 8

Today was the final day. We had breakfast and set off to finish this little adventure. Everything went well, and the weather was decent once again. We got to Nayapul, where we started the trek, in the afternoon.

The bus back to Pokhara was full, so Gali suggested we do as the Nepalis do, and sit on the roof. I was a little nervous at first, but I rationalized that if the bus is going down, I'd done for either way. It turned out to be a lot of fun, with some great views (even if it did rain on us a little bit). It was a little less than a two hour ride, but we survived. Dan and I did get hit by a tree, but Dan got the worst of it, and we were okay. The Nepalis seemed to appreciate the gesture and we got a lot of waves and approving looks on our way. I took a little video as well.

It's good to be back, and I feel human again after a delicious Italian dinner and a hot shower. I'm already thinking about what treks I'll be doing in the future, whether that turns out to be here in Nepal, or anywhere else in the world. I may be tired, sore, and a little short on sleep, but it was absolutely worth it, without a doubt.

Trekking - Day 7

Today we had a leisurely breakfast and hit the trail for some more stair descent. My calves have been incredibly sore and I've been working hard to stretch them to try to avoid cramping up. I think it is cause by how I walk down the stairs on my toes to ease the strain on my knees. If it's not one thing, it's another, I suppose.

We had lunch with the Aussies, fantastic veggie burgers (the patty was basically a big veggie pakora) with fries and a salad. If we had veggie burgers like that at home I would not be opposed at all.

From there we took a detour to Jinhu, known for it's hot springs. I met of couple of Spaniards on the way down and we went to the hot springs together, joined later by the Aussies once again. They had the hot springs diverted partially into a couple of hot tubs, so we all just soaked our sore muscles for a couple of hours. It was just what my aching calves (and the rest of my body, for that matter) needed.

For dinner, more Dal Bhaat, this time another three helpings (large helpings). We also tried the local rice wine, called Kaleshi (I think), which was frankly terrible. It's like watered down vodka, so it's not enjoyable. Between four of us we drank about a third of a bottle, so it wasn't exacly a hit.

There weren't any triple rooms at this guest house so they gave us a double with three beds. It's...cozy, as you can see.

Trekking - Day 6

I woke up at 6 after a restless night. It's not as clear today, but it's not bad. The views are spectacular again, with more mountains in sight today. We admired the views, had breakfast and left camp at about 8. It's amazing how much easier it is on the way down. Maybe that's obvious, but once you get used to the altitude then the air just feels thick and easy to breathe as you go back down.

The 2 hour hike up to base camp was an easy 1 hour hike back down. We continued all the way to Sinuwa. We took two and a half days to get from Sinuwa up to Annapurna Base Camp, so that gives you an idea of how different it is.

The weather was pretty cold all the way down, much worse than when we were on the way up. It rained (pretty much a daily occurrence of course), but it wasn't a big deal. The guest house is entirely full, mostly people going up the mountain. We really did time this trip well, with small crowds and good weather at the important times.

For dessert today, a treat: a Mars Roll. It's a Mars bar, wrapped in Gurung bread (the local traditional bread, a lot like Native American fry bread), then deep fried. It was amazing.

Trekking - Day 5 continued

Now that I have time for a proper post, I'll start over for what was the highlight of the trek.

I woke up at 6:15 to see the sun rise over the looming mountains. After an extremely cloudy night I was worried we wouldn't be able to see anything. We got lucky instead. It was gorgeous, blue skies and just a few clouds. We climbed to a little weather station to see views of the Fish Tail and the valley we walked through, which was beautiful. Then we had breakfast and set off on a two hour hike to the final destination.

At first it was very cold but once I got into the sun I was pretty warm. At altitude the sun is so strong that you can't look at some of the mountains without sunglasses because it's so bright reflecting off the snow. Also even though it was near freezing I was down to just a shirt and light pants with no problem.

It was slow going, but I enjoyed every second of it. There are mountains all around, just towering over the valley, despite the fact that the base camp is at 4130 meters (about 13,500 feet). I took a short video to give everyone a little better idea. Once we made it to the base camp we had tea then I went a little higher, to about 4200 meters (14,000 feet) to see the view over a ridge to the Annapurna range. The mountains were covered by clouds at this point, but there was unexpectedly spectacular valley of rocks from avalanches below the ridge. I sat up there for about a half hour and heard about 5 or 10 small avalanches in the distance (I couldn't see any of them).

I came down from there and spent the afternoon and night talking to a couple groups of Aussies and a Tibetan guide. It was fun despite the cold. At night I was able to get some decent pictures of the mountains due to a nearly full moon, as well as maybe my favorite picture that I've ever taken.

Rain...

It had been raining hard non stop since my last post up until last night, so the river is very high. So high, in fact, that all the camp sites are completely flooded and the rafting trip is postponed until the 11th. So I've just been sitting in tea houses eating, drinking tea, and meeting people. I've also met up with people from the trek for food and drinks, so it's been fun despite the rain.

I went to a meeting for rafting to explain what we need to bring and meet the guides and all that a couple days ago. It was then that I realized I was a bit of an outsider. I should have realized that before I went to the meeting, but I didn't put two and two together. On the trip it will be me and ten Israelis. They all seem to know each other and it's non stop Hebrew all the time. Of course you would think I would put together that is was recommended to me by an Israeli, the place is called Shai Rafting, and there is Hebrew writing everywhere, but sometimes I just don't catch on very quickly. It should be an interesting experience - an Israeli rafting trip in Nepal.

I'm planning to see pretty much everything I've left in Pokhara. Today I'll be visiting a Tibetan village to have tea with a Tibetan guide I met on the trek, then I'll be hiking to a vista point with a Brazilian I met at the tea house.

Trekking - Day 5

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and since I'm running out of computer time, I'll go for a that. Basically it was amazing, as you can see.

I'll finish with the trekking maybe tomorrow, maybe when I get back from rafting. There may or may not be enough people to go rafting tomorrow so either be leaving for rafting tomorrow morning or the morning after that. I'll find out tonight. It's a 3 day, 2 night trip down the Kali Gandaki river, in the same region where I trekked (but a different valley, and it doesn't go as high).

Trekking - Day 4

Today, altitude became an issue. At about 2800 meters (about 9,200 feet) I started getting out of breath a little quicker. We went steadily up, but it was a little slower than previous days. All of our muscles are sore as well, so it's becoming a little more of a challenge.

Midway through the morning Dan dropped his camera off the trail. It bounced and rolled off of some plants and appeared to be lost. I stayed on the trail to try and guide them (I had the best view of it falling), while Dan, Gali, and then 3 Nepalis looked for it in the forest. After about 20 minutes it was found, working, and we went on our way.

There were a whole bunch of monkeys in a group on our way up, so that was some added excitement. You might think I wouldn't be impressed by monkeys at this point, but you'd be wrong. There's something about seeing them just hanging out in the wild that's very cool to someone who had only ever seen them in the zoo.

We had lunch at Derauli (3200m or 10,500 ft). The forest is getting a little less dense and the cold is becoming, well, colder. We reached MBC (Maccapuchre - aka Fish Tail - Base Camp) in the late afternoon after a slow ascent. The elevation here is now 3700 meters (12,140 ft), a climb of 1,100 meters in a single day. There are only shrubs now, and it is really cold.

We got to base camp and soon afterward the clouds came in. Soon visibility was pretty minimal and it was windy and freezing cold (Ram, the guy running the lodge, estimated it was 1 degree Celsius - 34F). I basically sat there in the dining room with a blanket and tried to stay "warm" (meaning not as cold). After some tea and dal bhaat I felt better. Luckily the blankets up here are very heavy and warm, so after a little while I fell asleep okay.

Price Check: Water: Rs 100/Liter, Dal Bhaat Rs 400

Trekking - Day 3

Today a treat: pizza for breakfast. It wasn't half bad, either. We hit the road at 8:30, with more stairs down and up, then repeat. My left foot is still sore from hitting a rock at the bottom of the lake in Pokhara, but it's not too bad so I just continue on. My hiking shoes are fantastic so that has really been my only pain besides aching muscles.

I've been carrying my own bag this whole time; no porters or guides for us. It's very satisfying to go up and down these mountains seeing people have their stuff carried for them, then to know you're doing it all on your own. My load is lighter than most, but it gets to feeling pretty heavy at the end of a hard day of climbing stairs.

On the way out of town we found some buffalo in our way (not exactly uncommon), so I fed one some bamboo for a photo op. They're very used to people, although you would think I would have learned my lesson with that whole bull incident in Jaipur.

We got to Bamboo (a village) for lunch at 2, then on to Dovan, where we slept, at about 4. This area is full of bamboo forests, as you can see from the picture it's pretty cool. There are some sort of insects that make all kinds of buzzing noises and waterfalls along with the river to add some sound to the pictures.

We're up to about 2600 meters elevation now (8,530 feet), so tomorrow should be when we really start to feel the altitude when we're walking. The altitude also means that it's getting cold at night now. I brought only a light fleece, my super thin rain jacket, 2 long sleeve and 1 cut off t-shirts, and a pair of convertible pants (and my new hat!), so cold isn't great for me. I could see my breath by the early evening so I wasn't exactly warm.

Tonight I learned a new card game called 5 cards. It's a Nepalese game (and of course has a Nepalese name which I couldn't understand). I played with some Spaniards and their guides and porters. It's like a fast version of gin rummy, so I'll be teaching it to anyone that wants to learn when I get back.

Price Check: Water Rs 70/Liter, Dal Bhaat Rs 330