A Weekend Adventure (with a few hiccups)

Note: I’ve added still more pictures to the “Nepal: 25 More Days” album, from rafting and Chitwan. Take a look!

 

It all started out well, I swear!

The plan was to take a tourist bus from Pokhara to a point where a rafting company would take me rafting on the Trisuli River. The morning started out well enough, leaving Pokhara on a nice morning with a blue sky. The first few hours of the bus ride went smoothly, although at our breakfast stop some of us noticed smoke coming from a tire well. Some Nepali boys banged away at it and by the time we boarded all seemed well.

An hour later, we were pulled onto the side of the road in a small town, wheel well smoking away again. This time, the Nepali boys (which every bus seems to have along for such occasions) took the wheels off and then began dismantling the axle. There were ten of us eyeing the entire operation doubtfully, itching to get to the rafting point that was reputedly only twenty-eight kilometers away. We ground our teeth and sweated for about an hour before deciding to thumb a ride. A passing pickup truck agreed to take us for a hundred rupees each (outrageous!) and we all piled into the bed, where there were benches along the side and plastic stretched over a framework above us.

Rafting went well enough, with everyone but the guides and me having their first rafting experience. I jumped into the river a few times, cooling off from the hard work of paddling in the humid heat. Two hours of rafting and relaxing later, we ate lunch at a shack and showered, fully clothed, under an open-air faucet next to two enclosed squatter toilets. Those tourists who were heading on to Kathmandu left; then those heading to Pokhara. The thirteen of us remaining who were headed for Chitwan waited. And waited. It began to rain and still we waited, starting to chew our lower lips again.

Finally, we were told that there was a strike on near Chitwan and no vehicles except tourist buses could get through, and that the next tourist bus would be by the next morning. They pointed down the road and explained that we could camp in tents and have meals, free of charge, while we spent the night and waited for the tourist bus. Many of us had booked package tours at Chitwan National Park, and none of us knew whether the lodges would honor the packages if we arrived a day late. Oh… there was no telephone reception and no landline telephones, either. We were stuck.

Three girls from England decided to head back to Kathmandu. A pierced and tattooed half-naked couple apparently decided to hang out at the shacks and see what happened. The rest of us – two Indians, two Belgians, two Germans, a Japanese girl and me – decided to try our luck in hitching a ride as close as we could get to our lodges, then call the lodges and ask them to send someone to pick us up. We all piled into the first vehicle that agreed: a truck with a large cab. The two Nepali boy mechanics who rode with the rig rode on top until it began to rain. At that point they squeezed in with the rest of us and all our luggage, making our party eleven in a cab meant to comfortably sit perhaps five. We were all rather cheerful and accommodating, chattering away and being goofy.

Until we started passing trucks parked along the side of the road, that is. When we could go no further we, too, pulled over, to learn that about ten minutes earlier, a tourist bus had flipped, blocking the entire road. We sat back and waited. We bought some chips from a nearby shack, and some water, and a little Coca-Cola and whiskey to help one of the Belgians celebrate his twenty-first birthday.

Three hours later – it was 9pm now – the accident was cleared and we were on our way. It was pouring rain and our crew was a bit quieter now. Another two hours and we reached Sauhara, the small village outside Chitwan National Park. We all hugged and exchanged e-mails and went on our separate ways to our separate lodges, having arrived well past the ending time of the strikes. My lodge, the Gorkha Hamlet, welcomed me and the two Belgians (who had not booked a place and decided to try their luck at my place), fed us a limited dinner and sent us to bed. My room was nice, with two beds and a furiously spinning loud ceiling fan, which blew my mosquito netting around all night but kept me cool.

I woke up the next day feeling nauseous and exhausted and with a headache that made me dizzy. My guide agreed to move my program forward a day to let me rest and recover, and I slept fitfully between rushed bathroom trips and sips of bottled water, until 3pm. At that point I joined three Polish travelers for a sight-seeing walk through a part of the borderlands of the National Park, a visit to a park information center with outdated information, a quick trip to some elephant stables, and a culture show that featured a thick Nepali-accented announcer and some wonderful Tharu dances. We managed to spot a gaida, a rare type of creature much like a crocodile but whose snout seemed much longer and narrower.

The next day, one of the Poles – Maria – was sick. The others, Justine and Peter, and I did all of our activities together: canoeing in a long, narrow boat and bird watching on the river; a visit to the elephant breeding center; a quick run to join others who had spotted an Asian Rhinoceros; and an elephant bath. During the canoe trip we saw a crocodile and some pretty birds, including a brilliantly flashing-blue kingfisher. At lunch,  Maria seemed to be feeling better and decided to join us for the afternoon elephant safari. During the safari we saw another rhino, which was huge and really did look as armored as the pictures showed them!

Finally, today, we took a long, bumpy bus ride back to Kathmandu, and it worked out that I’m staying at the same place as the three Poles and the two Belgian guys from my Disaster Day. Actually, this was no coincidence: one of the Belgian guys left his waist pack, which held his passport and money and important papers – in the room at the Gorkha Hamlet. Knowing I was staying there an extra day, he’d called and asked me to bring it to him in Kathmandu, telling me the name of his guest house. And so, here we all are!

Five more days until I return to Turkey, and about two weeks until I head home! Time is flying along!

--Z

West of Kathmandu

Note: I’ve added lots of pictures to the “Nepal: Another 25 Days” album, so take a look!

Day-to-Day: 15-31 August 2011

 

It took seven hours, but I finally got from Kathmandu to Pokhara last Sunday. My choices in buses, according to the travel agent guy I talked to, were Green Line Bus for $18, or tourist bus for 500 Rupees (that’s basically $18 vs $7). Call me crazy but I took the 500 Rupee option. The only difference he would tell me between the two was AC and no AC. I admit, I was slightly leery, given my Cambodia experience (where I was seated on a plastic beach chair next to the driver for four hours), but it turned out to be all right.

My first few days in Pokhara, I vegged: slept in, meandered around the main street, gazed out at Fewa Lake and the surrounding mountians, internetted, read books, and so on. Apparently I needed it, because I couldn’t muster up interest or motivation to do anything else!

On Tuesday, I got up before the sun and took a taxi up to Sarangkot to view the sunrise. I was not so lucky here, because the clouds obscured the scenery – namely, the Annapurna Range of mountains that is the reason people come to see sunrise. However, I did get a sneak peek at Macchupucchre Peak and the wall of another peak, snow covered and with those granite crags that seem so detailed, even from a distance. When I got back to my guesthouse, I slept until 1pm.

Wednesday found me flying through the air again: I had signed up Tuesday evening to go paragliding from Sarangkot. It involved riding in the back of a pickup with benches installed, then meeting my “pilot” on a down-sloping field. He was nice enough, though he sounded a bit like a tape recording: “How are you doing today, Zoe… fine, fine, now this here is the harness…” and so on. My answers were acknowledged but not really registered. In any case, he explained how I needed to walk with him, and run with him, when he indicated. We had one false start where the breeze changed directions; the second time, though, we walked together (he was harnessed in behind me) and then ran for about three steps before our chute filled and lifted us up. My harness turned a bit and suddenly I was sitting on air (and straps), watching the world around me!

There were a dozen other paragliders that day, so the sky was amusing to watch. My pilot, Ramesh, explained to me how thermals worked and demonstrated. I had signed up for a thirty minute ride and basically, all I did was sit back and watch! Surprisingly, after awhile I felt slightly queasy… I think it’s because for the most part, paragliders circle. All those circles get to be a bit much after awhile, I guess. In any case, we swooped around, catching thermals and gently rising, then gliding down a bit here and there. Looking down I could see rice paddies and terraced land, Fewa Lake and Pokhara, and here and there I would get a glance at the Annapurna peaks behind the hills.

Near the end, we were over the lake and he asked if I’d like to do a trick. I should have said now, but I couldn’t! So we did a spiral, where we were about sideways to the ground and whirring around our chute… it was great fun but left me feeling queasier than before. Soon after, we glided in for a landing. We barely even stumbled!

For the rest of the day I vegged out with my new friend, Premra from Dubai, who also paraglided. We went and had a long lunch; then watched two movies at another restaurant; went our separate ways only to meet up again an hour later. We decided to rent a rowboat and paddle across the lake to Lychee Resort, an upscale place with a restaurant. Halfway across, we realized our plan’s major flaws: it was darker than usual out and indeed, the lightning and thunder began to worry us. We made it across only slightly soaked, but in the pitch dark. We had a nice dinner, chatted, and tried not to pay attention to the very pretty, dressed up Nepali girls giggling away with the older Nepal men at the table behind us. Premra, who speaks Hindi, muttered that they were negotiating prices and activities. It was really kinda sad.

The row back was dry, other than our feet and butts, but in the pitch dark. Premra, a horror movie lover, had many theories about the dark jungly woods on the mountain behind us and the dark waters and the critters in it ahead of us. Soon our plans’ second flaw became apparent: we could see no landmark telling us where we’d rented the boat from. And third flaw: we had no flashlight to show us a good place to park the boat.

Eventually we just pushed it up against part of the shore, then wandered through a few backyards before finally asking a Nepali couple to show us how to get back up to the main street. We found a nice place for a dessert, and then I was done: back at my guest house, I crashed, sleeping until 9am the next morning.

My last full day in Pokhara, I had someone paddle me across the lake and then climbed up to the World Peace Pagoda. It was a good climb, about an hour going straight uphill on stone steps. There were beautiful views out over the lake and Pokhara, though, which compensated. It was afternoon when I started, so it was hot and humid. Once I reached the pagoda, I met Anya and Lindsey, Canadians, and we got to chatting and decided to share a boat back. So we descended the same way I’d climbed, deciding to have lunch when we got to Lakeside.

And here I am, relaxing at a café, looking forward to the rafting, elephant safari, jungle birdwalk and Chitwan National Park visit that I booked for the next few days.

--Z

Random Videos

Note: I’ve posted the new Nepal item, check it out!  

 

So, this isn’t really a “blog update” per say. I just realized that I have a few videos I’ve taken and never posted! So, here are three, from three different countries. Enjoy!

First up, a Sinai chameleon eating lunch in Israel:

Next, a whirling Dervish in Istanbul, Turkey (sorry it’s sideways, can’t seem to rotate it!):

And finally, chanting monks from Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal:

--Z

Sniffles & Gorgeous Weather

Note: There are lots of new posts (six to be exact), so make sure you read them all!

Day Four at Kopan Monastery

The minute I woke up I groaned: my nose was running, my throat was scratchy and my skin felt too hot. Breakfast didn’t refresh me much, so before showering and going back to sleep, I took a fizzy Airborne tablet, given to me by Audrey, a middle-school teacher and teacher trainer from Portland, Oregon. We met last night, when she arrived in time for dinner and sat with me. We get along quite well, chatting about everything from travel to teaching to everything inbetween. She’s volunteering for two weeks with an NGO to help train Nepali teachers. Before that, she’s taken the time to relax at the monastery, excited because she is Buddhist and her teacher knows Kopan well. Anyway, she offered, and I accepted, one of the cold-prevention tablets. I slept for a couple more hours, almost missing lunch.

After lunch I bummed around, feeling better but not great. My usual routine continued: reading, walking, napping, using the internet café, looking out at the view. The morning was cloudy, but the day really cleared up and soon the crisp air and sunshine were cheering me up considerably. I sunned for a bit, figuring a bit of Vitamin D couldn’t hurt, and ended up watching the sunset with Audrey from the grassy hill that is the highest point at the monastery. The sky was wonderful, with a ceiling of clouds making my depth perception go wonky over the mountains, and the rest of the sky blue and clear with birds wheeling around. As the sun got lower and went behind a band of clouds, it was as if we were in a theater and the lights had dimmed slightly. The entire landscape seemed to have changed with the lighting. Beautiful!

At tea, before dinner, I met a girl from Marseilles, France. She gave me some great recommendations on places to stay in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. Tomorrow my plan is to check out and head to Thamel with Audrey, who already has a place to stay through the NGO. We plan to go shopping where Anisha took me, which should be fun because we’re looking for the same kind of things. I will either stay at the same place as Audrey, if it seems nice and the price is right, or I’ll go check out the French-woman’s recommendation. I figure I’ll leave for Pokhara on Sunday and spend some time there and at the coffee farm the Swedish couple recommended.

Now, at the end of the day, my cold seems to be gone and I’m feeling pretty good. I’m excited to continue my exploration of Nepal and see the beautiful areas I’ve heard so much about!

--Z

Day of Ceremonies

 

Day Three at Kopan Monastery

Today was a lot like yesterday, except not as wet. Also, my “up” mood didn’t really hold out, although that’s not to say that I was in a bad mood. It just seemed like my brain was a bit muddled with too many thoughts, about all sorts of things. Ah, well…

There were three ceremonies today. The first, at 5:30am, I did not attend. Too early! The second, though, I did attend in part. It was described to me in brief summary as akin to a graduation ceremony, where six students would debate various topics and earn their next level (geshe). It was all in another language (Nepali or Tibetan, I think) and I was just one of four Westerners sitting against the back wall, watching. I have to admit that I have NO idea what was happening, at any time! I think I saw what was part of a debate, although it wasn’t how I’d pictured it. It was more one monk, half-chanting and half-ranting, making ritualized hand claps that thundered through the hall now and then. An hour and a half in, I had to duck out… my focus was scattered and I needed a bathroom (it started just after breakfast)!

The third ceremony was another puja, after dinner. I stayed for the entire three and a half hours and again, I can tell you almost nothing about what I saw, since I have no idea what was going on. There was lots and lots of chanting, some discordant music bursts now and again, and about thirty minutes where tea and various edible goodies like Snickers and ChocoPies were doled out to every monk and every Westerner in the hall (maybe 200 people!). At the end, the eldest monk, perhaps the lama who runs the monastery, spoke. It was in English but because of the combined effects of his accent, having suffered a severe stroke recently, and a shoddy sound system, I could only make out some of the basics: even if you don’t think you believe in Buddhism, you should become knowledgeable about it so that you can know about life and death. I think he told a story about being in a hospital and talking to people who didn’t know anything about these things, in any sense, and it made him very sad.

All day I planned to leave tomorrow, but now I’m thinking I’ll stay one more day. No real reason. I didn’t pack, and a day here versus a day in Thamel sounds good anyhow.

--Z

Up

 

Day Two at Kopan Monastery

Today I let myself sleep in until just before breakfast. I slept quite well last night, which may in part account for how up I felt all day. In any case, I went to breakfast somewhat groggy, as I usually feel when I’m just waking up, and disliking the heavy, overcast and wet feeling that greeted me. Afterwards, I walked around a bit, eventually ending up back at my room, where I stretched and read a book for a little bit. Eventually, I showered. The hot water is solar-heated, making morning a bad time for a hot shower. I got about a minute of hot, before the water cooled to a just-bearable temperature. It woke me up, anyway!

At ten, I went to the main meditation hall. There was no one else there, not even tourists, for a full hour. Then, a couple led by a Nepali man came in, snapping pictures and talking in what seemed to me rude, loud voices. They saw that I was trying to meditate but that didn’t seem to bother their conversation (or volume) in the least. I stuck it out, though, because the hour and a half of quiet in the morning is turning out to be quite nice. I attempted meditation for about half an hour and then just let my mind work. I had some good, serious thinks about a few things that were on my mind, and it felt really good.

Lunch was again tasty and filling. After, I went to the internet café. It was drizzling rain, so I spent an hour chatting with friends and e-mailing. More stretching and reading followed, and chatting with the Swedish couple. After dinner, as I was helping do the dishes, I met Sarah, a forty year old Australian woman who has recently completed yoga instructor certification. We got to talking and I found that she is a really positive, intense lady. I hope we get a chance to chat more tomorrow, although she’s taking a course so she may not be free until the evening.

All day I felt kind of happy, light, even a little ebullient. It was a nice feeling and I really hope it continues!

--Z

Busy Day of Being Quiet

 

Day 1: Full Day of Quiet

My alarm went off at 6am and I snoozed for a bit, managing to pull myself out of bed ten minutes later. It was cool out as I meandered through the grounds. It had rained in the night and things were still damp, the sky still gray and foreboding in the morning light. It would stay that way all day. I decided to stretch in a gazebo with a view over terraced lands with a backdrop of a mountain chain.

Breakfast was a delicious rice-and-milk soup, along with white pita bread and the usual choices of butter, peanut butter and jam. Tea, masala or black or green, is available at every meal as well. After breakfast, I walked for a bit, then did some writing in my diary. At ten, I went to the main “gompa” or meditation hall, because there is supposedly daily hour and a half meditation sessions. When no one but three Western girls showed up, I went to ask at the reception desk. It turns out the teacher who does the meditation classes left today and there won’t be guided meditations for at least a few days. It really bummed me out, but I stayed anyway and attempted to meditate in the huge, quiet hall with a huge golden Buddha at the back and whirls of colors and paintings and flags and lights all around. I think I may have napped for a short time, but in any case, I made it through an hour and a half of quiet sitting.

Lunch consisted of dal baht, white rice, a curried vegetable mixture and a cooked onion mixture, with the pita and toppings selection and tea. Delicious! And very filling. The rest of the day was filled with reading and walking, pondering and writing, half an hour of internet and chatting with the Swedish couple.

No deep insights, perhaps, but it was a calm and restful day. I may not stay as long as expected, with no guided class of any kind to attend, but even two or three days will recharge my batteries… physically and emotionally, hopefully.

--Z

Self-Imposed Idleness at Kopan Monastery

Note: I’ll begin a new album, “Nepal: Another 25 Days,” as soon as I can!

Day 0: Arrival at Kopan Monastery

For the third day in a row, I let myself sleep in after my alarm went off. And I followed my usual routine: wake up, dress, wander out for breakfast and internet; return, wash up, read my book. Today, though, the routine broke here. I packed up all my things and paid my hotel bill (about $20 per night, if you include the tip I left), then caught a taxi up to Kopan Monastery, about a twenty minute ride to the outskirts of Kathmandu, and up a steep hill. Everywhere we saw celebrations, because today is Krishna Astami, the Hindu celebration of Krishna’s birthday.

I arrived, checked in and after dropping off my things, just wandered around the grounds. There are meditation halls and a library, several different areas for guests to stay (from shared rooms to singles and doubles), a fountain, a hilltop to view the surrounding valley, Buddha statues and gumpas, a dining hall, and a store which is also a small café and computer area. Of course, there’s a school on the grounds, too. There are over three hundred monks of various ages who live and learn and pray here. Nearby is a nunnery with over three hundred women, too.

So what will I do here? I am forcing myself to relax and just be. There is a meditation class every morning, so I plan to attend that, but otherwise my time is my own. There are three simple meals and a tea time at the dining hall. Dinner tonight was a vegetable soup and pita bread, with peanut butter or marmalade or butter to choose from. Simple, but delicious and filling. I hope all the meals are so nice! I’ve written out a general schedule for myself to stick to for the next four or five days, which includes stretching three times a day. My general hope for my time here is to breathe a little, relax, think about some of the things that I haven’t really let myself fully consider and feel the things I definitely have pushed aside. I have two books to read and there are plenty of places to walk to and around here.

I’ve already met a nice Swedish couple, young travelers who have been WWOOFing in India and Nepal for the last eight months. There are several Westerners here, doing individual courses of study or, like me, taking the opportunity to just be and to relax.

Mostly, I hope to center myself a little bit.

--Z

Killing Time in Kathmandu

 

My plane landed in Kathmandu on Tuesday and spent that day and the next with Rimu. On Thursday, I went out for coffee with Anisha, who came to get me on a motorbike; they call them scooters here. We chatted about nothing in particular, although one topic that held my attention and interest was that of dating and marriage. In Nepal, “love marriages” are becoming more common, but arranged marriages are still the norm. Anisha is part of the aristocratic caste in Nepal, and she fully expects that her parents will choose her husband, sometime in the future. She has never had a boyfriend and she explained that while she has friends who are boys, she doesn’t “hang out” with them because of the impropriety it would imply.

For those who don’t remember or didn’t read the post where I told the story, while on my Everest Base Camp trek back in April/May I met a man who turned out to be a Colonel in the Nepali Army. He gave us (my trekking partner, Jan, and I) his card and told us we could contact him when we were back in Kathmandu. We did this, but he was out of town. Nevertheless, his wife and daughters were wonderfully hospitable to us, inviting us over for tea and taking us to an orphanage where we volunteered. Anyway, Anisha is one of the daughters, a beautiful nineteen-year old college student. She’s friendly and intelligent and polite and has been really sweet, keeping me steady as I re-organize my Nepal plans.

On Thursday evening I met with Rimu again, but he decided that he didn’t want to see me any more since I had told him I didn’t have the same feelings for him as before. On Friday, Anisha took me shopping and I bought a modern-style sulwar, a beautifully embroidered, dark green and gold and black tunic that is very long with gauzy black sleeves. It came also with black pants and a lovely shawl-scarf. We also went out and found some bangles to match.

I had the chance to wear my new outfit tonight. Anisha invited me to a Teej party. Teej is a Hindu holiday where women celebrate. At it’s root, it’s really about married women praying for the husbands, but traditions have evolved to turn into women-only gatherings and parties. Teej itself isn’t for another two weeks, but there are parties every day these days. Anyway, both Anisha and her mother were at this party and I dressed up. Most of the women there, being married, wore red as is traditional. Everything from saris to sulwars, modern and traditional, were in evidence, beautiful and shining and elegant. At the party there were light snacks, drinks, music and a buffet dinner. My favorite part was the dancing, where unself-consciously women danced and laughed and grooved to tunes Nepali, American and Latin! At the end of the evening, the Colonel picked us up and gave me a lift home. He’s retired now, but looking forward to finding work as a disaster management expert.

From arrival until now, I’ve run a wide range of emotions: anticipation, excitement, surprise, sadness, disappointment, fear, and finally a resurgence of fascination with Nepal. I’m terribly disappointed that things with Rimu didn’t work out, but it was my choice to end the relationship and I feel some solace in the fact that I was honest enough with myself and him to not drag things out. In any case, now I’m ready to experience more of Nepal, because although it was again a shock on first arrival, I find myself warming right back up to the culture, the people, even the dirt and pollution of Thamel.

My plans? Well, I don’t really have any. Tomorrow I’m going to check the availability at Kopan Monastery and, if possible, stay there until Friday. It’ll be a peaceful, quiet time for me to force myself to think and feel and straighten myself out. Until now I’ve been reading, e-mailing, writing, watching tv, and walking around, not giving myself much of a contemplative moment. After a stint at the monastery, I’d like to visit Pokhara and Ghorka, other Nepali cities, and visit more with Anisha and her family. And maybe take a cooking class! I LOVE Nepali (and Tibetan, and Bhutanese) food!

--Z

Nepal Time

Note: A new picture album is up for Turkey: “Turkey: 96 Hours in Istanbul.” Take a look!

 

After four days in Istanbul, I took off and spent one evening in Dubai, on a bus tour that was fun but depressing as it showed the opulence of the area, and then I was off again to Kathmandu. I have nothing much to report: things didn’t work out with Rimu, and I’ve spent the last three days working through my sadness and planning what to do for my three weeks here. It’s been good to relax and be quiet, even in the bustling, honking, dirty madness of Thamel. I’m doing just fine and will be spending this afternoon at a women-only party, so that should be fun. I’ve done a little shopping and meandering through the lanes of Thamel. On Sunday or Monday, I plan to check in to a Buddhist monastery and do some intense quiet time with some meditation (we’ll see how that goes)!

That’s all for now… sorry for a short and un-exciting post, but perhaps next time will be more upbeat!

--Z