Kathmandu (finally updated!)

sorry, will need more time to write this... its been a busy (and expensive few days).

But i leave to start my Everest trek tomorrow, starting with a 13hour bus ride to the village of Jiri. From there, its 2 weeks or so till Everest Base Camp, and then another 2 weeks back down, as i hike out to the east of the mountain, via Tumlingsar, and then back to the Indian border.

So no more updates for a month, but plenty to write about after that i am sure.

UPDATE
I am still alive, and currently in Sikkim in Northern India. As i get home in 2 weeks, i decided i would wait to update, as then i can attach pictures as well..so another 2 weeks of waiting i am afraid!

UPDATE UPDATE

I am back in sunny England, so can finally get around to updating the blog, and sorry about the wait!

If you remember, i arrived in Kathmandu aboard THE BUS FROM HELL, and to make the bloody thing worse, i left my hat aboard (and i would manage to leave the sunglasses behind at the guest house in Jiri - both things i had gotten in Japan)

 Finding a new hat proved to be a nightmare - every hiking shop, of which there are many in Kathmandu, only stocked polyester hiking hats, with many insisting cotton ones were not made. Took me over an hour to find a tourist one that was affordable, and while rather hot and heavy for hiking, it had to do (and it served me very well).

Something that i have wanted to do for a long time is bungy-jump, and Nepal boasts the tallest one in Asia, as well one of the cheapest, so i booked myself onto a two day retreat at http://www.thelastresort.com.np/ and tried to convince myself i had made a good decision. The prospect of a quiet place to stay, eating good food, 15km near the Tibetan border, and a bungy as well was promising.

I am glad i did it, but at the same time, i dont think ill go bungy jumping again any time soon. It just wasn't very comfortable, especially the jolting after bounces (after the initial leap). When i jumped off, i clearly remember the thoughs going through my head - first few seconds i was regretting doing it "I just jumped off a bridge, im going to die", followed by "im flying!", then "ahhh, hanging upside down is uncomfortable, my head hurts". I did however, look at the bridges i would cross during my trek rather differently, and on one or two i was worryingly tempted to jump off!

 Back in the city, much of my time was spent organising trekking permits and posting as much stuff back home as possible to save me carrying it. So i didn't get to spend as much time sightseeing as i would have liked. While Kathmandu is a hectic place with a huge traffic problem, there is plenty of history in the valley, and lots to see apparently.

Treated myself to a dinner of organic beans and tofu - one of the advantages of being back in a major tourist town - and finished my book about how terrible and dangerous Everest is. It will be nice to return to Nepal one day, and see what i missed, but the focus for me was Everest Base Camp, and i was ready!

On a side note - after taking careful note of my daily expenditures, i decided to stop in Nepal. Partly because it wasn't really necessary (i had to take cash out of the ATM every 2 weeks anyway, so budgeting wasn't so important) and also because i was spending too much of my time thinking about money - thinking more about enjoying the trip seemed like a good idea!

Nepal - getting in, and to Kathmandu

Its so hot at the moment, that instead of going to Pokhara for a few days, i decided to head straight to Kathmandu, which is higher, and get my Everest hike started earlier. While this is clearly a great plan, if i do say so myself, it was hindered rather BY THE BUS FROM HEEEELLLLLL. Not only was it the most expensive transport i have taken so far, but it was the worst. I took a video that will eventually get added. I had a seat at the back, with literally 1/2foot of legroom, meaning i had to have both legs in the isle, and sitting at an angle...for 19hours. The speakers for the bus were just above my head, the road was terrible AND the driver was going around 100km/h on it.. just a horrible horrible bus.

Which was a shame, as the border crossing had been such a pleasure - friendly and relaxed guards on both sides.

Haridwar

I didn't spend as much time looking around as I would of liked - in that i spent no time looking around. After getting the local train down to the city.for 4rs!! i discovered there was a bus leaving for the Nepal border in 30minutes, so i got a ticket and waited to leave.

3 hours later we left, but i spent that whole time on the bus, as there was no clear idea of when it was actually leaving. Oh well

Rishikesh

After getting to Haridwar, it was straight on another bus, this time thankfully just a 40min trip, up to Rishikesh, the 'Varanassi of the north'.

And I have to somewhat agree. Its just like Varanassi If you removed the dead bodies, 3/4s of the people, the heat, most of the buildings, many of the cows and most of the beggers.....and there were mountains surrounding it, and the river was actually clean enough to swim in.

It is the center for yoga in India, and much of the space is taken up with giant ashrams , mainly Indians, spending their days getting into awarkward positions i guess. I was there mainly to warm up a bit from Manali, and to swim in the Gangies without dying.

A short walk north of the town, following the river, and its a very differnt place - beaches, rapids, trees! The river is clean and inviting, albeit bloody cold, but i managed to swim 3 times while i was there and loved it. Lots of groups of young middleclass indians rafting down the river - its a driveable distance from Delhi - but not something that the foreigners seemed that interested in doing.

Also managed to go for a rather strenuous hike- ostensibly to look for while elephants, but also just to get some practice in for Nepal. Found elephant poop, and heard them in distant valleys, but of course no sightings. Havent had much luck in India with wild animals.

Drive to Haridwar

The bus left at 3pm - on time for once - meaning I was able to see the Kullu Valley as we drove down it. It really is a beautiful part of India, mainly due to its (until recently) remoteness. The landscape changes the further down one goes, with a notifiable increase in Hindu temples, and the addition of palm trees amongst the blossoms and pines. And people. The terraced hills look more like tiger stripes than the horizontal lines of other Asian countries, whether this is due to the terrain, or Indian design I dont know, but it looks rather nice.

Vashisht

Across the river from Old Manali is the competing village of Vashisht. A far busier place, but that might have been due to the festival taking place. I wasn't sure what was going on really, but it involved the local 'gods' - small palanquin with a number of silver faces on it - being marched around the town square, lots of loud trumpets and drumming, and a few people being possessed. It was a novelty anyway, and look a bit of video, so you will be able to see it, sometime in the future.

I walked over to a holy waterfall, which means no shoes for the last stretch near it, and was lovely to get close to such a large one. If there wasn't a group of school kids there, it would have been very peaceful, and i would have gone in for a swim, but alas, it was not to be.

The main draw of the village though, is its hot springs, and it was my first soak in one since Japan- such fond memories! Its done somewhat differently here, namely that people wear clothes (well, underwear), and its very Indian - noisy, frantic, and not in any way peaceful. Still loved it though. It was also inside the main temple complex, which made it rather special, although the decoration made it look more Aztec than Indian (photo sometime i promise). Was interesting to see the Brahmin (highest caste) bathing to one side of the pool, while the rest of us were on the other. This didn't seem to be anything official, just natural decorum. It did make me wonder how long they had had to share the pool at all - most probably it was high-caste only until quite recently.

Ate my most expensive meal in India - 160rs.. 2 pounds! While in the mountains I thought I would have some of the famous trout, and it was nice, although for the price of 3 of my normal meals, I still felt rather hungry- bloody typical.

I tried hiking up to a mountain lake, but despite a 7am start, banana honey porridge for breakfast and a dip in the hot spring, it was not to be! I was foiled by the snow still present high up, as it covered the trail and made navigation impossible. Trails aren't marked here, so its hard enough at the best of times - it also didn't help that I saw bear prints in the snow. Spent a nice while reading in a mountain meadow, before heading back down.

Memories from the Kullu Valley - Apple blossoms, waterfalls everywhere, silly hats, peaceful place, tradition still intact.

Manali

Manali (well, Old Manali, up the hill, not the new monstrosity around the bus station), has managed to retain alot of its natural charm, and architecture, and its a lovely place to just walk around. Wooden houses with stone roofs, women working on looms infront of the house, cows and goats tethered to the side of the house, AND APPLE TREES EVERYWHERE! Blossom season, not ripening season unfortunately, but still great to see. People still wear local dress as well, women more than men, but also adds to the charm. For women, its a woolen esque sari, in very bright colours contrasting with a main neutral one, coupled with a gypsy style bandanna. The men wear a strange little woolen hat that doesnt seem to offer much in terms of warmth or sun protection, but its certainly unique.

The season hasn't started here yet, so easy to get a bargain for a room, and choice of hotels. It also means its so much quieter here than McLeodganj! Different type of people as well- more of the hippy, sit around and smoking, Israeli group - no yoga classes or volunteering here. Still has cake shops though!

I have realised that when people say 'its snowing in the hills there', they are neglecting to say, 'it is therefore raining in the valleys'. Manage to get half of the day to be dry, but rain the other half- seems to alternate between mornings and afternoons. Rather a shame as it limits exploring, but i guess thats why the season hasn't started here yet, so wont complain.