Nepal - Peace Man!!

Namaste!!

How are you all?!?! Even though we have finished our travels and are currently relaxing on the white sands of Goa I owe you a story or two... Nepal seems like such a long time ago, which really it was... I guess I've been a little slack but will make it up to you - no more excuses when we've nothing to do but keep the sand away from our sandwiches and the seawater from getting in our eyes.

Nepal - to ignorant travellers such as ourselves a most peaceful place with a definite beaten track that leads from Kathmandu (for shopping & relaxing) to Chitwan National Park (for spotting tigers and washing elephants) to Pokhara (for Himalayan adventures). Whatever political and rebel action happens outside these areas the average tourist doesn't really find out about, and luckily it seems that most of that is now in the past. As we were trekking the Himalayas, the maoists and the government were making history by signing a peace agreement after about 6 years of guerilla warfare by the maoists. The political unrest being the only drawback to this otherwise most perfect tourist destination, Nepal is now set to attract the masses... So quick, all of you, get over there before there's millions of others beating you to it!

Arriving from Tibet, we followed the Bothe Khosi river all the way down to Kathmandu, absolutely amazed by the lush, green forests around us and the clear blue water and white rapids below us. Kathmandu, and especially the Thamel area, was a haven for us muddy, tired and hungry Tibet veterans. There was plenty of western food, coffees, live music, shopping; everything we needed to relax for a week and get ourselves up and running again. The Nepalese people are a mix of Indian and Tibetan looks, and soon we were introduced to the most beautiful of all outfits: the sari! Elegant women wearing beautiful colours; it was clear that we had definitely moved on to another culture, and, for that matter, a different religion. We were lucky enough to arrive in the middle of the Diwali festival, the Hindu New Year. During this week-long festival, people invite the goddess of light into their homes and hearts by carrying candles and lighting up their homes with millions of little lights. They draw intricate figures on their doorsteps, making sure the goddess doesn't pass them by and brings them luck. Whilst waiting for our Indian visa (which once again involved beauty of a bureacratic system with 2 days of endless queues), we went to Nagarkot, a tiny town at the edge of the Kathmandu Valley. Staying at the appropriately named 'Hotel at the end of the Universe', we had a million dollar view: on one side of our balcony the millions of lights lighting up the valley and merging in with the stars in the sky; on the other side the white peaks of the Himalayas turning pink in the sunset.

Once we'd bagged the indian visa, we were off to Chitwan National Park, in search for a tiger... We'd booked a package deal to spend 2 nights at 'Tiger Camp' - a promising name... The safari involved an exceptionally wobbly canoe ride into the National Park - just turning our head would cause the canoe to come close to capsizing, and with man-eating crocodiles eyeing our every move, it wasn't the most relaxing ride. Once we jumped on shore, we were given a 'safety briefing' by our guide: 'if you see a tiger or a rhino, run for the nearest tree and hide. I will protect you with my bamboo stick'. The guide being about 5 foot tall and at least 65 years of age, his bamboo stick about 1 cm in diameter, and trees being few and far between, we weren't too sure about this tiger business anymore... Apart from some suspicious rushing in the tall grass we didn't come close to seeing any wildlife, but had a lovely stroll through the rain forest. We went on an elephant safari in the afternoon, and spotted some rhinos, including a baby one - very cute, as far as you can call a rhino cute.

The very best friend we've made during our entire trip would be Mr. Muti, a majorly cool dude who'd come swaggering up to the river every morning at around 11. Being the biggest elephant in all of Chitwan, Mr. Muti had some very impressive assets indeed ('meter-long' would be a closer description than 'foot-long') and together with his mates he'd come down to the river for his daily wash and swim. We had the best time climbing on his back, getting shower after shower, then getting dunked in the water before climbing back on... We stayed on for a few extra days just to spend some more time with him, and gave him a wash and a scrub every morning. There was a little beach on the river where we whiled away some very relaxing days, getting ready for our multi-day trek in the Himalayas...

Pokhara, at the foot of the mountains, was our base for some serious trekking. After thinking about doing 3 weeks around the entire Annapurna Range, we decided not to take the trekking adventure that far, and settled for a 5 day trip. And it was heavy - much heavier than we'd ever thought!! The first 3 days were uphill, and uphill only. Step after step up the stairs, and even though the scenery was out of this world, we were so busy willing ourselves up these mountains, that we only got to really enjoy the views when arriving at our guesthouses for the night. The main mountain we trekked around was called 'Fishtail Mountain', as it had 2 tops which split in some kind of fishtail-like manner. It was most magnificent at sunrise (yep, we had plenty of early mornings) and sunset, but shrouded in clouds for most of the day. The way back down was absolutely fantastic - you get to enjoy your surroundings much more when the going's not that tough, and we loved the village life, the mountains, and the mysterious forests that we came through. The trek did wonders for our travel spirit (which had taken a bit of a beating in Tibet), and we felt UTTERLY ready to take on India... So after a few more days of resting the old legs in Pokhara, we were off once again, to our final destination. Whereas Nepal was mostly laidback and quiet, India, as soon as we set one foot over the border, was MADNESS. I won't get into it as yet, but for the first few days in India I felt like I was a rookie on my first trip abroad... The noise, the rubbish, the people - it was a total sensory overload, and it did take a few days before I could manage to filter it all out and get through to the beauty of the place - which there is plenty of!! We've got some funny stories which I'll save for next time - which hopefully won't be long.

Take care everyone!!!

Dan & Kris

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