There is always an advantage to every disadvantage

As told in my last blog, I have left India for the last time. But so as not to give my system too much of a shock, I ventured to Nepal, which is a nice transition country. Here Hinduism meets Buddhism, lowland meets highland and Hindi meets Nepali.

The first thing I noticed as I crossed the western border at Mahendranagar was how relaxed and peaceful Nepal is compared to India. The change as you cross the border is immediate and quite astounding if you think about it. Within a space of perhaps 10 meters you go from the hectic hustle and bustle of India to the tranquillity of Nepal. The second thing was the change in features of the people, going from mostly Aryan in India to the predominantly Mongolian features of the Nepali. Of course it isn't that clear cut, but it is enough of a difference to notice as soon as you are in Nepal.

Now most people who visit Nepal go straight to either Kathmandu or Pokhara, even those entering in the west as I was. This I would consider a grave mistake, because they are missing out on some stunning villages and scenery, not to mention the lack of tourists which gives it a certain charm. Another reason to stop along the way is to avoid the gruelling 20 or more hour journey on a uncomfortable bus, at least if you come from the west it is that long.

My first stop along the way was Bardia National Park, a supposedly 4 hour journey from the border, but I managed to get a bus which took twice the time to get there. With the lack of tourist going this way, I had a fair choice of guest houses and they all had sent their men on bikes to pick up potential customers on the main road. Since all accommodation was within the same price range and offering the same deals, I chose the first man who accosted me. It was a wise choice if I say so myself, well actually it wouldn't have mattered who I had gone with as the other places all looked the same. But going to Bardia certainly was a wise choice on my side. It is a delightful place, the village at the entrance of the park is so beautiful and the people so hospitable. There are about 15 or so small guest houses, most of them empty due to the lack of people coming this way. All the better for me I say! The guest houses are spread out, and there are fields and farms in between them on one side and the forest of the reserve on the other side. All the guest houses are built in the style of the Tharu people who inhabit this region, that is in walls made of river mud and thatched roofs. For those who like electricity, this is not the place to be. Nepal as a whole doesn't have more than 8 hours of electricity a day and Bardia gets less than that. In the two days that I stayed there I had 10 minutes of electricity. For me that only added to the atmosphere, having candle light dinners and watching the night sky without the usual light pollution.

As for my wildlife adventure... Well, lets say I am somewhat jinxed when it comes down to spotting wildlife and in my full day jungle walk I managed to spot no more than the always present deer. Even my guide was astonished by the lack of wildlife we saw and seemed rather depressed about the whole business, blaming his own abilities. I assured him it had nothing to do with him. Still the walk through the park was nice, and having the forest to myself was enough for me. And even had there been no National Park around, the village and surrounding country side is captivating enough to spend days if not weeks here. But I am not somebody to sit still for long and I was moving on quickly.

Now before I left I was offered an incredibly enticing deal to do a trek in the far west of Nepal, going from Khaptad National Park to Rara National Park and ending in Jumla from where onward overland transport is available nowadays. Unfortunately I have been struggling with a minor leg injury since Sri Lanka. Something called shin splinters, which basically means an inflammation of the muscles around the shin due to micro fractures in the shin. It is caused by walking on hard roads for longer periods of time. Anyway, the injury has become a lot better, but after my one day jungle walk I was back to limping again and so I decided it wouldn't be wise to do a two week trek. This also means that my other plans for trekking in Nepal have been cancelled. Many people would see this as a major disaster, but I see it as an opportunity to explore a different part of Nepal, the cultural parts. I will now concentrate on visiting the different villages, towns and cities around Nepal, not only in the Kathmandu valley, but all over the country.

And so my next destination was Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. I thought that perhaps the good Karma that must be surrounding such a place might help with the healing of my leg. Well, my leg did recover somewhat in my days at Lumbini, but whether this was due to Karmic healing or just plain giving it a bit of rest is up to debate. Lumbini is yet another wonderful place that gets few visitors, except for the Buddhist pilgrims of course. Monasteries from around the world have set up shop here and are located in a wonderful woodland park. As I walked the park going from one monastery to the other I managed to spot more wildlife than on my jungle walk in Bardia. I saw loads of birds and even some kind of antelope.

Leaving Lumbini wasn't as straight forward as arriving as the people of the Terai were on strike. After several hours of waiting fruitlessly at the bus station of Lumbini, myself and two Swiss travellers managed to hitch a ride with a tourist bus full of Sri Lankan pilgrims. They brought us to the next big town, from where we got a cycle rickshaw to Butwal about 20 kilometres, and 3 hours of cycling for the poor fellow, up the road. Luckily for me buses serving the road up to Pokhara were allowed to pass, only the Terai was on strike and since Pokhara is not in the Terai buses were allowed to pass.

I was not going to Pokhara but to Tansen which is on route to Pokhara. Tansen was yet again a little visited town, full of old Newari merchant houses, with intricately carved windows and wooden features. The town is set on a hill, it has steep cobbled streets and has got a bit of an medieval feel to it. At night with the electricity gone and the shops and restaurants lit by candles one could well imagine being in another century. The hotel I stayed in was equally special, with a lovely urine smell penetrating my room from the adjacent shared bathroom! It gave it that extra bit of authenticity!

And than I arrived into another world altogether. The world called Pokhara lakeside! Wow! Most people get a culture shock from seeing the filth and depravity of cities, I got it at my first site of this travellers ghetto. It was like entering a little enclave of Europe or something. Nightclubs, fancy restaurant serving steaks, tortilla's, Thai food, burgers, English breakfast, French wines and bread, Swiss food and everything else you can think of, including of course the German bakeries! India's travellers ghetto's are nothing compared to this. Here you can really imagine you are not in Nepal any more, that was never possible in India. The prices here are accordingly shocking to me. I am not sure how people survive on a budget in this place, but I suspect most are here on short holidays in which budgets are of no concern. And others come here just to stock up before starting one of the many treks that start from here.

As for me, I am not a fan of such places. It is fine for a few days, but somehow I feel more lonely in a place like this than in some remote small little shit hole. In a place like Tansen or Lumbini there are very few tourists, but it is easier meeting those few who are around, maybe because you know they have come to the place for the same reason as you. In places like Pokhara or the traveller haunts in India, there are many tourists, but I find it harder meeting anybody. Or maybe it is just me. Whatever the reason, I am not comfortable here, and so I will leave again tomorrow. Of course I had to walk up to Sarangkot to take in the views of the Annapurna's for which Pokhara is famous, unfortunately the weather hasn't been kind and haze mostly obscures the mountains from view.

I also walked to old Pokhara, outside the tourist bubble and refreshingly authentic, with the Newari houses with their fine wood carven windows lining the road. It is always good to know that all the travellers tend to stay in one small enclave and one can escape it by walking beyond it's fringes. Tomorrow I shall move towards quieter grounds, leaving the excellent steaks (and yes they are excellent, I tried them, because while I am here I might as well make use of those good restaurants... When in Rome...) for what they are. It will be Daal Bhaat time again!

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Part of trip: The great journey east!

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