The Ridiculousness of Strikes!!

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I have decided to write a quick entry about the travel in this country, because sometimes it is just so annoying, and I think you should all be aware of this!!!

Talking to people who have been traveling around Asia, I have been given the general impression that travelling in India is the worst experience of all- I think travelling in South Nepal must come pretty close to being just as bad!!! When I was done in Lumbini, I had to get a bus back to Kathmandu, which should be a relatively simple affair. We boarded a tourist bus, which was more like a local bus, seeing as it was completely overcrowded and full of Nepalis/Indians. We sat there in the heat for about 6 hours, thinking we were getting somewhere, until the bus driver stopped and told us that he was going to turn back to Lumbini, as there was a strike on the roads. It's such a frustrating situation!!! Some people in the east of the country basically had an accident and were demanding money from the Government. Exceptt with the Government in its current unstable state, it refused to pay. So now people all over the country are refusing to drive their buses!! And these kind of strikes don't just last a day in Nepal- sometimes they can last for weeks and weeks!

So anyway, I had to head back to Lumbini, and sweat out another litre.... Because of the strike, I had to take a long route back to Kathmandu, back through Pokhara in the most unpleasant bus I have ever sat in in my life! The place stank of vomit and body odour, and it was full of horrible Indian people. There were girls vomiting out of the bus window, and every half hour the driver would stop to let on people selling cucumbers and beggars, just to push you to the limit. It was disgusting to sit in there for 10 hours- it actually felt like my jeans had turned to liquid!

Needless to say, when we got to Pokhara, I booked seats on a 'luxury' bus that has air-con. It was great! Its the bus that only the Japanese people and rich Nepalis use, so was mainly very pleasant!!

Anyway, that's all for today- I don't plan on doing any travelling so I'll proabaly only write in here once more before I return to England. Take care until then!!

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