Nepal

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Crossing the border from Sunauli (India) to Bhairawa (Nepal), everything was fine, officer from Nepal was very friendly to make our visa on arrival, and no bribe. Our plan was to stay one night in Bhairawa, but we got a night bus to Kathmandu, and that wasn't sleep bus, the road was horrible, so we didn't sleep well, and we arrived in Kathmandu at 4 AM, we didn't print out the Kathmandu map, but there was a guy from Norway in the same bus, he had a guide book, so we went to a hotel together sharing the taxi, that guy from Norway is very different, he looks like army people, and carrying a locked metal box with him, that was a first time I saw a backpacker with metal box putting the important things inside. Anyway, we got a room for 3, a little expensive, but it is OK for that situation, we slept until 11 AM, then we went out to walk around.
First of all we had a good lunch, buff momo (Tibetan dumpling), I was missing so much the meat, I needed to eat better, I was feeling a little sick. After that we were looking for new place, and we found a HI Hostel in Thamel, so we booked for next day, Ling got a dormitory, I got a room because my wife is arriving next day in Kathmandu. We met a Chinese in hostel, and he had a friend is going to Tibet, that was my plan as well, after some conversation, I started to feel a little cold, and my body was unwittingly shaking, we asked to Chinese if he knew some hospital nearby, he said there is a Chinese doctor around, so we went to find it, but we couldn't find it, so we just went back to hotel, I stopped then I could get a rest, Ling went out to walk around, actually I was feeling some fever, and I started to sweat a lot, later fever seems gone, I felt better, a little weak and hungry, so I had dinner in hotel, and back to room to sleep early.
Next day we moved to hostel, and after lunch I went to airport to catch my wife, Ling stayed in Thamel to walk around, now he had a Nepal guide book, he bought a used one. Finally my wife came, but she was a little scary with my undone beard for more than 3 weeks, hahaha... Back to hostel, she was a little tired of trip, so she stayed in hostel, and I went to meet Jason, the Australian guy who I met in Bangkok, he is travelling around more than 11 years. He just came from Tibet, and telling me how inhospitable was Tibet, at least for winter time, and I was searching for the way to cross the border to Tibet, that was very complicated because I am foreigner. After a good conversation with Jason, each of us went back to get rest.
Next day at 9:00 AM, Jason came to our hostel and we went to a place to have a great breakfast, I was trying to eat a lot and well, because I was feeling weak. After breakfast Jason went to bus station, he was trying to go to India, then get a boat to Brazil, at least that was his plan, and we wanted to walk around, but there was a strike happening in the city, a Nepali political leader was dead, everything was closed, so we couldn't go out, just staying in hostel, and I got time to take more rest. Around 1 PM, I started to shake unwittingly again, then fever again and sweat a lot, this time my wife was taking care of me, and I was trying to take rest. Jason came back later, he got ticket, leaving Kathmandu going to Lumbini (near to border with India) tomorrow evening, we went to have dinner together, then we said goodbye to each other wishing good luck, and I went to hospital with my wife and Ling, they took my blood for test, but didn't find anything, actually they were looking for malaria, because my symptom was like malaria, but the doctor said the test wasn't 100%, he said to come back if I have the symptom again, so we just went back to rest, and doctor gave me a medicine for fever.
Waking up in the morning, yesterday night I was sweating but not too much, actually these I was sweating every night, that wasn't normal, now I am feeling hungry, , somehow I felt better, and Ling was sleeping yet, so we went out for a good breakfast, then back to hostel to take more rest until Ling wake up. These days Ling was reading a lot guide book, I was feeling ill not researching about the sights, so he was the guide for Kathmandu. After Ling woke up, we had a good lunch, I was eating a lot of meat, then we went to Bodhnath, a Tibetan temple, a place for the Tibetan refugee, a busy but peaceful place, somehow there were some elements of Hinduism, Nepal is a country with multi-cultures, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianism, but less aggressive than India in Nepal, I mean the way how the religion approach you, somehow I felt more peaceful in Nepal even the strikes we got there in Nepal, next day was Monday, January 19th, they already set up a strike for whole for the same reason of another day. And nothing happened to me, I didn't feel any fever, everything seems normal to me.
Next day we woke up later, nothing special to do, all stores were closed because of strike, we had a break-lunch around 11 AM, I contact a guide friend from China to make some Tibetan tour schedule just for the visa application, but they couldn't do it, that was a huge risk for them, it seems very hard to cross the border to Tibet without tour package, at least for a foreigner. Around 1 PM, I was feeling a little cold, and my body started to shake unwittingly again, what the hell!!! After shaking we went to hospital again, I was with 41.4 degrees fever! I took the medicine for the fever, and they took my blood again for test, actually we were in another hospital because the first was closed for the lunch. This time they found something, I got malaria from India, every 48 hours the body shake then a very high fever, everything was matching, India was really intense for me, at least they knew what I had now, so they gave me specific medicine for malaria. On the way back to hostel, I saw a lot of things relative to strike, but I was very weak, and I lost some great opportunity to take photos of that unique moment, then I just back to hostel to take a rest, and eat a lot to recover my energy. Now I already decided to not cross the border to Tibet, that will be too expensive and too hard for my body because of temperature, so I will just enjoying Nepal for few days, then take a flight to China, to visit my mom in south, take a rest in China, wait the better weather, and then go to Xinjiang crossing the border to Pakistan.
Ling's flight back to Taiwan was on December 22th, and mine was on 26th; before Ling leave, we visited Durbar square of Kathmandu, that was a palace place, there were so many temples with incredible details of carvings, and a very nice museum in the ancient royal palace. Another day we visited Monkey temple, a high place where you can see whole Kathmandu, and a lot of monkeys, and one of them stole my water. Before Ling catch his flight, we visited Kaiser library, with a nice book collection. These days hadn't no strikes and no malaria symptom again, it seems I was healed in fact, I just need time to recover my power, I was feeling a little weak yet.
After Ling leaving, we went to Chitwan National Park in next day, this time we hired a tour package, I wasn't in condition to do tour by myself. Chitwan is in south of Kathmandu, jungle, river, wild life and clean air, oh... For long time I didn't breath a clean air, that was so nice. So our activities there were elephant safari, exploring national park by walking and boating, visiting village, we were trying to see rhino in the national park, but we failed, rhino has a very sensitive hearing and smell. We met a lot of interesting people there again, 3 voluntary doctors and another 3 volunteers in monastery teaching English to young monks, and they are from Australia, Germany, Switzerland, USA and UK, their company was very pleasurable, and the conversation we had there was the same I had in the university time, that was great time, I was really missing that, thank you all. We should have elephant bath and cultural dance, but we didn't have because of bad organization, in the end Lorra and Mel (both are volunteers in monastery) talked to the manager and got refund of Rs 750 for each person, thanks Lorra and Mel, normally I am not a good one to complain and to get some refund.
Nepal was a politically unstable place with a multi-cultures, beautiful mountain and wild life, I could enjoy more if I didn’t have malaria, probably I will try to cross the border to Tibet, to take more photos registering more moments, anyway I hope I can be back to Nepal someday to explore better the places I didn’t go, like Pokhara, Lumbini and Himalaya.
Final account of Nepal:

- 12 days
- Total USD 517 (including my hospital expenses USD 267)
- Average USD 43.08 per day

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Photos

United Nations' car
Prohibited to carry gun, or to shoot the car?