DavidandHeidiIndiaNepal

We have (regretfully) left Kolkata, and moved on to Varanasi and Allahabad, which are closer to Delhi. Kolkata was everything we didn't expect it to be. The reputation it has earned does not do it justice, as it was probably the most modern place we have been to on this trip. We ate at some of India's best restaurants (including one by Sanjeev Kapoor, India's leading celebrity chef), visited the Indian museum (with extensive archaeology collections ) and a planetarium (ok, it was kind of old school, but it was awesome none the less). We did some high class shopping, and visited wonderful bookstores and sweet shops, and they even have a Music World. Kolkata is a cultural center and many residents resent the reputation it has as a dirty, poverty stricken city - a ... read more

We left Darjeeling yesterday, after about five days of being there, and we are now in Gangtok, which is the capital of Sikkim. Darjeeling was a beatiful place to stay and relax. The weather didn't really cooperate with us very much - there was LOTS of fog - but there were a few clear days and even in the fog the views over the hills and tea plantations were fantastic. On our way to visit a tea plantation, we were lucky enough (or so we thought) to happen upon a nice young local girl who wanted to chat and show us the way to the tea plantation. After about half an hour of walking we thought we had gone a bit far, and asked if the turn of to the plantation was to much farther. ... read more

Well we made it to Chitwan - but arrived a day later than intended. We woke up at a lovely 5am on June 1st, packed, checked out, and hauled ourselves to the bus stop only to find out that the buses were all on strike. Great. Back to the guesthouse, back to bed until the restaurants opened and we could have breakfast. After cruising the town a bit, it came to our attention that not only were the buses not running, but 90% of the stores were closed. Holiday? Nope. We asked around - turns out that it was a caste strike and that one of the lower castes collectively decided to take the day off. We ended up spending the day reading and playing cards in our hotel garden. The next day, we went ... read more

We have been in Kathmandu for about a week now, and as much as we would love to say that we have been out site seeing every day, thats not really the case. We have both been feeling a little under the weather lately: we both have minor colds (of course cold medication is the only thing in the entire pharmacy that we didn't think we'd need to bring with us) and Heidi somehow managed to get a second degree sunburn on the backs of her hands...so much for the sunscreen and the long sleeved shirts. Thamel seems to suck you in and leave you wandering through book stores and generally bumming around. Despite our various ailments, we have been to check out a few places around the Kathmandu valley and they were certainly interesting. ... read more

Well, our week in Pokhara has come to an end. It's been an incredibly relaxing week, and the weather has been cooperative for the most part. We spent the first few days browsing the shops for everything from Tibetan/Buddhist crafts to yak wool tuques for 150 rupees (less than a dollar) to tang juice powder. Our guide book says that "Pokhara some how magically sucks money out of you"...aint that the truth. Aside from shopping, we did a bit of a day climb up to the World Peace Pagoda. Heidi refuses to admit that that time of the morning is classified as day, but it was fun nonetheless. We took a boat across the lake to the "Typical Restaurant" (what a name....) and from there it was about a 2 hour climb straight up -with ... read more