Boo!

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First, my deepest apologies for not posting another entry since I got back from our trek! But know it wasn't out of disregard for your concerns, it was out of a lack of internet availability. I am now safe and sound in Varanasi (again), but I have always been safe, so don't worry. Our trek lasted eight days, and there was no internet available anywhere along the trails, and once we got back to Pokhara we were stuck with power blackouts for about eight hours a day that I think started at 10am and lasted until 6pm, and when the power was on, and internet was theoretically available, it was too slow to get anything done, as almost every webpage would time out before loading. I had similar issues in Kathmandu, but also less time to try and get online. So let me get this in the clear (mom): I have never been in harms way during this trip, not in India, not on our trek (no Maoists, as they are in the cities for the upcoming elections), and on the contrary I have only met very awesome people, especially in Nepal! (Not to take anything away from people we've met along the way in India, but Nepal was really a special trip this time around!) Our trek was absolutely amazing, and the guide we had was truly a blessing in many ways... he never stopped smiling (and often times giggling like a little girl), he was helpful beyond the call of duty (I wouldn't have made it up to Annapurna Base Camp without his help), and he was as admirable a person as you could find. He gave us a big Dal Bhat (like and Indian Thali) dinner on our last night in Pokhara, which I helped him shop for, and it was really quite amazing... fried catfish that seriously tasted like some of the best fried chicken I've had in Seattle, and just an all around excellent meal. And then his family... one son and one daughter, who were both adorable, but his four year old daughter was like this little ball of "cuteness". She actually looked a lot like Jackie and John's Nicole, but just a little bit younger and Nepali. Anyway, I honestly can't say enough good things about our guide, Ram, and his family. It was because of him that we truly had an experience of a lifetime!

Now there's really so much to catch up on, so little time and space to do it. I mean if you know me, you know I write long emails... I just can't keep them short. I could see this post being 10 pages long without even writing half the stuff I would want to say. So I'll do my best to keep it rather short and sweet, and I'll probably have to add tidbits of other experiences in later posts, because there's no way I could even remember half the stuff thats fit to tell.

So the last real post was back in Goa (two posts back?), and we have since flown to Delhi for a night, then over to Varanasi for four days. The Ramakrishna Mission, where we stayed, is a huge hospital complex that is run by donations and is free to the public, and is a major ashram/temple/mission/hospital within my parents' religeous organization, probably second to their headquarters in Belur Math, in Calcutta. And when you arrive there from the streets of Old Varanasi, its like this sanctuary of peace and quiet, in the middle of this huge ball of chaos and noise. Its about 1.5km from the Main Ghat, along the main road, which is where the main road comes to the Ganga... so its a little bit outside the heaviest portion of chaos, but on a scale of 10 we're comparing an 8 to a 10, so it doesn't say too much about the lowered level of chaos outside the hospital complex. Either way, its very nice to be able to step off the street and relax. Of course to be honest I enjoy the chaos on the streets almost as much. And the swamis here are amazing as always! Always helpful, and they worry about my safety and well being almost as much as my mom, which says a lot. At the same time it makes me feel bad that they were the last people we saw that could be contacted from home, so when I was without internet they received the questions about me, and were likely just as worried about my delayed "return to society". For that I really feel bad, but their concern is most appreciated!

Varanasi is not a "happening place" though, so there's not a whole lot to tell... its more of a place for me to go out to the Ganga and relax, but just in a different way than in Goa on the beach. I can go to the burning ghats, to a lookout up above, and sit there watching for hours, any time of the day (they are going 24/7, for some 3000 years)... its just so easy to get lost in thought, or to just stop thinking and observe a rather unique piece of so many people's lives. Like I was saying to some other travelers last night, even if I could take a picture, or even videotape, there's no way to really explain to anyone what you are seeing right before you. Its just not meant for words. But there's more to Varanasi than the burning ghats, like just finding a quiet set of steps to sit on for hours, watching, listening, reading, drawing... in essence relaxing. Or if I need more excitement, there's about a 500-1500 foot buffer that extends all along the river in Varanasi, which is where many of the people live, and simply put is one huge maze of alleys only big enough for walking, or a motorcycle, or a cow. I have a very good sense of direction, but I can easily lose it after 5 minutes of walking in "the maze", and its almost like a game of seeing where you'll come out... back on the river somewhere, or back onto a street. And with a strip of river maybe eight kilometers long, it would take many days to walk all the alley ways. Its like this adventure that is always two minutes away, or 50 feet away. If you want to get lost for a half hour, then all you have to do is find the next stairway up into the maze. The sad thing is that I had planned on spending about 10 days in total here this trip, but because of our trek in Nepal the time was shortened to five days, which really isn't enough for me. But I guess there's always next year, right?

So after Varanasi we flew into Kathmandu, and then took a bus to Pokhara the next morning. After being in India, Nepal always seems easier on the senses, although Kathmandu is like a piece of India that got thrown up into the Himalayas, at least its like that today... so leaving Kathmandu the next morning wasn't hard to do... not when you're surrounded by hills and mountains, and you know what they hold for you once you eave the city. But of course not everything goes as planned. When we arrived in Nepal we were unaware of a 15 minute time difference, so when we went to get our bus in the morning, about15 minutes early, we arrived only to realize the bus had left two minutes ago. Now this wasn't the only bus to Pokhara, so we weren't out of luck, but this is when the craziness started. Kevin and I (John was waiting for us in Pokhara, arriving one day ahead) were now standing among maybe 10 buses, with this big ol' fat sign that said 'tourist, lost, desperate, confused,' and all topped with the big killer: 'walking money.' Let the chaos begin!! I've never seen so much haste and fury with regards to getting two people to agree to ride on your bus, and fill empty seats. At the same time, Kevin and I are on red alert with regards to being taken advantage of, but knowing we have about 5 minutes to board a bus to Pokhara, or wait another day. Now I'm not an angry person, I don't like to be pushy, and I'm certainly not one to start a fight, but the salesmen there, trying to sell travelers snickers bars and bottled water, were the last thing we wanted to see, and these guys would not get out of our face or leave us alone. I lost it. In a rare moment I lost my cool and was on the verge of teaching one guy in particular a lesson on why you shouldn't be too pushy. Kevin saw this rare moment approaching in me, and pushed the guy away from me so he couldn't push my last button. And don't get me wrong, I had repeatedly told the guy he was really starting to piss me off, but he wouldn't take no for an answer... all while I'm finding a bus to get on, making sure my bags are locked and secured on top of the bus, and just making sure we're not being taken advantage of by the bus drivers. Needless to say, nothing happened. We got on a bus, no one got hurt, we made ur connection to Pokhara, and we even got away with paying half the price for the bus ride, compared to a few other people we talked to on the bus (to their dismay). After about eight hours we arrived in Pokhara, and were greeted by a (peaceful) protest or demonstration in the streets, full of people waiving red flags... due to the elections in five weeks. And this was not there to greet the bus we were on, but was going on about a block down from where the bus let everyone off. Welcome to the current state of Nepal... multiple political parties making themselves heard for the upcoming elections, possibly one of the biggest elections Nepal may see for quite some time. But I'll say that even with some of the political heat surrounding us, we never saw anything that even scratched on the surface of violence, and we never felt like we were getting into any dangerous areas or anything. Actually, thats not true... coming back to Kathmandu we all had red flags fly up pretty quick when our bus started getting stopped by kids on the highways who would stand in the street, holding up a rope, not letting you pass until you paid them. We were sure this was some little Maoist plot to get extra funds, but after maybe 30-45 minutes we understood that this was part of the annual ritual these kids go through on Shivaratri, and major holiday/festival, and the day we were traveling on. In short, they collect money, or "donations", which they pool together at night to kind of throw multiple parties around the country (multiple parties per village). In other words this was as harmless as it could be, but we just took 45 minutes to figure it out. I have about 20 minutes of video footage of this stuff, and I'm sure you can hear the tone of voice from us go from greatly concerned to greatly relieved. And mind you these little road blocks were all along our eight hour bus ride... but the drivers would simply give five rupees (60 to the US dollar), and pass through, but only if they wouldn't get out of the way, and made the bus stop... which our driver tried his best not to do (half the time this game of chicken was aborted by the kid in front of the bus, jumping out of the way, half the time we came to a jolting stop). But the main thing was it was harmless, and really the only time a red flag went up for any of us. Even though we saw no Maoists on the trek, I did get a chance to go into their camp (or compound) to try and get an interview with a few of them, assisted by our guide Ram. Unfortunately they were not interested, with the election right around the corner. They thought it safer to stick to their own plans and disregard the chance to speak their minds, potentially to the rest of the world via the internet and my video camera. Their loss. But then to them I'm simply some white skinned stranger with a camera, and who knows what my true intentions are. I was hoping for an interview, but was fully aware it was a long shot.

Then there was our trek... but you'll have to wait a few for that. I have to go have lunch 😉 Be back for more later...

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Comments

[Mom]

We are so happy to hear from you!
OK, now we can relax....not that we were worried about your traveling throughout Indian or Nepal, we had concern about your Maoist ideas and are relieved to know you used good sense. I have so many questions to ask you about your stay in Benares on both occasions so will wait to read the rest of your blog. What is arrival date here or are you staying longer? Your dad and I are having the property cleared next week so for the first time in 45 years, we will be able to look straight down the property to see our own waterfront without having to look south. I don't know why your grandparents never cleared it. Your dad thought that once we moved out of the bathroomless cabin, grandma never wanted to look back. She was ready to live in their new home above. We should have the deed next week. If you make it home by the 19th and have energy to drive with us to Arizona, you are welcome to come along. More later on that. Closing for now. Of course we all miss you...continue to travel safely as you have been doing. Good that you are keeping healthy. Mom