The Journey - Kathmandu to Kerala

---

Arriving back in Kathmandu following the strenous trek, it was time to treat ourselves and indulge in a much-missed and much-needed burger!! Arriving back during Divali festival, the city had transformed into a maze of lights, flags and dancing. Knowing we were to be leaving the next day we spent the day relaxing and washing our filthy trekking clothes (and our filthy selves) and got a good night sleep in preparation for the mammoth journey that was to unfold!

Day 1 - Waking in kathmandu at 7:30am we checked out, took a rickshaw to kathmandu bus station and from here embarked on a 10hr very bumpy journey on a local crowded bus to Sunali (the border crossing between Nepal and India). Stepping off the bus we took a cycle rickshaw, a slow and sleepy ride down the quiet roads surrounded by peaceful fields at sunset, then all of a sudden we neared the crossing and the huge party in full swing on the Indian side! After passing immigration we stepped across the border and into the festival atmosphere, where all the locals all looked rather sozzled tp say the least! Boarding another bus we embarked on another 3hr journey to Gorakhpur, all the while passing and being blocked by tractors and trucks filled with people, statues and booming music, closely followed by hoards of young men dancing and thrusting hips and shoulders to the beat - an amazing site to see! Arriving in Gorakhpur around 10:00pm we headed straight to the train station to purchase general class tickets for the train leaving for Bangalore (3200km away) the next morning.

Day 2&3 - Waking in Gorakhpur at 5:00am we headed to the station to board our 6:20am (55 hour) train to Bangalore. The next two days and nights aboard the long-distance train were an amazing experience; making lots of new Indian friends and swapping stories, from our own travels to the latest music and films, not to mention being moved from sleeper to sleeper (due to failure to reserve seats) finally resulting in us sharing the one middle berth for the night much to the amusement of the locals!

Day 4 - Arriving in Bangalore bright and early, we put the luggage into storage and headed to the reservation office to enquire about tickets to Trivandrum in neighbouring state Kerala. Discovering we could only be placed 27th on the emergency booking list, and there being no tickets until 4 days later (5th november), we decided to opt for the bus. With no train to catch we wandered aimlessly into the waking city in search of breakfast, making a stop at the local chai waller on the street for kerb-sitting and sipping. When a few restaurants eventually opened breakfast was found in the form of a toastie and coffee. With the bus to Trivandrum not departing until 5pm we spent the day ahead of us wandering the bustling city, particularly Mahatma Gandi road, and the local gadget museum (which proved to be more fun than we thought)! After a quick beer stop at the local hangout we headed to the bus station and boarded the bus which was to take another 13-14 hours. Aside from the fact that the journey was uncomfortable, the ride was made a little more sleepless given the fact we were played a film about bus crashes!!!

Day 5 - Finally arriving in Trivandrum bus station around 7:00am, we walked the ten minute journey (laden with heavy bags) to the nearby east fort bus station to catch yet another bus (only 45minute journey) followed by a short rickshaw ride. After 5 long days of travelling we had finally reached our goal destination - Kovalam Beach, Kerala.

---