Heaven and Hell in 24 hours!

---

I had promised Raju last year that when I next came to Kathmandu I would go with him to visit his family in the village of Kavre in the mountains. The nearest town that you would probably find on any map is Sindhuli. It is south east of Kathmandu and took us an hour by taxi to Banepa, then we took a big beaten up bus for about 4 hours to the village then walked for about an hour down from the top of the mountain to his house, along what you would call goat tracks, beautiful but at times precarious.


I had never been off road on a bus before and that is what we did. Bus route? No way! The views where something to behold but I often had the feeling that I was going to see them a whole lot closer up than I wanted too. The driver threw the bus around bends and plunged through pot holes with abandon, although I must admit that he handled the bus as though it was a Mini Cooper.

There was a sheer drop on either side most of the way and at times I really did close my eyes and wait for the roller coaster ride from hell to end.

It did, on the top of a mountain and we had to walk down a fare way to Raju’s family.
The walk would not have been too bad had I had walking shoes but I did it in thongs or what they call chapels. But apart from a few minor slides and a huge snake - God it was big, we made it.

Raju’s family home is one of a small cluster of packed earth houses clinging to the side of the mountain among fields of corn. They have 2 bullocks, 5 or 6 goats and of course, chickens. There is no running water so his mother or sister walk down hill to a water source a few times a day and cart it back to the house. There is no electricity but they have rigged up battery powered light. The walls and floors are packed earth and a rug is put down to sit on for meals.

We waited to meet Raju’s sister as she had gone down to the lower village to get rice. She carried a 30kg bag up the mountain side that took me 1 ½ hours just to get down the next day! But that’s another story.

We met uncles and aunts and cousins and friends and all were such lovely people. We had bought lollies which they all consumed with delight. Raju also took some to neighboring homes for children and an old lady who I later visited. One arm and leg was partially paralyzed and I think that she must have had a stroke. Being a westerner, they thought that I could help! She also had a huge goiter which you can see in the photograph. Her sister was looking after her, but she looked about 80 and infirm too. They both had a rope hanging from a rafter in the ceiling to haul themselves up from laying to sitting. It must be so hard being old and sick in places like this.

These people lead a simple life with very little of the stresses that we have from day to day, but it’s a damned hard life that’s for sure.
Dinner was the precious rice that poor Sunjew (wrong spelling I’m sure) had carried up, with cauliflower and of course dhal, washed down with fresh bullocks milk which I love.

We didn’t want to keep the family up late as they rise at about 4.a.m. so had an early night. There were 3 beds in the room where we slept and I was surprised that we would not be sleeping on the floor. But we may just have well have had as there were no mattresses, just a sheet over wooden planks!!!! Luckily they had given us a typical Nepali quilts, stuffed with shredded cloth that form perfect lumps in difficult places, so we laid on those as we didn’t need them over us.

The silence was wonderful until dawn approached then every bit of live stock in the area decided to welcome the sun and wake us from a fitful nights sleep, well maybe sleep isn’t quite the right word. I have trouble sleeping on doors!

Breakfast was tea and the biscuits that we had brought, then it was time for lots of photos, which they loved and even changed into their best clothes for.

Then it was time for the decent of Everest and I was not looking forward to it. And I was right, I am not made for mountain trekking. But when you have a choice of climbing up or climbing down, what do you do? I couldn’t stay there.

If it hadn’t been for Raju’s sister I don’t know what I would have done. She kept a vice like grip on my arm the entire way down, I think I even have bruises to prove it. Just to make things more exciting (ha!) we had a shower of rain before we left to make the paths slippery, then there was the loose rubble under foot and the hidden vines to catch your feet. Not to mention the dust and grit that got inside my shoes to course blisters.

The clouds eventually lifted and the sun started beating down, really beating down. So there I was stuck on a mountain side, head throbbing from the sun, knees shaking, muscles trembling, sweat pouring off me in a most unbecoming way, trying to keep my composure and balance, while I was helped down like an elderly invalid, knowing that all around me could be down there in a hop, skip and a jump!

Then we even had a river to cross. Oh come on, what next, piranhas? The water was flowing strongly but with an ex Himalayan porter on each side of me, I felt safe. Raju’s uncle even offered to carry me across but I decided to keep whatever dignity I had left and I knew it wasn’t much.

Would I do it again? NEVER! Do I regret it? NO! It was a truly memorable, wonderful experience, but why spoil it by trying to do it again? Next time the mountain can come to Mohammed.

Once we had arrived at the tiny village at the bottom of the mountain and once all of the children had gawked at this strange vermillion lady quaking on a bench and once the bus arrived, we were on our way home. Or were we? The bus looked like it had been in a stunt movie. Half the windows were missing and there was torn metal along the edges (probably from peoples nails), some of the seats had come lose from the tracks and had to be held in place or they would have flown around the bus, the backs of most seats were broken and crushed peoples knees behind and the seat cushions were ripped to shreds (also from peoples nails I would guess). But I didn’t care. I just held on tightly and closed my eyes, I was so exhausted.

Raju had told us that the Japanese had built this road and it was very good. Well, if this is how Japanese build roads, they should stick to chopsticks.

Obviously we got home in one piece, although the pieces I think were not in the right order, and after a shower and a good nights sleep all is well and I can look back fondly to an experience that I never want to have again.

Enjoy the photos and please click on them to enlarge them. I don’t think my eyes will ever experience anything more beautiful. I may not have thought so clambering downside, but I am blessed.

P.S. The photos may be out of order, sorry - just too hard! And I am putting them up in 3 lots, it's easier!

---

Comments

[Toby]

Can't see the snake!
Maybe it's my connection here in Papua. Only the top third of this photo loads and I can't see the snake!

[Jackie]

Amazing!
Boy! Beverley, what an amazing trip and well done with the snake!! Fabulous memories!

[Ian]

Very Impressed, but milk from a castrated male cow?
Dear IndiaBuffy, I am extremely impressed with the pic of the BIG snake! How you managed to take it so clearly whilst running in the opposite direction is beyond me! :) But even more impressive is drinking milk from castrated male cattle - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullock ........ Seriously though - what an adventure!