clean air, but a sore head !!

---

Well hello there everone ! It's Gareth here giving you the latest on our travels.
First of all I'll brief you on the drama that unfolded yesterday on our way to Nepal. After another very long journey on trains and buses from Varanasi to Gorakhpur, we could almost see our destination in our sights. Our main aim was to reach the Nepali boarder in the morning sometime so that we would be able to catch the 'day' bus to Kathmandu. At Gorakhpur, all we had to do was get the local bus to Sonauli, the boarder town. We managed to squeeze on, bags intact to the bus that was supposed to last about two hours. This would have left us approximately one hour to get our Nepali visas and then catch our last bus to the capital. All would have been well, had I not stood up for a 'toilet' stop so quicky. Above my head was an air vent with a sharpish corner - you guessed it, I hit it at the speed of a man dying to use the bog. Blood rained, people stared in shock at a two inch gash on my head. Immediately the driver herded all the other 'toilet' users back onto the bus and it was off to the nearest hospital at breakneck speed. The whole bus followed myself and the driver in. Clare, being a woman wasn't allowed to follow. Instead some local men and women comforted her. ( Indian chivalry at its finest) However Clare made her escape shortly after and found me on a wooden bench in a little room, surrounded by the the whole bus of people - all trying to hold a different part of my head. I was very nervous - we've all heard stories about foreign hospitals. Clare kept a good eye on what he was doing and gave me the running commentry. It all sounded pretty much by the book in my opinion. The iodine, stitches, head bandage that made me look like I'd just done a four month stint in Vietnam, and of course the tetanus. Painkillers and antibiotis followed and then we rounded the event off with the bill. About $2. I was asking him for a receipt to claim it back on my travel insurance when Clare gave me a real look. It must have been the knock on the head...
The detour led us to miss the bus, and we had been told that the drive to Kathmandu was essential during the day in order not to miss out on the fabulous mountainous scenery. The boarder town was not so pleasant so we didn't fancy staying the night. We got a cab. Six hours through the most unbelievable landscape I have ever seen in my life. And it was all uphill - honestly for 320 kms we drove uphill.
So we're now in Nepal, home to the Himalaya and of course the highest point on our little earth, Everest. We're in Kathmandu, the country's capital city - and it is delightful. It is clean, friendly and quite busy - but after 10 challenging days in the chaotic frenzy of India, this place is like heaven in the Himalaya. There's plenty of Westerners flowing through the narrow streets; streets which are full of shops and stalls that cater to our (Western) insatiable appetite for the unique. But more importantly, this city and indeed country, is definitely a little more developed than India. Walking through this city, you could really be anywhere. Record stores, proper restaurants, IRISH BARS!! It really is a pleasure to be in. The city's fun - there's a karaoke bar next to our hotel that goes on to 3am - it keeps us awake at night, but you know what, we don't even care as we'll probably be giving them our version of popular classics by the end of the week !
We spent today finishing off our Christmas shopping. Now we're heading to, yep ya guessed again... the Irish bar.

Love to all,

Gareth & Clare

---

Comments

[Dennis]

Hello
where you 'headin' tomorrow?