Rivers, Mountains and the Hours in Between

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EVEREST! We are leaving tomorrow from Kathmadu to take on the base camp of Everest. Should be epic. We fly to Lukla in the early morn and after that it is a 15 day hike to base camp and a look out in the area, somewhere around 5350m of elevation. The guide book says that because there are so many valleys we will end up walking 9000m of elevation.

I have pack as close to nothing as is possible when accounting for cold weather. Luckily the whole train is dotted with guest houses so we don't have to carry tents or food. Going to be epic.

Since my last blog I spent most of my time in Rishikesh which was very enjoyable. Rishikesh first became famous to many in the West after the Beatles went there to stay in an ahram for 6 months where they wrote most of the White Album. That is everyone but Ringo and his wife who are said to have left after a week because they didn't like the veg diet.

The first few days I just chilled in this area called the High Bank with a Canadian and 2 Dutch guys that I met. We went white water rafting on the Ganges which was really fun. I went for a dip (up-steam) and felt holier immediately. There are two sweet "pedestrian" bridges that connect the two sides of the river, pretty much very long suspension bridges. Pedestrian being cows, monkeys, people and motor bikes. Once again, cows ruled all.

After a few days of that I went to an ashram called Anand Prakesh. It had a beautiful garden and was a really peaceful place. The main Guru was in Canada so pretty much it was 3 meals and yoga/mediation at 6am and 4pm everyday. The yoga classes were great and after the first day it wasn't so bad getting up at 5:30. It was actually pretty nice to have such long days of sunlight and after 2 hours of yoga/mediation I felt quite energized. Didn't decide to shun material things, don orange clothes and move into a cave, but overall a successful experience.

I also went to Chabad for the Seder on the first night of Passover. It was predictably full of Israelis. There were probably about 150 people there which was cool. The whole service was in Hebrew, which has been quite a useful language throughout India for me to be able to speak. The food was mediocre and there was no dressing up as "Bitter Herb," the Red Sea or other characters from the story but nonetheless I was happy that I went. Thankfully no one got into a debate over the kosher-ness of peanuts as has been known to happen.

From Rishikesh I went to Haridwar for the night to catch a train back to Delhi in the morning. From 6am when I got the train it took me 48 hours of continuous travel to reach Kathmandu. The train to Delhi to 6.5hours, then a rickshaw across town, a 17 hour overnight train to Gorakphur. In Gorakphur I caught a 3 hour local bus to Sunauli (only broke down once!) where the border is. After walking across the border I met a British guy, the first tourist I had seen in quite a while and we caught a bus to Kathmandu. It was supposed to arrive at 10pm, we got in at 6am. The bus driver stopped around 11pm and took a 4 hour nap. Typical. That was after stopping at someone uncle's restaurant (I presume) to watch an hour long sitcom. At least I didn't get hit by a strike like my other two friend though, whom it took 40 hours from the border to Kathmandu.

We are staying in the very touristy part of Kathmandu called Thamel, but compared to India the harassment level is practically non-existent. All the streets are littered with stores selling knock-off North Face and Columbia gear - everything you have ever wanted for trekking at a fraction of the price. We walked to the old city today in a search for the Tourist Office where you get the trekking permits which was a really cool part of town. And no one stared at us. Amazing.

People here have been really friendly and so far. They also are all just really cool looking. Nothing against India, but guys should not wear high waisted, flared pants with decorated back pockets. It's just not right. Nepalis understand, and for that I give them major props. They also have some pretty interesting hair cuts. Most of all though, they aren't nearly as aggressive as Indians can be which is a lovely break.

The air pollution in Kathmandu is probably the worst I've experienced anywhere though, I've seriously been thinking about buying a face mask. Every time I see one I still think of SARS.

Today is Nepali New Years, marking the year 2066, so there is quite a festive feel to the air... and about 30 cops in bullet proof vests on the main corner.

And now, to hike a very large mountain. Wish me luck!

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