Farewell Pokhara & Naundanda and hello ashram, good bye ashram.

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I farewelled my lovely friends and left Naundanda early Monday morning and travelled all the way to Kathmandu on a small micro bus. The trip took about 6 hours and cost 350rp. that’s about AU$6! After that, rather than go straight to the ashram, I decided that a little spoiling was in order so checked back into the Mandap hotel in Tammel for a hot, hot shower, good food and a proper mattress. Aaaaah!

The next day, with emails up to date as well as my blog, I set out for Janagal and the peace of the ashram. The taxi trip took about 1 ½ hours and I hoped that I could persuade him to go up the steep, twisty, rutted and muddy road to at least get me the steps that lead up to the ashram. No way! He saw the road and dropped me there. Bother! It’s a long, hot uphill walk before I even reach the steps up and up and with my bags and the lap top..... I struggled up slowly, having a rest now and then and as I approached the beginning of the steps and angel appeared in the guise of Ratnji the cook and milker of cows. I could have hugged him (maybe I did), he took my bags from me and we set up the hill.

Now I am back in the best place in Nepal. I arrived on a full moon, which is Gurus day and we had a group of visiting Hari Kishnas. There was singing and chanting throughout the ashram and everyone seemed so pleased to have Shakti Mata back. The funny thing is that I was talking with one of the head Hari Krishnas and he told me that in a past life I had been a Guru! And the crazy thing is that I didn’t think he was crazy. I have taken to this life, which after all is a world apart from mine in Adelaide, like a duck to water - or like a Guru from a past life to an ashram in the present, so who knows. I love the idea of it anyway. And to make matters more strange, another visiting Swarmi told me today that I will be a Guru in my next life.

Time to bid a sad farewell.
All packed and ready to go. I have mixed feelings as I am excited about the next part of my journey but also sad to be leaving such good friends who have made a big impression on my life. Yesterday one of the cooks at the ashram invited us to his house for a true Newari meal. Newaris were the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu valley and their food is quite different from the normal Nepali food. Really spicy and delicious. We had over 16 different types of food, all of it wonderful, but my poor stomach has suffered a little. My mind and mouth love the heavier, tastier food, but my body prefers the simpler ashram style. What a dilemma!

So now I am in my room waiting for the lunch bell and my farewells. Boing! What perfect timing. More food.

Good by Guruji ans swarmis.
I had a wonderful send off from the ashram with flowers and a mala around my neck and of course tika on my forehead. Guruji was heading into Kathmandu, so once again I had good company. I am going to miss them sooooo much.

In Kathmandu once more.
So here we are in the Ganesh Himal Hotel in Chhetrapati. It’s a little more than I would normally spend, but i have been so frugal so far that I decided a treat was in order. As you can see from the photos, the views from the top floor (where my room is and no lift!) are wonderful. There was no room in the hotel when Pete and Debu arrived so seeing as I had a double and a single bed in my room I suggested they stay with me. Like having a sleep over really! Now a room has become available so I will have the room to myself. I really didn’t mind them staying with me, but now I won’t have to be so careful coming out of the bathroom!!!!

Pete and I went to the Indian Embassy yesterday to organise our visa’s. Both have expired. There we met a lovely American lady who will be in Dharamsala the same time as me so we are going to meet. Then we met an English born Lebanese lady who told me about an amazing yoga centre just south of Pondicherry. They are also involved in a lot of environmental issues as well as running a school for local children and it sounds as if it is run more on Australian lines rather than the Indian rote way. So, another place where I may work sometime in the future. Life here has been full of serendipity. You meet someone, start chatting and find that you have so much in common. Then you share experiences and both seem to gain something from that. Then while I was standing at a counter waiting to lodge my telex request, I look behind me and there is Olga, the Russian woman who was at the ashram for a week. Small world.
So now we just have to wait for the telex request to Australia to come back affirmative then we can collect our visas, probably on Friday then we head off by bus BUS!!!!! To Varanasi. A long hard journey I think.

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