More Golden Buddhas and Dogs with the Mange

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Thursday November 3, 2006 - Today after I said good bye to my friends I got on the bus from Chitwan back to Kathmandu. I had a seat in the last row of the bus, where there are five seats together with no aisle, and the seats don't recline. Not very comfortable. So I sat in another seat as it wasn't full. A guy from the bus came over and made me sit in the back row. Nice. The good news was that I sat behind a nice Polish couple as well as an American/Brazilian couple, Michael and Andrea. We all talked for a while and then I slept or read or listened to music. It was a long ride back to town - we left at 9:30am and arrived around 3pm or so. There was a lunch stop along the way and I split a bunch of baby bananas with Michael and Andrea. They also gave me a super juicy green orange which was good.

Once we arrived Michael and Andrea decided to come back to the hotel I was staying in and give it a try as they had no reservations anywhere. We did some haggling with the cab drivers and got on in. At the hotel we ended up with rooms next door to each other, which is always convenient.

My next step was to run out to check my email. This is where it gets confusing. I have been planning a trip with my friend Steve to visit him in Scotland on my way back to the States, and I needed to know if we had the dates settled yet. I would be flying from India as the flights were MUCH cheaper and to do that I would need to apply for an Indian transit visa. But to get the visa I had to show them my tickets from India to Scotland, which I couldn't buy until I had worked dates out with Steve. He has been busy at work and not on email much lately, but I was hoping he had written while I was away. I had to buy the tickets to Scotland before I could apply for my Indian transit visa, and I wanted to go tomorrow to apply for the visa so I could leave Sunday and start my slow overland journey to Delhi.

No problem - Steve's a superstar and emailed and the dates were working out fine, so I ran over to Wayfarers, a travel agency here, and bought my tickets from Delhi to Inverness. The good fare was still available so I snapped it up. I had the choice of flying from Delhi to London, changing airports, and then flying from London to Inverness, or flying from Delhi to London, London to Edinburgh, and Edinburgh to Inverness, without changing airports. It seemed like too much hassle to change airports, and I'm pretty sure I don't have enough money to breathe in London, let alone pay for the bus that goes between airports. So I opted for the extra flight, which still gets me to Inverness by 5pm local time - same as the other flight option, and for the same price (cheaper really, since I don't need the extra bus).

After all this was done, I felt good and met Andrea and Michael for dinner. We went to a more Middle Eastern vegetarian restaurant and shared a pizza and a meal of bread, hummus, baba ganoush, tahini, and other yummy options. It was really good. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and said good night. I did some reading, listened to some music, and drifted off to sleep.

Friday - Today I got up early so I could be at the Indian Embassy to get in line for my transit visa. There were bunches of people already there and just sitting and having coffee at a little shop just outside the embassy. I got in line and then found out that there was a waiting list that no one had mentioned. This is an unofficial list for the lazy - they get there super early to be the first ones in line but don't want to put in the effort to stand there so they create their own list and then sit down and relax until 10 minutes before the doors open. Meanwhile, even if you come early, but not quite as early, you have to put your name low down on the list and then stand in line since the seats are all gone. Then they just get in front of you later. It sucks but it's the way it is. So I got my name on the list, glared at all the lazies, and sat around chatting with an English guy named Stuart. He had some interesting problems - he needed to get a visa to India as his Nepalese visa was expiring but he was also leaving that day for the three week trek I had planned to do. I couldn't see how he could possibly get what he needed and he really didn't have enough time to wait there but he needed to have his questions answered.

Finally we were let in and made it into the inner sanctuary, which is still actually outside. I beeped at the metal detector and assured them I had no knife. They believed me and in I went. I got into the transit line and there was only one guy in front of me. It was shortly my turn and I told the man I wanted to apply for a transit visa. Of course, it was the transit line so no words should even be necessary. He looked at my ticket to Scotland and asked what my purpose in going to India was. I told him to go to Scotland. He kept asking me the same question and I kept repeating the answer. Finally he said if I was only in transit why did I need so many days? I didn't know what to say - the transit visa is for 15 days and I only needed 10. I was planning to go to Varanasi, Agra, and then Delhi to see something and break up the journey. But he was clearly saying I couldn't be a tourist with a transit visa, so I didn't tell him that. Finally he told me that it was too many transit days and I could come back some other time. But he said I had to come back with a ticket directly to Delhi and he wouldn't tell me when it would be acceptable to go to Delhi. How much transit time COULD I have? He even told me I could talk to his boss if I wanted. So I did. And he said the same thing. I explained that I had been there before, spoken to the same man, and was told all I needed was my ticket dated within 15 days of getting the visa. He said that was the past, this is current, and whatever happened last time doesn't matter. Well, ok, but I was left wondering when I come back sometime later, will you say the same thing again?

I left there with tears in my eyes that I couldn't keep in. At least I got out into the street before they started falling. It is my way of dealing with stress, and somewhat inconvenient. I had all my plans made and was really getting excited about them and the possibility of catching up with some of my friends again in India. Now it would be impossible.

I spent the rest of the day asking about options overland to Delhi and on the internet. I also met with my doctor in the afternoon for the last time to make sure I was doing ok after the surgery. For dinner I met up with Andrea and Michael as well as a Nepalese friend of theirs, Raj Kumar, and his wife and sister-in-law. They took us in two cabs to a restaurant about 3 km away and we had a nice time. It was their last night in town before flying to India and they treated, which was so nice. After dinner we came back to the hotel and said good night.

Saturday - This morning I went to say good-bye to Michael and Andrea before their flight, but it turned out that Andrea was sick and they were going to try to change their flights to the following day. Raj Kumar was coming to pick them up to take them to them to breakfast, so I waited for him while they went to the ticket office. They were able to change the tickets since they hadn't been printed yet, so they just planned a day of rest for her to get better and feel travel worthy. Raj Kumar never showed so I met them at the restaurant and we had a quick breakfast at my favorite place and then we were off in our separate directions. It turned out that Raj Kumar's grandmother died and that was why he was late in coming. We also learned that due to their traditions, he had to spend thirteen days in mourning and could not do anything in that time.

I spent some time catching up on my blog during the day, and then I met Ray and Pete for dinner that night. They are the Australians that I had met at the travel agency just before my trip to Chitwan National Park. They took me to their favorite restaurant and we had a blast. The food was cheap and good, and the company was excellent. I liked them both immediately and they were fun to talk to the whole time. We ordered a couple dishes to split, like fried momos and a curry and rice, and then later on we ordered the whole dinner again, plus a chicken dish. It was yummy. The boys even paid for my dinner - so sweet. When it started getting late they got a rickshaw back to their part of town and I walked back to my hotel. They offered to walk me back but it was not far for me, and they wanted to get back before their hotel locked the doors, shut the gate, and brought out the dog. Interestingly, they had stayed one night at my hotel when they first arrived in town and they were offered pot by the matron! "The best stuff in town", according to her. They left after one night and found a place more to their liking.

Sunday - When I got up in the morning I planned to say good bye to Michael and Andrea but she was still sick, and so they changed their tickets again to fly out on Monday. They spent another day relaxing and taking it easy. I met Ray and Pete for breakfast at 9am. Last night we talked about the fact that I had not even really been out to see Kathmandu, even after all the time I had spent there. Granted I was sick most of the time, but now that I would be stuck here for a few more days at least we decided to see some temples. The boys offered to show me around and I took them up on it. We had a lazy breakfast morning at their restaurant and we all ordered simple breakfasts, which included tea or coffee, eggs, potatoes and toast. And it was less than a dollar each. I treated them this time, much to their displeasure, and then we started off for the day. We took a cab to one of the temples, a place they had been to before. They even knew the sneaky local back way in, saving me and them several rupees. Thank you boys. It was actually a large area, which several temples around. Right in the middle was a large stupa, a huge white building that you can walk around and a bit on top of but not inside. It starts large and fat and tapers to a point on top. There were men on top throwing what we thought at first was whitewash on to it, cleaning it up. But in the end we saw that it was a yellowish substance that they threw on there in a particular pattern to make a design. I am still not sure about its significance.

We walked around the stupa on the outside, where there were lots of prayer wheels. It seems we walked in the wrong direction instead of clockwise with everyone else. We also went inside of a temple just out front of the stupa. We went up to the top on the roof where we could look down and had great views of everyone walking by and of the stupa itself. As we were coming downstairs, a man who worked there offered to let us in to see the new room they were doing on the second floor and let us take pictures. He didn't even let the locals in! They had their faces pressed up against the glass looking inside while we were in there. We got some photos of big golden buddhas and then we were out of there. It was quite a nice experience.

We decided to go inside of the stupa walls and walk around there for a bit. Unfortunately I am a magnet for little begging children and I had two with me the whole time we were inside. They even followed us around for a while after we left.

Next we took a walk down a less traveled and quieter road towards the airport and another temple there. The walk was nice and relaxing and quite hot - I'd become used to thinking of Kathmandu as quite cool and this was one warm day. The next temple we went to is similar to the Hindu ghats in Varanasi, India, in that they burn all their dead bodies here. We walked around the outside from several different angles, trying to find a way in for free, but to no avail. We decided in the end not to go in but just sat in the shade and rested for a bit, taking in the ambiance, before catching another cab home. It was a good day and I'm really glad they invited me to go with them.

We ended up having a little food late in the day and then they went back to their hotel and I went back to mine. We made plans earlier to meet again tomorrow to see another temple or two. I decided to go back to their restaurant, read my book, and have myself a little meal for dinner and then headed back for an early night.

Monday - This morning I met the boys for breakfast at the Weizen Bakery, my breakfast joint. I told them they needed to have a bagel with cream cheese and a pretzel and they did. So did I. Divine! If only I could have toasted the bagel first. While the boys were finishing up, I went to over to the travel office a few door down and made a decision about India. I bought tickets to Delhi on a bus/train combination that would take me appoximately 40 hours to complete, leaving Thursday morning. The boys were leaving Wednesday, so this would give me time with them, and then a day to wrap up anything in town before I left. I also hoped it would be ok for the Indian Embassy - not too much time in India for a transit. After our leisurely breakfast, we walked over to the part of town near where they stay, Durbar Square. This is another pay site, but they have learned that if you say you are staying at a hotel there (which they actually were), that you go in for free. So today I am "staying" there as well. We got in and walked around for a while, looking at temples, some of which had monkeys walking around them, and walking down side streets selling anything and everything, but especially a lot of bindis, the decoration that women wear on their foreheads between their eyes.

Once we had our fill there we kept walking and walked over to the monkey temple. The walk was a nice one and took us a little more than an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Along the way there was a goat tied up to a fence, happily munching away at the vegetation. There are goats everywhere but this one had a baby, a newly-born newborn. I always want to pet the goats, but they never let you get close. So I figured this was my big chance. When the mom looked away, I reached over to pet the baby, who was far too young to get away! It was great!!

The monkey temple sits very high up on a hill overlooking the whole city and has beautiful views. The only problem is that you have to get up there. The main entry is up a long long staircase that fortunately we were able to avoid because my boys knew the secret local (read free) way in. And it was nothing so harsh as that staircase, though we still had to go up. Once we got up there I took some good looks around. I knew Kathmandu was large, but I had no idea it was as large as it really is - it is massive and sprawling, shockingly so. I always pictured it much more serene and less populated, and even after having lived there for weeks and knowing the reality I was surprised at just how different it was. I walked around and over to the stairs we could have taken up and there were monkeys there, all over the place! Hence the name. They were on the stairs, and the babies were all playing in the trees just opposite me. It was hilarious. I looked around some more and then found the boys again. We managed to dodge around all the dogs at the temple who all seemd to have a bad case of the mange. All itchy and very little hair left. We decided to take the long stairway down and by then, all the monkeys were gone. It was starting to get dark, so they may have started settling in for the night. We we got down we got a taxi back to town.

We went directly to their favorite restaurant for an early dinner. Pete was starting to get a chest cold and had not been feeling the best all day, so we thought it would be a good idea for them to get back early and have a relaxing night. While they had some tea, I ran back to the hotel to see if Jan had left me a note. Jan is a woman from New Zealand that I had met very briefly in Chengdu, China. She was taking the new train to Tibet that same evening and I had asked her about it as I was looking to get tickets myself. We talked about renting a jeep together from Lhasa to Nepal but it turned out that she was leaving before me. But she had emailed to see if I wanted to catch up and told me she would be in town tonight - she was staying 30km outside of Kathmandu at a volunteer job for a short time. So I went to the hotel to see if she had left me a note. She had and I then went to track her down. She hadn't checked in yet to the hotel she had mentioned so I looked for her at the internet shop she had also described. I was worried that I wouldn't recognize her since it had been so long and we had met so briefly, but luckily she was exiting the shop just as I got there and we recognized each other. I brought her to dinner and she met the boys and the four of us had a really good conversation and dinner together.

When it got late we said good bye to the boys and then made our way back to my hotel. She had decided not to check into the other one and we looked for a vacant room at my hotel. If not, I had a second bed so it wouldn't be a problem. She was able to get a room and we talked for about an hour or so. Jan is going back to China and is planning to take the train to Russia, just as I did but in reverse, so I told her what I knew of the process before heading off to bed. I had to be up early to try to apply for my Indian transit visa again. Wish me luck!

Tuesday - Today was a good day. I woke up early and headed out to the Indian embassy to try my luck once again for a transit visa. On the way out I ran into Jan and we said good bye again as we were headed in different directions. I arrived very early again, before 8am, and the office doesn't open until 9:30am. I spent most of the time talking to Julia from Germany, and Kath from Australia. They were also both needing transit visas, both for travel in a months time, so I explained the process to them of how it works and they decided to stick around to ask some more questions and see if I got mine.

Finally the doors opened and in we went. I was the second person in line at the transit window - thankfully almost everyone wants a proper visa, so my line was short. The boy in line ahead of me was from Finland and his name is Jukka. He had a flight two days after mine and was denied a visa. He was told to speak to the man in the office, most likely the same man I spoke to the first day. I wished him luck silently and went up for my turn. I was hoping that the man didn't see my hands shaking - it was the same man who had denied me last week. Perhaps that was just Friday irritation because he issued me the visa without any issues this time. He even said he remembered me and made it clear that he was not there to give me trouble. Yeah, right. I gave him all the documents he asked for - which didn't even include the ticket to Delhi, by the way - as well as the money. Here is one interesting point. The transit visa costs 800 rupees, or about $11. But Americans have to add on a whopping 1550 rupees, just for being American. So my short short transit visa cost me 2350 rupees, which would buy most nationalities a proper six month visa. I think it is to do with reciprocating what it would cost Indians to get a visa to the States. The United States, in many countries, charges people $100 for a visa interview, and then denies most of them but keeps the $100. I have never heard of another nation doing this - no visa, no money. So I understand India taking a stand, but it basically sucks for the average person like me.

Once the girls had their questions answered, we went to breakfast at the Weizen. I also ran into Michael and Andrea there, and today they really were flying. She had been to see a doctor and found out she was most likely allergic to her malaria medication. It is the same one I had been taking, but some people do have severe reactions to it, including hallucinations and violent dreams. Her reactions didn't go this far but she was tired of being sick and they had decided to change their overall travel plans. They were essentially skipping India and just heading to visit some friends in Israel before heading home. We had a chance to say good bye and then I also said good bye to Julia and Kath. I had about one hour before I had to meet the Ray and Pete back at the Weizen. In that time I photocopied their India guidebook for Delhi and Agra, and took a quick shower. When I arrived they were already indulging in the yumminess. I ate a little bit more with them and we lingered there until I had to go back to pick up my visa in the late afternoon.

I had to wait in line outside the embassy again until they opened and then get in line behind everyone else picking up their passports, but it didn't take too long. I saw the Finnish boy Jukka there and realized he had succeeded where I had failed - he got his visa first try!

Visa in hand I went back to meet the boys for our last dinner, as they would be leaving the next day. We had another nice meal and a great night of conversation. We made it an early night though as Pete was still feeling the chest cold. I said good bye to the boys and they invited me to stay with them once I make it to Australia, and that is an offer I hope to take up some day soon. At least now I realized there was a good reason for me having to wait so long to get my transit visa - spending time with Ray and Pete was worth it.

Wednesday - Today was my last day in Nepal and I spent it shopping. There are so many cheap things that I wanted to buy yet couldn't because I knew I just wouldn't have the room to carry them. I was even planning to buy another bag and carry it around for a week but found out that British Airways limits you to one 50 pound bag - in the states we can have two 70 pound bags! Ugh! So I did some shopping but had to keep it minimal. I figured I could buy more in India as well, and empty out my bag of the things I didn't need anymore as much as possible once I arrived. I had three good meals and shopped and spent some time on the internet as well.

I also stopped in to the pashmina shop on the corner near my hotel. There are two boys who work there, Achut and Sudarshan, who have said hello to me every day I've been in Kathmandu and who are both always seem happy, despite the fact that they work from 8am -10pm about 7 days a week. Recently they have invited me in for tea but I have never taken them up on it. So today I decided to go and sit with them and have some tea. Sudarshan was actually out at the time but I sat with Achut and chatted for a while. His boss asked me if they could take my picture wearing some of their pashminas (that I couldn't afford to buy) for their upcoming web site. I agreed to it later and then left to resume the shopping. When I came back both boys were there and we took pictures with a bunch of different pashminas. Maybe I will be famous on Nepali internet sites. I told them I was leaving for India tomorrow and they offered to take me to the bus station early the next morning - they get up at 5:30am to wash dishes anyway, they said. Even their boss said they would come with me. I felt bad - it is out of their way - but we made plans to meet a little after 6am at the shop.

At some point in the day I ran into Jukka, and we talked for a moment. Turns out that we would be on the same bus/train combo tomorrow, all the way to Delhi, so that made me feel better. I've always thought that India would be a little intimidating and it was nice to know that someone I could talk to would be there as well.

The last thing I did was buy some snacks to keep me going until Delhi - pringles, some muffins from Weizen (there were no more pretzels left), a few more such things. I repacked my things and left some behind that I knew I wouldn't need any more - an attempt to lighten the load.

Tomorrow a new journey begins.

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