Blogs from Nepal, Asia - page 435

I got the bus to Besisahara on Oct 2nd with a young American couple from Kansas City, MO and that took about 5 hours. We got to the first checkpoint and they didn't have a permit. It would have been double for them to buy there ($50 each) so they headed back to Pokhara and I headed on to the path to Bhulbhule. I pretty soon bumped into two Isrealis and we continued together. They informed me that Bhulbhule means "dick" in Hebrew and that must have been why they found it so funny to ask locals the way. We stayed at the same place the first night, and I left a little earlier than them the next day. ... read more

I took the night bus from Varenasi to the Nepalese border at Sunauli the next day after a relaxing day at the guest house overlooking the ganges - enough entertainment for anyone. I got on the bus at 6:30pm and it took a while to get the engine ready for the bus to move. I was very worried for the first two hours that the 10 hour bus ride was going to be a nightmare because it was so crowded that I couldn't move and my bag was in everyone's way, but they didn't let me put it on the roof... but then after a couple of hours everyone got off - so I locked my bag to the bench to the left of the driver and the engine (they do drive on the left in ... read more

Namaste everyone, This update is going to have to be short. My plane leaves in less than two hours and I still have some last minute shopping to do. The trek was simply put incredible. Everest and all the Himalayan mountains are huge, beautiful, awe inspiring and truly wonders of the world. My lasting impressions of the Himalayans will be yak bells, pink round faces, rushing rivers and waterfalls, porters 5' tall carrying incredible loads in baskets supported by their forehead, thin air that makes every step a task and the incredible beauty and presence of the mountains that literally are above the clouds. I was only able to upload a few pictures. I will upload the rest when I get to Bangkok. I did something pretty wild yesterday, but will leave the story and the ... read more

I'm in Pokhara now, which is a 7 hour bus ride from Kathmandu. Remember when I said I had seen the beauty of Nepal? I was wrong...NOW I've seen the beauty! I swear, it just keeps getting better and better. We drove down winding road through the foothills of the Himalayas...amazing. I could see snow covered mountains that were so beautiful. The clouds settled about 1/3 of the way from the tops of them. I didn't once get bored during the entire 7 hours. Again, I was mesmorized. We passed many poor villages. It seems as though it is perfectly acceptable to lie around and do nothing. Quite different from the workaholic place where we are from. Many people were actually doing labor work, but at a very leisurely pace. The driving is interesting. These ... read more

Talk about sensory overload! I finally arrived to Kathmandu. Seeing as the furthest I've been from the states is Mexico, this is quite a different experience. The mountains are beautiful and the city is organized chaos. The waste management system is pretty much non-existent, so the city isn't the cleanest. It's strange...this place is so far from Western civilization, yet Eminem is blaring in the streets. The children are so beautiful and the women wear saris that are all unique. Old women squat on the side of the street and drink what looks like dirty water out of bowls. I'm staying in a hotel for the first 2 nights while the other volunteers have orientation for teaching English, or at least that's what the person who picked me up at the airport told me. He ... read more