Nepal Adventure – Namaste!
I don’t know why I had chosen to go to Nepal, its capital city Kathmandu, sounded mysterious and magical – but I was full of apprehension as to what I was going to discover. I had done some homework so I knew a little of what to expect, but I was so excited that I was going to see the Himalayas – the Rooftop of the world.
Wednesday
I arrived in Kathmandu on a misty afternoon, and could just make out the mountains. It was the festival of Devali, and everywhere was decorated with orange garlands. We met our tour manager Paul and were all given a silk scarf to welcome us. The city was full of motorcycles and cars going any way, but the right way down the roads. The buildings were all crammed together, some painted bright colours but many still a grey cement colour. It didn’t take long to get to The Hotel Himalaya, and I had to force myself not to have a nap – I had to stop awake to get on “Nepal Time”. We had a very pleasant meal laid on by the hotel – then it was early to bed for everyone!
Thursday
I woke up feeling totally refreshed and the sun was shining. After breakfast we headed to Kathmandu Valley – Kath means wood and Man means Temple, and there are 3600 wooden temples in this Valley.
We were dropped off at the entrance to Durbar Square and the first place we saw was the 14th Century Royal Palace, with its deep, wooden overhanging eaves - no other building is allowed to be taller than this. It is a dark ornately carved building; nothing at all like you would imagine a Palace to be, with monkeys running about wild and gherka soldiers guarding it.
Durbar Square is normally a quiet, peaceful area, but today was the Nepalese “New Year Day” and there were thousands of people out celebrating. There was a procession of Newar people marching down the street, whilst at the same time there was a convoy of motorcycles coming up the opposite side of the same street – utter chaos.
At one end of the square is the Temple of the Living Goddess, where a young girl lives. She is picked from the age of 5, for her beauty, courage and wisdom, and leaves her family to be looked after in the Temple – until she reaches puberty. She is worshipped and what she says is law – I couldn’t quite get the mentality of that! She was now about 7 years old, dressed in red, with her eyes painted black - we weren’t allowed to take photographs of her
Apparently there is a Living Goddess in every city and this tradition goes back 250 years. Most of the buildings here, many dating back to 14th century, were all dark and the only colour was red bands around the balconies. One of the Temples was a school where children learn sex education. Nepalese people don’t discuss such things, so they make erotic carvings to explain everything - hence the Kama Sutra! As Nepal had never been colonised, the architecture has had no western themes or ideas imposed on it – it is pure Indian and Tibetan.
There were hundreds of women making garlands out of marigolds – I didn’t know so many marigolds existed – they were everywhere – all yellow and orange hanging from buildings, around everyone’s necks - even cows and goats had garlands around their necks!
Next we drove to the top of a mountain to The Buddhist temple of Swayambhunath, (aka the Monkey Temple) - where we had to keep a close eye on our belongings as there were packs of monkeys running everywhere. There were lots of steps to get to the top, but it was worth going up there for the amazing view across Kathmandu Valley with its soaring Eagles and Vultures.
There were many small shops selling ancient carvings, and there was an overpowering smell of incense, but it all had a serene and mystical atmosphere. Right at the top is a gilded spire, called a Stupa, with eyes of Buddha painted on 4 sides staring out in every direction across the valley. A Stupa is a mound-like structure that contains Buddhist relics; and this one was painted gold, and was surrounded by colourful prayer flags blowing in the wind.
We were lucky to be able to see the snow capped mountains in the distance when the mist cleared. The Kathmandu Valley is at the foothills of Himalayas, much of this range is over 15,000 feet high with Mount Everest (local name Sagamartha) being just over 29,000 feet high.
Our next stop was another World Heritage Site, Boudhanath - another gold Stupa that sits on a brilliant white mound. Tibetan refugees came here and their influences could be seen everywhere, in their faces, their clothes and articles for sale in the bazaars.
We walked around the great white Stupa, which is 125 feet in diameter, and it was incredibly hot with the sun reflecting off the white paint!
Around the base were “Prayer bells” built into the wall, and as you walked past them you were invited to brush the wheels to start them turning around - I am sure anywhere else you would be told, “not to touch”.
We went to a painting school, where images by the Dalai Lama were being recreated, depicting “The Enlightenment” and the “Cycle of Life” - there were some of the most delicate and intricate designs I had ever seen. Our final port of call was the Holy Place of Pashupatinath on the banks of the Bagmati River; this is where Hindu people from India and Nepal come to cremate their dead.
As we approached the river, there were traders selling their wares, monkeys that had become commonplace, and an awful smell of burning. The first thing I saw were concrete piers with fires burning on top of them, some just smouldering and some with fierce flames. As we went further along, the opposite side of the riverbank was made into steps leading down to the water.
Some people were holding a dead person’s naked body wrapped in a white and orange sheet, and they lowered the body into the river to clean the feet. But at the same time, someone unwrapped the other end, and you could see the dead person’s grey face. They then carried it over to one of the piers, and set it alight (they put a flame in the mouth first – to destroy all the evil things that were said whilst that person was alive). I didn’t watch anymore, it didn’t feel right.
There were some Holy men wandering about, scantily dressed with vibrant yellow loincloths and painted markings on their bodies. After an exhausting day out, we returned to the hotel where we just had time for a wash and change, before we went to a lecture by a Nepal professor who was a specialist in conservation, snow leopards and Bengal tigers. It was a very interesting talk, but saddened that he is convinced that due to continuing deforestation, the tiger will be extinct in these parts in the next 20 years. We finished the day with a buffet meal in the hotel, where someone came around and “blessed” us, and then we were off to bed, but not to sleep unfortunately – I was up all night being sick!
Friday
I have never been dreading getting on a bus so much in all my life, I just didn’t know how I was going to get through the day. We left Kathmandu and travelled along the only road, the main highway from Kathmandu to Delhi. It has been featured on the programme “The World’s most dangerous Roads”. I have been on some rough roads, but never like this one. Due to the late monsoon, there were huge craters in the road, evidence of landslides everywhere, walls stopping you dropping thousands of feet had been washed away, and animals appeared from nowhere. The poor driver didn’t only have to look what was coming towards him; he had to avoid maniac buses overtaking – even on the tightest of bends.
We travelled through the most spectacular mountainous scenery with rice terraces, along rivers and through deep gorges where swing bridges enabled people to get to the remote villages on the other side. There were many waterfalls coming down from the mountains, and every other one was used as a wash place for the locals – some were even shampooing their hair.
It was a hard journey to Chitwan, a Unesco World Heritage site, and we stayed at a jungle safari resort called Machan Paradise View, on the banks of the Rapti River overlooking the Royal Chitwan National Park. For many years this part of Nepal was a hidden, mysterious kingdom, bordering the foothills of the Himalayas, it was this setting and the langur grey apes that inspired Rudyard Kipling to write “The Jungle Book”.
The resort was advertised as providing all the normal expected comforts, but it was basic; with bare walls, a rock hard bed, a walk-in shower and lights that only worked when they felt like it. There was no kettle, hair drier, fridge or TV, but there was WiFi. You should have seen the locks on my door – they were 12-inch-long bolts with a huge padlock! What were they keeping out? I thought we were having some time to relax after our arduous journey, but we were told to get ready, as we were going on a jeep safari through the Park.
I dosed myself up and put my compulsory “jungle greens” on. This area is Sal Forest, water marshes, and elephant grasslands – some of which were 8 metres tall. This gave excellent coverage to the animals – but wasn’t helpful to us. After a few hours’ animal spotting, where we had seen a rhino on the banks of a lake, some langur grey apes in the trees and some deer; we visited a crocodile rescue centre and saw Gharials – they were like prehistoric crocodiles with extended snouts and spikes on their tails, and more ferocious creatures called Marsh Muggers!
The last part of the adventure was in a dug out canoe, along the calm waters of the Rapti River; it was so serene and there was abundant birdlife. We passed crowds of people (celebrating the holiday we thought), but no, it was local people cremating their dead again! It was a picture-book sunset, with such a calm tranquil atmosphere.
It was dark when we arrived back at the resort and Paul advised me to drink black tea and avoid tonight’s dinner. I watched the show, (local men doing a stick dance) and went to bed early but I was woken in the middle of the night to sounds of wild animals calling out, but I didn’t feel scared - just relieved to be feeling better and on the mend.
Saturday
We got up at 6am for the Elephant Safari. We had to climb up 2 ladders to a wooden platform, then our elephant backed up to it and we all clambered on – sitting on a mat with our legs dangling over the side and holding on to a flimsy wooden barrier. It was just getting light, and was cool, damp and very misty.
We slowly moved through the wet grassland into the forest and it wasn’t long before we spotted a black rhino and her baby - being on the elephant, we were able to get really close. We also saw a black cat, several deer and more rhinos; and at a sandy clearing we spotted some fresh tiger tracks – that was exciting.
There were so many birds and butterflies; there are 67 different butterflies in Nepal; brightly coloured ones, black stripy ones, orange ones and some that were bigger than birds. It was really eerie travelling through grass that was taller than us, you never knew what was going to pop out; much of the area was boggy underfoot and we went through several small rivers.
It was a very pleasurable experience, and although we got soaked through, from the wet grass and trees that we past, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. The flowers were the most amazing colours; tiny red poinsettias, pink passionflowers, minute hibiscus in varying colours, and an incredible 6-foot high blue and yellow flower that looked like a delphinium. We had breakfast when we got back, and then headed off to the “elephant briefing” to be told all about the Indian elephant, and I was surprised how different it is from the African one.
Most people know that African elephants have bigger ears, are a darker colour, have less toes, and don’t have freckles, but their DNA is so incompatible that when they have been mated – the offspring never survives. They are totally different species. After the talk, we followed the elephants down to the river and a few people opted to go in the water to help wash them; in the heat of the midday sun, a good drenching did look appealing.
After lunch, we had an hour to relax before our afternoon Elephant Safari. We went in a completely different direction this time, through a dense part of the forest; we saw spotted deer, wild chickens and lots of fantastically coloured birds, but the highlight was when we approached the river. Although we had seen rhinos earlier in the day, the one by the riverbank let us get so close to it that we could nearly touch it. We must have been within a few feet of it, and it just acted like the elephant was one of its mates; we were all holding our breath in anticipation of what it was going to do. It could probably smell us because we had all put so much insect repellent on the last 2 days. It was another thrilling experience. When we got back, we had a slide show on the animals and birds we had seen in the Park. Then it was a buffet dinner, which was different types of curry, then off to bed for everyone, it was going to be another early start tomorrow. It was the weirdest feeling when I got into bed; it was like I was on a ship and was rocking! But because I had spent over 4 hours swaying about on an elephant – I had motion sickness and from an elephant!
Sunday
I had the best sleep and wondered what was happening when someone knocked on my door at 6am for me to go on the jungle walk. It was misty and damp again and the leeches were out in force – I think I had so many layers of repellent on me, that they couldn’t get through to my skin let alone to my blood. One lady had one on her – so I did have a thorough inspection when I got back. Our guide Suraj was excellent; he carried a stick and told us what to do if a rhino chased us - run in a zigzag pattern, climb up a tree or hide behind one! He showed us many forest plants that were used for medicines and made us eat a couple of them! We saw some huge brown snails that looked like they belonged in the ocean – their shells must have been 6 inches long – they are real pests to the forest. Suraj put a large red cotton beetle in my hand and I was very brave letting it run about before passing it on.
The sounds of the jungle were fabulous, the birds, the monkeys – everything. Suraj saw some recent rhino prints, and poo, and then he heard a noise that he said was definitely a rhino. A few minutes later, through the mist and long grass, we spotted it, not too far away, but really close to some of our group that were out on an elephant. It was so atmospheric, at first all you could see was mist and as it cleared - there it was. After a while he asked us if we wanted to go into the jungle and it wasn’t long before we saw some fresh tiger tracks, only a few hours old.
That was why we hadn’t seen any deer – they would be nowhere to be found if a tiger was about! This was getting exciting! We carried on and as the morning got lighter, the dawn chorus was in full swing. We saw the most colourful birds; they were turquoise, red, orange, yellow, silver and many more. I wasn’t expecting to see such a variety of birds although there are over 500 types in Nepal, and I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere of it all. We heard a strange sound, like a bugle, it was the horn of the local bus – we were getting close to civilisation!
As we walked along the track towards the edge of the village we saw more fresh tiger prints, this time they were mother and cub! It didn’t matter now that we hadn’t seen one in the flesh; this was certainly the next best thing. As we approached a huge gate just before the village, the local man told us a rhino had broke through there last night, trampled through the rice fields and then broke a concrete post down trying to get back out! Oh my, that sounded exciting, scary and quite unreal! We walked through the village, with houses built of wood and mud, and with elephant grass roofs.
They had animals and chickens kept underneath some of the houses, and the women were busy getting water, washing and preparing food. The children were very happy playing and singing, and all dressed snugly with Himalayan woolly hats on. Just away from the huts there was a tree with electric wires running up it, and there about 4 feet off the ground was a plug socket! Was that for people who lived in mud huts to charge their phones up!
It was a short walk back from the village, and more birds came to show off for us; the amazing blue Indian Roller flew over many times, a Kite sat and posed for us, we spotted several pretty green bee-eaters, but my favourite had got to be the turquoise and orange Kingfisher. That ended a perfect early morning walk – 3 magical hours! We had breakfast, took our wet clothes off and checked everywhere for leeches again. It was only an hour before we covered ourselves in repellent and long clothes again to go bird watching!
We had the same guide, Suraj, so I knew that it would be good, and he didn’t let us down. I took my binoculars this time and although we saw many of the same birds as we had seen earlier – I was able to appreciate them more closely now. We walked the opposite way to earlier, missing the forest out, and the late morning sun was getting really hot. It didn’t stop us seeing as many birds though. We saw eagles with incredible markings, kites feeding on lizards, storks and buzzards hovering in the thermals above, and there were too many to mention in the trees and grasses.
It was magical! As I sat there quietly a blue dragonfly landed on a rock next to me, then a red one landed close by. Then as if by magic one of the black and white butterflies that I had been admiring since we arrived settled under the table. I felt like the luckiest person alive to have been able to capture them with my camera and keep them forever. Birds were calling out, monkeys shouted in the distance, lizards ran about everywhere and the tall grasses swayed gently in the breeze.
To me, I knew that there was a tiger out there, hiding amongst those grasses, keeping out of sight – but I didn’t care. It had been a great time here at Chitwan and it had lived up to my expectations, I didn’t feel any disappointment at all. The sun went down on a perfect day. And then the most amazing thing happened! When the group got back from the afternoon elephant ride, they had seen a tiger lying in the grass, where I had been watching. It had growled at them, the elephant trembled violently then roared and the tiger ran off into the tall grass. Right where I had been watching and feeling that it was hiding and watching me! That was so close to a tiger encounter it was scary. We had a glass of punch and enjoyed a tasty barbeque around the campfire with our new guests, some very friendly Canadians. One of them promised to email me a photo of the tiger – I could only hope he would!
Monday
Even though we were allowed a lie-in until 6.30am, I was awake from about 4am; excited about the next part of the journey! Although it was going to be a long journey, I was looking forward to enjoying the scenery as I had slept through so much of it on the way here! I sat at the waterhole for a while before breakfast, just as it was getting light, it was so misty. It was like a fuzzy television screen that is just starting to pick up the signal and slowly a clearer picture emerges. A stork flew up from the reeds below; the tall grasses that were a darker colour whilst they were damp were swaying very gently and the early morning dew dripped from the branches above. It was eerily quiet, perfectly tranquil, then out of the blue there was a really loud roar from just inside the grass – one of the hotel men said “It is a rhino – and he is really close”. You cannot imagine how close, and there was no fence, guns or protection of any sort to stop him coming over our way. Brilliant – even though he didn’t come out to say goodbye, it was a marvellous end to our stay at Chitwan.
We had breakfast and said goodbye to everyone at Machan Resort, which had been such a friendly place that it made you realise how lovely Nepalese people are. We drove past local villages with houses made of mud walls and elephant grass roofs, but everywhere was so clean and tidy. Even with their animals walking about, the fields were immaculately kept and there were colourful flowers in front of every home.
It felt like you were in a re enactment of the Middle Ages, but this was real and it wasn’t really poverty. They didn’t look desperately poor or undernourished – it was a totally different world. The bus had to stop for a few minutes whilst an ox pulling a cart full of hay passed by. We headed northwest alongside a wide glacial river with boulders, white beaches and thick forests above. After an hour or so, we stopped by the river and all went across the swing footbridge.
The view of the river was so colourful; with the blue green colour of the water you would never have guessed it was where 2 rivers met. As we got back onto the coach, many colourful lorries passed us, and vehicles with both people and goats sitting on the roofs as well as being crammed inside! The little houses-cum-shops along the side of the road were open at the front and at the back they had two or three bamboo poles wedged to the floor to stop them crashing down into the gorge below. No health and safety in this country at all!
Our lunch stop was at a place by the rivers edge, in lovely surroundings. There was a fabulous swimming pool and the gardens were full of really colourful plants; Monkey-puzzle trees, rodgersia, bougainvillea, and hibiscus just to name a few. I was surprised how hot it was getting and I couldn’t stop out in the sun for more than a few minutes. We started back on the road again and everyone fell to sleep! But the driver breaking and swerving woke us up; the potholes were so bad in the road – it made everyone feel ill not just me! It’s a pity they aren’t repaired; especially when there are so many aggregate plants all along the river - they must be proud to have “One of the World’s Worst Roads”! As we approached Pokhara, the place was coming alive after the afternoon heat. Women were washing things in the stream that ran forever by the roadside; men cut wood, children played and cattle wandered about aimlessly. The people were beginning to look more Tibetan, especially with their colourful hats. It looked like a different country from the one we had left earlier and slightly more civilized. Hay carts were pulled by tractors now, but not ones you would expect – these there pulled by a sort of motorbike with a generator on the front! We finally arrived at the Pokhara Grand Hotel at 4pm, and were so glad to get off the coach. I am sure everyone was still going around those bends and avoiding potholes all night! It was raining when we arrived and we were told that was a good sign! People are very lucky to get a clear view of the snow-clad mountains and if it rains, it generally means the following morning is going to be clear. There is no other place in the world were the magnificent Himalayas can be admired from such a close distance, the Annapurna range was just behind the clouds – The Rooftop of the world. After a few hours to recover, we were given the option of going into town for a few hours; I was unsure whether I should go, every town I had seen was definitely NOT the sort of place that I would darest wander about. But I was assured that it was a very tourist friendly area, and had streetlights! It was the nearest thing I had seen to a proper town for a week – and the shops and restaurants were all well lit up. Some friends invited me to join them for dinner, and I had a delicious Chicken Korma before heading back to the hotel. We were all supposed to have an early morning call at 6am – only if, a big if, it was clear over the mountains!
Tuesday
The early morning call didn’t happen, but I was awake anyway. It was so cloudy and misty and I heard it thundering – remnants of a storm that had caused power cuts all night. We were told to keep our camera with us at all times (even mealtimes) because the sky can clear for just a minute – at any time. I had breakfast and went up onto the roof of the hotel, to the viewing area!
It was a cross between a rooftop in Beirut and a rooftop in an American cop and robber’s chase! I was the only person up there for almost an hour, and was delighted when the mountaintops came into view. To start with I was looking in the wrong place, although the range stretched for most of the area in front of me – I wasn’t looking high enough! The mountaintops started peeking through above the clouds, which were continually drifting along the range, so one minute to the next – the view was completely different.
I managed to see Machhapuchhre and a few of the Annapurna’s. I felt privileged to have seen any of them at all, and I would always remember those snowy tips that were so very high up in the sky! Our first visit of the day was to Devils Falls, which after the previous nights’ rain, were flowing faster than usual.
There was an interesting model of the Annapurna Range made out of light coloured stone in a flower garden, a Buddha in a temple and a beautiful pagoda. As we left the confines of the Falls, there were several stalls with Tibetan people selling goods they had made. You could tell they weren’t mass-produced – the people were sitting there making them in front of you.
Then a lovely old Tibetan man started talking to me, I tried to walk away but I actually liked some of his scarves. When I asked how much they were I couldn’t believe how cheap they were and told him that I would buy a few. I couldn’t barter with him, (like we had been told to do), I was happy to pay his price.
A true Tibetan man with the smallest stall there, but with such a happy smile – especially when I left him!
Next we had a boat ride on Phewa Tal – Nepal’s second largest lake. It was a beautifully calm day, and occasionally when there are no clouds, the majestic Annapurna Range reflects on this lake – but not today.
We could see the white dome of the World Peace Pagoda perched high up on the hill above in the dense forest. We got off the boat, onto a small island in the middle of the lake, where there were several temples, and a few stalls. It was a very busy little place with people coming to give blessings.
We just spent a short while there – you didn’t need any longer. Afterwards we had 2 hours in Pokhara to have a wander around, and another little shop! Most of the others were coming back again tonight, but I had had enough! I didn’t know if I was going to be able to fit everything in my case as it was! We had been told about an extra trip we could do if we wanted, a walk to the villages in the foothills, to experience the sunset over the Annapurnas – I just couldn’t miss that!
The tour was called the Royal Hike, because Prince Charles went on it when he visited in 1980. We left the hotel at 3pm heading out of town and we hadn’t been travelling long when the weather changed for the worse The road up the mountain was absolutely terrifying, after only 5 minutes off the tarmac “motorway”, I had my eyes closed and was praying that I would still be alive at the end of this trip. I had thought yesterday’s roads were bad enough, “The World’s Worst Road” – they hadn’t found this one! It was a hairpin dirt track with a constant shear drop, and endless craters to avoid rather than potholes. There had been landslides every 100 yards, forcing us to drive right close to the edge, and the driver drove at such speed, he frightened everyone. There were 3 from our trip, and a family of 3 English-speaking Indians, several times the father shouted for the driver to “slow down his driving”! After going uphill for almost an hour, we stopped to collect our guide from a small village and carried on a bit further. I still had my eyes closed and couldn’t bear to open them until we stopped. I would happily have walked all the way back rather than ever getting back in that vehicle again.
But we were out of it now and were at a place called Kalikastan; we all started following our guide up the rough track. We passed poinsettias, jasmine, ferns, banana trees and pumpkins growing in fields, and I was surprised to see both white and yellow brugmansias (Angels Trumpets). We hadn’t been going very long when the heavens opened, we were all told to hurry towards a nearby mud house, where I could see some goats under a shelter – I thought that we were going to join them.
We were told to go into the house; it was all right, even though we felt rather uncomfortable doing so. We all sheltered under the front porch, and the family fetched wool rugs for us to sit on and made us all tea to drink – it was quite an amazing experience. They made the tea in a small dark room off to the right of the porch, on an open fire - they were such friendly, smiling people and so sincere. The plates and cups they served us with were metal, and immaculately shiny and clean – it made you wonder just how they washed their pots! As for the rain, this is what it is like in a monsoon – it was coming down like a sheet! When it is this wet, the women use the mud to replenish any holes in the walls or the roof; as well as have pots out everywhere to collect the rainwater. After half an hour the rain had eased enough for us to continue our hike up the mountain, but the storm was still with us. It was a worrying thought if the road was still going to be passable, to get us back down the mountain – we were all a bit panicky. But we were assured that we would be fine – I wasn’t convinced. There was lightening and loud claps of thunder all around us – but it was “onward and upward”!
Our next impromptu stop was to visit the guides’ home where he lived with his wife, baby daughter and parents, and where he kept water buffalo, goats and a dog. Although he seemed very westernised, his home was a mud house with bare floors and an open cooking area that he called a kitchen – it was very primitive but very clean and tidy. They hang their babies in a blanket and fasten them to one of the wooden beams on the front porch and just let them swing to and fro. We continued upwards because daylight was quickly disappearing and we were now over 1500 metres high.
The rubble pathway was getting steeper and I did my best to stay close to the guide, I hardly dare look behind to see if I was the only one getting a bit hot! I must have done better than I thought because when I got to the top the Indian man said he admired my stamina - what a compliment! It was only a short way to the village of Deumadhi and the viewpoint across the valley.
As expected we couldn’t see too far, we could just make out the lake below, the layers of rice terraces and a few of the lower slopes of the mountains. As we went through the village I couldn’t quite comprehend what I was seeing. A group of young people with a sound system and lights having a disco – in a mud type barn! New meets old, peaceful meets noisy, east meets west! It didn’t seem quite right; everyone that we had seen up to yet worse saris and traditional Tibet clothes, yet these youngsters wore western clothes.
But we had done it, we had had our little uphill trek in Nepal; and we had certainly had an experience or two along the way. We just had to get back down the mountain safely now. I think most of us asked the driver to slow down at one point or another. It was dark now and how he was going to manoeuvre the vehicle down those bends was a terrifying thought, I decided that I wasn’t going to look until we got back to the lovely main road with its pot holes. Even when we had to squeeze over to the edge, when local buses came past, I did not take my eyes off the floor. I daren’t even bite my fingernails – because of germs. I was so relieved to get back to the hotel in one piece; this was one of those adventures where you are happy to have survived and be alive to tell the tale. All I wanted to do now was to have a very long soak.
Wednesday
I got up just before 5am; I hadn’t slept very well which wasn’t surprising. I was ready and on the roof just before sunrise. It was cloudy again, but luckily just as the sun came up, the mountains emerged for a few minutes. They shone pink with the sun shining on them, a different picture from the previous day – although not so much of them was exposed. After breakfast we headed to the small airport, we were hoping to get a better glimpse of the Annapurnas on the plane but the weather was even cloudier, and when we came in to land back at Kathmandu, we had to circle the airport several times because the visibility was so bad. We arrived back at the Hotel Himalaya at lunchtime and had the afternoon free to do a bit of shopping or exploring. I wasn’t going far because we had seen hundreds of armed soldiers in the city – expecting a political demonstration. I crossed the road outside the hotel – which was a life-threatening event in itself and headed downhill for about 100 yards. When I got to the first group of soldiers I decided that, that was far enough, and headed back up the hill. We were told if we heard any demonstrating or shooting we were to head straight back to the hotel. I had a look around a few interesting shops where the locals were making things from tin, making paper, candles and weaving baskets. I found a Fair Trade shop that had some great things in, that I just had to buy. I also popped in the famous Pilgrims Bookshop where I bought 2 books, one called “Sold” about a girl from a Nepal hill village that was sold into slavery – I felt obliged to read it after my previous night seeing the hill tribes. I had a few hours to relax, try to repack the case again, and get ready for our evening out. Paul and Robin, our Nepalese guide, took us to an old renovated Kings Palace for a traditional Nepali dinner. The tables were set lavishly with bronze plates and cups and the seats were really low to the ground. We had ornamental red Tikkas put on our foreheads and were given a welcome drink (their own version of firewater). We had so many courses; there were spicy potatoes first, them meat momos (a sort of dumpling), a soup, then rice, chicken, spinach, beans, fish and a strange green sauce; followed by a type of yoghurt. In-between each course we were entertained by traditional dancers in lavish costumes. It was a mixture between Indian and Thai dancing, very enjoyable though – and the music didn’t get on your nerves! Paul had bought gifts for everyone; we were all given a Nepali calendar, a bookmark and a fridge magnet flag of Nepal. He had also made a list of every animal and bird that our group had spotted in Chitwan and gave everyone a photocopy. The last bit of entertainment was Robin, who sang a song about flowers that grows high in the mountains – he had the most amazing voice. We said our goodbyes to Robin and were taken back to the hotel to get a few hours sleep ready for our early start tomorrow.
Thursday
A few hours’ sleep didn’t happen. I must have eaten too late or I was too worried about overlaying. I got up at 4.15am just before the wake up call. We headed off to the airport and left Kathmandu in thick cloud. But unbelievably as soon as we were above the clouds, there they were – the amazing Himalayas.
What a sight. It was so clear up there, Everest stood out amongst the rest. It was the most majestic and fascinating sight – just like it says in the books. What a finale to the holiday. It had been a thoroughly enjoyable trip, great company, a First class tour manager and the adventure was an incredible experience. I felt Nepal wasn’t a third world country: the real people here were clean and proud of what little they had, they were giving and happy and they weren’t desperately poor as in other underdeveloped countries. They were just 400 years behind – like they are still living in the Middle Ages.
Thank you for reading my adventure to Nepal - I think it was more a story of emotions that fabulous photos this time!
Lynne
Lynne
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