Our time in Nepal was definitely bumpier than we’d bargained for, in more ways than one.
I’ll continue where I left off: after crossing the border into Nepal, we made the quick trip to Bhairahawa and spent the night. We managed to avoid the luggage assistants that Jamie had pissed off… by the time we drove up to the border, they were out of sight. Phew! The next morning, I was able to get my first real look at Nepal during our drive to Lumbini. Nepal and India are similar in some ways, but dramatically different in others. The most apparent difference is the crowding; India has over a billion people, while Nepal has less than 30 million. The roads, the buildings, everything feels less cramped and more relaxed. Things are generally cleaner, too, though in the big cities and in areas nearby the Indian border, the trash and rubble is comparable. Nepal definitely feels like a vacation from India.

The Bodhi tree at Lumbini

Some aspects of Nepal, however, are worse. It’s poorer than India, and it shows in their buildings and infrastructure. The roads, for instance, are far less developed – narrow and full of holes. Driving up and through the mountains was a bumpy ride; I ended up taking motion sickness pills to avoid losing my lunch. The buildings by the side of the road also seemed older; India tended to be newer and dirtier, while Nepal looked a bit more run-down. Electricity is also an issue in Nepal; power is rationed, and places without a generator usually shut down at 11pm when the power gets cut off. Power comes and goes during the day as well, but many places (including most of our hotels) had generators to compensate. Although it was more comfortable than India, Nepal felt more primitive.

Both countries, however, have their enchanting sites. Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, had a truly special feeling to it. The highlight is a small group of very old trees, with streams and streams of prayer flags hanging between them. The largest one is the Bodhi tree, under which Buddha was born. Standing around there, as the breeze fluttered through the prayer flags, was a definite highlight of my time in Nepal. I’d have happily sat there for hours.

Things got cut short, however, by two inevitable facts: our time crunch in driving to Chitwan National Park, and my need to find a bathroom. The effects of the food poisoning I’d gotten in Orchha were continuing in full force, and the 110F+ heat wasn’t helping. During our bumpy ride up into the Nepali foothills, I started feeling genuinely sick. My headache came back, along with a terrible stiff neck, and I felt completely drained. After lunch, we stopped at a pharmacy where I bought some additional rehydration salts and a course of antibiotics (all for $4…) – just in case the Homeopathy didn’t act fast enough. Things were feeling desperate.

Rhinos and Elephants!

Once we made it to our hotel in Chitwan, I got online and called home. I ended up having an hour-long Skype appointment with my Homeopath, took the remedy she prescribed, and went to bed. The next morning I felt noticeably better: the headache and stiffness were almost entirely gone, and I started making less frequent trips to the toilet. I even had the energy to get up early that morning and go for an elephant ride through the national park – fantastic! We got to see a mother rhino and her child in the wild, and heard some intense grunting and hollering amongst the elephants. I came back to the hotel and rested through the afternoon, but was happy to have gone and had a little “safari experience”. That night, I came out of my room to watch some authentic Nepali stick dancing – a local troupe came to the hotel and performed before dinner. After some food, I crawled back into bed and got another good night’s sleep; the next morning I felt even better yet. Things have been getting steadily better every day, and I haven’t needed to take the antibiotics. Phew!

The next day featured another long (and bumpy) bus ride, this time climbing up through the mountains on our way to Pokhara (pronounced “poke-hra”). Our hotel in Pokhara was in a very touristy part of town, right next to the beautiful Fewa Lake. The main road through that part of town was very clean, and lined with souvenir shops. It was like we’d stepped back into the first world! The temperature also made it feel as though we’d a decidedly different place. While Lumbini and Chitwan had been very hot, comparable to India, Pokhara was a breezy 85F. What a relief!

Paddling on Fewa Lake

Late that afternoon, after we arrived and had a little time to rest, we all walked down to the lake and rented boats. We paddled about for an hour, and visited a little temple on an island in the middle of the lake. Very serene and relaxing; it was a welcome change after the bus ride.

Our initial plan for the next morning had been to drive up to a nearby mountain for a sunrise view of Sarangkot and the Annapurna ranges; however, when we all woke up at 4am, it was pouring rain – canceled. Although I was disappointed to miss what is supposed to be an incredible view, I was thankful to get another four hours of sleep.

That afternoon I opted to just have a relaxing day around town. Karen, Elana, and I wandered the main street and did a bit of shopping. Unlike everywhere else in the third world, we were actually able to window-shop in Pokhara without being harassed by salesmen. I think Pokhara gets so many westerners (it’s a major destination on the Annapurna trail) that the shopkeepers know what we prefer. Anyway, it made for a very relaxing afternoon. The “older” set of travelers (me and the 26+ crowd) capped off the afternoon by meeting up for happy hour drinks, and later going for dinner at a Tibetan restaurant.

The final bus ride of the tour started early the next morning – 6am – to avoid the strikes going on throughout Nepal that day. Nepal has been struggling to form a constitution, due to a conflicting mess of western, military, and Maoist influences throughout the country. The government was supposed to have drafted a constitution by that Saturday (the following day), but was failing to do so. Half of Nepal was set to go on strike in rebellion, so we hit the road early to avoid any possible roadblocks or protests.

Swayambhunath

But aside from one small protest – where we had to drive around a crowd sitting in the middle of the road – we didn’t experience any issues. We made good time, and got to Kathmandu by the early afternoon. Our first stop was Swayambhunath, a.k.a. the monkey temple, where we saw lots and lots of monkeys and shrines. Swayambhunath, and all the shrines in Nepal, are most notable for their Buddha eyes; they add a mystic touch. It feels like they’re watching you, or watching over you. In my opinion, they’re the most intriguing aspect of all the Nepali shrines we visited. Unlike some of the shrines we’d seen in India and elsewhere, most of the Nepali shrines were generally simpler and less ornate; like the rest of the country, they feel humbler. The Buddha eyes and the prayer flags are some of the only decorative elements.

After a quick stop at Swayambhunath, we continued down to our hotel in the heart of Kathmandu. We had a few hours before dinner, so Abdulla and I went up to our room to rest.

That’s when everything suddenly changed. Abdulla said he wanted to have a “chat”. He told me that he’d decided to leave the trip, and fly back to Melbourne – he’d already booked his flight, leaving in three days. Apparently, since his trip to the hospital in Varanasi, he’d continued to feel very sick. He’d broken out in hives, had an IV wound that still wasn’t healing, and generally felt sick from the medication he’d gotten at the hospital. He really wanted to see his doctor at home. I knew that he hadn’t been feeling well, but I didn’t realize how severe things had gotten. I understand why he decided to leave – in the same situation, I might have made the same choice.

Initially, Abdulla said he wasn’t sure if he’d come back and rejoin me later in the trip – it’d depend on how he was feeling. I immediately got the sense, though, that he wasn’t planning on coming back at all. I only found out indirectly, a few days later, that this was definitely the case.

So what does this mean for Abdulla? It means he’ll get to be at home, see his doctor, and probably start work at Google a bit earlier than expected. He’ll also have to do battle with our travel insurance, and see what money he can get back. Almost all our transport and accommodation for the next 7 weeks has already been booked and paid in full.

And what does it mean for me? It means I’ll be doing the next half of this trip on my own. It’s a bit of a scary thought, but also an exciting one at the same time. I’m definitely going to have a different experience in Europe than I’d bargained for. Things will be lonely at times, but also more self-guided and adventurous.

At the very least, I’m thankful that I didn’t have to travel in Asia by myself; the added security of a travel partner was really appreciated. But Europe is a whole different animal. If I can handle India, Rome and Istanbul should be a breeze. I feel ready for it.

Mt. Everest and the Himalayas

Meanwhile, Abdulla and I still had three days left together in Kathmandu. The next morning, he, I, and a handful of others from our tour group took a much-anticipated flight around Mt. Everest! I’d been looking forward to it for months, and was relieved that it wasn’t canceled due to weather (a definite concern). The views were incredible – worth every penny. We didn’t actually fly very close to Everest itself, but we did get a good close look at some of the other Himalayan peaks. The steep, snow-covered mountains are daunting; anyone who actually tries to summit one of them must be insane. But boy, what a view.

After the flight, the two-week India/Nepal tour officially ended. Those of us who didn’t go straight off to the airport instead went straight back to our usual habits: Abdulla spent his time with what was left of the “young” set, and I did the same with the remnants of the “old” set. Later that day, Megan, Chris, and I walked down to Durbar Square for a look at some of the more famous shrines and museums in town. I twiddled away the next day on my computer, taking care of this way-out-of-date blog and uploading photos to Facebook. By the time our third day rolled around, there was nothing left to do but eat lunch and go to the airport. After a difficult check-in process (the guy at the register didn’t speak much English, and was confused by the fact that Abdulla and I had different final destinations), we finally got on a plane and flew to Abu Dhabi. The two of us said goodbye at the juncture between immigration and connecting flights; I left the airport and started a new chapter in the trip, and a few hours later he got on a plane and headed home.

It isn’t how I planned it; it isn’t how he planned it. But as I’d been warned, travel comes with all kinds of unexpected surprises. There’s nothing to do about it but roll with it and relax into it. And now, here I am, on my own, going it alone! I’m optimistic about these next 7 weeks – can’t wait to tell you how it’s going in the next post =).

I’d be remiss without my usual list of casual observations:
• Just as in India, men casually hold each others’ hands in the street. Women in Nepal have a bit more social freedom than in India – though they do seem to cover their elbows and knees, there’s more flexibility in what they wear (read: a bit more variety than just a sari). Ankles also seem to be fair game.
• A large portion of the local population walks around with globs of crayon-red rice on their foreheads; and amazingly, it doesn’t all fall off. I think its part of local Hindu tradition.
• As I alluded to earlier, there’s a sizable communist presence in Nepal. I have a distinct memory of driving through a small town, and seeing little red hammer-and-sickle flags flying from every telephone pole.
• The traditional Nepali food is called Dal Bhat. It consists of rice, dal (lentil soup), and a few small bowls of assorted vegetable curry. I ate almost exclusively Dal Bhat during my first few days in the country (mainly because I wanted to try local food, and I needed something that’d be easy for my sick stomach to digest); after that, I couldn’t stand to eat it anymore. It reminded me of my reaction to eating Gallo Pinto in Costa Rica, way back in 2005; it was delicious the first 7 times, but then you really need a break from it.