Loving Nepal

After a day and a half journey I finally stepped out onto the streets of Kathmandu, ready for action. Coming from India the differences are immediately noticeable; relaxed pace, non-intrusive locals, better hygiene standards and it didn't take long for Nepal to work it's considerable charms on me.

Kathmandu was a vibrant place, with some hustling and bustling being done against the backdrop of ancient architecture with the Himalayan hills constant presence in the distance. With my guidebook in hand I jetted around seeing the major tourist spots while allowing time for random wanderings through backstreets. Getting around was very easy and getting lost was perfectly safe, despite the city being in a slight state of unrest due to the Maoist rebels. I did catch a street protest of bareback Nepali men, but it was of the non-violent variety.

Dut to the impulsive nature of this side trip I arrived completely ignorant about the place and it's people, which can often be the best way so everything was a suprise to me; for example like the substancial development in Kathmandu. The most pleasant suprise however was the Nepali women in the streets who are gorgeous, my head has been turned more times in the last week than than in the other three since I left Japan. They are beautiful people; unfortunately 7000 of these women and girls are trafficked as sex slaves around Asia and the Middle-east every year.

Next it was time to go on a jungle safari in the Royal Chitwan National Park, which is the number 3 attraction in Nepal. I booked a 2 night/3 day package which included canoeing (looking for crocodiles), a walk through the jungle, a jeep safari and an elephant-back safari. Going on the elephant safari was definately the best although most uncomfortable way to see the animals. I also rode an elephant bare-backed which was brilliant but on the safari they fix a wooden harness on the beast for four people to squeeze into which is most uncomfortable. In total we spotted 3 rhinos, a gharial, a family of deer, some monkeys, a couple of wild boars, a few peacocoks and plenty of birds; the only tiger we saw was in captivity. Not so much luck but it's to be expected in a huge 900 square kilometre park and only a limited time to see it.

The real highlight was the time spent bathing with the elephants. Everyday at lunch time the elephants take a bath in the river while you sit on top of them. They spray you with water, lie down, shake you off their backs... it really brings out the Jungle Book kid inside you. Now I'm in Pohkara the other famous tourist city for one night before I make the long journey back to Delhi for my flight. It's another beautiful place in this beautiful country. I will definately return here one day when I have more time to do one of the great valley treks.

Kathmandu/Chitwan National Park/Elephant Bath

Missing Tokyo

Here is a video put together by my good friend James (from Florida). He took the footage on his little digital camera on nights out including a few during my last two weeks in Japan. Respect to you brother! (More of his videos here)

It's Solo Time

After getting out of the freezing hills down to Kasol, we decided to make tracks down to Chandigarh to visit my mum's friend of 35 years; the one and only Rani Khumar. Rani is an unstoppable little whirlwind of life and from the moment we touched down she has excessively fussed over us like a surrogate mother making sure we are constantly well-fed and refreshed and there are no two ways about it.

After living simply in the mountains hand washing clothes and so forth it the special treatment is definately welcome. However I feel bad for Rani's house helpers who have had to put in overtime in the kitchen to make us a variety of tasty treats. In these 5 days I've sampled countless new Indian tasty treats that have all been superb; thank you Gita.

So the last 5 days have been filled with eating, drinking (Rani is fond of the pre-dinner drink) and a little sight seeing around town. Chandigarh it turns out is the only planned city in India so it reminds me alot of Canberra with it's straight wide roads lined with old trees, a very pleasant place indeed. The rickshaw drivers must love it because all the trees make it about 5 degrees cooler on the roads than it would be without them.

On our little trips we ran into a bunch of keen school kids who followed us around all day and we went to this amazing Rock Garden built by a guy called Nek Chand. He was this government worker who one day was inspired by the discarded waste he saw and began making sculptures and eventually this whole wonderland of junk for which heis world famous now. I was suprised by how impressive the place was.

Today Em & I parted ways because she wants to go to another Indian valley and she has already been to Nepal which is relatively close by. I've wanted to go there ever since I saw Mr. Guy Fisher's amazing photos and Em assures me it's a great place. I have about a week to spend there, so not enough time for a big mountain trek but I will certainly be visiting the Chitwan National Park so I can finally realise one of my life's ambitions to ride an elephant. So it'sfinally time for me to break out on my own a little and spread those wings of mine. Fly baby.

Tomorrow I'm off, so big thanks to Rani for the hospitality and the laughs. You're a legend.

Kasol/Chandigarh

Weed is Everywhere

After a week or so India decided to take its wrath upon me. Granted not as bad as on others but certainly unpleasant enough. Being that everything is dirty it's hard to determine the exact cause, but recently I've had a combination of lethargy, aches, a cold, and the infamous "Delhi Belly". It comes and goes every few days so at the moment I feel okay.

Em & I departed Manali after a couple of days and head a little south (not far) to a little village called Manikaran en route to Pulga which is a tiny village all still within the Parvati Valley. This region is known for it's high grade marijuana which grows and is smoked freely everywhere. The funniest experience so far was smoking and playing cards with a local Baba (a holy man, like a sadhu) who struggled with the concept of when it was his turn.

Pulga was a nice little town but the weather was far too cold prompting me & Em to contract illnesses and then retreat back to Kasol where we are now. On the way back we travelled on the roof of the bus through windy & bumpy mountain roads which was definately a new experience for me, having to duck regularly for fear of decapitation by power line. I'm keen to see a different part of India so I think we will travel down to Chandigarh to stay with my mums friend and revel in Indian hospitality. Apparently the servants iron the newspaper everyday for extra reading pleasure.

Otherwise not so much to report, the illneses and shitty weather have not been conducive to meeting new people. So as a substitute I have been getting stuck into an incredible book which you may have heard of called 'Shantaram' about an Australian escaped convict who flees to Mumbai. It's a true story and is amazingly well written, it is also set to become a movie starring Johnny Depp despite the fact that the main character professes to being an ugly man. I recommend reading it before everyone starts talking about it (which they already are).

For now I splurged 250 rupees ($8) on a nice hotel to recover in so I am enjoying the luxury of hot water and cable TV, 'Indian Idol' is a great show. Hopefully next time I write I'll have my full health back.

Manali/Pulga

Beautiful Ugly India

Anyone who had been to India will tell you it's a land of extremes, I have only been to two parts so far but the contrast is extraordinary. I flew into the capital of Delhi at 2am on a Sunday morning, which I was warned is a very sketchy thing to do, but 2am must be too late for all the hustlers because I had no problems whatsoever from the airport to the guesthouse (unlike Em who had her driver start to take his pants off). It was even very quiet in the Main Bazaar where we were staying, but by 10am the main street was manic. Locals, shop owners, hawkers, kids, beggars and cows all roam this street while rickshaws and cars try to negotiate the chaos.

Em made the long trip down from the North to come meet me (what a good woman), it is great to hang out again after a long year and a half absence. Originally we were gonna go to Japan together before she took the World Bar job and started Wham. We stuck around Delhi for three days while I got acquainted with India and Em took care of a few matters. Getting used to the food (no Delhi Belly yet), noise, heat (in the 40's), and smells took some adjusting. We stuck mostly to the backpacker area because to get anywhere in Delhi takes so much effort. On the night of the third day we got on a sleeper bus to Manali in the Himachal Pradesh region where it is nice and cool and where I am now.

Manali is a beautiful village in the valley of some giant mountains. Admitadly I didn't know much about India when I arrived, so I was very suprised to find myself in the middle of snow-capped mountains having to brave the cold. We even considered going snowboarding which is available, but now is not the best season (seeing as it's the hot season). The local people look quite different due to the Nepali influence. Em found us a very cute and quaint guesthouse on the edge of town which is blissfully quiet, except for the cows which get let out at 10am. We even have the sounds of a waterfall to fall asleep to. No shower, instead we heat a bucket of water for 40 minutes then mix it with cold water to pour over our bodies, which sounds ghetto but is actually strangely rewarding to not have such modern conveniences. Yesterday I tried joining Em on her daily yoga routine, today I am in pain, tomorrow I will try again.

Manali is the perfect place to relax and unwind, so other than a little exploring our days are fairly tame. Today we went to the local baths which are supplied with beautiful natural hot spring water which turns to murky questionable water by the end of the day. It was a good experience bathing with the locals, hot springs are an age old male-bonding activity. Nothing like getting steamy and part-naked with someone to get to know them. Along the way we have picked up two friends. Hiro who is from Nara who we met on the bus ride and Sally who is from Manchester who we met in town. Both have moved into our lodgings and we hang out a fair bit.

So all is well at the moment, since coming up to the mountains I feel 100% better. Delhi is a bit of a hellhole and I haven't been in nature for a long time and I have never seen nature like this in my life. The mountains are epic and the air is beautiful, a place that moves the soul. We will probably move along pretty soon though as it is a little too cold up here and there is plenty more of India to see.

Delhi/Manali