I Think I'll Go To Kathmandu

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  Kathmandu, Nepal
Sunday, November 9, 2008

Hey everybody. It's been another crazy week of trains, taxis, buses, rickshaws and third world border crossings. I only left Bodh Gaya last Wednesday but it feels like two weeks on the road.

My train back to Varanasi went off without a hitch but the connecting train to Gorakhpur was almost 4 hours late. That's how it goes here: either your train is exactly on time or you spend some quality time camped out on the cozy and inviting floor of a crowded Indian train station. Delightful.

Met a nice Swiss couple and a friendly Indian guy on the train. Had a good old time sharing fruit and snacks and tales of lusty adventure on the road. Sunil, the young Indian man, was super gracious pointing out some of the sights along the way and giving us an improptu Hindi lesson. All I remember is that "amrud" means mango. It's one of those things that I will probably never forget.

Gorakphur is the last train stop before moving on to Nepal. It's a terrible little town. I stayed in the dirtiest room in the filthiest hotel in all of India. I was planning on spending another day there but woke up at the crack of dawn with the irrisistable desire to get out of there as fast as possible. Hired a driver from there to go to Kushinigar (the place of the Buddha's death) then on to the Nepal border. It was worth the thirty bucks to have someone drive me around for almost nine hours. He did try to rope me into a scam: something about a "high way tax" but we happened to drive by his boss on the way out of town who shouted into the cab "No cheating!".

I didn't hear another word about it after that, although we were stopped by two angry "tax collectors" along the way. I knew enough Hindi to know that they were talking about me and the 300 rupees they weren't going to get.

But the scams weren't over yet. Got worked over pretty good on the exchange rate at the border crossing. Momentary lapse of awareness as I tried to process too much info at once: getting my passport stamped, figuring out where to go next and keeping my eye on the rickshaw driver who was 'keeping an eye" on my backpack. They took me for about thirty dollars before knew what was going on. The Indian officials looking on were either in on the con or really didn't care so I just let it ride. It's okay. That and a few other scams have only totaled about $70 since I got here 6 weeks ago.

Stayed in a great hotel called Hotel Glasgow in the town of Bhairawa. I think I was the only person staying there which was sad for them. Really great and helpful staff. A nice restaurant, too. I took a day trip to Lumbini, the place of the Buddha's birth. It was fun to find the right local bus and make my way there without really knowing where I was going. I will never be able to say I'm lost again. As Buckaroo Banzai said, "Where ever you go, there you are!" Anyway, very peaceful and beautiful place. It was a good way to begin my short stay here in Nepal.

I'm in Kathmandu a little earlier than expected and I'm glad for that. I loved India but it is very intense. Nepal is a lot mellower and even though it is one of the poorest countries in the world it just doesn't seem as tragic as India. Just taking it easy here until I head of on my trek in the Himalayas.

Went to a place called Boudnath yesterday, home of a large population of Tibetans in exile and one of the largest stupas (holy monuments) in the world. Took my chances walking to the famous Kopan Monastery about an hour away. Met up with a young boy, Prabin, who kindly showed me the way. Honestly, I was afraid he was another street urchin looking for money but it turned out he was content just hanging out with a western tourist, practicing his English and showing me around the town and the monastery for about two hours. He was a great tour guide.

Hope you are all well. I'll probably only be sending off one more update at the end of the month so until then: Happy Thanksgiving and I'll see you all soon!!!

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

Man and goats	Transportaton	World's Biggest Prayer Wheel	The Ever Efficient IRW
Cozy	The Dirtiest Hotel Room in all of India	Hello USA!!	Safety is Paramount!
Lumbini Hell's Angels	This way...	Temple	Tree
The Spot	Mahadevi Temple	Ahhhh!	Why's Everybody Keep Lookin' at Me?
Oxen and Cart	A Little Too Close: The Bus to Kathmandu	The Mountains Draw Near!	Boudhnath Stupa
Buddha Eyes	The Square at Boudhnath	Prayer Wheels	Stupa
Me n' Prabin	At Kopan Monastery	Kathmandu	Paryer Flags
Monkey!!!!	What???	Durbar Square in Patan	My Good Friend Passang (Hello Cindy!!)

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