Nepal

21.05.2008 to 02.07.2008

Nepal was an unplanned diversion from our original plans... we were going to head to Varanasi but the heat was too much to bear so we decided to continue towards Nepal....

In all we spent one and a half months here... chillin out and resting. We would have loved to trek the Everest Base Camp trek, but the season was not ideal as it was monsoon. So we decided to spend most of the time in Pokhara.

Nepal is a poor country, but it is rich in scenic splendour and cultural treasures. It's the kind of country that lingers in your dreams long after you leave it.

During our stay here, Nepal's Maoist-led assembly voted to abolish the monarchy and become a democracy. The former king of Nepal has moved out of the Kathmandu palace where his family has resided for more than a century. Political violence (including three fatalities) escalated in the lead-up to Nepal's elections on 10 April, and at the same time as the new Constituent Assembly was sworn in on 27 May a bomb explosion in Kathmandu injuring two people. Currently making the transition from monarchy to republic, the country is on the brink of huge change, and the security situation may remain fragile for some time. On June 26, Nepal's interim Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala resigned and bitter disagreements continue within the ruling Maoist party.

Our first stop was hot Kakarvitta. We arrived at around noon and headed straight to do our Nepali visa... the maximum stay given is two months. It was then just a matter of waiting in the vicinity of the bus station to catch our bus ride to Kathmandu. This ride was going to last approximately seventeen hours and we were definetely not looking forward to it, especially given the reputation of both Nepalese roads and drivers.

We looked out for a place to eat and settled down in a nice hotel for lunch....where we incidentally met Elana again. She had just arrived in Nepal as well but had a diffirent itinerary than ours.

At around 17:30 we set off for our long bus ride, and true to their fame, Nepali roads are in a disastrous state. We made some stops on the way and arrived in Kathmandu at ten o'clock of the following day... from there it was a noisy drive and walk towards Thamel.

Thamel Janet was exhilerated as soon as we start venturing into Thamel's roads... the place was full of beautiful shops... it gave us the feeling of being back in Kho San Road in Thailand. We headed towards a guesthouse where our friend had stayed before and baragained the price of 150 Nepali Rupies for each night... which is approximately 1.50 Euros. Given we were spending some nights here we were glad of being able to do it cheap. As soon as we checked in we immediately shot off to eat a much longed for burger... and we found just the right place. It's incredible how ordinary food back home can taste so extroardinary when you are deprived of it. After our meal we had to go back at the guesthouse and take a nap as the happiness was too much! That same evening we went round a couple of nice clubs offering some good live music.

We ended up spending seven nights in Thamel, two out of which Janet was sick. She got bad stomach from some vegetables she ate and could not eat anything at all. But luckily she had a quick recovery. We ended up not doing any sightseeing and got stuck in Thamel, mostly shoping and eating. It was like heaven on earth for both of us... Yakof for food and Janet for clothes. It was the first real time for Janet, after six months travelling, that she got to do some serious shopping. Thamel was just the perfect place to be. Clothes, incense, perfumes, jewellery, art, and books yet again (even cheaper than India) !!! The same goes for food...pizza, pasta, burgers, chips breakfasts, coffee and everything incredibly good.

Our favourite places was an Italian restaurant Fire'n'Ice for pizza and BK's for chips, though all the restaurants we went to were great. We also met again the Swiss couple as well as Elana on our last day there.

After seven nights in Thamel we decided it was time to head off to somewhere else....somewhere more chilled out than the city.....Pokhara.

Pokhara

Pokhara was our home for a month and we just loved it. The first few days we stayed at a guesthouse in the town centre but, after many missed tries, we managed to find just the perfect place. A beautiful resort in front of the lake. The room was great... comfortable bed, refrigerator, television with DVD player, two windows with lake views... and very clean!!! We striked a very good deal with the owner : just five euros a day and we were also allowed to use their kitchen every now and again to cook some food our our own.

The month spent there passed by very quickly. We spent most of our days at the resort, either watching DVDs, or reading books, or just taking in the beauty of the surroundings. Elana joined us there for a couple of weeks before she headed back to India.

The same day we found our room we met three small kids wondering in the streets. They all took Janet's hands and walked with us. They were talking to us in Nepali which we could not make up at first. Eventually we understood what they wanted...food! We took them to a hotel and ordered them food... twice... which they devoured in no time. The kids here are beautiful but most of them very poor, unluckily.

We also made a friend during our stay there...Kali. Kali is the name we gave to a sweet black puppy which was eventually 'adopted' by all the guests at the resort. He was simply adorable!!! We gave him food, played with him and one time also ended up washing him as he came back to the resort after two days running in the fields. Yakof just loved him... if it was for him he would have taken the dog to India, but Janet knew "better". Many times we let him have naps in our room, though a couple of times we found leeches coming out of his body.

All the staff at the resort were great, especially the owner Bishnu... a lovely lady who has been running this business for the past twelve years.

We did not venture much around Pokhara due to both the continuous transport strikes as well as the frequent rain. Our sufferance from this was minimal as we just loved not doing anything!

When the time came for us to leave we were a bit sad, though definetely ready to get back to India.

Back in Darjeeling

Darjeeling.....we were glad to be back for a couple of days before heading towards Nepal. The day we arrived Buddha's birthday celebrations were on, so the roads were full of people... which eventually dispersed given the heavy rain. We too had to make a quick move because of that and decided to stop for a drink and some warm food before looking for a guesthouse. The rain had no intention of stopping so we decided to head off to find a guesthouse. After many tries we found a room for a very cheap price (fair enough given that we discovered it had no electricity and water). We were just going to spend one night there until we found something better. We then set off straight to the bookshop spending a lot of time there, ending up with loads of books and a nice bill for them. But it is extremely worth it to buy books from India as they are incredibly cheap, even to send them back home via book post. That same day we also found a very nice and reasonable priced guesthouse. The day came to an end, having some nice dinner at the tibetan restaurant and watching Iron Man at the cinema... nice film and nice cinema with reclining chairs. Our stay in Darjeeling lasted another couple of days until Gal (Sofia's boyfriend) arrived from his trek and our books were sorted out for sending. Janet bought the tibetan sherpa bracelet she had seen last time we were in Darjeeling and was very happy hearing from everyone, especially from other shop owners, that the bracelet was special and unique... Yakof also got a nice present... a beautiful silver Tibetan knife. Darjeeling was our last stop in India... now we are heading to Nepal...

Back in Gangtok

Our journey in Sikkim was reaching an end and our last stop had to be Gangtok before heading back to Darjeeling. We checked into the same guest house we had been to the first time we visited Gangtok. After checking in we went straight to an internet cafe to send emails to our parents as we had not spoken to them for quite a long time. We then headed to MG Marg where we had the most delicious cheese roll ever!! Given we had no business in Gangtok we decided to go and get the ticket to Darjeeling for the following day. We picked a taxi to the jeep stand, sorted our tickets and went to Little Italy as we had promised Sofia to take her to a nice place to eat. We spent some hours there, as it was raining hard outside, an extremely pleasant evening, eating pizza, drinking port and beer and listening to a live band. We then made it an early night, as we had to wake up at five o'clock in the morning the following day.

Ravangla and Borong 'Ghost' Hot Springs

We had an early start to catch a jeep to Ravangla as the only one available was in the morning. We made it there in two hours, and given the fact that we were hungry after the journey not having had any breakfast, we decided to grab something from a hotel. The masala tea and the momos Janet ordered were the worse she had ever had... the momos must have been left overs from the day before (hopefully!!!). After this we went to look for transport to Borong hotsprings... which we found immediately. The only catch... we did not know at what time the jeep would leave... given this circumstance we threw our backpacks on the floor and waited patiently until after a couple of hours someone pointed us the jeep which was going to take us to Borong. As time went by the jeep was looking more like a trailer with the amount of food they were putting in it. Janet's bad feeling had been concerning her since the day before and seeing this jeep was no consolation. She felt worse when she had a look at the driver... his eyes were evil. We left the jeep stand at around 12:30 and set off very slowly... slowly given all the weight as well as the driver stopping every couple of minutes to flirt with any girl. The road left much to be desired but at least the driver was driving carefully. Eventually the jeep came to a stop and when we asked where the hot springs where they told us that they were closed because it was low season... it was incredible how not one person gave us this important piece of information... we would have really taken it into consideration. What was worse though was that the driver was going to just drop us there... in the middle of nowhere!!! Thanks to a local girl we managed to convince him to take us back... though we were not sure on what was going to happen. The driver was insisting that he was not going to Ravangla and that we could sleep there for the night and return the morning after....for the price of Rs1000 a night!!! Sofia overheard him saying that the room actually cost Rs800 but he would get Rs200 commission on it... the bastard. We continued telling him that we wanted to get back to Ravangla. Another man came on the jeep and he started talking to Sofia in a mix of English and Nepalese... he told us that the driver was going back to Ravangla, but curiously enough, when the driver came back, this same man told him that Sofia could speak Nepalese and switched to speaking Sikkimese... just telling us that the driver was not going back to Ravangla. We were starting to get a little bit frustrated, even much so when he stopped again for a girl to talk to us. She said he was asking Rs800 to take us back when we had only paid Rs40 each to come one way... after some negotiations we concluded for Rs400... it was either that or being left in the middle of nowhere. Along the road he was stopping to talk to other drivers and telling them we were fools as he was going back to Ravangla anyway and we were paying him. All this he was saying in Nepali but Sofia could understand him. Bottom of the story we arrived safely in Ravangla and paid him the money, after which we learnt that he had to come back to Ravangla anyway (as we had obviously suspected) but as soon as we got there we were surrounded by fifteen man making sure we were going to pay. We eventually went back to Gangtok we reported him and hopefully some action will be taken (apparently from what we had heard, in Sikkim the tourism office takes these matters very seriously) . Back in Ravangla we went looking for a room and settled for the cheapest we could found, sharing between three. The owners were really nice as was the room. We purchased our tickets to Gangtok for the following day and had a delicious Chinese meal and nice hot shower before collapsing in bed.

Tashiding

We arrived in Tashiding early afternoon and were captured by this little tiny village. It is one of the nicest places we have been so far....nothing much happening, friendly people and beautiful surroundings. Our guest house was great too....we only paid Rs100 for a comfortable double room and we could also avail ourselves of a sitting area....the food was cheap and good. That evening we made a very interesting encounter. An Indian guy checked in the guesthouse and we were intrigued by an animal horn he was carrying... so we had to ask him where he had got that from... it turned out that this was not the most interesting thing about this guy. He explained to us that he got that from a dead deer he found when he was trekking and then told us that he was a famuos musician. This was backed up by a portfolio of newspapers cutting featuring him playing in different places around Sikkim and West Bengal and much more, when we had our own private performance. He had a number of musical instruments, ranging from a bamboo guitar he had built himself to a nose flute to other small instruments he could play with his mouth... including a leaf. We spent the night with him playing cards. He was so excited we were spending time with him that he offered us two beers and everytime his phone was rang he was putting Sophia through, given that she can speak Nepali.This made our first night in Tashiding extremely pleasant... we had now to go and visit the much mentioned monastery. Standing in its majestic isolation on the top of a conical hill, with paintings equaling those of the Paimionchi, the monastery is in the heart of Sikkim. Tashiding is the holiest of holy hills in Sikkim and belongs to Nyingma-pa Sect. Tashiding is an important place for pilgrimage to the Buddhist because according to ancient beliefs, pilgrims are cleansed of all their sins if they only contemplate the great sacred chorten of Tashiding (Thongwa -Rangdot). It nestles on the top of a hill that looms up between Rathong and Ranjeet rivers. It is surrounded by a profusion of prayer flags that flutter in the air. There are so many chortens dedicated to Chogyals and some of the religious personalities of Sikkim. Carved skillfully on stone plates surrounding the monastery is 'Om Mane Padme Hum' by the master craftsman -Yanchong Lodil. The monastery was built in 1717 by Ngadak Sempa Chempo during the reign of the third Chogyal Chakdor Namgyal. The sacred ceremony of Bumchu is performed here at midnight of the 14th and 15th of the first Tibetan month. The experience at this monastery was terrific. After the long walk uphill we made ourselves comfortable on the steps of the temple, watching the monks having lunch. There was also a considerable number of locals....but no tourists. As soon as the monks were served they asked us to help oursleves from the food. We did not fill our plates as we were not that sure how the food tasted...but everything was delicious. It was our first meal at a monastery and it tasted really nice. Apparently, from what some locals told us, we were very lucky to have visited the monastery on that day as this kind of celebration happened only once a year.... After our visit to the monastery we headed back towards town... taking a different road by mistake but still making it back in time to the guesthouse before the rain starting pouring. We spent our last evening in Tashiding relaxing and playing cards. On the morrow we were to be off to Ravangla and Borong hotsprings.

Khecheopairi : Sonam’s Village

Pelling’s hotel owner suggested to try and spend a couple of days at the village of the Dalai Lama’s ex-cook. Given that the idea was quite intriguing we decided to go for it… and man we did go for it. The way to reach this place was a steep, supposedly thirty-minute climb (it always takes us more as Janet needs to rest). Eventually Yakof had to get some help for her which came in the the shape of a very strong Nepali man who flew up with Janet’s back pack. The sight awaiting us up the hill was much more than we had expected… the place was beautiful to say the least. There was an entire village perched on this hill with houses scattered here and there and two main buildings which where the guest houses : one owned by the father, Palao, and the other by Sonam, the son. We decided to stay at Sonam’s….the rooms were much nicer and the place quieter. And guess who we found there….Scott the American guy…he had walked all the way from Pelling. In our same quarters there was also a Korean girl. After having a nice cup of tea we went round to have a look at the place. At the other guest house we met a Portuguese girl, Sophia. She had just arrived as well and was waiting for her friend to come as he too had opted to walk it all the way from Pelling. Scott asked Sonam whether we could visit the monastery as, apparently, it was the oldest in Sikkim. It had similair paintings as the monastery in Pelling but older as well as old Tibetan manuscripts. We were told that dinner would be served at seven and we were impatiently waiting for the food to come as we were starving. In the meantime Sophia’s friend arrived….his name is Gal and he is from Israel. He amazingly managed to walk all the way from Pelling in three hours….quite an athlete!!! Before dinner time we spent some time watching the kids playing… it was so nice and quite up here. Dinner time at last… food, food and more food. We had rice, potatoes, peas, vegetable and soup….all very good. After dinner Sophia joined us and she, Scott and Yakof played Monopoly. Needless to say Yakof won the game, as usual. After the game we made our way to our nice hard beds for a restful sleep. Our planned two days at the lake turned out to become five... the place was hard to leave. We had a great time there and everything was very ‘shanti shanti’ as they say in India (peaceful). We drank tea, read books, washed our clothes, played cards and had endless conversations. Here we also decided to change our traveling route. We were planning to make our way to Varanasi after Sikkim, but Sophia and Gal were both coming from there and advised us not to, given that in two weeks time the temperature would rise to fifty degrees celius… not something we could really live with especially given that we were thinking of staying in Varanasi for a whole month. So our decision was taken… we were going to Nepal. Eventually how things turned out Sophia and Gal were going during the same time so we decided to go together. Gal had decided to walk all the way to Darjeeling so we told Sophia that she could join us during the rest our Sikkim stay and straight to Darjeeling, where we would then meet Gal and leave from Nepal. As time went by we were feeling more at home at the village… Yakof playing cards with Sonam and his father, Janet playing with the kids, especially with Sonam’s adorable little girl, Dolma. Sonam also offered Yakof some of their local drink, which shows he respected him. On one of the nights we even had a nice bonfire and we sang songs in Nepali, Maltese, English, Italian, Portuguese and Hebrew. We also visited the lake, for which Khecheoprai is so famous for. This lake is considered to be one of the sacred lakes of Sikkim both by the Buddhists and the Hindus. The lake is hidden in the rich forest cover. It is believed that the birds do not permit even a single leaf to float on the lake surface. The place is very peaceful, unless you visit it when the Indian tourists are around. Our stay in the village went by too quickly… we would not have minded to stay a little bit more but we still needed to see so many other places before Sikkim's permit expired. Next stop Tashiding...

Pelling

We woke up early to catch a jeep for Pelling only to learn that the first jeep leaving was at 13:30 and it was still 10:00. We had no other option then to wait in the Tourism Office. We met Elana again…she had just come back from Rumtek and was on her way to Ravangla.

Our jeep left on time and we arrived in Pelling at around five in the afternoon. On the jeep we met an American guy from Boston, Scott, who had been traveling around for a while as well. As soon as we arrived we tried to check into a particular hotel but the rooms available were too expensive for us. On our way out a man from down the road called us to go and talk to him. At first we were a little bit skeptical for usually when you are called by someone it’s not a good sign…but it turned out to be otherwise. This man offered us a good room for a nice price and we decided to stop there. The main reason why we decided to stop is that the hotel owner really resembled Janet’s dad… a little bit on the darker side perhaps… the Hotel’s name is Daphka Gang for anyone who happens to be in the vicinities. The owner was extreemly kind…he had traveled in Europe and maybe that is what made him different from the usual Indian stereotype. He used to be a trekker and has been awarded the mountaineering institute medal by Tenzing Norgay, just three months before his death. The food here was excellent… he suggested to us what to eat and cooked for us himself. He also drew us a very detailed map to go sightseeing with.

So, the following day, we set off to visit Pemayangtse monastery.

Perched at an altitude of 6840 ft, it is one of the oldest monasteries of Sikkim. Lama Lhatsun Chempo got the monastery built, mainly for the 'ta-sang' lamas (the purest of monks). However, with time, the monastery started serving the entire community. Magnificent sculptures and gracefully decorated paintings adorn the first floor of the monastery. One of the major attractions of the Pemayangtse Monastery is a seven-tiered painted wooden structure, portraying Guru Rimpoche's Heavenly Palace 'Santopalri'. Late Dungzin Rimpoche took five years to finish this structure single handedly. Presently, it is situated on the top floor of the monastery. The Chaam (monk dance) is held every year, on the 28th and 29th day of the 12th month of the Tibetan Lunar Calendar.

The paintings are somewhat…errrmmmm….unsettling. Most of them feature this Guru and even Buddha in lotus position with a female sitting on top of them with her legs around….we still need to understand what is the meaning of such depictions.

We eventually started to make our way down to go to the ruins. We came across a foreign couple who were riding a Royal Enfield and Yakof was a little bit sad as it was one of his wishes to travel in India on a bike but, considering the condition of the roads, this was not really such a good idea. Who knows, maybe once we visit the south it would be a different story.

We never made it to the ruins as it started raining cats and dogs. We stopped for half an hour next to a lake and when the rain was slowing down we made our way to find the police office to extend our Sikkim permit just in case we decided to spend more than fifteen days.

It was funny to see how this office keeps records of crime…everything is listed in different log books depending on the region and seriousness of the crime. No computers have been introduced for the time being. Once done from the office we had to catch a jeep to Geyzing as we would never have made it on foot…..the rain was too strong. Once in Geyzing we were lucky enough to find transport back to Pelling.

Once in Pelling we were welcomed by an amazing sight… after the heavy rain the skies had cleared and in front of us, in all its beauty and majesty, was the Kanchenzonga. Some locals told us we were really lucky to see it so clearly as the past twenty days there were only clouds. Janet could not get her eyes away and she stood by our guesthouse window looking at the mountains, taking photos and sipping tea.

Whilst at the restaurant we met again with the couple who was traveling with the bike. They are both Swiss and had been travelling for as long as we have, but with a bike. They turned out to be really nice guys and we had a nice conversation with them, had something small to eat and made our way back to our room for an early night.

The following day was the last day we were spending in Pelling and we just took it easy. We went for a walk in Lower Pelling and had some nice food for lunch. In the afternoon the hotel’s owner came back with all his family and as promised cooked us a delicious meal with the chicken which he got for us from Siliguri. The food was excellent…we couldn’t have wished for anything better. Our next stop from Pelling would be Kecheopuri lake.