Nepal to the rescue!

For neighbouring countries that share a land border, it is surprising just how quickly you see the difference between India and Nepal. At most of the land borders we have crossed so far on this trip, it may take an hour or 2 to notice any real difference, but in Nepal it took us all of 50 yards to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

On the India side of the border are the open sewers, the copious litter in the streets and the only game in sight being played is cricket. Once the border is crossed however there is an immediate difference. The number of people in the streets is significantly reduced, there is less litter, little or no foul smelling sewers and not a cricket bat to be seen.

Rather quickly after entering the country though, we were given the opportunity to experience a proper Nepali monsoon storm. Making our way in the general direction of Chitwan we were subjected to a 90 minute downpour of rain so strong that it was almost impossible at times to see out from the truck. A lot of the locals are naturally very glad for the monsoon to arrive, as it is the main rain of the year that allows their crops to grow. A lot of the hillsides in both India and Nepal are terraced for planting crops, so that the water does not run away too quickly.

That night we found a small clearing in the woods not too far from the main road, which was ideal for what would turn out to be our last camping session until we get to Australia (if this sentence does not make sense then please see the post before last regarding the Tibet situation). Around 3am that night we were treated to a second instalment of the monsoon, which lasted round until breakfast at around 6.30am. By this time our lovely campsite had turned into somewhat of a quagmire, and by the time we left many people and their tents were covered in the mud!

The view from our campsite in the forest

The next morning we headed on into Chitwan where we were staying at the wonderful Hotel Monalisa. As far as the hotels on our trip have gone, neither of us can remember staying in a hotel we enjoyed more. The rooms are clean and modern, while outside you are hardly any distance away from the boundary of Chitwan National Park. Also on site is an organic restaurant, situated amongst the vegetable gardens where they grow all of their own produce. The area is very quiet, and the ideal place to relax while listening to the birdsong in the very colourful garden. It was here that my Birthday adventures would also take place, which you can read about a few entries ago.

After the enjoyment of our time in Chitwan, we made the journey up to Pokhara which is a touristy but yet enjoyable city in the centre of the country. The area of the city in which we stayed was located next to a huge lake, and the streets are lined with a mixture of wonderful restaurants, outdoor equipment and activity shops as well as shops offering all of the local crafts and trades. For the amount of tourists there are here, it is still surprisingly easy to find an area to relax and enjoy your surroundings. The other major surprise is the level of respect that you are given by the locals in comparison to the hell of India. Most people here just like to say hello and chat to you, and those that do try to sell you something that you do not want or need are nearly always appeased by a single “no”. Most of the will even then wish you a good day afterwards!

While in Pokhara we decided to rent a couple of kayaks and a boat to head out onto the lake with. Vicky opted for a kayak, while I opted to help row the heavy wooden boat that contained myself, Jay, Laura and Janet (wow that was hard work!). We spent around an hour and a quarter rowing across to a cove on the far side of the lake, before resting and making the return journey (against the waves being pushed in by the wind!).

Vicky gets paddling in the kayak

I think we were both a little sad to be leaving Pokhara after our 3 days there, but it was time for our final truck journey before we were forced to part from it for good. 6 hours later we arrived in the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu (or dog-woman-don’t as Derrick likes to call it). Unsurprisingly Kathmandu suffers from the same problems as most capital cities; it is noisier, busier and more polluted than any of the other places we have visited in Nepal so far. That said, I have still enjoyed it more than a lot of India!

From this point in the trip we are scheduled to have a 2 week break to allow everybody, and especially Polly doing all of the organising and Adam the driving, a break. During these 2 weeks we are free to go wherever and do whatever we like, and so we decided to start the break in style with a 2 day white water rafting journey down the River Setti. Fast flowing deep water is not a great love of mine, and so I was feeling pretty damn scared to see some of the waves in the river as our bus wound it’s way through the hills to the drop off point. As a precaution I decided on my maroon coloured underwear for the actual rafting itself!

Within 10 minutes of boarding the raft though pretty much all of the fear and reservations were gone as our bouncy and wave soaked journey down the river really got going. In fact at one point I was even heard saying that the “calm bits were overrated and that we need more of the rougher stuff”! Who would have thought?

Toby and I with a few beers by the guides makeshift canopy

The scenery from the boat was incredible, and was a completely different perspective from the roads that we had travelled on. For the most part the river was not next to a road, and so you got the feeling of it just being you, the river and the hills. We moored up in a delightful little spot where there was a small beach area along with a shelter for the guides to cook under and pitch the tents around. We were spoilt by the guide’s hospitality as they wouldn’t let us lift a finger, as they brought us tea / coffee with popcorn, and prepared some lovely cooked food for us also. We had a great view of the hills, and it was mesmerising to watch the sky as a storm rolled in over the top of them.

Storm clouds rolling in over the hills towards our camp

The next morning we continued our journey down the river, with the rapids getting even more active than the day before. As it is monsoon season here, the water levels are higher than normal and therefore the speed of our trip was faster than it would normally be. When the monsoon is really set in the river will be higher still, and the difficulty grading will be raised accordingly. When we reached the ending point of the journey our guides very kindly cooked us some more very tasty lunch, before they packed us onto a bus in whichever direction we chose to go. Vicky, Jay and I all decided on Chitwan as our destination, while Toby decided to head back to Kathmandu. When the bus to Chitwan arrived however there was a problem….it was completely full! After a brief discussion there was only one course of action that could be taken…we would have to ride on the roof J Although the metal roof rack is not going to win any prizes for comfort, it did add a new dynamic of fun to the journey, as well as being an amusing tale to tell our friends at the same time.

Riding on the roof of the bus

Safely back in Chitwan we decided that another visit to Hotel Monalisa was in order, and the owner was there to meet us with open arms. He is an incredibly kind man, and does a lot to promote improvement in the local community through education. In fact Laura, Jay, Emily and Steph have all gone to volunteer with him for a week and do their bit for the community. One thing that the owner did let us do during our second stay was to take a short ride around the block on his camels (yes they were actually camels this time thank you!). It was a very interesting experience, especially as mine was determined to eat every bit of vegetation in sight and nearly turfing me off in the process!

View from my camel as we head down the road

If there is one thing that stands out for me about Nepal in comparison to India, it is that Nepal seems much more of a “doing” place while India is all about the “seeing” and the “not being robbed blind by touts”. Already in these first 10 days we have done so many things, and actually felt like we have physically engaged with the country. I think this has been a large percentage of the reason that we have enjoyed the country that much more.

We have today taken a bus back up to Pokhara, where we intend to spend another 4-5 days. Who knows what we will get up to while we are back there? Come back soon to find out!