stealing! part 2: nepal

Again, I'm taking stuff from Alex and Sarah's blogs that I don't want to forget. As reference, here and here are my entries on Nepal. Extra thanks for Sarah and Alex for being such entertaining documentarians. I just want to make sure my friends enjoy these entries as much as I have.
_________
Alex: From the Delhi Hustle to Relaxed Nepal
Woke up at 3:30AM to catch a 6:30AM flight to Nepal. The Delhi airport was hectic, and we really doubted we were going to catch our plane with all the crap that we had to go through to get checked in and through security. As a funny side note, the characteristic of Indian drivers to act like they know where you want to go and then drive around and ask directions was not absent at the airport. The shuttle that took us to our plane stopped and asked which plane was going to Nepal to some people on the runway.

The flight was only 2 hours and the Nepal airport left a great first impression on us. It was really laid back, uniquely decorated, and easy for us to get through customs and get our luggage. We got a free visa because we were only staying three nights, and the customs officers were genuinely patient and friendly. The first unsmiling face was the man at the money-exchange who stood behind a sign that said "We Value Your Smile." Note: Don't get money changed at the airport because they take commission and give a bad rate. Second note: 500 and 1000 Indian rupee bills are "illegal" in Nepal, so don't do what we did and bring these expecting to exchange them.

Our cab driver hooked us up with a Hotel we really liked (despite our distrust that he only cared about commission), and we got a double with a balcony overlooking the city. There is a school right outside our window where we can see about 5 floors of classes being held, hear kids singing, and distract some of them from paying attention. Other sounds of the city also pleasantly make it to our balcony including birds and mystical eastern music. We spent the first day wandering around the main market for tourists, where one can find any kind of Tibetan art, religious tools, fabrics, musical instruments, and outdoor sporting equipment. Kathmandu has a really neat feel that is much less industrial and filthy than most cities we've seen in India. The shopping area is much more oriented for foot-traffic, and there are endless small shops, restaurants and hotels.

In most Indian cities, there's a Café Coffee Day on every corner, as well as McDonald's, Sony, Adidas, and all kinds of chain stores. The pizza we had for lunch was also the closest to American-style food we have had for a month, and it tasted GOOD! We're now in the process of seeing if there's a way to extend our trip in Nepal.

Last Morning in Nepal

Though we were exhausted, we barely slept last night. Probably because we were sad to be leaving Nepal today. We watched the beginning of "Be Kind, Rewind" and half of "Into the Wild" on our rented DVD player. We had breakfast on the balcony again, which consisted of delicious fruit pancakes (mango and banana mixed into the batter), fried eggs, fried potatoes, and coffee. I cut another fresh mango up with my pocketknife for dessert. After casually packing up our things while the school kids outside did their morning games and chanted the Nepali pledge (we think), we went out around 10 to get some last-minute shopping done and exchange some of the crappy DVDs we bought for better ones. We had bought DVDs from a shop close to our hotel, called "Roadhouse," for 150 rs (about $2.50) each, and found that the ones that were still in theaters, like the new Indiana Jones movie were recorded in a theater. The older movies were real DVDs, but a little bit scratched. The nice shop owner let us exchange whatever we wanted. I bought a prayer wheel, and a few things that were more difficult to find in India, then met back up at the Hotel to check out. I hastled with the desk a little bit to give us a better exchange rate for our Indian rupees and a free ride to the airport. Leaving Nepal was not quite as relaxed as comming, and there was a 1356 nepali rupee charge to leave. We were frisked and had our baggage scanned 3 different times (even once on the runway just before boarding our airplane). I forgot to put my mango-peeling pocketknife in my checked bag, and the security was very glad to keep it for themselves :( . The flight was only 40 minutes to Varanasi.

Sarah: India Power, No Sleep No Shower
We left nepal with sad faces yesterday and are now in Varanasi. It's really hard to sum up several days in one blog. We went trecking (hardcore hiking?) outside of Kathmandu and I got a wicked sunburn-which is shockingly turning into a tan. weird. it's that himalayan sun. Of course it was totally beautiful etc. , and we were totally wiped out by the end. The next day was a whirlwind tour of Kathandu. The first stupa we visited was pretty amazing. We got lost in a Hindu cremation site full of scary monkeys with the crazy eye. Then we had dinner outside of the biggest stupa in the world with a guy from washington state. One of our friends met him in delhi. He's going to school in nepal, and gave us the tour of the campus/monastary. I'm seriously thinking about sumer school there next year. It's really cheap.

It started to pour (early monsoon) and of course there was no power. I think they do organized power outages every day. We ran and splashed through giant puddles of nastiness in the dark to a hole in the wall for some chang. chang is a milky white alchohalic substance that is fermented in a rag and then squeezed out into questionable looking buckets stored on the floor. We sat at our table with one single candle for light while our server juggled his crying baby and our cups of chang. It was actually not that bad. If you didn't think about the rag it came out of. I offered to hold his very unhappy little girl while he made some kind of concoction on the stove. She was the cutest thing ever.

stealing from friends! part 1: Jaipur, Rajasthan

In a series I am entitling stealing, I am canabalizing some of Sarah and Alex's blogs because they captured a lot of important details that I would have written about had I remembered, and had they forgotten. Sarah's are pink, because 1) she once dressed all in pink to be cotton candy at a party 2) unicorns, at least in the Lisa Frank oeuvre, are sometimes pink, and Sarah's blog is called Unicorn Apple and 3) Sarah is a girl, to differentiate her from Alex, who shall be green because 1) I like the color green and 2) that's all i got.

For reference, here is my entry on the same.

Sarah: International Gem Heist
We took a bus to Jaipur a couple of days ago from Delhi and ended up in the middle of a gem heist. Ok, so it was more of a scam, but we agreed that "heist" is a lot more interesting. And we weren't really in the middle of it because we're not stupid. We did, however, end up scamming our scammers when all was said an done. and it was awesome. Hotel room, food, drinks, transportation, and a genuinly good time. i actually really liked them. And I'm pretty sure they really enjoyed us as well. It's like a game.

We bounced on a 7:00 am bus back to delhi early the next morning. When he realized we were gone he texted an apology and that he knew why we had left, but he was hurt that we didn't say good bye. It's like, "ok, you got me, but you didn't even wish me a happy birthday." He actually said the birthday part. Like it was all normal, and worth a try. We just might make a career of searching out scam artists for entire days worth of free everything. Amber is beautiful and we had a great time.

Alex: Rajasthan: Elepant Rides and Gem Heists
Sarah, Carrie, and I woke up early and caught a bus to Jaipur, Rajasthan. We didn't really have a solid plan, just thought that we'd see some cool things and have a few days of adventure before going to Nepal. Sarah had also been emailing a friend named Sunny she met in Rishikesh who lived in Jaipur, and he promised us a good time.

Tickets weren't too bad for A/C and the road was the nicest we'd driven on yet.. Little did we know that the day would end in an awkward and pathetic attempt for our "friends" to get us involved in what we decided to call a "Gem Heist". From the first look at the guys, I thought there was something sleezy about them. It didn't help that there were about 8 shady and aggressive rickshaw drivers surrounding us as we walked, and they seemed to know Sunny and Bharat. Then the tourism police tried to tell us the people were not safe (though what they really wanted was for us to stay in one of their government hotels). Finally, we decided to give the friends a chance since they had waited at the bus station for us for an hour and seemed very nice to Sarah. We grabbed some food across the street from the bus station and introduced ourselves. They seemed nice enough, but were embarrassed and frustrated with us that they were seen being interrogated by the police. "It's bad for my family's reputation," said Sunny.

After a bit, things settled down, and we jumped in "Bella Chow's" car, had people in the street push start it, and checked into a decent enough hotel that only cost 500 rupees (about 11 or 12 dollars) for the three of us to share the big bed. Then we went to Sunny's family's elephant farm to have a ride. The place was in the next town over, called Amber. According to Sunny, it was the original capital of Jaipur, and the first city in the state to be strategically planned. In the 1700's, it was painted entirely pink to greet a prince of England. There were some really awesome military forts in the rocky hills surrounding Jaipur and Amber, and something like 400 Hindu and Muslim temples. There is also a palace in the middle of a big lake.

There were about 12 elephants in the stable out of supposedly 21 total, including one adorable baby elephant. We interacted with the elephants for awhile*. The baby got it's nose in my mouth while I was taking a picture of her mom. According to Carrie, I showed a spider-monkey reflex to the dirty wet snout that made a laugh. We had some roti and garbanzo dish with the stall boys, then they saddled up an elephant for our ride. Five of us rode the elephant into the rocky hills a little ways where we passed by lots of cricket matches, a Muslim graveyard, and cute kids yelling hello and goodbye to us. We had tea when we got back, and walked up to this small Hindu temple overlooking the city. It was a really nice view of Amber where the sunset would have been perfect without the clouds. A Sadhu man lives on the hill by the temple, and hasn't been down for years. The village brings him his food.

When we returned, the elephants were being painted with brightly colored paint for a wedding. Dinner for the night was supposed to be a "surprise". He said he'd told his "brother" about us and really wanted us to meet. We had a mojito that cost more than our hotel at this other fancy hotel restaurant and waited. Sunny's brother was much shorter and older, and in my opinion, carried no resemblance to him at all. Some other guys joined us, and one smooth-talking guy proposed we bring diamonds into the US and Nepal, and get paid an easy 10 grand. He was a sleezeball in his warming-up conversation, asking me if I had "got sexes" from any of the girls on the trip (very inappropriately in front of the girls I was with and people I had just met, but we laughed later about the way he phrased it), and trying to justify the horrors of the diamond business by saying that people never look at the good side; which is "when you hold a sack of diamonds and it's worth 3 million dollars." They paid for the expensive drinks and dropped us off for dinner at a pretty shitty place (when we informed them our parents weren't rich and we weren't interested).

The next morning, we decided that everything Sunny told us (that it was his brother's business, and everything about him and his family) was a lie and decided to bounce back to Delhi instead of roam around and wait for them to run into us at the market and try to find a better scam to get our money. All in all, we had a great day, and felt okay about leaving without saying goodbye. We scammed the scam artists and got free elephant rides, taxi, drinks, and dinner.
*This is my favorite sentence from his entry. I don't know why, so don't ask.

ok, ok, india's not such a bully

I was sitting at the internet cafe when someone recognized me! From the hotel weeks ago, he remembered my room number even! That was so nice of him. I feel more tender towards the town now. And also, Vinamra wrote on Facebook, and seemed happy that I was back in town, so that also makes me feel a little more welcomed. Now I'm going to visit Ram, who will also make me feel a little less out of place. These are all good things.

india kicked my ass

If you saw me right now, you might wonder, "Who beat up Carrie?" Well, it was India. It's a long story, but I'm ok now, just very tired. My hotel is incredibly loud, and I'm tired of people not understanding me, and I'm tired of having to argue with people just to get the remotely decent price on something, and I'm tired of having to repeat myself and acting like I'm talking to a kindergartener, only to have someone say "Can you say it slower, please?" I'm tired of the traffic, and of not knowing where to get basic things. I'm tired of being thirsty, and never knowing what my digestive system is going to reject. Tired of not knowing where internet cafes are.

But of all those reasons, the reason I look like I have two black eyes is the one where my hotel is loud. I am lucky that Dad gave me those earplug-headphone, so I can use them as earplugs and listen to the Beatles or to my New Favorite Australian Bands (Guild League and Clare Bowditch) and pretend there aren't 5 kids right outside my door screeching, as their fathers talk in strident and unconcerned voices, also right outside my door. Is this a cultural thing? Or is this family just unreasonably rude? It went on all night! Don't these kids sleep? Were they tagteaming?

Rant over. I will feel less stressed out when I have a place to stay. I thought it would destress me a little to look point-blank at my rickshaw driver last night and say "You are dishonest." But it didn't help. And now I'm in the worst hotel ever. Maybe I can fix it. I don't know. I want to stay in the gardens, but no one will answer the phone there.

Delhi Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT)

[note: it has come to my attention that people may be coming to this page to search wtf the ISBT in Delhi is all about, so I'm adding a pre-paragraph of everything I actually remember about the station. It's at the Kashmir Gate metro stop, and it's about 90 Rs by rickshaw from VasantKunj, way down south. When the rickshaw driver dropped me off, there was someone there asking me where I was going, and he told me which stall to go to, so he must have legitimately worked there. There's a confusing pathway from the road to inside the stall, at least to stall 43, where I was catching my bus to Dehradun/Uttaranchal. There is an information booth, and they may be able to help--I had a guy who wasn't fluent in English, but was at least willing to try to communicate. They will be yelling the name of the desintations usually, and you have to jump on the bus first to claim your seat. I didn't buy a ticket in advance. It was annoying because I had to get a stranger to watch my big suitcase so I could claim a seat, then come back out and get the suitcase under the bus. I lucked out that the stranger was trustworthy, but it's hard to travel alone if you have a lot of stuff. Anyway, a little ways through the trip, they'll come selling the tickets, and you just pay them cash. To Dehradun it was about Rs 275 I think...really can't remember, but it was an AC bus, which I thought was quite comfortable, even in the very back, but maybe I'm used to Indian roads by now.

Now, if you have a question about the Dehradun ISBT, you're out of luck. That one completely defeated me. I just know vikram 5 gets you there, and a taxi can get you away from there to Delhi for about 2500, which is useful when they start auctioning off your bus between Delhi and Jaipur, which is what happened to me. Feel free to leave a comment or send a message otherwise if you have other questions. I'll try to answer them. If I can get any use out of my helpless travel experiences, I will be glad]

Am right now in the most desperately confusing bus station, trying to get to Dehradun. you might wonder how I'm calmly writing in my journal while standing up and standing guard over the World's Largest Suitcase. I assure you it's only to calm my nerves by finding the experience a wacky time, trying by writing about it in the present tense to make it into a fun "remember when" experience in advance, rather than the stressor it threatens to be now. Or something. I'll let you know when this method starts working.

I think I actually have figured out something about when my bus is going, and I might even understand when the bus with AC is going, so I'm waiting for that one, and also waiting to see if my theory is correct. My theory about when the bus leaves. It's like physics--you can prove something with guesses and math, but it's onlly as useful as much as it can predict things in the real world. Ergh. This writing is helping a little bit, but I still think a better theory about what will destress me in this situation is needed. Chocolate also didn't help much ,which may just mean I'm too far gone. And now I'm attracting beggars from standing still so long. Nothing destresses me like Western guilt. Yeah. Great.

But it reminds me of a funny story from the rickshaw ride over here. Every stop had adorable kids tugging at my heartstrings, some selling flowers or latest issues of Cosmo ("number 75!" as they point proudly to the issue and volume number). But at one stop, a lady came up (a well-fed looking lady) with a wad of 10's already in her hand, hit me on the head, clapped her hands very masculinely, and demanded "Give me money!" I actually laughed, but she was dead serious, so I added "Uh, no." And she clapped again and put her hand out: "Give me money!!" Again! I said I didn't have any, did the empty hands gesture, and she leaned to my auto driver and said something in Hindi, which I assume was "Watch out, your fare has no money" said sarcastically because he laughed, and she left somewhat annoyed with me. Some people! But it kept making me laugh the whole rest of the way.

varanasi 3 [transribed from journal]

My third and final day in Varanasi. I've made a few long online-only updates about the first part of the stay, and also of Nepal, which, to reiterate from the blog updates, I adore. I have a whole financially unstable plan to travel to Nepal and Taiwan next summer. Maybe I'll stop in Tibet while I'm at it--make a tour of contentious Chinese territories. Nepal seems to peaceful, next to a region so rife with conflict. Even having their so-and-so-years-old monarchy deposed was a peaceful affair. The tour guides informed us as we passed a palace that it was a museum. We asked what kind of museum, and they said "Yes, 5 days." (OK, maybe not, but these are the kinds of conversations we usually have with the language barrier). It had only been a museum for as long as the monarchy had been dissolved! I found this somewhat amusing.

Varanasi remains a pleasant surprised because I didn't expect much from it, but I found more than I thought. It's still not my favorite place I've been, even in India. I think Mussoorie and Rishikesh are my favorite places, so I'm looking forward to staying at Mussoorie, even if the specifics of that plan are up in the air.

A few things I didn't write about regarding Varanasi: Sarah and Alex both mentioned the dead body we saw floating in the Ganges, face down. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to mention this. I found the charring skull in the cremation fires further along the ghats more arresting. The man in the river almost seemed alive. I wondered about him--his hair was still dark, so he couldn't have been too old. What had he died of? Did he have family? Who took him to the water? Who took him out? Or is he still there, under the waves, in the same water people bathe, do laundry, and brush their teeth in every morning? It was a general curiosity, and a little sadness because he seemed young. But I had more horror during our sunrise boat ride today (with our same boatman from the first night), when Sarah spotted a dead cat, stiff and a bit bloated, floating along with all the water weeds. I was sure this cat had died at the hands of awful people. I don't know why I felt this. Maybe the cat drunkenly stumbled into the water and drowned without ever knowing what hit him. But I started thinking about how evil people can be. I'd already been thinking about it because of the awful descriptions of rapes and other abuse in the semi-anarchy after Partition of India and Pakistan (the book is Flash House, a mystery, which so far is pretty well written). Part of me has to write this off, like 'people aren't really capable of this. This is fiction!" But I know people are capable of really awful things. It puts into perspective things I really beat myself up for, like asking where someone got their name. Um, this isn't really about India anymore.

Let me write some about where we stayed. I'm here now, still, sitting in the front room, talking on and off with Mr. Sahi, the owner. Sarah and Alex have gone to have their fortunes read. They rode there on the back of the internet shop owner's bike. I assume it's his motorbike, so I am eager hear about all aspects of their experience when they get back. Anyway, the guest house was lovely and low-key and low-pressure. They gave us good advice on prices, and where to go. It truly seems to be family-run. The food is fantastic, and we've all felt well, even after mango lassis three times a day. I tell myself the lassis are necessary because I have a mother of a yeast infection (effecting multiple parts of me) after all the preemptive antibiotics I've taken. But really I just love lassi. Before this trip, I like neither mango nor lassi.

Directions to the place? Go down the dirt road, or the road the exact consistency of ankle-deep chocolate icing if it's been raining, then turn down the alley with all the poop in it (probably from 2-3 different kinds of animals). At the guy with the blanket and the curly hair, turn left. If you smell some marijuana, you've gone too far. Go past the mountain of generators for when the power goes off (daily from 12-2), and take the stairs towards the mangy cat. Do not touch the cat. Enter into a shockingly clean little guest house with a lovely view of the Ganges and with old Sri Sahi holding court in the front room. If you need anything at all, ask the Shy Guy (every hotel has one). He is happy to help, understands English, and will silently laugh at most of the things he witnesses you and your friends doing. These directions were hammered out in conjunction with Alex.

Our Internet Friend (-cum-chauffeur for Alex and Sarah right now) seems to like us. He claims Brad and Angelina used his shop while staying at the very nice hotel next to our guest hour. Perhaps this is true. He seems trustworthy. He talks about how expensive India has gotten over the past few years. We're paying about $12 total per night at our guest house, but a few years ago would probably have paid about $3, according to him. Then again, there would have been no ATMs, so maybe it was necessary for prices to be so low? Kidding--I know enough econ to know these are both secondary indicators of economic growth. But Internet Man (Praveen) has the usual complaint that goes along with commercialism--the lack of the personal interaction during purchases. If any are poster children for why the personal touch is the superior alternative, it's Praveen and Mr. Sahi. They have probably been my favorite part of the stay at Varanasi, and it's not just because of my internet and good food addictions. I recommend these places to anyone in Varanasi.

Yesterday we called our airport taxi driver to give us a driving tour of the city. Unlike Hera in Nepal, whom we liked so much, this dude was a bit of a dud. he spent a significant amount of time taking us to places where he made a commission off of us. I had my first bad meal at the place he "recommended." The place's sign, which I found hilarious, said something like "Surety Satisfaction! Most recommended restaurant in a guide book!" We did make it to Sarnath (incidentally, most H's in Hindi transliteration only represent that the previous consonant should be aspirated, so it's pronounced closer to "sar-not"), which is where Buddha gave his first sermon. It was, however, disappointing. A museum was OK, especially for 2 rupees. There were stone umbrellas, but only 2--I wanted a whole forest of them, and Sarah said "What, like that level of Super Mario Brothers?"

Yes, that was it exactly.

There were still the hoards of beggars, even all the way out in Sarnath. Children holding children following and sometimes clutching your clothes with their cupped hands outheld. We ended up paying the 100 rupees to get inside the stupa gate just to get away from them, but they remained at the fence, reaching through. One of us pointed out they were like zombies, an image helped by their droning ("Hello, hellomadam, madam hello, hello madam, hello, hellomadam"), and now I keep thinking of them truly that way, where the deadness in their eyes really indicates someone took their soul somewhere along the way. It's heartbreaking, but it makes me appreciate the kids along the river. Even though they're just as clutchy and clingy, they are always selling something, and still have a playfulness. One girl applauded when I tripped on some steps, which made me more amused than embarrassed.

yahoo headline

The following is a main headline on Yahoo: "Everything seemingly is spinning out of control." Uh oh, what did I miss?

varanasi, part 2

Today I’m in Varanasi again. We slept very late, and although I had nightmares again (shot several people in the head, ran from the law, etc), I was glad for a good rest, as I always am.

We had breakfast at the hotel place, which is a really nice place so I’ll tell you about it briefly—it seems to be family run, and it’s called the Sahi Riverview Hotel, by the Assi Ghat. A ghat is a access to the Ganges river, so there are a zillion up and down the river. Ours is the furthest south on the main run of ghats, and while it probably should be pronounced “ah-see” we call it assy, because we are 12.

The food at the hotel is great (we ate there last night, too), so that’s always a relief. After food, we found what must be India’s Fastest Internet Shop. It zooms! I wonder how it would compare to the states. All of my standards are changing—I’m drinking rag-water from a bucket in Nepal, sleeping on beds that probably could use some disinfecting, feeling ripped off about being charged $7 for two hours worth of backbreaking labor (last night’s boat ride), and bathrooms…well, bathrooms. Here is how I report back on the bathrooms to travel companions:

“does the job” = hole in the ground
“has a real toilet!” = western style toilet
“nothing weird about how you flush it” = has straightforward flushing mechanism
“has a sink!” = has a sink
“has soap!” = has soap (and a sink)
“bathroom is REALLY nice” = has towel and all of the above

Anyway, as I was saying.

Last night, we went to a Ganges ceremony at the main ghat, and I believe I may have mentioned it kicked Haridwar’s ass. There was live music (sitars, tablas, harmoniums; harmonia?) and singing and a zillion priests welcoming then bidding farewell to the goddess, and we watched it all from our boat. Tonight, we walked down the same string of ghats, brushing away dozens of cute children trying to sell us things (“hello! Where you from?” “You are from Australia I know it!” “you want to buy? Good karma for you, you buy it.” “flowers only, you buy!”). We made it to a market, which didn’t have much we wanted to buy—mostly weird children’s clothes with sequins, and clear indications of the gender of the wearer (for instance, Sarah took a picture of a dress bedazzled with the word “GIRL”). But still, each stall tried to sell us something (“Yes, here! Shoes” “Yes, saree! Come!” “Yes, where you from, America, Australia?” “Namaste!” “Yes!”).

Alex pointed out the “where are you from” question really irks. Because it seems so innocent and curious, even though we know it’s not, it’s just a way to get you to respond—it’s like their way to find the chink in the armor and then they can begin to pry it all open around you, and goddammit, you just want to walk in peace. This is why India begins to wear us down after all this time. The children today even said “Why you no answer? You like not human being!” Heartbreaking! And irritating!

We had dinner on a rooftop (Dolphin café or something), which was delicious, as per usual, and then we walked a few ghats over to the main burning ghat. They do cremations, 300 a year, and we saw bits and pieces of several ceremonies while there. Our eyes burned with the ash….

I have to go now because our café is closing…so I’ll have to write later.

Nepal

After that first day of shopping, we decided to get out of the city, so we set up a outdoor trek with a man named Rambo. Yes.

So, it wasn't as rough-and-tumble a hike as you'd expect from a man named Rambo. In fact, Rambo didn't go with us, Suresh (rhymes with letch, it certainly does) did. It was an arduous walk, especially for those of us, ahem, who for instance haven’t exercised for months. We went from Sandhu to Nagarkot, where, so say some sources, we could have seen a speck on the horizon if it were a really clear day, and that speck would have been Everest. Not a big loss—the view was otherwise spectacular. The hike was bracing, and the air got cooler as we went, which was a blessing. We stopped for a Pepsi halfway there, at this crazy shack in the middle of nowhere that had Pepsis (every Nowhere in India similarly has at least Coke, Pepsi and Limeca). I apparently left my camera bag there, and it was picked up by our guide, who as a joke pretended not to have it. But luckily he really did and I didn’t have to go back. No words to describe the relief! He was an oddly jokey guy.

That evening we went to a restaurant called New Orleans, which is apparently a chain. The food was wonderful! We haven’t had bad food this whole time, and lately, it’s even been not making us sick. This place even reminded me of a French Quarter courtyard a little bit, tucked in the middle of the Thamel part of Kathmandu. Who would have guessed? We had veg. jambalaya (we’re all vegetarians, another great facet of our group dynamic), a few other things, and then decided to rent a DVD player. We were able to from the hotel, and we watched a heavily pirated DVD of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Long-Ass Name. It was such poor quality, we decided to return it the next day, and instead I got all 7 seasons of Sex and the City.

I like this show OK, but I mostly got it because I’m a girl and all girls are supposed to have and to like it. But as he was showing a few random spots of the DVD to prove to me it wasn’t a horrific pirating job, he stopped on a few choice conversations and I thought “It’s like they’re talking about ME!” So now I’m glad I have them to watch again.

The next day we went on a driving tour with Hera, my favorite driver/guide. He didn’t speak great English, but he seemed honest and genuinely helpful, which was more common in Nepal than in India, but still not the norm in the tourist industry, where white people just become giant money signs to most. He took us to a few stupa (shriney places with bits of the Buddha and other Buddhist junk buried up in there). It’s hard to describe them (obviously, for me at least; see previous parenthetical notation), but the first one we went to we loved. It was covered in prayer flags, and we wanted solemnly to circle the entire stupa and spin every prayer wheel, but Hera wanted to make sure we didn’t miss any of the side-project shrines along the pathway. All of these places, even the holiest shrines, are littered with people selling, selling, selling. Which seems a little out of place, but whatever. It’s not like it’s surprising.

We then went to a place where there are supposedly burnings (cremations), but they weren’t doing them that day, so we paid about $5 as, in Sarah’s words, a donation to renovate the place. It wasn’t in great shape, and there really wasn’t much to do but see the stone (done), get lost (very done), go accidentally into the Hindu-only section which looked way more interesting (yup), and be terrified of the monkeys. We were in fact scared of some of the monkeys that were blocking our path at one point, but they scattered as we came up, and in fact, one stayed behind to open the door the rest of the way, cautiously making eye contact as it did so, until it was all the way open, and the monkey went away. It was so polite! So the monkeys are OK, even though we saw them steal a bunch of junk from people. It was all in good fun!

Then we went to the largest stupa in the world, where supposedly a speck of the Buddha himself (though Sarah thinks this is true of all stupa, so it bears more research) is said to remain. It was so big, even we got sick of spinning the prayer wheels in the amazing throng of people circling clockwise. Finally we got out of it and had some chai masala, as we waited for Josh, a boy that Mari had met in Delhi, originally from Washington state, now studying Buddhism. His yearly expenses, including tuition, come to about $10,000 (just an interesting side note for those of you interested in studying in Nepal).

He turned out to be really nice. We ate at a nice rooftop restaurant near the stupa (Three Sisters restaurant), until it started raining, and we went for some chang (chung), the local Nepali rice beer. It’s white and tastes almost like a wine. But also, almost like a wet rag, as this is how it is made: you soak the rice, and then squeeze it out of the wet rag in a bucket, from which is it also served. Naturally, when one hears “wet rag” one pictures the dingiest, most threadbare and ancient rag they’ve ever seen in their lifetime. So there was a little getting over that, but in the end, we all liked the chang pretty well, and it was of course cheap. The rain precluded a visit back to Pashupati, and the full moon concert/celebration.

We had a terrifying taxi ride home—it started with him hitting a pedestrian, continued with nearly hitting a few cars, and then actually tapping a car, and then ended with zooming through the rainy, narrow streets of Thamel, towards our hotel. I really thought I was going to die, and was very sad, but glad that my last day had been in Kathmandu.

I’m now ready to join the summer program at the Buddhist academy next summer. There are Nepali and Tibetan language courses as well, which also appeal, but I don’t think they’d be as much use as the course on Buddhism. I’ve had so many close-to-spiritual experiences here, I feel this might be my foot in the door of theism (or whatever the opposite of atheism is). Sarah and I both really have our hearts set on it, if finances allow. And I have my heart set on my brother coming with me, too, for the six weeks. He’s never really spent time abroad, and Kathmandu seems like it might be his kind of place. Or at least the Buddhist part of it. I don’t know. I just know I loved it, and I want everyone to be able to love it as much as I do.

Varanasi, Day 1

I have so much more to say about Nepal, I hope I get to it. It continued to be wonderful, and now I have a deep tan. But now I am in Varanasi, India. Which we're not too thrilled about, but really only because we loved Nepal so much.

Anyway, just updating this because SOME people worry apparently if you don't update your website for 72 hours, MOMMM.