Hello India!

So Nepal ends and India begins! After four months in Nepal I'm headed for two months in India, together with Julia and Magnus.
Getting out of Nepal proved a bit more complicated than we had originally envisioned. Thank-you Maoists. The strike was non-violent in the Kathmandu Valley, but there were reports of violence in other parts of the country. With the country essentially shut down local buses were out of the question, and no private operator was willing to take the risk of driving outside the valley.
The strike began on the 2nd, and out train tickets were booked for the 6th, so another way to the border was needed, and fast. The only option left was to fly, so accordingly, we booked a flight. The only problem was that everyone headed to India anytime in the near future was pushing up their dates, so everyone wanted to get to the border. In the end we pushed the train by a day, and left Kathmandu on the 6th.
The flight was on time, for Nepal (so it left within a half hour of when it was supposed to), uneventful, and very short. We flew to Simara, about 25km from the border. There were no taxis (damn strike again), so we took a horse-drawn cart to Birganj, the border town. It took about 90 minutes to get there, along a road that had almost no vehicles (the occasional passing police van). It felt more like 1900 than 2010, trundling along behind the horse.
For a tiny horse pulling 5 people, 3 large backpacks and 3 daysacks, it went impressively fast. At some points it was going at a full-on run. We changed carts in Birganj and headed across the border to Raxaul Bazaar, the Indian border town. It took two tries to actually get there, as we missed both border control offices the first time round. So technically I've been to Nepal twice and this is my second time in India. Only one officially counts though.
Raxaul is everything the Lonely Planet (aka 'the book') bills it as; a grim, dirty and crowded border town. It's really not all that bad excepting the total lack of restaurants. By this point it was over 48 hours since we'd had a proper meal though, so a restaurant would have been nice. The hotel provided food to the rooms though, and it was one of the best dal bhats I've had. Mostly cause it was real food though, in reality it wasn't that good.
The hotel in Raxaul was pretty grim - there was a constant lake on the bathroom floor, which flooded into the rest of the room when the shower was running - but we were out the next morning. The train to Kolkata left at 10am, not a moment too soon!
The train was scheduled to take 18 hours (in reality it took 20, not too bad), so it was essentially a lost day, but it didn't feel that way. I'm now an expert at entertaining myself, so it didn't feel too long, and there was tons to look at out the window. Plus, the feeling of being on the way somewhere, doing something with purpose, was great.
Despite there being 8 people sharing a roughly 2x3.5m space, it didn't feel at all cramped. There were two stacks of 3 beds each, perpendicular to the side of the train, and two along the opposite wall. Maybe 60 or so beds in the entire car, with AC. In fact, I woke up cold in the middle of the night, something I didn't expect to happen in India.
The train arrived around 6am, so we got a pretty good night's sleep. And now it's time to explore the city!

May

So my itinerary for May. Just like April, I'll post in more detail about everywhere.

1-6: Kathmandu
6: fly to Simara, pony cart to Birganj, cross the border to Raxaul Bazaar
7: train to Kolkata
8-11: Kolkata, train to Puri overnight on the 11th
12-16: Puri
16: Bhubaneshwar, night train to Visakphatanam (Vizag)
17-18: Vizag, night bus to Chennai
19: bus Chennai to Mamallapuram
19-22: Mamallapuram, back to Chennai and overnight bus to Bangalore on the 22nd
23-24: Bangalore, night bus to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
25: bus Trivandrum to Varkala
25-28: Varkala
28: bus to Kollam
29-31: Houseboat on the backwaters around Kollam

The month saw us go from Nepal, down the east coast of India, across to the west coast, and begin our journey northwards!

You Know You've Been in Nepal when...

- bal bhat just isn't the same if not served on a prison plate

- 'yes' is wobbling your head from side to side, not nodding

- a price is quoted, you immediatly offer half

- a bus stopping for 10 mins for no reason doesn't even register on your radar

- you answer when complete strangers call you sister

- $1.50 for breakfast and $3.00 for dinner is normal

- you expect to wait at least an hour at the restaurant for dinner to arrive. When it's faster than that it's cause for comment

- being offered pot in Thamel five times a day is normal

- you're happy to find a squat toilet because they're almost always cleaner than a western

- bring stared at and laughed at is part of life

- you haven't had pre-packaged food in four months

- 9am is sleeping in, 6:30-7am is normal to get up, and 11pm is late

- car horns are just part of the background noise

- not walking on the road is a luxury

- a hot shower is a rarity and a luxury

Maoists and Strikes - May 4, 2010

Ok, so here's the situation: I'm bored. And I don't mean year everyday garden variety bored, I mean BORED!!

Today is the third day of an indefinite strike. The Maoists were elected into government a few years ago. They were unable to write a constitution, so a transition government was set up. This government also promised to write a new constitution, and set a deadline. However, Constitution Day, as it has come to be called, is less than a month away and there's no way they'll finish on time. Needless to say, the Maoists are pissed. They want the government to resign.
For several weeks party members from around the country have been heading to Kathmandu. On May 1 they held a protest in the valley, asking the government to step down. Unsuccessful in this, they enforced an indefinite nationwide strike, to last until the current government resigns.
The country has been brought to a standstill. No shops are open, nobody's going to work. All transportation has been shut down and school is closed. Students taking their SLC exams (equivalent to British A levels) have been stuck at home as well. The streets, normally congested with cars all over the place and ceaseless honking, are quiet. The entire city has become an almost vehicle free zone - no cabs!
Three days in and the newspaper is carrying reports that those living in the rally camps are starting to get ill from lack of sanitation. Hospitals are apparently treating lots of heatstroke and water-born diseases. Emergency vehicles are among the few allowed on the road (vehicles with tourist plates, press vehicles and essential services as well) and today's paper carried an article on the prevention and treatment of heatstroke.
The streets are the most noticeable difference, with no cars or motorcycles. The only civilian vehicles you see are bicycles, and there are fewer of those. All the streets have become pedestrian walkways, and impromptu cricket and soccer games have broken out everywhere.
Today we went for a wander around this part of the city. The main streets are filled with people, but the side streets, where the shops are, are much quieter than usual. Durbar square, usually hopping with people, is almost empty.
Even during a strike the people have to live. So the shops and restaurants are open for two hours each evening, so people can shop for food. These two hours are especially important in Thamel, as the only option for cooked food is from a restaurant. There's time to get any errands done, and I have lots before leaving for India.
The restaurants have been operating on limited menus, and prices have been increasing as ingredients are increasingly difficult to come by. The bakeries, unable to get the usualy delivery of fresh goods, haven't been open at all. The first two nights we were able to get a good evening meal, but tonight we couldn't find a single open restaurant; they can't get food.
For breakfasts we've been finding the hotels that have restaurants. Some have opened a side door half or all the way, allowing us to find an open one. With 2 decent meals per day, the first two days weren't too bad. With the restaurants closed tonight though, I'm prepared for breakfast here.
The supermarkets have been doing fantastic custom these past few days. The first two days it felt like every tourist here was buying enough food to last a day, and tonight it was even busier. With no kitchen, it's been meals of snacks; instant noodles, cooked and raw, crackers and jam, biscuits and candies have become my meals.
There's nothing to do, as everything is closed, so I've become an expert at being bored. I've read a ton, and gone through all the settings on my camera. Julia with dark skin, and five seconds later, Julia with pale skin. Fuck, I'm bored.

May 27: A quick update on the strike. It ended May 7, one day after I left Nepal.

Headfirst off a Bridge

I jumped headfirst off a bridge. 160m above a river. Freefell for about 3 seconds.

I should probably mention the elastic tied around my ankles, because April 29 was bungee day!

All six of us decided to do Asia's highest bungee jump, 160m above a river. So accordingly at 6am we were on a bus heading out of Kathmandu. 2 hours later, we arrived at the resort that runs the bungee, and relaxed with some mango juice while listening to the instructions. The most important things to remember: leave your brain behind, and walk like a penguin, fly like a bird.

I was in the second group to go, so I headed to the viewing area to watch Caitlin, Julia and the rest of that group. Both had huge smiles on their faces when they had hiked back up the hill. One woman was clearly not sure, she was fully flailing when she bounced up again!

The jump is done from a suspension bridge, by far the most secure one I've been on in Nepal. It did have steel cables attached to both sides of each end though. The whole group went out onto the bridge, and one by one were given the harness and strapped in. The elastic is attached at both ankles and waist; ankles for weight-bearing, waist as a back-up. Hence walk like a penguin. And then it's time to jump!

There's a little platform jutting off the side of the bridge, from which you jump. So when it was my turn I stepped out onto it, and immediatly felt the weight of the cable. It's a lot heavier than it looks! Then a countdown from 3 and it was really time to launch myself off. This is where leaving your brain behind is a good idea. I didn't want to think too hard about what I was about to do.

I leapt off, and immediatly began freefalling headfirst. My immediate though was 'shit, why did I decide to do that', but then the view and adrenaline kicked in, and the rest of the fall was amazing. Seeing the cliff faces on either side fly by, and the river coming closer. And all so fast! It was over too quickly though; 3 seconds falling and about 20-30 bouncing around before you're lowered down to the ground. It was completely worth it, but I wouldn't do a shorter one, and I think once may be enough. Paragliding was a ton more fun; lasted longer. I did enjoy the feeling of freefalling though. Maybe skydiving next?

Everest Base Camp

I'll write more here eventually, but not right now. For now, I trekked to base camp. It took 7 days up, 2 down. Tons of fun, some really beautiful scenery (better than Annapurna!), big hills, and high altitude that made it difficult to climb those big hills.

More later.

Kathmandu Traffic Jam

The traffic in the Kathmandu Valley is crazy. There is only one main highway heading west out of the city towards Pokhara, and it's only two lanes wide. As is one in each direction, along a twisty, windy, ill-maintained mountain road. The roads in the city aren't too good, so everyday hundreds of trucks bring repair supplies into the valley and city. The trucks are overloaded and in dubious condition to begin with (we saw one that had no front, the pedals were literally hanging in mid-air), and on a road that can't support that volume or weight of vehicles, so it's super slow going getting into the city on the best of days. This is a traffic jam where you park. There is even a guy selling ice-cream along the side of the highway.
All the little vehicles (ours included) are weaving around the bigger ones whenever possible, but nothing can go fast. Even the emergency vehicles are hampered by the gridlock. This road sees it's share of cars and trucks going over the edge too. Right now I'm looking across the valley to the road on the other side (which we still need to get to, and then some more) where a truck is pointing straight down the side of the ridge. It's been winched up from where it fell to, but it doesn't look good!
The day after finishing ABC, I headed from Pokhara to Kathmandu with Caitlin and everyone from Gorkha. Just our luck, it was the day before a strike. And just like that first week trying to get from Shivapuri to the Riverside Inn, everyone and his brother was trying to get into the city that day, as they wouldn't be able to the next. Caitlin, Hari and Ed were supposed to have another day in Pokhara, but had to change their plans and come to Kathmandu a day early. So here I am sitting in a parked microbus that has every window open but is stull really hot, writing this because there's nothing else to do. Luckily the six of us, together with a few of our ABC guides, rented a private bus, so it's not as bad as it could be. Still hot and boring though. We even managed to play a few hands of rummy while the bus was stopped.
You can tell that the monsoon is getting closer. It's still a couple of months away, but already it's far far dustier in the valley than it was even a month ago when Caitlin and I came down for the weekend. It's gotten hotter too. Trucks, buses, cars and microbuses all have doors and windows wide open. It might just be because 4 days ago I was in the middle of a circle of mountains where it frosted overnight, but it's definitely gotten hotter. I'm having the same feeling as Lumbini, where I could handle the heat because I knew I was going somewhere cooler in just a few days. In this case it's Everest Base Camp, and it's looming; we're leaving in just 3 days. For once in my life I can't wait for cold weather. I don't even want to think about how hot it's going to be in India. It's already too hot to be hungry here. It's too hot to do anything.