Another Travel Blog

There has been hardly ever a place where I stayed so many days during my travels – Kathmandu, in the Thamel area which is the central point of stay for the most people in Nepal. The Nepali are little quieter than the Indians and entering Nepal from India feels like a relief for everyone who is tired of any Riksha drivers or intimidating Indians. The weather is truly pleasant, after having experienced India’s hot summer weather, currently at around 20-29 degrees as Kathmandus elevation is at 1100 meters. Although in Thamel, you will still be prompted from Riksha drivers and company, the athmosphere is a traveller’s paradise. Thamel offers everything – ranging from laundry places to the best bakeries and used bookstores. It’s hard to draw yourself off of Thamel’s comforts to see ‘real’ Nepal. Not very far from Thamel, you will find the Durbar square which is the home of Kumari Devi, a living goddess. The Kumari Devi is a small girl before puberty who is elected according to strict physical requirements. Walking through the streets feels like in a museum where I was able to spot monuments which are most likely more than 500 years old. Anywhere else, such monuments would be treated with extreme cautiousness but in Kathmandu, they are used for laundry being hanged upon or simply from the homeless lingering on them.

The political athmosphere these days is tense, but better than it has been back in 2006 where I met a traveller who had described being in Nepal was like being in a war zone. Although the political stability is still developing, with the first president of Nepal elected at my arrival day – the 21^st of July, a medical doctor who has made his way into politics I could not see any seriours riots or Maoist rebels, which would be more likely to encounter in the countryside anyway. Nevertheless, I witnessed a (political?) demonstration in Thamel’s streets during my stay. Road strikes are not uncommon and there have been strikes throughout my stay in the Kathmandu valley from students who requested the government to lessen the transportation prices 45% off for students, as it was agreed so with the previous government. Thankfully, I have always been able to get around transportation strikes, even so in Bolivia where some strikes went on for a few weeks.

The country is unstable altough hard not to love, being the home of the mother goddess of all mountains – Everest. The Himalayan area is for obvious reasons not easy to reach and a visit to the highest mountain of the wold is definitely a reason to come back as my time right now is too limited for the Himalayan trek. Meanwhile, I finally could draw myself off from Thamel’s comforts and used the day for strolling around Kathmandu valley which offers many attractions from sacred sites, day trekking to mountain (especially Everest) viewing. Nagrakot is the place to stay fo mountain viewing and the best at sunrise (5am) Extremely crowded buses leaving from Bhaktapur, a city close to Kathmandu are leaving for Nagrakot. Being unfortunately here in off season (it has many financial pluses though, getting heavy discount for most services) but it also means that the views are cloudy and there is a very small chance of seeing Everest from Nagrakot. The hotel offered gorgeous views though towards the Himalayas straight from the bed, including a nice balcony to relax on.

After spending one week in India, I have some first impressions to share. My entry point to India was Mumbai and I didn’t intend to stay there for long, instead I tried to book the first available train to Delhi (it ‘s a 2 days train journey). The train booking system seemed a little intimitading at first, having to fill out a forms and to queue up in counters (usually the ladies counter or the one for foreign tourists for me) but after getting used to the system, the booking system seems to be very well organised, especially when dealing with such crowds. The Indian men are quite laddish and I was fortunate that the local trains in Mumbai did have separate compartments for males and females. The rush hours are the worst, being squeezed into the train like a fish into a can and the probability of not being able to descend is very high if not close enough to the exit door.

I remembered once I asking a fellow traveller, Dirk with whom I was travelling through south east Asia: ‘So how was India’  and I still remember the answer ’India? It was a large shithole but I liked it’ Laughing at his answer back then but how true this is.. More about the hygiene later.

In the train to Delhi (I got the seat regardless of my waiting list status) I catched up with a fellow traveller, an Indian from Pune and spent a few days in Delhi with shopping and drinking. I was amazed about the book street, Nai Sarak, and how books on though subjects like operations research or higher maths in general are available for a fraction of the cost in Europe or the western world.. And they are even as good or even better than the ones which can be found in the western world. Walking through of parts of Delhi (and this applies to anywhere so far in India) is a nightmare, where you need to pass cows, their excrements, dogs and many other undefinable creatures. The smell of India is another thing hard to describe yet unique to this country. Once in a while it smells good, but  suddenly (after having passed any dirty corner) a stench comes up. After Delhi, I passed Agra (Taj Mahal) and Gorakphur, both places not being any different from Delhi in terms of hygiene, but close to the nothern parts of India, I also passed a lot of flooded areas. Also, the scammers are quite present in India and at every corner, someone expects that you are waiting for some kind of transportation (usually for the triple of the cost locals pay..) But having travelled South East Asia, the scams don’t differ that much and can be avoided easily with common sense. Back to Gorakphur - where it was raining thoughout my stay and everything got wet and muddy. The small town isn’t much more than a stopover place for travellers, either for visiting Buddhas birthplace Lumbini in Nepal or Nepal in general. More about Nepal will follow.