I'm on my way out of Varanasi this evening and following a 13 hour train ride, I'll be in Agra.
Varanasi has been...well, a bit off to be honest. I had a hellish time getting here from Kathmandu. I had to take an 8 hour ride to a shitty Indian border town, where I hid in my (wildly over-priced) hotel room, watching CSI:New York with Hindi subtitles. Then I had to take a 6 hour train ride to Varanasi only to arrive at 5 am. I got to my hotel and passed out until 11 am.
Now, here's where I did something stupid. I decided to go out right then, instead of waiting a bit to avoid the noon heat. No smart. I went to Sarnath, a town about 5km north where the Buddha preached his first sermon. It was great but I nearly fainted from the heat and had to go back to the hotel to rest for the rest of the day. It was lame.
The next day, I planned much better. I got up at 4:45 and hauled ass to the Ganges so I could get on a boat and see the sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful. People, mostly men, were doing puja in the river. Puja is the Hindu show of devotion, offering something to the gods, ringing a bell to let the gods know the offering is there, saying a mantra, and in this case dunking themselves in the holiest river in India.
I also saw the body burning ghats but I didn't notice any bodies or anything. I wasn't searching too hard, though, so maybe there were.
After checking out some temples, I went back to my hotel to wait out the 11-3 hours when the sun is hottest. I took a nice refreshing nap and headed back to Old Town and saw the Muslim quarters where they make silk products. All by hand, yo! It was pretty cool to see and I bought a gift for my hosts in Ghent.
I went back to the ghats in the evening to see the evening puja ritual. It was ok but not nearly as beautiful or spiritual as the morning. It's hard to appreciate the spirituality of a moment when small children are trying to sell you fans, bindi dye, etc.
Varanasi was nice but I am eager to move on.
Wednesday 16 September 2009
Wednesday 9 September 2009
Pokhara
I am currently in Pokhara, about 200 km west of Kathmandu. It's absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. I literally gasped when I saw the lake that the city is named for. Just amazing...
The day after I got in, I left for a four day trek to Poon Hill. It had been recommended by several people and I was super excited for it. Ram, my fearless guide, and I took the bus to Naya Pul and began our trek from there. We hiked for about three hours to a tea house and settled there for the night.
The next day was absolute hell. We had to climb about 2,000 (give or take) stone stairs up to Ghorepani. I got sick about 30 minutes in and puked up everything I had eaten for breakfast, but we pressed on. About that time, it started raining and throughout the entire day, it was a steady drizzle of rain and we were soaked pretty early on. We stopped for some delicious potato soup and black tea (and to dry out our raincoats) and at about 3 pm we finally hit Ghorepani and sat in front of the fire, trying to get feeling back in our toes.
This guesthouse was pretty funny, all the rooms had the names of famous athletes on the doors and the owner was very loud and accommodating. I had the most delicious Tibetan bread with jam there. I cannot tell you how lovely the hot bread was, along with a cup of tea, after changing into dry clothes and sitting in front of the fire. It was one of the purest moments of pleasure I've ever had.
The next day, we were supposed to get up at 4 and see the sun rise over the Himalayas but there was a fucking rain storm and no one could see anything. I am trying to be very zen about it but it was a pretty bitter disappointment. Even more so was the fact that we had to start on our way down in this rain storm. Ram made me buy a huge plastic bag, which he then cut head and arm holes into, and I had to wear that the whole way down. Tres chic.
At the same spot I got sick at the day before, I got sick again but this time much worse. I began violently throwing up and my head hurt so bad I thought it was going to burst. I was running a fever and felt all kinds of dizzy but I managed to trek back to our first guest house and made it to the bed there. It was awful but Ram was really nice and he got me Sprite to settle my stomach. He told the owner of the guest house what happened and the owner thought I was haunted by the spirits of the people who died in a landslide at that spot 3 years ago. Huh.
I felt much better the next day and we made an early start back to Pokhara. We were home by about 3 and I spent the rest of the day returning to normal...shower, hair wash, massage, etc. My calves are in so much freaking pain, I can barely walk but it was worth it for the amazing trek. The limited views I saw were still pretty incredible and just doing the trek made me feel like I accomplished something. It was my first ever and wow, was it a mental challenge.
Today is a down day in Pokhara and tomorrow I take the bus back to Kathmandu. I leave the day after for India! Very excited...
The day after I got in, I left for a four day trek to Poon Hill. It had been recommended by several people and I was super excited for it. Ram, my fearless guide, and I took the bus to Naya Pul and began our trek from there. We hiked for about three hours to a tea house and settled there for the night.
The next day was absolute hell. We had to climb about 2,000 (give or take) stone stairs up to Ghorepani. I got sick about 30 minutes in and puked up everything I had eaten for breakfast, but we pressed on. About that time, it started raining and throughout the entire day, it was a steady drizzle of rain and we were soaked pretty early on. We stopped for some delicious potato soup and black tea (and to dry out our raincoats) and at about 3 pm we finally hit Ghorepani and sat in front of the fire, trying to get feeling back in our toes.
This guesthouse was pretty funny, all the rooms had the names of famous athletes on the doors and the owner was very loud and accommodating. I had the most delicious Tibetan bread with jam there. I cannot tell you how lovely the hot bread was, along with a cup of tea, after changing into dry clothes and sitting in front of the fire. It was one of the purest moments of pleasure I've ever had.
The next day, we were supposed to get up at 4 and see the sun rise over the Himalayas but there was a fucking rain storm and no one could see anything. I am trying to be very zen about it but it was a pretty bitter disappointment. Even more so was the fact that we had to start on our way down in this rain storm. Ram made me buy a huge plastic bag, which he then cut head and arm holes into, and I had to wear that the whole way down. Tres chic.
At the same spot I got sick at the day before, I got sick again but this time much worse. I began violently throwing up and my head hurt so bad I thought it was going to burst. I was running a fever and felt all kinds of dizzy but I managed to trek back to our first guest house and made it to the bed there. It was awful but Ram was really nice and he got me Sprite to settle my stomach. He told the owner of the guest house what happened and the owner thought I was haunted by the spirits of the people who died in a landslide at that spot 3 years ago. Huh.
I felt much better the next day and we made an early start back to Pokhara. We were home by about 3 and I spent the rest of the day returning to normal...shower, hair wash, massage, etc. My calves are in so much freaking pain, I can barely walk but it was worth it for the amazing trek. The limited views I saw were still pretty incredible and just doing the trek made me feel like I accomplished something. It was my first ever and wow, was it a mental challenge.
Today is a down day in Pokhara and tomorrow I take the bus back to Kathmandu. I leave the day after for India! Very excited...
Thursday 3 September 2009
Ka-ka-ka-Kathmandu!
Hello, fair readers. I am now in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and it is awesome!
I got in on Monday, after a fairly standard airport experience. Getting a visa was a bit of a pain since it's all done by hand and it took a long time. Soon enough, though, I had it and ventured into the city. I got massively lost trying to find my hostel and sat down on a ledge to re-group when this wonderful Polish man found me and brought me to my guest house.
My guesthouse is called the Kathmandu Garden House and it lives up to its name completely. It's about a 5 minute walk from Thamel, the main tourist area, and that makes all the difference. All the traffic sounds are hushed as soon as you walk onto the guesthouse's street and you can smell the flowers and plants right away. It's such a lovely bit of quietness in the midst of a bustling and loud city, I love it.
I spent my first night recovering from the travel and didn't leave my guesthouse but I did meet two Americans and chatted for a bit with them. The next day, I took a rickshaw to Durbar Square, the famous historical part of Kathmandu with the temples that look like this:
I found a tour guide and he took me around (for a nominal fee, of course) and learned a ton about the 49 temples.
The best part, though, was going to the Kumari house. The Kumari is a living goddess, a manifestation of Durga/Cali. She is picked from a special Newar buddhist caste and she has to fulfill 32 physical requirements, can have no blemishes, must have the right horoscope, and finally has to endure tests like watching 104 animals sacraficed in front of her. If she doesn't freak out, she goes to the Cali temple and has to be locked in a room with hallucinogenic incense and severed animal heads. Again, if she doesn't freak out, that's your girl. She remains the Kumari until she gets her first period then the process starts again.
She comes out to a window of her inner courtyard about once a month and I happened to catch it. I was only with about 6 other people when she was carried to the window. She's four years old and absolutely adorable. She looked out the window, we all bowed and said "Namaste" and then she wandered away. Very interesting experience.
I went back to the hostel after taking a gazillion photos and ran into one of the Americans, Jon. We decided to go back to Durbar Square that evening because we heard there was going to be a big festival. Sadly, we were a couple days off but we did get to see a procession of young men/boys led by an elephant puppet.
Yesterday, I woke up early-ish and Jon and I hauled ass to the monkey temple at the edge of town:
We had to climb a lot of stairs to get to the top but oh, man. Not only is the stupa beautiful and spiritual, but the view of the Kathmandu valley from the top of the hill was stunning. The clouds were just amazing and you could see for ages. The stupa itself, like I said, was pretty incredible too. We spent the evening at Durbar Square again, hoping to see some action but again failing. After, we got accidentally drunk and had to stagger home. Very fun.
I got up at 5:45 this morning to catch the 7:00 am bus to Pokhara, only to be told there were protests on the highway and all buses were canceled. Big time bummer but I'm using this extra day to catching up on journaling/blogging, writing postcards, and laundry.
I got in on Monday, after a fairly standard airport experience. Getting a visa was a bit of a pain since it's all done by hand and it took a long time. Soon enough, though, I had it and ventured into the city. I got massively lost trying to find my hostel and sat down on a ledge to re-group when this wonderful Polish man found me and brought me to my guest house.
My guesthouse is called the Kathmandu Garden House and it lives up to its name completely. It's about a 5 minute walk from Thamel, the main tourist area, and that makes all the difference. All the traffic sounds are hushed as soon as you walk onto the guesthouse's street and you can smell the flowers and plants right away. It's such a lovely bit of quietness in the midst of a bustling and loud city, I love it.
I spent my first night recovering from the travel and didn't leave my guesthouse but I did meet two Americans and chatted for a bit with them. The next day, I took a rickshaw to Durbar Square, the famous historical part of Kathmandu with the temples that look like this:
I found a tour guide and he took me around (for a nominal fee, of course) and learned a ton about the 49 temples.
The best part, though, was going to the Kumari house. The Kumari is a living goddess, a manifestation of Durga/Cali. She is picked from a special Newar buddhist caste and she has to fulfill 32 physical requirements, can have no blemishes, must have the right horoscope, and finally has to endure tests like watching 104 animals sacraficed in front of her. If she doesn't freak out, she goes to the Cali temple and has to be locked in a room with hallucinogenic incense and severed animal heads. Again, if she doesn't freak out, that's your girl. She remains the Kumari until she gets her first period then the process starts again.
She comes out to a window of her inner courtyard about once a month and I happened to catch it. I was only with about 6 other people when she was carried to the window. She's four years old and absolutely adorable. She looked out the window, we all bowed and said "Namaste" and then she wandered away. Very interesting experience.
I went back to the hostel after taking a gazillion photos and ran into one of the Americans, Jon. We decided to go back to Durbar Square that evening because we heard there was going to be a big festival. Sadly, we were a couple days off but we did get to see a procession of young men/boys led by an elephant puppet.
Yesterday, I woke up early-ish and Jon and I hauled ass to the monkey temple at the edge of town:
We had to climb a lot of stairs to get to the top but oh, man. Not only is the stupa beautiful and spiritual, but the view of the Kathmandu valley from the top of the hill was stunning. The clouds were just amazing and you could see for ages. The stupa itself, like I said, was pretty incredible too. We spent the evening at Durbar Square again, hoping to see some action but again failing. After, we got accidentally drunk and had to stagger home. Very fun.
I got up at 5:45 this morning to catch the 7:00 am bus to Pokhara, only to be told there were protests on the highway and all buses were canceled. Big time bummer but I'm using this extra day to catching up on journaling/blogging, writing postcards, and laundry.
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