The Dumass Journals
- Steves new Indian look...
Here are all the updates from our friend Steve. He is at present (started on 26/12/2001) in India before heading into Asia and then on to who knows where. I've known Steve since primary school and know he is capable of handling any situation thrown at him - given that he has decided to travel for up to three years on his tod! Enjoy the journals of Dumass, let them inspire you into leading a more crazy life :
~ Mumbi - Bangalore ~
~ Prasanthi Nilayam ~
~ Sathya Sai Baba ~
~ Goa (Panaji & Baga) ~
~ From Goa with Love ~
~ Palolem - The Beach ~
~ Mad Rantings ~
~ A Train to Udaipur ~
~ Udiphur ~
~ Pushkar ~
~ A passage out of India ~
~ Mountain Treking, part I ~
~ Mountain Treking, part II ~
~ Dances with Rhino's ~
~ No can do!! ~
~ Happy Thai New Year ~
~ Holiday in Cambodia! ~
~ Battembang or Battembong? ~
Next Page pg2 (13/05/02) pg3 (21/06/02) pg4 (01/11/02)
Hello all,
I reached Mumbi safely, but nothing can prepare you for the poverty that you see upon leaving the airport. There are slum areas everywhere and I must admit I did not feel safe at all until I reached the Hotel, my paranoia was getting to me and I expected to be attacked by the taxi drivers friends each time we stopped on a dark streach of road. It feels like one of those period costume dramas where the people in the coach drawn carriage are looking away from the poverty on the streets. I managed to get myself a cool hotel 10 mins from the airport and enjoyed two days getting on my feet. From there I got myself an internal flight to Bangalore for the start of a 4 hour taxi ride into Putparthi where Sai Babas Ashram is found. The taxi ride was long and hard and I am not looking forward to the return journey, I had to take a toilet stop and was followed by some of the local's I think they were hoping to laugh at how a white man does a sh1t but luckly it was the other. The Ashram is cool and the only place I have been yet where people are not trying to blag me, I am getting used to the currency at last and being more firm with people each day. At the Ashram people wake a 4 am and lights out at 9 pm, nobody talks to each other here really so there is a lot of time for quiet contemplation, it's very basic but comfortable. I am hoping to spend another week here, Sai Baba is a cool person and the Ashram is like paradise, the only down point is the no drinking or smoking in the Ashram but so far this has not been too bad.
Speak soon Steve
Happy New Year (I spent it sober and asleep at nine)
The Prasanthi Nilayam Ashram of Sai Baba is in Puttaparthi (about 3-4 hrs Taxi from Bangalore). On arrival I went to the Internationals desk and was given accomodation in a dorm for Westerners with room for about 30 people. The Ashram contains Sai Babas residence where people go at 6:00 am, 2:15 am & 5:00pm. Then surrounding this their is the accomodation, canteens, gardens, shop & statues. Then outside of the Ashram is the village of Puttaparthi.
Most people wake at 6:00 am and it's lights out at 9:00pm with no smoking or drinking it's quite a quiet life here. I think it has been good for me to come here as it is a superb place to get used to the immense differences of India. The price to stay here is also amasing, 10rs a night, 30 rs for food, 20 rs for water & 10 rs for luxuarys makes about 70 rs a day or 80p. If I stayed here for six months it would cost me 120 pounds, some people never leave.
The dorm is quite cool but very basic with cold showers, a basic matress on the floor and if you forget toilet paper it's your hand to wash your arse. This is not as bad as I thought it would be and was my major hang-up but now it's no problem and can be quite enjoyable (only joking). At night the dorm gets a bit like blazing saddles with 30 blokes in a room farting. I tried to join in but it was just a little girls fart and I don't think I impressed anyone..
Venturing into the village has given me confidence in dealing with the locals (who are constantly trying to skank me) and I now have boys following me when I come out calling me English friend. I am dealing with the beggers also now, although at first this distressed me much. Now if a begger comes to me and shows me his leaperous hand saying "Can't work, give me food", I'll casually turn and reply "use the other one you f**king cripple!" and kick him until he runs away (only joking a simple "no" seems to work just fine as long as you are firm).
The landscapes are beautiful and their are dogs everywhere, I had a mango the other day from a stall and the guy slices the top off and adds a straw to make a drink and then slices it in half to make a bowl so that you can eat the fleshy bit, very cool..
I even saw a monkey the other day I woke up and looked down... err..no I was reading and looked up and there it was in the trees above. So I said "Hello little monkey, how are you today?" and he just scratched himself because he is just a monkey and then went off with his monkey mates.
Anyway I am here till about the 8th of January and then I intend to make a move to Goa and do some serious sin (well have a few beers!). I am thinking that I may cut India a little short depending on whether a war starts here or not...
Take care speak soon my little Cherubs!!!
Stu - Yes that would be cool Matt - Congratulations
Salaam my friends,
Salaam is probably the word that I have been saying and hearing most recently, it means peace and pretty much describes my last 8 days here.
My sandals were stolen the other day and at first this vexed me a little then I realised that there was no reason getting annoyed as there is nothing I can do about it now so I went and brought some more for 25p. They are a bit tacky and even the Indians seem to think so as they keep offering to sell me some better ones, but I'm not proud.
Anyway later I was having a coffee with a street kid called Hanaman (probably the one who stole my shoes) and he had a large swelling on his head. He said that it was from the police, they do not agree with bootleggers selling their wares on the street and so react with force. It's a different world here!
So after my time here what are my conclusions about Prasanthi Nilayam.
Well from what I am told Sai Baba has built up most of this village to what it is now. The free hospital, free school, sports area, the water project to provide for Puttaparthi and the Ashram itself which provides cheap accommodation to all visitors. There is also the museum (also free to enter) where all the religions are given equal prominence and explanation as Sai Baba's reasoning is that all the religions have the same message `to be a good person`.
Every day Sai Baba comes out for Dharshan and Bhajans. Dharshan being a time when people assemble for a blessing received at the sight of Swami and Bhajans being kind of like hymns. I must confess that on attending Dharshan with thousands of other people sitting in silence together you do get a feeling of peace and tranquillity.
The time spent in the Ashram is for meditation and self-improvement, it does give you a good atmosphere for `quiet time`. Sai Baba is a guru (spiritual teacher) that has an enormous following of both Indians and foreigners and his message seems to be one that is good. His message to the world is simply that no matter what religion, colour, social standing or whatever be conscious of what you are doing and be a good person.
With a message like that I fail to see any harm no matter how sceptical you may be, Prasanthi Nilayam is a place worth experiencing with open eyes. My ego bows at the lotus feet of Swami Sathya Sai Baba.
By the way thank you for all your e-mails, the PC's here are really sh1t so I do not get much time to reply but I really enjoy hearing from you all still.
Anyways it's a long taxi Journey tomorrow so I'll be signing off, good night England where ever you are...
Hello all
As my last e-mail I traveled to Goa by bus (13 hrs) which was surprisingly comfortable with toilet and food stops along the way. When I awoke we were just nearing Goa and the scenery out side was like nothing I've seen in India as yet, lots of green and palm trees, but the thing that struck me as strange and a shame were huge billboards and car showrooms stuck amongst this lovely scenery. I arrived in Panaji the main town/city of Goa at about 7am and went straight to a hotel for a much needed rest. I spent 3 days in Panaji at the Republic hotel just getting to grips with the place, meeting other travelers and trying the quiet restaurants near the river. To be honest 3 days is too much time to spend here as there is very little to do and the area is not a patch on the beach areas of Goa to the North and the South as I soon found out.
So I taxied to Baga (North Goa) and found myself a hotel generally used by backpackers and a good meeting place as the rooms surround a courtyard where you can get breakfast and drinks. My room is pleasant and has a balcony facing the sea which you can sit with a drink and watch the pigs (soo cute and I want one) after a day here I can describe Goa in 5 words "I ain't ever coming home".
So Goa has been a refreshing change for me so far, I've had a chance to find my feet and met some wonderful people. From the Hotel Fatima where I spent time drinking in the courtyard I first met gang, which consists of strays like me and a group of barristers traveling India for two weeks. We have spent our time haggling with the locals, eating in restaurants, beach time and drinking, not really traveling more like a package holiday except I can stay here for as long as I want.
One night we ventured to the next beach of Anjuna where there is a flea market every wednesday followed by a "Beach Party", this is quite an experience to say the least. Basically the beach party lived up to the Goa reputation of hard partying outside the beach shacks, loud music and dancing. On the beach you have the Chai ladies who spread mats for all to sit, on the condition of buying their chai (an Indian tea that is very sweet and milky). The chai ladies are very territorial and become fierce, shouting at you for drinking beer instead of chai on their mats until you mollify them with the price of a chai. Generally the crowd is quite young although you do get the odd left over hippie falling over and shouting insanities if you walk past, but they are harmless.
The hawkers are unbelievable, they come over to you offering you chewing gum and cigarettes to then lean closer with further offers of hard and mild drugs all of which I declined but looking around it seems that 80% of the people there hadn't. I did allow myself to buy a flower chain which went very well with the Hawaiian shirt.
Anyway it's great here on the beach drinking coffee and lasse (basically a milk shake, I hear you can get a special lasse but I haven't had one yet). I think I'll stay a while as the weather is great and then move down south to check out the beach huts that you can stay in on the beach in the quieter areas.
Take care all...
Yes I am still here in Baga and not intending to move for a couple of days it's so nice compared to back home where I was busier than a one legged man in an arse kicking competition and now nothing... It's strange how nothing can actually be really nice, I'd never though that you could really do nothing for long periods but you can just do nothing and enjoy it.
There is definitely a different look and feel to Goa as to the rest of India maybe because until recently Goa was under the control of the Portuguese. I think from 1500's until 1961, then it was it's own little place and then as recent as 1987 it became a state of India. You can now definitely see the Indian influence with all the traders and I think it has gone from being a mainly Christian place to a Hindu majority.
The Baga Bizarre
A nice little Saturday night treat is the Baga bizarre, their are two but we decided on the German run one which was probably started by German hippies trying to make their money stretch. There is now a wide range of traders and it's fun to walk through the rows of handcraft stalls. They have food, drink (alcho free as it was a dry day in Goa) and bands playing. The band we stopped to watch was a couple of aging German hippies singing some obscure English rock song which went "You have to ring zee bells, you have to hear zee sound", they both had huge beards and maybe should have called themselves The The Top?!? The main hassles here came from the Magpie women, who cover themselves in jewelry and piercing I think it's something to do with the wealth of their husbands and they are a tribe from North India but I could be wrong.
On the Evil Things in the Sea
I am no longer scared of jellyfish as when wading through a cove type bit one of the little suckers stung me (I thought it was a shark at first - more because of my irrational fear than because it felt like it). It's a bit of a shock and painful at first but when I got back to the hotel one of the locals said it would be ok. You can either p1ss on it (admittedly I've wiped my hand with my arse.. err no, my arse with my hand but I thought that would be taking things too far) so I decided on the heat treatment (John's hand warmer) which eased it after an hour or so.
So I'm not scared of jellyfish anymore, I was thinking of asking one of the local boatmen if they could take me swimming with sharks to get rid of another fear but then I've done that when I walked out of Bombay airport. I thought about going out for dinner and trying to get a jellyfish curry but the nearest I could find was jelly and ice-cream.
On Money
The money is about 70rs to a pound and that makes it really cheap here. Generally in India you can get basic to medium accommodation for 100rs - 300rs which is about 1.50 - 5.00 (can't find the pound sign on these damn keyboards!!! godammit!!!) not bad eh. An evening meal is about 120rs - 200rs again superb value. So you can understand the Indians resenting you for haggling over 10 or 20rs. That's it really there is little else I need to buy except transport and beer also v.cheap, 50rs a pint... Bargain!
On Drugs
Drugs are still a major part of the Goan scene and probably help the economy here quite a lot, I think the kickback probably goes all the way down the line to the police and they attracts long term stayers. I think the locals and Kashmiri traders are happy with the money it brings but do not really approve of the "disease of the western mind". When I first got here every shop I went by I was asked to see the shop followed by offers of drugs which I declined saying that I do not do them, this brought smiles, handshakes and they seemed genuinely pleased to find a westerner in Goa not here for that.
On Food
The food here is fantastic, you can have Indian, Chinese, Goan or continental so there is pretty much all you could want. Butter Chicken (Cheers Ferg) is lovely and the Tandori food is one of my favourites. Being near the sea as you might expect there is a plethora of seafood. I have taken to shark of late, it's kind of like chicken, very tender. I even had myself a baby hammerhead shark, which is by far my favourite fish. I am thinking that the more sharks I eat the less their will be in the sea to attack me. I haven't as yet found a Great White on the menu but I am hoping and it's only a matter of time I feel. K1ss my arse Jaws!!
I am wondering if this eat things you do not like attitude is getting out of hand. If someone annoys me am I going to want to eat them? Will any countries that I visit have Human steak on the menu? I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it I guess.
On Chickens
The cocks here never seem to Know what time it is and cock-a-doodle all dang day. It's quite a relaxed place here in Goa so maybe they sleep in or maybe they are out sampling the nightlife and impressing the chicks till late? I'll have to keep my eye on them I think. The Chickens are crazy as well there is one that goes to sleep in a tree about two stories high. How does it get up their? does it climb or fly, I didn't know chickens could climb or fly... very strange I'll be watching them as well.
Goodnight... I think it's probably best if I slept, I need to be up early to keep an eye on those chickens!
Well I finally made it to the beach that everyone in Goa talks about, it’s picture perfect with it’s quiet beach, palm trees and bamboo beach huts. Unlike Baga beach it’s un spoilt by sun beds and package tourists, although I imagine this will change within a few years with the demand of tourism. It seems to me that the main reason so far for Palolem keeping it’s quiet would be the lack of luxury accommodation. At present Palolem offers mainly beach huts which are grouped into little communities and the occasional beach shack. The hut that I fist stayed in with Elvira was just off the beach but still with a sand floor covered with mats, the walls were bamboo with hardboard sides and a straw roof. It was cosy enough but by no means sealed, so if you don’t like creepy crawlies then don’t stay in these huts. You fall into sleep at night to the rhythm of the waves, then wake in the morning to wash the sleep from your body in the sea and watch the sun go down with it’s last rays of light dancing on the waves. Yes it’s a hard life…
I came to Palolem with 3 Dutch people Elvira and a gay couple called Yaab and Chris, they are superb company and have been fun to be around. They have taught me my first Dutch word mooi which means beautiful and is the only word that I need to describe Palolem. It’s funny the people that you meet whilst traveling after a short period of time it seems like you have always known them. I guess that maybe when you are on your own your mind attaches itself to people more quickly. Meeting lots of people does have it's downsides though as you do tend to meet people who are 20 pounds of bullsh1t in a 10 pound bag, but that's just the way it goes.
It’s very interesting the opinions and recommendations that you receive from the many people from different backgrounds with different stories that you meet. The Dutch Gay couple recommended me an author named Harold Brodkey, a literary writer who seems to write a lot of fantastic stories about childhood experiences. One short story that I read called ‘A story in an almost classical mode’ was very interesting and got me to thinking about my childhood thoughts and experiences that are now almost forgotten. Maybe over the next few years I may try and make a record of them…
I moved on to The Cosy Nook which is the furthest part of the Northern end of the beach, I managed to get myself a hut on stilts with a balcony overlooking the river which is way cooler than my other hut but a little more expensive. The only thing that ruins my little paradise is the damn crows in the trees around my hut. I swear these swine taunt me on purpose, if I ever catch one of them I will eat his liver with a nice rum and a chapatti.
I think that everything that I have done so far has in some way strengthened my character and worked towards reducing my fears whether they be unfamiliar people, places or the monsters of the sea. The unknown isn’t so scary as we always imagine, in fact the fear that your mind creates is a hundred times more terrible than the reality.
I am now alone at last and yes, still in Goa will I or can I ever leave? Yes I shall I have at last booked a train out of here and in the nick of time I feel or I may never have gotten out of this place. It’s too easy to spend your days sitting on the balcony drinking run and coke (a superb local brand called Old Monk that I’m rather partial to). But anyway I mustn’t get distracted from the point or I’ll never get away from this damn keyboard and there is rum drinking to be done on the beach. Did I tell you about the local rum? Yes so umm, train, yes I’ve decided on Rajistan, Kerala can wait for my return in a couple of years with Dharm (he doesn’t know this yet, well he will now as he is on the list – is that ok Dharm?). Anyway about that train, yes I will be going to Rajistan, I have managed to get a direct train to Jaipur (24hrs – 470rs) so that I will not have to go to that god forsaken place Bombay. This truly is a god send as my first thoughts on Mumbi can best be described by the words of Charlie Sheens character in Platoon upon entering Vietnam “Someone once said that Hell is the impossibility of reason, this place feels like hell”. I would say that if you collected 15 million people consisting of the very rich, poverty stricken and conmen, then placed them in an area of 440 sq km then you would have Mumbi. I must adnit that my judgement might be jaded somewhat due to the fact that it was the first place that I entered in India, so I had to deal with the culture shock, the heat, the jet lag, the hassle and all at 2 o’clock in the morning.
By the way any readers out there Papillon is superb, it’s a true story that is similar to Shawshank redemption, in fact I have a sneaky suspicion that Mr. King might have stolen that idea. (Stu – Leave this comment off the website and in case you don’t I meant Mr. Wane King).
Take care bye
All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!All chicken and no steak makes Steve a dull boy!
They are everywhere, on the roads, the beach, everywhere but no matter where I go I cannot get a steak anywhere. These things taunt you, I saw a gang of them on the beach hanging out with their big udders and I'm sure they were looking at me thinking "Mmm, I am soo tasty I go really well with chips!". I keep finding myself going up to them and nibbling on them but then you get wierd looks from the locals and you have to pretend that you are just petting them when all you really want to do is throw them in the air, catch them in your mouth and swallow them whole, like you would a peanut!
They even dress them up in beads and paint them, I'd like to do that I'd dress them up in onion rings and paint them in ketchup and eat them. But seriously I saw one at the Anjuna Flea Market dressed up and the guy said that it was a dancing cow and that when he played his flute it would dance if you gave him money. Someone gave him money, he played his flute and the cow stood there (not dancing), no wonder there is so much poverty here if people can't work out that cows don't dance they make steaks!
Ok I have finally managed to complete my escape from Goa, although everything seemed to be against me leaving that beach paradise. In the end I managed to get a train ticket for the 7th of Feb to Ahmedabad, which meant 24 hrs in an A/C sleeper coach (sleepers are little "coffin" type beds where you can lie down and "sleep") then a further train to Udaipur.
So with a little rushing around I found my carriage for the journey and settled down for this monster of a train ride. All in all not as bad as i'd expected it to be, there were no westerners in my carriage but the Indians welcomed me at once. It was on this train journey that I really had a chance to speak to Indian people who did not have a hidden agenda in talking to me (this being to engage me into conversation followed by "do you want to see my shop"). They were all very friendly and seemed to look out for me seeing as i was clearly new to this experience of Indian trains, lucky for me as I would never have known where to get off. Their only complaint being that English people speak like a speeding train whereas they speak like a cow, I had to admit that this was just me and through a long term fear of talking in front of an audience probably originating from school which led me to throw my words out as fast as possible so that I could resume my place at the back of the class.
Once in Ahmedabad I decided on a visit to my hero's old place of residence the Sabarmati Ashram where Gandhi took up his simple lifestyle of contemplation and spinning his own cloths. I found this place fantastic, it is closed now as an active ashram but has been preserved as a kind of Gandhi museum with his house as it used to be containing his writing desk and bed. One thing I did find rather sweet was an original letter from Gandhi to Hitler in which he asked him (very politely) if he would mind not going to war. I had some Indian school kids following me as the novelty westerner to befriend and at the gift shop came very close to buying myself a spinning wheel kit (luckly for my backpack I thought better of it), it was a nice day.
This is about all that Ahmedabad has to offer except Thali's (superb) and pollution (not so good) and I was glad to make a move at 11 o'clock at night back to the train station and my next journey to Udaiphur (9.5 hrs). If my last journey was a pleasure then this one was a... a... bastard!! The coffins in this train were filthy, even more cramped, smelly and by about 12 o'clock very very cold (thank you Mr. Sleepingbag for the sleeping bag I say!).
Well I have experienced the Indian train system which I can live with and made it to Udaipur, but that's another story and I shall bore you no longer...
Goodnight England where ever you are.
Udiphur, an enchanting place which has a lot to offer the tourist, be it Jain / hindu temples, palaces, lakes, museums or even just the shops and restaurants in the old city. The one problem that I have found though is the weather that can be as cold as an English winter, this is especially bad seeing as I threw out clothes while in Goa and now my wardrobe consists of a fleece, a T-shirt, 2 pair combats and 3 Hawaiian shirts. To my dismay I left for a tour of the city after putting my remaining clothes to laundry on a particularly cold day wearing sandals, (to go inside temples you have to leave your shoes on the steps and I’m not falling for that mistake with my hiking boots!) Scooby-doo socks and sporting a Hawaiian shirt.
Despite my strange looks I managed to get around a great many of the sites and not catching hypothermia (only just mind). The cenotaphs are basically structures in marble with domed roofs built on the scattered ashes of wealthy or royal persons, I think the ashes are first taken to Varanasi and then what’s left is brought back and there are fantastic carvings of Shiva (the playboy of the Hindu gods) inside. I then went to the Jain temple, which is a surprisingly big religion in India (I’d never heard of it before), and is based on the teachings of Lord Mahavira a contemporary of Buddha. You can tell the difference between Buddha and Mahavira statues because Mahavira has his eyes open and thumbs pointing forwards otherwise to my eyes they both look pretty similar. The last place I visited was the local vegetable market which I must say was superb fun with everyone saying “Helloooo” and offering me the warmth of their fires, very friendly people.
The old city has everything in walking distance and I think this is an amazing place, the heart of it is the City palace which is part museum and also has been converted into two top hotels. One of which I went to dinner in, it was an expensive experience and I did look rather out of place but it was worth it to have dined in a palace. Then there is the lake palace, which is built in the center of the lake and the old city itself with its rooftop restaurants and tiny streets with shops selling various “original” Rajastani goods.
After a few days in Udiphur I heard about a heritage hotel that had recently been restored where you could go to ride horses and see a village community. I thought this sounded fantastic and set off the next day to Kemphur managing to scab a lift with the owner and village chieftain Hemant Deval, who during the drive gave me a very interesting insight into the Indian Baksheesh culture. This place was fantastic with it’s gardens, stables, balconies, antique furniture, spacious rooms and servants, I felt like a king during my stay here.
The village and it’s farms surrounding Ravla Khemphur were really different from all that I have seen in India so far, even though the villages hold a large amount of the population in India they are seldom on the traveler trails. The villages are beautiful in their simplicity of life and the villagers were so welcoming as we walked through the dusty streets accompanied by scruffy looking children. The blacksmith of the village still uses bellows with an open fire to forge the cutting tools which are taken on credit by the farmers who will pay him once they have harvested their crops. I sat to smoke a chillum with them, they put a rock in it to stop the tobacco falling through and then precariously balance a burning coal on top to keep it alight. You then hold it in your two fingers resting on your thumb and suck through your thumbs, it’s like inhaling a forest fire and the two villagers took great delight in my coughing fit. The houses are very basic huts with straw and slate roofs and furniture made with a mixture of cow dung and clay!
The villagers here are born into a poverty they are not likely to escape from and their fate will probably be to struggle their whole lives, yet these people take this with smiling faces and are always willing to offer a stranger a cup of chai. It makes you think how funny it is in the west how discontented people get when they don’t get the money they want for the next play station game or whatever, but then again suffering I suppose is all relative to what you are used to.
Unfortunately I was unable to enjoy a few days horse riding as they only had young mares to inexperienced for my inexperience, so I had to make do with becoming great friends with them all. I had been debating buying a horse to drive instead of using the trains, but I am not sure if you need a license over here to drive them or not. It might be an option when I get home though and the test will probably be easier than the one for cars, you don’t have all that mirror crap and just need a sturdy whip instead of an accelerator.
On a last note I have been having my suspicions of late that they even seem to have spy pidgeons here in India, so it looks like they are everywhere now... Take care and remember I warned you all.
Pushkar is a very holy place in India where monks and Sadhu's can be found along the streets with their begging bowls while on their spiritual quest. Sadhu's are general hang out in the more holy places in India, they are little naked guys that have given up material possesions to lead a simple but spiritual life and rely on the genourosity of others for their food.
The lake in Pushkar is a sight at night, the ghats surrounding it are illuminated and reflected in the water to give a magical feel. With the reflection of the white brick and marble it looked as if I could almost walk across it and I must admit I had to repress an urge to do so... Did you ever get that when you were younger and spent time by a river or pond concentrating really to be like Jesus and walk on water. well that was what it was like, the thought that maybe if I tried really hard I could do just that.
I must admit that the Indian marketing strategy can be pure genius "Hotel Shanti Palace - Cheap & Best" although in this particular hotels case I think they have got the words best and nasty mixed up.
I have been asked on numerous occasions if I want a shave and hair cut!?! Now I can't decide whether it is because they want the money or after 2 months I really do need a shave and a hair cut! probably both!
There are an unbelievable amount of Isralis in India, they come here in droves. It used to be required of them to do a term (3yrs I think) of service in the army, I don't think it's compulsory anymore but about 80% still do. This leaves them with a large wedge of cash at the end of it and a perfect oppurtunity before getting a job for travel. They do seem to congregate in large groups though and it seems spend more of their time listening to music and getting stoned to traveling. I guess the British have university to do this the Israli's travel, but they do seem to be a pleasent if a little noisy race. There is a group in my hotel (v.noisy) who try to tempt me each time I walk past with offers to smoke a bowl.
So what else has Pushkar have to offer, well lots of shops selling "cultural clothing" (looks more like hippie sh1t to me) and strictly vegitarian restaurants. There is absolutely no meat, alcohol or even eggs served in Pushkar, as I say it's a holy place but this seems strange considering the amount of dope you get offered. You also find a lot of strange characters whether it be furiously nodding beggers, crazy westeners (who dress like Hippies/Indians), monks with wierd voices or Hippies left over from the 60's India travel boom and seem to wander aimlessly around with probably one question going through their frazzled brain "Where is my mind?"
Time to move on to Agra and the Taj I feel!
Full Size Version
It's been a little while now since I last wrote to you all and I've got a
lot to tell you so go get yourself a coffee, make yourself comfy and I'll
begin. I'm in Nepal now by the way so no worries there, it's a cool place
and I've just finished a 9 day trek in the mountains but I'll tell you about
that later (We had to turn back in the end, lots of avalanches - not sure if
it was on the news 3 Germans and 1 Nepali died?).
The journey that I took from Pushkar to Agra was the worst I have
experienced so far. I booked my self on a deluxe bus for the 12-hr journey;
the only thing that turned out to be deluxe about it was the seats reclined.
I have been on the Indian buses before, which is not a problem for a few
hours but 12, well that’s another story. As soon as we reached Jaiphur the
bus guys tried to make a little extra by selling loads more tickets, the
result being that the bus was full with people standing in the aisles for
the next 5 hours of the journey. As John would say "These Indian's are
chancers!", John's a wicked guy I met in Goa that I'm crossing the Nepal
border with this week.
So I arrived in Agra at 5 in the morning without having slept and so not in
the best of moods, but I managed to get a rickshaw with two Dutch ladies to
a hotel near the Eastern gate of the Taj without being blagged.
The Taj was closed that day so after a 5-hr power snooze we took a taxi to a
place called Fatehpur Sikri about 40km from Agra. Fatehpur Sikri is referred
to as "the ghost city" and used to be the capital of the Mughal empire in
the days of Akbar (The most famous of the Mughal rulers). I liked this place
the whole city looked like a house that has just been built but not been
furnished or lived in, it had a kind of desolate charm to it and left your
imagination free to populate with soldiers, noblemen, servants and other
objects. The city is amazing in it's design where you can look through the
archways of several buildings to the walls at the end and surprisingly only
took 12 years to complete. Beside is a magnificent mosque, akbar tried to
incorporate Hinduism, Islam, Jainism and Christianity into one religion and
the architecture reflects this.
In the evening I managed to get my first glimpse of the Taj Mahal from a
roof top restaurant and I must admit that it was enchanting. The next day I
ventured to one of the things that I have been waiting for since I arrived
in India The Taj Mahal, the price of entry has been dramatically increased
in recent years to a staggering 750rs. Some people I have spoken to have
objected to this, but to see one of the wonders of the world I don't really
think you can complain. You have three gates where you can enter into the
main courtyard to the Taj, I went through the west gate from my hotel. Upon
walking through the main gate I was in awe, the Taj is a truly magical
sight, it's like you would imagine a fairy tale castle to be as a child
except that this is not a castle it's one giant coffin. The white marble
gives the whole structure a glow in the sunlight and I found myself unable
to take my eyes from it. To enter you leave your sandals at the entrance and
walk around on the marble surface, inside you can see the tombs and look up
to the massive dome. The four towers are a sight alone and as I wandered
around I put my hand against it's side which was cool to the touch. The
story of the Taj is that Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as the tomb to house
his dead wife Mumtaz Mahal, in honour of her beauty.
So from Agra I intended to go straight to Varanasi, but unfortunately I
found troubles getting a train ticket so I went to Delhi with an onward
ticket to Varanasi the next evening. I had been intending to miss out Delhi
as so far my opinions of Indian city’s has not been good, generally they are
loud, busy and a bit smelly. To my surprise New Delhi was almost like a
western city and a really cool place to hangout for a few days. Alas the
following evening it was time to move on again to my original destination of
Varanasi, the main problem with this journey was that I thought it would
only be 12 hours and it turned out to be 18 hours. This left me waiting to
get off at each station for 5 hours; very annoying as Indian trains are cool
to travel on but hardly luxury.
With all this traveling on Indian trains I am starting to understand how a
sardine feels. They cover you in brine when you get on, put you on a shelf
(sleeper!) and when you reach your destination they take you out and eat you
on a piece of toast or in a sandwich! Sardines are the poor mans tuna... it
bothers me. Varanasi is an amazing and yet crazy place, it's an old Indian
(as opposed to British) city with little stone alleyways and burning ghats
all along the river Ganges (or Ganga as it is affectionatly known by the
locals). Varanasi is probably the most holy city in India’s top ten Holy
places and is where a lot of Indians travel to die. Once an Indian has died
he may be brought to Varanasi and his body burnt on one of the ghats along
the Ganges or an Indian may travel to Varanasi if they think they are about
to die and wait in one of the buildings for death when they will also be
burnt on the ghats.
Basically how it works is that if after death your body is burnt then you
will dodge the karma reincarnation thing and you will go to heaven,
otherwise you will be judged on your good/bad acts and your reincarnation
will reflect this. If you were pretty shitty to people you may come back as
an untouchable or a cheesecake or whatever. There are exceptions as to who
can be burnt a pregnant woman, a child, a Sadhu or someone with a disease
like leprosy will not be burnt. These people are put into the river Ganges.
The reasons being, a pregnant woman carries a child who is innocent and will
have no karma as with a young child. A Sadhu spends his life trying to
attain spiritual enlightenment and so is not ready to go to heaven and must
continue in life and a leper will spread skanky fumes over people if burnt.
I found it a very strange experience watching this ritual where a body is
carried into the Ganges and washed. Then laid out into the sun to dry, once
dried the body is placed on to a burning ghat where men will make sure that
it burns properly pushing the head and body onto the hottest part of the
fire with bamboo sticks. Once burnt the head and body will still be left as
it is too thick to burn and so the remains will be put into the Ganges.
As the story goes Varanasi is holy because Shiva dived into the Ganges to
return a lost ear-ring to his wife or it's Shiva's tears (can't remember
which now). It is also apparently legal to smoke dope in Varansai because
Shiva smoked Marijuana but this could also be a myth?!? Anyway Varanasi is a
fascinating place and I wish I had more time there.
Take care all, I will try and e-mail again when I reach Kathmandu as for the
next week I'll be moving around a lot... Bye!
Full Size Version
I left Varanasi and India with a little regret, over the last 3 months India
has endeared me to her with the life that you see all around you and the
constant banter with her people. In India you rarely have any time to
yourself unless you lock your self away in your hotel, when walking your
space is constantly intruded upon which can be difficult to adjust to at
first. Despite this, the dirt, the poverty and the struggle India has a
charm which is quite alluring and when you leave her you find yourself
almost immediately missing her.
So from Varanasi I and my new group of fellow travelers left for the journey
across the India/Nepal border for the mountain range of Annapurna and the
lakeside town of Pokhara. The group consisted of John and Olivia (an Irish
couple on their way to New Zealand for a few years, warm hearted and full of
jokes and fun) and Shane and Nicola (an Australian bush man and an English
girl moving to Australia to start a new life). To cross the border we
decided on the route going Varanasi to Gorakphur (12hr overnight train),
then from there taxi it to Somali (3 hrs drive) where we could walk across
the border into Nepal, get a day bus to Pokhara and be in bed by 10pm. No
worries... unfortunately we had forgotten to take into account blagging and
rip off bus touts. We walked across the border (quite a cool experience as
it was the first time I had ever walked from one country into another - The
first of many I hope) and long story short were given bus tickets for an
overnight bus instead of a day bus. This is not normally a problem, in fact
in most places it would be considered a bonus as you save on a nights
accommodation, but not in Nepal. The drivers are no worse than those in
India (which is pretty bad), it's just that these guys hurtle along mountain
roads with a sheer drop on one side at times only inches from the tires
coupled with the bad state of the roads from constant landslides. Its a
pretty unnerving drive in the day time but seems almost suicidal at night,
but respect to the driver as he did get us their safely, the only casualty
on the whole trip being my boxer shorts!
The current situation in Nepal is that a “Peoples War” is going on with
constant battles between the communist (Maoist) party and the government
escalating since November 2001. According to official information the
Maoists generally are active in the West and East but the impression I get
from those people who will talk about it is that they are to some degree
also living within the communities of most areas of Nepal. The areas where
they are definitely strong is in the mountains where terrain makes it hard
for the army to run their checks, searches and patrols.
Moving about in Nepal at the moment can be delayed by the constant checks by
the Police and Army, the Nepalese are made to leave the bus and looked over
whereas the tourist buses are just stopped and given a quick once over. The
military is noticeable the moment you enter Nepal with a machine gun kind of
hut on the way to the bus station, you see regular patrols of the army
walking the streets and a police presence going into most towns. Despite
this I have not felt even slightly intimidated in Nepal, the Nepalese people
are very warm, friendly and so far I have felt very welcome everywhere that
I have been. The difference between Nepal and India is amasing and
noticeable the moment you start moving into the country, for one thing Nepal
is a lot cleaner, less populated and you are hardly hassled by beggers.
Once in Pokhara we had a day relaxing, drinking and sleeping which was well
deserved after the trials of the previous few days. The following day we all
decided to get a couple of motorbikes to give ourselves a tour of Pokhara,
one for each of the couples and me with one to myself. This was great fun,
flying up mountains, visiting a Tibeten Monestry and generally speeding
around. The next day we were to undertake the first day of our trek, the
Anapurna sanctuary trek which would hopefully last 12 days and reach a total
height of 4095M at the ABC (Anapurna Base Camp), this is pretty damn high.
I will write these notes on the trek as they were written throughout so that
you can get a feel for my struggle. Generally when trekking the Nepal
Mountains you can equip yourself pretty well from the shops and hire a guide
and porters… We foolishly did none of the above except for the thin ponchos
that we brought for heavy rain.
Day 1
Phedi to Tolka (8hrs 7am – 5pm)
On the taxi journey to the start point the mist had cleared and we were
given a clear view of the mountain range and the excitement of the
undertaking began to flood over me. We started the trek by walking to the
top of a hill, steps all the way and pretty much a vertical climb. After
about half an hour I needed a fag break and I realized that this was going
to be a lot tougher than I had at first thought, isn’t trekking supposed to
be like a brisk stroll. After an hour and a half I was considering going
back again, I was having trouble walking for an hour let alone 14 days, I
must be crazy I thought. I sat down for another cigarette (already behind
the others) but luckily a Nepalese guy convinced me to continue by telling
me that there was only a little more “up”. Lying bastard it was still “up”
just a little gentler “up”, but I started to get my rhythm and my confidence
that I could finish the trek increased. After about 4 hours the “up” stopped
completely and I started to even enjoy the trek although I had trouble
keeping up with the others (bunch of f**king robots the lot of em). On the
trail we got talking to one of the locals who gave us some advice, avoid
talking about politics in Nepal (the Maoists) and be locked in your hotel by
5:30 – 6:00pm (I assume because of the Maoists). Just before we reached
Tolka where we were intending on staying at a lodge for the night we took a
wrong trail which could have taken us hours off course if it wasn’t for a
local shouting at us. I thanked my Guardian Angel appropriately as this
wrong trail would have been more pointless “upness”, I am thinking maybe we
should have hired a guide.
Reaching the lodge was like a homecoming and I gratefully (cold) showered
and settled myself down with a glass of rum to play cards (sh1thead) with
the guys. I was not the sh1thead… Mr Sandman came to me almost immediately,
I didn’t even bother to say goodnight and slept uninterrupted until about
4:30pm when I was awoken by a mouse checking out the contents of my bag, I
missed him with my wild pillow flailing but I scared him away for the rest
of the night.
Day 2
Tolka – Chhomrong (8 ½ hrs) 8am to 4:30pm 2100M
This part of the trek started with a great down hill walk until we took a
wrong turn resulting in a long climb back up a steep hill. Later we came to
a river where we washed which was a treat even though the water was
freezing. I am beginning to enjoy trekking in a group, it keeps your morale
up and I think if I was on my own I would have been tempted to go back by
now. After 5 hours we reached a town where they told us that we only had
another 2 hours to Chhomrong they neglected to mention that this would be
almost vertical (oh hated upness!). It was here that we also heard the first
news of an avalanche at Deurali where four people had been reportedly
killed. We continued up the mountain to Chhomrong to a height of 2100m, this
is the hardest thing I have ever done and at points I would have gladly lain
down and died on the mountain. I became a bit of a joke when I collapsed on
my backpack for a cigarette, eyes closed pleading to God to smite me so that
I would not have to continue. People started to pass me sniggering and when
they reached my group who were inquiring about me told that I was lying half
way up the mountain on my back, looking like a turtle. Finally reaching the
town felt good and the shower and meal was better than any shower and meal I
have ever had before… Oh please God won’t you come and save me. (Tonight I
was the sh1thead)
The thought of Maoists no longer bothers me, I now only worry about my
ability to continue...
Day 3
Chhomrong – Bamboo (5 ½ hrs) 7am – 2pm 2400m
I woke in great spirits, the feelings of pain and self-torture of the
previous day replaced by a feeling of achievement and faith in my ability to
walk and smoke up mountains restored. This days trek was by far my favorite
to this point with no steps, all dirt and stone trails amongst the trees
which made the ascent easier because you could walk at your own pace. I even
managed to run down the mountain to the lodge settlement and come in first.
The prices of food and drink increase the further into the trek you get as
some poor bastard has got to carry it all the way through the mountains. We
also passed the no plastic bottle point, so that all our water is now just
boiled and filtered water from the mountain streams and costing 30rs. We
arrived in the lodge to more news of the avalanche, it was three Germans and
a Nepalese guide. This might also explain the helicopters that we saw flying
past today.
I would be safe, warm and not nearly so tired if I was back in India, but at
the end of the day when you reach the lodge and sit down with everyone it is
a great feeling of achievement.
The mountain people are amazing they walk at a steady pace like Duracell
batteries, just going on and on. Usually carrying a huge weight, sometimes 4
or 5 times the size of my backpack tied together and with a strap that they
put against their forehead to lift it. All the back system and straps on my
pack and I’m still sweating, gasping, cursing and sometimes crying, these
guys carry more weight strapped to their head without any complaining…
respect! The evening was spent as usual looking at the mountains through the
bottom of a glass of rum.
Day 4
Bamboo – Himalaya (5 hrs) 7am – 12 am 2900m
Today the walk was harder, we started earlier and without breakfast which
made me tire very quickly. If you listened carefully you would be able to
hear my quietly cursing the others for depriving me of my one treat on this
trek. The walk was nice and peaceful though as the scenery has been
improving steadily the further we move into the mountains. There is lush
greenery all along the trail with streams running down as the ice melts from
the mountaintops. Along the trail you find yourself climbing over the roots
of trees and stray boulders, which made the walk more interesting. I even
found the time to go off-road into the trees jumping out on the other guys
in the hope of surprising them but they could always hear me a mile away. We
arrived at the lodge early enough today for a little sunbathing and proper
washing although by about 4pm it starts to get bitterly cold in the
mountains. In the dining area at the lodges they have tables with blankets
attached to the sides that you pull over your knees and then they will place
a gas burner under the table. It’s pretty unnerving at first to have a naked
flame under the table close to your feet but the heat soon makes you
appreciate no matter the danger.
In the evening we had further discussions regarding the avalanche dangers as
tomorrow we would be crossing one of the avalanche danger points. The
problem is its one of the worst times of year to be crossing the mountains
as the snow is starting to melt, if we had waited a few weeks we would have
had no problems. We spoke to a guy from ACAP (The Annapurna officials) who
said that there is a risk and its dangerous at the moment, our best bet is
to leave early in the morning at about 5am before any snow melts. This then
poses the problem of walking in the dark across fresh snow that covers the
trail, which you need a guide to find. The ACAP guy said that it is
prohibited to cross this pass before 10am as after this time its very
dangerous.
“How do you stop people crossing before 10am” I asked.
“There is a sign” he replied.
That’s ok then I thought!?!
This ACAP guy had come in at 2pm, I then asked him how he had crossed the
pass if it was so dangerous after 10am.
“I watch the mountains for falling snow as I walk and if I see an avalanche
then I will run, Nepalese are used to the mountains and can out run
avalanches.” He told me.
So the way these ACAP and Nepalese guys escape avalanches is looking out for
them and if they see one then they run like f**k, crazy I thought.
We came to a decision at the end of the night that we would awake early
4:30am and leave the lodge by 5am, following some other guys who had come in
with a guide.
To Be Continued…
Day 5
Himalaya – Sinowa (6 hrs) 10am – 4pm
Last night was the coldest so far, I slept in my clothes with a hat on and a
shawl over my face and I still woke up with my face freezing and cold feet.
After a little debate it was decided that due to lack of warm cloths and the
avalanche risk we would turn back and return down the Jomson trek.
Unfortunately this meant that we would miss reaching the base camp, which is
only a frustrating 4-5 hrs away from Himalaya, but I must admit I was
relieved. We never anticipated it to be this cold and did not equip
ourselves accordingly without any waterproof trousers or gloves and things
don’t dry well this high. The trek back started to raise my spirits though
as downward I was able to take more note of the scenery and run about
pretending to throw a spear at things with my walking stick. It was misty
and raining during the day but for me this added to the walk, I enjoyed
hearing the mountain songs of the rain in the trees and the damp leaves,
earth and puddles. The mountains looked like ghostly figures in the mist and
I found myself imagining facial features on them so that they looked like
sleeping giants. In the evening I treated myself to the most filling of the
Nepalese food a Dal Bhat consisting of rice, vegetables, dal and a little
chili. The food at the trekking lodges is surprisingly good, on most menu’s
you find western food and Nepalese, most restaurants in Nepal also seem to
have an Indian as well as Tibetan influence to their food. Still no Yeti
sighting!
There was a nice motto I read at one of the lodges which I liked, it read :
Nepal is here to change you, not for you to change it. I thought this was
pretty cool!
Day 6
Sinowa – Chhomrong
This morining I thought I spotted a Yeti, it turned out to be my reflection
in the mirror, I really do need a haircut and shave.
Much the same as all my days seem to be walking, cigarette break, more
walking, a bit more walking, some complaining about the lack of cigarette
breaks, another cigarette break, walking, cigarette, a little run to catch
up and relax… cigarette break, rum…
Although the one difference being that we only needed to do 3 hours walking
today and so someone had the bright idea to go to the hot springs at the
bottom of the mountain seeing as we had all day! The hot springs were cool
though, a little rock pool by the river that was… hot!!! Twisted my ankle
when I was pissing about jumping down steps which is a bit of a concern if
it swells up any more than it has, still three days walk until any sign of
civilisation. One cool thing that has made us feel better is that we have
met lots of people who have also turned back, some even with guides.
Day 7
Chhomrong – Tai Pani (5 hrs) er… quite high mountain pass
Morning came and thanks be my ankle was cool to walk on, which was good
because every one had already said that if I was pissing about and hurt
myself they wouldn’t carry me (I thought this a little unfair). So once we
got started I began dawdling enjoying the peacefulness of the mountains and
having sneaky cigarette breaks, the result being the others stopped waiting
for me. This was not a problem in that I was happy to walk the mountains
alone for a while until I reached a forest with a choice of paths going in
different directions. Since the others had the map I decided on the next
best way of navigating my way to the next stop, using the time tried method
of ippy dippy I started down the trail to the right. I started to get pretty
deep into the forest after half an hour with no sign of going anywhere I was
starting to have visions of getting myself lost in the mountains so I
returned to the start and tried another method, find someone to ask. Sure
enough ippy dippy was right and I had been on the right track (I will never
doubt ippy again) so after a little cursing at having to repeat my course
and a few consoling cigarette breaks I reached Tai Pani. Still no Yeti's, I
am begining to think these things are fictional.
Day 8
Tai Pani – Gorepani (6 hrs) 9am – 3pm can’t remember
Today the scenery differed as we were going through Deurali (which means
pass and explains why there are so many of them on the map) and this is were
we first hit a lot of snow and ice. The forest walk was cool if a little
tricky because of the ice and where it was melting down the side it made it
look as if the mountain was crying. In places off the trail you could walk
on the snow for a while and then you would fall though and it would come up
to your knees. Past Deurali we reached a clearing giving one of the best
views we have had of the mountains, this was encouraging because a little
further we were planning to climb Poon Hill. We had heard that the top of
this mountain are views to almost rival those of the base camp. From this
point it was all down hill to Ghorepani, which was a strange little village
boasting large hotels with attached showers and western toilets. The rooms
were made out of hard board and by no means grand but out here they were
pure luxury, they even had a pool table in the village (apparently took
three guys three days to carry it here). After a feast and a hot shower I
began thinking how sad it is to spoil the mountains with these unsightly
buildings, though it is my fault as I was happy to use them and create the
demand for them. Again the demands of my western mind.
Day 9
Poon Hill (3100m) – Pokhara (The End of the road)
The strange thing in the mountains is that all distances are measured not in
kilometers, but just in hours and days. The reason being that if you are
climbing a mountain for three hours the same journey may only take an hour
going down, this makes sense sure but then makes it highly inaccurate when
judging how far you have to walk. This being because the Nepalese or
westerners who climb the mountains and you ask “How far?”, are generally fit
or at least a lot quicker than me at walking. So we woke at 5am to start the
long walk up the mountain to the top of Poon Hill, it was still dark and so
flash lights were needed to find the trail. This walk seemed to go on and
on, it was lucky I had my cigarettes or I would have found it very hard.
Poon Hill is one of the best vantage points on the Jomsom trek for views of
the mountain range and once you reach the top the ascent does seem worth it
(Just!). Once you reach the top you can relax on a bench with a
well-deserved coffee from a stand that is carried up each morning. Then wait
for the sunlight to start creeping its way across the tops of the mountain
range, hesitating only to stretch its rays in the early morning air. Once
back down it was the long 7 hour trek home, this last stretch was all down
hill and really pleasant scenery. It was a triumphant walk and every step
felt good, it meant the end of a challenge for the lungs of a heavy smoker –
I couldn’t wait to sit down with a beer!!
Full Size Version
No rest for the wicked as soon as were returned from the trek Shane and
Nikki had found a white water rafting expedition for three days on the
Kaligandaki River, supposedly grades 3 and 4 rapids. Unfortunately the river
at the moment is very low and so the majority of the rafting was pretty tame
really. The first day we had to stop after about 20 mins and walk past the
first rapid, the reason being that people were still trying to recover the
body of a girl from a rafting trip a few days ago. Evenings we camped on
kind of beach areas using the raft held up by paddles as shelter and our
sleeping bags underneath, it was then a kind of Boy Scout atmosphere sitting
around chatting before sleep. The scenery was cool all down the river and at
some points we would drift past locals burning the dead on the edge of the
river, this felt a little like apocalypse now. The last day after all the
rapids was spent throwing each other into the river and relaxing in the sun
as we gently floated towards the end point.
Chitwan National Park
We arrived at around 11am to about 20 guys surrounding us pushing hotel
cards into our faces all saying “come with me, good hotel”, I have never
been this harassed before. We eventually went with the guy who didn’t hassle
us, who drove use in an old army jeep across the lake to the Jungle Camp or
something. It was here that we based ourselves for the stay and we spent the
remains of the day enjoying the view of the jungle across the river with the
occasional elephant plodding past.
The elephants in Chitwan are all Indian elephants and used for the jungle
walks which we took the next day, riding elephants is cool and you feel
totally safe walking through the jungle on the back of these animal
mountains. After seeing various smaller animals in the parks buffer zone
such as deer, mongoose, monkeys and wild chickens, we finally came upon what
I had been hoping to see… Rhino’s! These creatures are unbelievable in real
life in their natural environment, they are enormous and have an almost
prehistoric beast look to them. The two we saw were having a bit of a
barney, snorting at each other until the elephant driver made the elephant
push a tree over which scared them off. My first encounter with a rhino was
enough to install a huge interest and wonder in them. A rhino can run at
40km an hr, full grown is about 2 tons and has an excellent sense of smell.
The rhino is almost blind and so disturbed easily by any noise which is
considered a threat, this is why they have a reputation to charge and why
they are thought of as a tad grumpy.
Mid day we wandered over to the river to join in the elephant bath, this was
cool and my favourite part of Chitwan. Each day the drivers bring the
elephants down to the river for their bath and you can usually join in if
you ask, the guy we asked let us climb on and we walked to the river. Once
there the driver told the elephant to lie down and we got off to throw water
at the elephant and give him a bit of a scrub. The guy then told use to get
up and sit on the elephant, then the cheeky chappy shouted “maile, maile!”
which means stand up, thus we were thrown into the water as the elephant put
us off balance. They kept repeating this “trick” for a while until we had
swallowed enough of the dirty river water and got out. We gave the guys a
tip which must have been quite good as they offered to take us back to our
hotel, letting us mount the elephant driver stylee. This basically involves
holding the elephant’s ears and then pushing against his trunk with your
knee, he then lifts you onto his head with his trunk. I then spent the rest
of the day waiting for a bought of dysentery after swallowing dirty river
water, it never came and so the next day we started our two day walking
safari.
Before setting off we were told that in the jungle we may encounter sloth
bears, tigers and rhinos.
“Do the guides carry guns?” I asked.
“No, but they will both have sticks!” they replied.
That’s comforting I thought, “so the animals don’t attack”.
“Yes they sometimes attack and the rhinos sometimes charge, if a bear
attacks you make noise if you run he will catch you and they are good
climbers so you don’t climb a tree. If the tiger attacks you make big noise
or fire, he can climb too and will run after you and attack if you run. The
rhino you can’t outrun, so you run in zig-zag, hide behind big tree or climb
a tree, the rhino can also run zig zag and round a tree so it’s better that
you climb a tree.”
That’s also very comforting I thought.
We started the walk early with our two guides (with sticks!!) along the main
track within about twenty minutes Raju went off the track into the jungle.
After a time we came across some rhinos in a field, they were a fair
distance away so we weren’t too worried and started to relax. During the day
we saw various other animals monkeys, 4 types of deer, crocodiles, wild
chickens, a sloth bear carrying two cubs on it’s back and more rhinos. By
the end of the day I was totally relaxed about the situation, our guide Raju
was excellent and would hear the animals long before we caught sight of them
so the danger started to seem minimal. We were sitting at a crossing which
Raju had said was good for spotting animals at the end of the day, I lay
down and closed my eyes, it had been hard work in the hot sun. Next thing I
knew there was a tap on my shoulder, I looked up and a rhino just wandered
past about 5 meters away oblivious to us... Way cool!
That night we stayed in a village, I think I had sunstroke from a day
walking in the sun with no shade but in the morning I was ok to carry on.
The first observation post we managed to see a leopard in a tree, very lucky
we were told and we moved on to the tiger area. This was cool and we spent
the day relaxing in the shade waiting for tigers to come, the jungle seems
to be alive at all times with monkey calls and the sing of birds and
pheasants. Raju beckoned to us as there was a different sound to the jungle,
the calls of birds change when a predator is around and through the
binoculars we caught a slight glimpse of a tiger in the grass. We sat
waiting for the tiger to come into the open, we could hear the
growling/whining of two tigers somewhere in the jungle but after a while
started for the next village. We were a little nervous walking back as we
knew tigers were somewhere around us in the undergrowth, but once we were a
distance away the others sped up to reach the village before rain came. I
was just dawdling along in a dream world when there was a loud crashing
(similar to Jurassic park), Raju turned and said two words “Rhino, run!”. We
absolutely pegged it, all the trees we could see were not climbable but
eventually Raju found one and was getting Shane and Nikki into it. My
Englishness came out here as I patiently waited my turn to climb the tree
(We must always queue orderly, even in a crisis), luckily for me Raju
snapped me out of this by telling me to climb another tree nearby. Once up
a few branches I lit a cigarette and looked about to see what was going on,
I hadn’t really been aware of the danger and thought it was just an
opportunity for a good bit of rhino spotting. Apparently it had a very
dangerous situation where we had disturbed two rhinos fighting and they had
run towards us, when we ourselves had run we had been about 8m parallel to
one of them. Nikki in her desperation to get to a tree she could climb had
started to run towards it and again thanks to Raju had been stopped from
charging the rhino herself. All the noise we had made and Nikki’s run though
the leaves had luckily scared them away, usually this would have made them
charge us, we were very lucky. That night we sat up talking to Raju and
playing the excitement of the day over and over, certainly one of the
craziest experiences of my life and when I retired to my room made of sh1t I
slept like a rose.
A national shut down in Nepal is scheduled by the Maoist communist party
from the 2nd until the 6th of April called the Nepal Bandh, in Chitwan
National Park Maoists were handing out letters (Richard a guy I’ve been
hanging out with got some of it published in the Times) to foreigners
warning them of this as most Nepalese are generally denying any problems in
Nepal. The letter was all the general propaganda that you would expect to
find written by an extremist political group and suggested that it might be
an idea to avoid being in Nepal during and after this time because of
possible escalating conflict. It seems the Maoists believe that the
government and the new King actually assassinated the King Birendra Bir
Bikram Shah Dev and his family rather than his son Crown Prince Dipendra .
The letter also implied that the Maoists were against large foreign
companies taking the tourist money out of the country, so a small risk may
be in staying at one of the lager hotels (not a problem with my budget). I
do not believe there to be a direct threat to tourists in Nepal, tourism is
a major industry in Nepal, affecting the country’s tourism would therefore
affect the population’s income. The hotels, the staff, the villagers and
farmers who provide meat and vegetables and the shops are all finding a
reduction in business due to the ongoing problems since a state of emergency
was declared in November last year. This situation can only get worse if
tourists are targeted and would therefore lose any sympathy the people have
for the Maoists. For the moment the conflict is limited to between the
government and the Maoist rebels as the peoples war goes on.
There are so many accusations in Nepal that go around it's almost like
Southpark "Oh sh1t, they killed Kingy!?!".
Attached a pic of me at the top of Poon Hill, Thailand tomorrow!!!
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Once off the coach at Katmandu we decided against a cab to Thamel (The cheap
tourist area) as it was only a short distance and jumped in a bus, the
driver having shouted "Thamel". We later learned that the bus did not in
fact go anywhere near Thamel, we had been joined by a couple who had no
money at the time, Richard and Louisa. Seeing as I had paid their fare
Richard saw it as his duty to get the money back from the driver for me,
this being 50rs for all five of us (about 50p). I'll just give you a little
background on Richard before I continue, He's a 30 year old PR journalist
with his own business that he is running while traveling the world. Given
this the situation seemed hilarious to me to see Richard after getting 45rs
of the money back, stand there and demand the rest of the money. In England
he would be saying the equivalent of "look mate, you told us this bus was
going to Thamel and it's not, now I want my 5p back!".
Upon arriving in Thamel I could not believe how many westerners there were,
it was definitely "White boy day" in Katmandu! Everywhere you went there
were westerners shopping, e-mailing, chatting, changing money, drinking and
it was great! The first step after finding a hotel was to go to a pub, buy a
beer and have a game of pool! You find a lot of video cafe's in Katmandu,
they basically show copies of the latest cinema releases on a TV in the
cafe. I must admit it was nice to catch up on a few of the movies I'd missed
out on during my travels, admittedly not all were of a great quality (some
had the shadow of heads over the credits at the end).
At present there is a curfew in Katmandu at 10:00pm when all Nepalese have
to be off the streets, this curfew doesn't seem to affect us tourists. In
fact I think at present a tourist can do almost anything he/she chooses with
obvious exceptions, partly due to the police having other things on their
mind and partly due to the instability of the tourist trade at the moment.
After about 11pm the place is like a ghost town, with all the streets
deserted which seems crazy in the capital city. if you are in a bar before
10pm you can usually stay there till late if there are enough people to
warrant keeping it open.
We managed to get into a bar called The Underground after 11 one night. the
place was shuttered and the doors closed but after we rattled them some guy
came and let us in. Once in there we found there to be only a few other
groups of people and It seemed quite exclusive to be let into a bar like
this. The place lived up to it's name as it felt like a underground scene,
more so when later three police came in and we were told that it was time to
go!
Walking in the city the next day I came across a army point on a road going
into Thamel, it was pretty make shift with barb wire barriers and a sand bag
machine gun nest, but walking past it felt kind of... real I guess. It's
easy to forget what is going on in Nepal in the tourist areas but when you
walk past a machine gun on sand bags with the barrel a meter from your head
it wakes you up a little. The 6 army guys all looked a little tense so I
thought it best to ask them before taking a photo, you never know the flash
might startle them. I was given a very solemn head shake accompanied by a
wave of the hand, indicating "no way, what do you think this is playing at
being at war".
I am becoming a little more cautious these days and decided that it was a
good idea to equip myself properly for my travels, a Khukuri knife was the
obvious choice. Khukuri's (aka The Gurkha Knife) come in various models,
shapes and sizes, I decided on the service No.1 (10 1/2 inch blade) which is
issued to the British Gurkha regiment. The Khukuri that I really wanted was
called the long 18 dragon but this was impractical having a 18 1/2 inch
blade and used for sacrificing goats by decapitation at the religious
festival of Dashain, I also didn't think it would fit in my backpack.
The other main thing that Katmandu has to offer are it's many Buddhist
stupas in the surrounding areas, which I must admit are magnificent (should
have some photos soon). The one that I visited was at Swayambhunath (try
making a rickshaw driver understand that - Swaggammmbbnnaa, I think I said
but to be fair he knew) which is also known as the monkey temple (Yes, I
know that now!), the reason being that lot's of buddhist monkey's (not
really they are just monkey's) hang here. The stupa is at the top of 260
steps and is quite a sight (I guess it looks like a brick with eyes wearing
a princesses hat on top of a headless swan!), the eyes are to represent the
eyes of wisdom. Monks walk around the monument clockwise, eating cheesecakes
and turning prayer wheels (which hold a mantra) on the sides of the stupa as
they go. Behind this is a massive, massive golden statue of Buddha eating a
cheesecake, which looks imposing in the sky from a distance, it's cool!
The holi War
The festival of Holi officially started on the 28th March although their
have been little kids throwing water for the last few days. Basically Holi
is a massive water fight all over Nepal, for the whole day people march the
streets armed with water bottles, water balloons, buckets and a powder that
they seem to call Holi. Unfortunately I did not realize this first thing
this morning, I showered, went down for my breakfast and bang! A water bomb
inches from my foot, so this is what the day is going to be like I thought.
The streets are crazy, you edge your self into them with colored water
missiles flying from roofs and either end of the street, something like I'd
imagine Bosnia to be like (except people aren't dying here). After being hit
a couple of times I decided the best plan would be for me to return to my
hotel and attack people coming in from the balcony.
Later I ventured into the main streets of Thamel with Richard a guy from my
hotel, this was pure carnage and so we made a hasty retreat to a rooftop
restaurant where we could bomb the people below in safety. As the day went
on it became crazier and crazier as the projectiles were found new targets,
bikes and cars were hit systematically. This happened especially to those
carrying tourists when the boots and doors would be wrenched open and powder
and water thrown at the surprised passengers within. I felt sorry for any
tourists arriving straight of a plane and finding themselves involved in
this lunacy, especially with all the trouble in Nepal at present.
All excellent fun but like all good fun when westerners are involved it soon
turned to violence when people got too carried away, a couple of bouncers
started dragging people off the street for a kicking and then the police
came and it all dissolved. Probably a good thing as I was getting hungry and
didn't fancy powder splattered curry and beer!
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Arrived in at a 8:00am after a 18 hour flight delay in Katmandu, the flight
was pretty cool as a storm had started and we had some excellent turbulence
but then I fell asleep and missed most of it. At the Bangkok airport there
is an information desk and outside you can get on a airport bus, a taxi, a
normal bus or a train. How cool is that!! and the best bit is that you don't
need to haggle, even the taxi's are metered, I took the airport bus and was
dropped on Kao San Road (where I wanted to be)!
Once off the air-con bus, I became aware of how overpowering the heat is in
Thailand at the moment. It is a far more tireing heat than either India or
Nepal, very humid and it just sapped the energy from me. Bangkok especially
Kao San Road is majorly set up for the tourist scene, it's crazy the amount
of westeners here and I thought Kathmandu was bad.
It's taken me a little while to adjust to be honest, neon lights everywhere,
TV's and games in the pubs and more, much more than this... women
everywhere!!!
Ventured into the heat to experience the Tai boxing, for the journey to the
stadium we took a Tuk Tuk (go chart style rickshaws) with a funny little
Thai guy called Toy. This thing really motored, much faster than other Tuk
Tuk's, the reason being Toy had given his mate a few beers to pep it up a
bit. This thing was a turbo Tuk Tuk, it flew!! and Toy's little phrase was
air-con tuk tuk as he passed most vehicles on the road! I think most are
250cc engines but they can hold there own in heavy traffic due to size, they
are not allowed on highways but all in all they are neat little vehicles.
It's just the drivers that are usually arses.
I also was taken for the jewlery scam at some place near Kao San Road, it
was quite obvious what was going on but I decided to go check it out. I was
amased how many people were involved (until I found out the price), but
there was one guy who called me a Tuk Tuk at the grand palace, two guys at
the lucky Buddha that I went to first (who just so happened knew about this
tax free 7 day gov sale of Jewlery), then shit loads in the shop. I was
taken into a VIP room and given all the crap about what a good deal etc etc,
I then asked how much they were $500 - $10,000, I was feeling a bit cheeky
and asked if they had anything for 100 Bhat ($2), I was taken out of the VIP
room. Back in the main shop I thought I'd have a little look at the fake
Jewlery, I think I had a bit of a smirk on my face and before I could speak
to these other tourists but I was shown the door.
I must admit though that Bangkok is not really my cup of Rosy Lee, it's
another city full of shopping and cheap entertainment. It's a cool city with
amazing sights to see and it really is wat (temple) central but before long
the fast pace and packed streets became too much barney rubble for me and I
needed to get away.
While my visa's for Vietman and Loa were sorted out (7 days), I decided that
a little pre-birthday beach holiday was in order. I decided on the Island of
Ko Chang (6-7 hrs from Bangkok) as it seemed close and I found myself in a
quiet corner of the Island called Lonely beach. Well if this is what
Thailand beaches have to offer then I shall be a happy man it was quiet
enough to be relaxing but had enough bars and people for a social scene at
night. On arriving I decided that I would need to find myself a hammock
immediately, with this done I needed to move from the balcony of my hut only
to get myself a drink or meal! If this is how I am to spend my life then my
life is going to bea-utiful (cheers frank!), need I say more.
The huts were pretty luxuary for the price 200 bhat (3 pound ish) and with
this you got matress, mossy net, open air shower and toilet (the bonus to
this being you could tan while on the sh1tter!) and a balcony/porch. The
sunset was pretty cool from the beach as the sky seems like a landscape in
itself with clouds and crazy colours whch are reflected in the water turning
the sea red. Just before darkness falls the palm trees seem to have more
definition against the sky as if some painter has returned to the canvas and
given them an outline.
Had myself one hellava drinking night for the Thai New Year which kind of
made up for the quiet one that I had in India, met loads of people and
stupidly stayed up drinking with a couple of Australian guys... We had what
are reffered to as "happy buckets" which consist of half a bottle of
spirits, red bull (thai style), ice and a bunch of straws. Next morning I
got out of my bed, wiped the sick of my head and said you'd better stop
drinking today!
Back in bangkok after Sonkram (somthing like that), the Thai water festival
the whole place seemed to have changed. Less people, less heat and cleaner
streets, it was as if the real rains had come and washed all the scum off
the streets - but later I realised that I'm not The Taxi Driver so no need
to worry!!!
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Extra Pic
After leaving the border of Thailand and Cambodia I found myself being
shaken, rattled and rolled on the worst roads that I have ever traveled.
Take the bumpiest, sh1test road that you have ever encountered, add massive
potholes and occasional flooding and you might get close. You cannot
possibly imagine the pain that I went through on this 6 hour journey. The
redeeming part being the landscapes of jungle, rice paddies, villages with
houses on stilts amongst the trees and the friendly Khmer people playfully
throwing water to celebrate their New Year. But let's pause for a moment
while I give you a little background on Cambodia, a country name that has
mainly attached to landmines, Genocide and loosely in the American movies
the Vietnam War.
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extrapic
From 1864 Cambodia was under the control of the French and occupied during
the Second World War by the Japanese. In 1953 The Kingdom of Cambodia
claimed it's independence but this was just a start to the problems of the
Khmer people. King Sihanouk, who had abdicated and become prime minister,
took the side of the Northern Vietnamese in the Vietnam War and allowed the
Viet Cong into its border areas. This led to political unrest in the country
and the Americans to start a 4-year carpet-bombing campaign over the Eastern
part of Cambodia. Power and sides changed as the Vietnam War escalated and
the Party of Democratic Kampuchea opposed to the current government became
stronger with the support of the North Vietnamese. This leftist party with
Maoist ideals took Phnom Penh (Cambodia's capital city) on the 17 April
1975, they were infamously known as the Khmer Rouge or Red Khmers and this
year was to be known for the Khmer people as Year Zero.
The radio propaganda of the Khmer Rouge said Year Zero was to be the
beginning of a new Cambodia where the country would go back to the old ways,
become strong and the people prosper. What actually happened was a massacre
of the people that has devastated the country to this day.
Once in control the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot
systematically evacuated the cities sending the people to the country to
work the land and rounding up the supporters of the old regime to be shot.
Educated people such as engineers, teachers, technicians, doctors and
students where gathered to be interrogated and later executed in detention
camps. Make no mistake Pol Pot wanted no threats to his power and he sent
out children as spies among the people to listen and report for political
dissent. It seems there was no escaping the Khmer Rouge...
The Khmer Rouge with advice and support from China were to make Cambodia a
peasant state, abolishing currency and handing out inadequate rice rations
to the slaves that had been made of the Khmer people. In the countryside the
people were worked into their graves with long hard hours of labor while
their family and friends were taken by illness and famine, any complaints
were silenced with a shotgun blast. After four years of genocide the
Vietnamese who grew sick of them invading their borders took the Khmer Rouge
from power. But the 'free world' would not have let this continue for much
longer would it?
It may have been unfortunate for the Cambodian people that the country's
main exports were rice and rubber instead of oil, maybe then the current
generation of Khmers would be eating a meal with their family instead of
showing tourists a mound of skulls.
The country has been set back many years in its development, if you remove a
country's educated people its progress will be marred until a new generation
of schooled and skilled can be trained. It is just over the last 3-4 years
that Cambodia has seen relative peace; the country is still one of the most
heavily mined in the world and guns widely available but generally its safe
enough to travel and things are getting better.
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So my first stop was Siem Reap, the city from where the famous Angkor temple
complex is easily accessible. If the Jewel in India's crown is the Taj Mahal
then Cambodia's is Angkor Wat and the sight that brings most tourists into
the country. It is claimed to have been discovered in 1860 by the French
although this seems a little hard to believe considering its size. A
conservation group was set up to reclaim the temples from the jungle which
over the years had taken them into its midst, but this was halted for a
while through the Khmer Rouge period. Nowadays most of the temples have been
restored and the jungle cut back to show the temples in their true
magnificence. Angkor Wat is the most famous of the temples and is indeed
grand with its moat, gates and central towers but personally I was most fond
of the temples covered in tree roots. They gave you a feeling of how
overgrown these temples had become, the Angkor temple climbing trees with
their roots snaking their way amongst the stones showing their determination
to fulfill their needs. The only other temple that must be mentioned would
be the Bayon, a strange temple made up of many towers with massive smiling
faces on each of the four sides... curious!!
After 3 days of Angkor nice as it was, I must admit to being a little
templed out and in need of some drinking...
From Siem Reap it was the a choice of either a boat ride or a bus to my next
destination of Battambang, if you've read my previous e-mail then you will
realise that this was no choice at all! So after a short pick-up ride we
arrived at the bank of a Vietnamese floating village, this place was cool
with all the houseboats and one woman even had a sweetshop boat...
excellent!
The journey was excellent passing the fisherman with these crazy bamboo
crane type net things and the people waving from the banks. I had totally
relaxed and was just dropping off when an early monsoon rain decided to
grace us with its premature presence. Within about 5 mins I was utterly
soaked despite the roof as the rain, sneaky b@*tard that it was decided to
come at us diagonally. After an hour of being pissed on by the heavens we
reached our destination and I wasn't too unhappy to step ashore.
Cambodians are the masters of short changing, in Cambodia you can use three
currencies anywhere (Thai Bhat, Cambodian and US Dollars) and when paying
you will get your change in a different currency and usually you will find
it a little out to their advantage!
Once in Battembang I got myself an excellent hotel, they are really cheap as
they are lacking the customers and a bit of a war is going on between two
particular hotels from which the hawkers take great pleasure in slagging
each other off to you. Generally Battembang is a pleasant relaxed city,
though there is little more than a few days worth of sights to see which can
be done by hiring a motorbike driver for the day. This is pretty cool as the
Khmers are such friendly people it's just like hanging out with mates and
all for $6 (I can buy my friends!).
Just outside the town center are Battembangs killing caves, this is a pretty
grisly place and the atmosphere is increased by my driver David (most
Cambodians give you an English name for themselves, I've even met a
Cambodian John Wane!?!) explaining how people were killed and tortured here.
The first building that you come to which has been converted back into a
monastery after the Khmer Rouge made a prison of it for the people, you then
go down into the caves where the prisoners where later killed. The people
were interrogated in these dingy places and/or thrown though a hole at the
top of these caves to die on the rocks below, bones and the remains of
clothing have been collected and are displayed to remind people. After this
sobering sight Dave took me to another Buddhist monastery where we lay on
the floor for an afternoon nap, this seems to be a big thing for the
Cambodians - daytime sleeping.
I cannot deny that compared to Cambodians I am very privileged in every way
but I still cannot stop myself from envying their lifestyle. Work back home
was a sobering experience for me as the reason that I chose to work in an
office was that I imagined it to be pretty much sitting around all day and
drinking coffee. Nothing can describe the terror that I felt the day that I
realized it was always to be hard work and stress… This realization left me
devastated and in a state of horror, shock and fear… It was around this time
that I decided that I must leave on this traveling adventure, if only to
escape this fate for a little longer or maybe find a place where I can sleep
all the time and nobody would notice! I'm still searching but this might
just be it…
Anyway after our little nap we moved on through a village called friendly
village to the bamboo train, it was not long before I found out why this
village was nicknamed friendly as scores of scruffy Cambodian children high
fived me as we rode past on the bike. The bamboo train is a transport system
the villagers use to get them around on the train tracks, and is basically a
removable bamboo platform with a lawnmower type engine on a pair of axels.
You then fly down the tracks, like the wind I might add and taking care to
alert the drivers of any trains that come along.
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