Darjeeling

Everyone says they like Darjeeling, so don't let my weary traveller, spoiled brat bad attitude ruin it for you. I only like it a little bit. Concrete jungle, crowds, dirt, rubble, water and power shortages, bucket shower, squat toilet, damp laundry, and the normal chaos of India aside, here's what's good about it:
The temperature is nice and cool, while the rest of India (ROI) is a hot mess. There are many friendly travelers at the $2/night hostel and I see them every day. It's always nice to have good people to eat dinner with, and breakfast, and often lunch, too: young kids from Canada, Germany, Australia and an Irish guy on break from teaching in Ahmedabad; an aspiring buddhist writer from Oregon with big blond dreadlocks and a ginger beard. Two old kermudgeons from France and Norway. And a 50 year old gal from Maryland/California bay area with a screw loose... she has her 1997 abnormal brain scan image ironed on to several black teeshirts and hoodies she wears everybday, and is always on a rant about the terrible state of the US debt, federal budget, and how bad Obamacare is.

Darjeeling is so cheap! The big bottle of Kingfisher is only $2, most meals are $2. A small pot of awesome Darjeeling tea is 75 cents at Gelnary's, the cool cafe that has free wifi and yummy banana nut bread! It's hilly and fun to walk everywhere. The toy train is historic, awesome weird and fun.
Otherwise, I'm just taking it easy, waiting to leave for Delhi by train on Monday (fancy 3A sleeper for $30, and the ticket agent informed me that "you will get the food!"), arriving on Tuesday, and flying to Istanbul on Wednesday (layover in Doha)!! Excited! Looking forward to seeing some of Turkey, and meeting my TAMU German friends Sonja and Joerg in Bulgaria! Yay!

Bhutan

2 fast-pased weeks in Bhutan!

Bhutan is good, but because it's in Asia, it's wierd...
It was good to see my friend Cheku from TAMU. He and his well connected friends (one other went to a&m, too) took me to an awesome fortress 2 hours away at the confluence of 2 rivers, and out to an expensive restaurant where we drank several beers and carried on. It was fun. Another friend of his was single and he took me out to dinner on a date (been a while!), which was fun and wierd. Men wear the traditional Gho, so I was in pants, and he was in a kilt/skirt/jeddi robe (women wear a "Kira", kind of like a 2 piece kimmono). Bhutanese men have nervousness. The guy works for an NGO as kind of an urban planner, on water, sanitation and poverty reduction projects. It was nice to click with him, albeit for a short durration. I also think maybe romance and such is largely a Western concept.

I also spent an afternoon with Cheku and his 2 visitors from the World Bank, here on a poverty reduction tour. We picked them up at their hotel, the fanciest in Thimphu, at $300 a night. I had to tape my mouth shut.

Otherwise, for the first week, I spent time at home with my friend's wife, 2 kids and awesome Nanny, Pema. It felt good to sleep in the same house for longer than 2 nights in a row! Pema never goes out, since she started as the Nanny 9 months ago when the baby was born, so I took her and the baby to town. I bought her some things (a watch, tampons, paper, pens, fleece sweatshirt...) And some yarn. I taught her how to crochet and she really ran with it! Now when she's stuck at home, she can make stuff. It's cold here, even in May, and June is monsoon. It's like Oregon, never hot I guess. I feel bad for Pema, they never give her time off, or let her use the computer. I set her up with gmail and facebook, took and uploaded photos for her. She didn't even know how to use the mouse or scroll down on a page. She's 18! Her English is decent, which is remarkable. She's a cousin from a remote village and they send her family money, in lieu of paying her directly. I suggested she ask politely for a small allowance, and for a second set of everyday clothes, ask Cheku to teach her more on the computer, teach her how to drive, etc. She is very shy and lacking in confidence, poor dear.

Town is cool. Clean, polite, awesome buildings. Stray dogs are calmer because they wear themselves out barking all night. Lots of drunk but harmless men (alcohol is a problem, like w/ native americans), but only on Sunday.

I've been to a second house, also belonging to college educated government officials, and both don't have: water all the time, hot water heaters that work, a washing machine (that works), an oven, a working bath/shower, a table and chairs for meals, or heat.
There are lots of buckets, scoops, heating elements that dangle in buckets to make hot water, huge plastic basins full of wet dirty laundry and detergent, wet bathroom floors. When a big blanket gets washed, it is placed in a heap on the toilet so it can drip before hung outside on the line. Kids bathe once a week. Drinking water has to be boiled.
I'm surprised I didn't get sick.
I'm looking forward to comming home, doing laundry in a machine, getting a running water hot shower (not just a washcloth wipe down).

I went all the way to the East side of Bhutan by bus over several days. I saw gorgeous mountain scenery. I visited some of Cheku's friends in Trongsa, a hillside town with a huge Dzhong and middieval type tower museum. I went on a day hike down to the river an up on the other side to the Dzhong viewing area. I visited a town called Bumthang, which reminds me of Alaskan village (tv show Northern Exposure). I got a ride from a Monk all the way to Mongar, a cute remote town with a big soccer festival for children the day I was there.

A common mural near building and home entrances is an ejaculating fallis. I think it represents a hearty welcome and perhaps stamina. Wow.

Annapurna Base Camp Trek, Paragliding

The 10 day trek up to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) was terrific! We experienced all 4 seasons, winter being the most spectacular. On day 3 we woke up before sunset to hike up Poonhill to see an awesome 360 view (pic with the puffy jacket and wool hat). There was lots of snow up top, and much of it falling on us as we hiked up and down. It was cloudy at the summit, and after sleeping there overnight, but we did get a break in the clouds, nice sunshine, and a mostly-clear view for 15 minutes when we arrived at the Welcome sign. I met awesome people along the way: 2 gals from Quebec City, 2 gals from Spain, a Swede, Brits, Australians, a Brazilian, a couple Americans, etc. All awesome travel people. The day after getting back to Pokhara, I went paragliding with Nicole and Agathe, the Quebecers. That was also a big thrill, but the effortless, floating, relaxing kind :) Heading back to Kathmandu tomorrow, and to Bhutan on Tuesday the 30th!

Pokharna, Annapurna Nepal

Leaving Kathmandu was trying. The guesthouse charged me more than was posted on their website, claiming my tiny room with a cracked bed and broken taps was the deluxe room. Usually the best way to book onward transport, they sold me a bus ticket for a nice, shiney, A/C bus. It turned out to be a sideways bench seat up near the driver, with no A/C, and extra heat and noise from the engine. It's hot here. Too hot to wear socks and shoes. I wonder why I bought the recommended thermals and down jacket yesterday.

In addition, it looks like I got it all wrong, and am here at a bad time of year. The air is very dirty, for all 7 hours of the bus ride from Kathmandu, and at the base of the mountains. The lake and sunset were nice, but it's hard to ignore the thick brown haze and trash-lined lake shore. None of the trekking operators have groups leaving soon. Most people come in the fall, and book with an already-assembled group of friends from home. The recommended outfit I contacted in advanced proposed an expensive trek with a guide all to myself. I may not need a guide at all. The trail is marked, with hotels, food amd water all along the route. It sounds like a beaten path, Nepali Appalacian Trail. But, it seems foolish to go alone. I'll wait and try my luck finding partners from one of the online bulletins. I feel totally discouraged, dirty, lonely, and want to bag the whole thing. I can get gorgeous mountains with nice trees and clean air in Northern California.

Border crossing into Nepal

I read about the best way to travel imto Nepal from Varanasi, India amd followed the expert advice: The bus is loud and bumpy, so take the train to Gorakhpur which leaves at 00:40, amd arrives at 5:30 or 6am. Then a 3 hour bus to Sanauli (yucky border town) This way, there would be enough time to cross the border, and see the scenery on the 7 hour drive from Sonauli to Kathmandu, and not need to stay the night in no man's land.
In reality, I got shooed out of my hotel at 10pm. I maneuvred in the dark, shit-filled alleyways just fine with my trusty headlamp, passing several stubborn cows blocking the way. I took a slow bicycle rickshaw to the Varanasi train station, the hall is completely filled with sleeping homeless families. I sat in the cafe until it closed at midnight. It only had a couple insects crawling around, I didn't order anything. The train was delayed several times, and did not leave until 2:30am. I waited in the main hall, watching a policeman wake the families up with his stick, and see two mice come out of a hile in the wall to take food out of a sleeping man's bag.
I arrived in Gorakhpur at 8am, amd took a bicycle rickshaw a few blocks and caught a bus to Sonauli and befriended a young couple from Moscow. We walked across the border at 1:45, paid the $40 US for the 30 day visa. On the Nepal side, there was a bus to Kathmandu at 2pm which I thought I could run and still catch, but come to find out, time in Nepal is 15 minutes ahead of time in India. I missed the bus by 15 minutes, but there were enough people wanting to go that a shady border company was able to fill a van and leave at 3.
I did see a lot of beautiful mountain and river scenery, on par with the route to Yosemite or Lake Tahoe, but the river is much wider and more breathtaking. No snowy peaks yet, that will come later in Pokhara. I did see 20 or so very small forest fires. I don't know if they were very harmful to the land, but they created a lot of smoke on an already dusty road, but looked really cool at night. Men are very respectful, and I had to consciously let my guard down a bit. I'm happy I can ne nice to people again, and they're very nice back.
Kathmandu has similar air quality to Los Angeles, people wear thin breathing masks, but it's actually a really awesome city. The streets are paved in square stones and they wander all over, leading to public squares with odd shapes, and ornate temples. The scale of the roads and buildings is very pleasant. It's clean, there's no garbage or cow shit. There are many shops that sell outdoor gear and clothing, so a main task is to buy proper hiking boots, socks, thermals, a down jacket, wooly hat etc. so I can go trekking up to snowy peaks. The one name-brand store is The North Face (REI, why aren't you here?) And the prices are the same as at home. I'll try my luck with the knock off stuff in the local shops at a third of the price. River rafting is also popular in Nepal, so I'll see if I can fit that in, too. Another main task is to kick the latest bout of diarrhea/Delhi belly.
Nepal seems to be a poorer country than India, but I think they take care of eachother much better, clean up, are honest, and respect rules and police. I like it very much.
The power went out last night and never charged my phone. I'd like to post pictures of Durbar square from my kodak camera. Coming soon! I was able to capture photos of a local festival where boys carry a shrine with a twirling umbrella, dance, and play drums, symbols and flutes and wear littke hats in the street. Some groups do it in red, others blue. The guide book says it's Nawa Barsa, Nepali New Year.

Agra cadabra!

The Taj Mahal in Agra is awesome! So clean, and not too crowded before 10am. Missing only Lady Di.
The inside of the TM is very plain, dark, and remarkably umremarkable. The outside, on all sides, is stunning. They say it's "the most beautiful building in the world" and, "A teardrop on the cheek of eternity".

The high class section of the train from Delhi to Agra ($18 instead of the $6 cheap seats which were all booked up for the next 2 weeks) served a full breakfast which started with yummy British-style tea and brown bread with jam. Then, a tray for corn flakes in hot milk and a banana. Then a second tray with a full Indian breakfast: some kind of oily gravy, rice, and fried dough. I ate the cornflakes, dry.

I like the famous monuments a lot because they're very beautiful and well-maintained, becauae they really register in my head where I am on the globe, and also because many families and different kinds of people go there. I got to chatting with Jerry, a very old man from Anaheim, CA (near Disneyland/LA. He.mentioned his hockey team rivalry with our San Jose Sharks). A home appliance salesman in his day, he said the word "company" with only 2 syllables, the way my grandpa used to say. He and his wife have traveled to more than 50 countries, including a few in Southern Africa. He recommended I go to Victoria Falls. When I told him I quit my job to travel for this long, it sounded perfectly normal to him, saying: "you gotta do this stuff while you can still walk! Keep your body moving! Later when you get married and have kids, you'll be glad you did all this!"

Varanasi - horrible bus, filthy city

The two daily trains to Varanasi were all full for the next several days, and the Agra train station tourist official told me I could get a comfy, A/C tourist coach at the bus station 45 minutes outside of town. Once I got there, I teamed up with a chubby Korean tourist guy, Woong, and we boarded the most broken, dirty, uncomfortable bus yet, for the 16 hour journey-from-hell through mud, potholes, and dusty country roads to Varanasi. Woong probably saved me from a boatload of staring and male harrasment. I nicknamed him "The Korean Cowboy" and we both wore our bandanas to keep the dust out of our noses.

We rode through the poorest sections of India I have seen so far, and arrived in Varanasi at 8am. It's the most congested and filthy place so far, with monkeys, cows, goats and stray dogs walking and shitting in all the narrow alleys, inbetween piles of garbage, open sewage drains, and a high density of mosquitos, gnats, ants and *flies*. I've been a real trooper in India so far. Most cities have open sewers. Those in Jodhpur ran pink with Holi color... but I draw the line at bugs! Previous travelers have raved about how beautiful and spectacular Varanasi is. "The whole city is like one lovely temple... just watch out for the shit everywhere".

I found a place to eat breakfast, and contemplated leaving immediately, but then I met a very nice tourist called Lindsey, an ER nurse from Vancouver, Canada and her nurse friend Kim. They showed me the place where they're staying where I got a room (and a shower) quickly. They duste me off, and encouraged me to stay and give Varanasi a chance. We met up later, walked around and got some lunch. The Ghats and river front, Varanasi's claim to fame, where Hindus wash themselves in the Ganges river, and burn and dispose of dead family members, is also a place where water buffalo swim. The waterfront is filthy, a hodge podge of mis-matched steps, run-down temples, modern abandoned buildings where monkeys live and fight, and ugly hotels under construction. A restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet was in the middle of tearing down its concrete roof, and was still open and serving food, with chunks of rubble literally falling on the tables. I stopped into an internet cafe, which was clean and air conditioned, but a little girl was able to peek into the toilet stall through a ventilation duct, and ask me in English "finished?", like she does that everytime someone goes to the toilet. I called her a naughty girl.

I will get to "appreciate" Varanasi for 1 more day, like it or not, waiting for the midnight train to Gorakhpur, the recommended place and time for taking a train (I got the last available sleeper ticket thanks to the "ladies quota"), and then a shared jeep or bicycle rickshaw, across the border and into Nepal. I decided to skip Darjeeling for now. Maybe I'll go there after Bhutan. I have 1 more entry on my Indian visa. I like India, but I'm also glad to be done with it! Nepali men are supposed to be more respestful, too. The Nepali men who are working in India have been very nice so far.