It seemed like a good idea at the time…

When we began planning this trip early last spring it seemed to make sense to us that if we were going to travel halfway around the world to visit Nepal then we might as well go to India too because it’s just next door! OK I said let’s do it.

Well, our Nepal adventure is formally over & today we crossed over the border into India.

Up at 5:30am for breakfast at 6:00 & on the bus at 6:30. Manu cautioned the group that we would have a very long day due to formalities at the Nepal & India borders plus a very slow 300 kilometer drive over incredibly rough roads! We thought he was exaggerating a bit.

We arrived at the border at 7:30 and everyone had to get off the bus because we had to walk across the border and pick up a new India-licensed tourist bus on the other side.

First we had to be checked out of Nepal, passports stamped, then we walked along a two lane road crowded with hundreds of transport trucks waiting to get into Nepal.

Our luggage was piled high onto cycle rickshaws which were pushed behind us.

We came to another inspection station with one man at a desk who looked over our passports and visas and then waved us through.

Manu went ahead with the luggage while we walked about 500 meters to yet another checkpoint in a very small building on the opposite side of the road. There goes Manu with our luggage!

Next checkpoint was easy to miss!

All of this took about 2 hours which was an indication of what lay ahead. We boarded a large highway coach (same size as Greyhound at home) and off we went.

The driver immediately started the non-stop horn honking which went on for the next 15 hours, with small breaks for lunch and toilets. Manu called it death defying driving and this was not an over statement. Thankfully with this bus – size matters, so the driver accomplished a lot of passing maneuvers that people in smaller vehicles would never dare.

And we thought the ride down the mountain from Ghandruk was rough! It was, but the worst of it only lasted 90 minutes. Today it was just as rough for over 10 hours! Almost impossible to stand up on the bus when it was moving.

Photo below: a welcome break

In fairness to India, most of the rough roads were due to the fact that long stretches of the highway are under construction. The parts that are completed are very good but they are few and far between.

We went through many towns with large produce markets and street food stalls, as well as a few very fresh chicken stands.

Traffic at times was very very heavy.

At other times we just sat parked bumper to bumper on the road. Once we got stopped on a bridge at sunset which turned out to be a great photo op.

At the next bathroom break Manu told us we had travelled 150 kms over the previous 8 hours and we were only half way. ETA for our hotel was well past 10:00 pm so Manu decided to postpone our sunrise boat ride on the Ganges as he wisely realized that he would had a mutiny on the ship.

One advantage of traveling at night is to see Temple areas lit up at night with oil lamps.

When we finally reached our destination around 10:00pm we had to walk the last 500 meters because the road was too narrow for the bus. The walk was no big deal for any of us as we were all soooooo happy to finally be off the bus!

Varanasi was hopping as there was another festival related to Diwali going on, with lights, music and gatherings on the street. Once we got our room, it didn’t take long to get to sleep! Stationary and horizontal never felt so good!

Cheers!

Posted by Catherine

We had a pleasant evening in our little cottage “Tara.” We were serenaded in the early evening by loud dance music from a wedding across the village from us.

Each cottage is named after the woman who owns it and this is a photo of Tara.

After breakfast we boarded the bus with a farewell from our hosts.

Well, most of us got on the bus. Four members of our tour found out last night that they had the wrong kind of visa for India and can only enter India through an airport. The four young men had to take a cab back to Kathmandu, overnight there, fly to New Delhi in the morning and then fly on to Varanasi to meet up with the tour. It was an unfortunate turn of events. The process of getting a visa for India is very confusing. Ours are affixed in our passports and are the right ones to enter into India by land.

We traveled through a more mountainous area again and stopped for an early lunch at a roadside restaurant frequented by truckers. Lots of local colour!

From there, the terrain flattened out again with farm lands interspersed with large factories for processing grain and brick making.

Around 1:00 p.m. we arrived at our first destination of Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha and a revered pilgrimage place for Buddhists from all over the world.

It is a massive complex (2 kms x 3 kms) of temples, gardens and parks. There were endless busloads of people coming and going. Two different groups of people wanted to have a photo with me!

I guess they don’t see too many tall women here. I felt like a famous person! No blending in with the locals here either!

We only had time to visit the Maya Devi Temple which marks the actual birthplace of the Buddha around 563 BC.

No photos are allowed inside, where it was fairly quiet and reverential. There were several ruins from the 2nd century and under some plexiglass a stone reputed to show the Buddha’s first step on the earth. People touched the surrounding stones with their hands and foreheads for a brief moment. It was powerful and poignant to be here and contemplate all the millions of people who have visited this sacred site over the centuries.

The outdoor courtyards were brilliant with prayer flags and the colourful clothing of the visitors.

We saw several large groups of pilgrims in various processions with drums and horns – very impressive.

After a brief rest, we found our shoes and made our way back to the bus. It was another hour of traveling to get to our hotel. After a lovely Indian meal, we enjoyed the first hot shower we’ve had in days. Early start tomorrow as we leave Nepal, cross into India and head for Varanasi, about 12 hours of traveling!

Namaste 🙏

Today there were two main activities: a mid morning guided walking tour of Barauli Village & then a 4 hour jeep safari tour in Chitwan National Park.

Our tours were led by a local young man named “Tek” (pronounced Tic like ticket)

As we walked through the local village we stopped numerous times to gain insight & understanding of how the Tharu people of Nepal live & work in the community.

Farming is the main occupation with multiple crops grown including rice, corn, cauliflower & mustard. Tourism is helping to diversify the economy but it is still common for young people in each family to go outside the country for jobs so they can earn more money to support their extended families.

Just before lunch Tek gave a slideshow presentation about the park to our group & then after lunch we all boarded a jeep & headed off to Chitwan National Park to see some sights & see some wildlife.

The park is a protected nature preserve with many species of trees, flowering plants, birds, deer, wild boars, cheetahs, tigers, rhinos & crocodiles.

The Narayani River flows through the park & there are essentially three main terrains: the river, the floodplain & flatlands adjacent to the river & the forest/jungle. We travelled through each of these areas & Tek was excellent at spotting & pointing out unique plants & wildlife to us.

During our tour we saw many different different types of birds including a wild peacock. We also saw some deer & a wild boar and several beautiful butterflies- black and orange striped, yellow and light blue. But the real highlight for everyone was the rhino we encountered!

As soon as Tek spotted it he instructed our diver to stop the jeep & turn off the engine. He told us all to be very quiet & then began to make a series of soft whistles to attract the rhino’s attention.

The rhino started flapping it’s ears, came out of the bushes & began walking slowly towards the jeep. Gulp, hope he’s not PO’d with us intruding on his “patch”.

I took a bunch of photos as it approached & then shot a video of the rest of the encounter. I will post the video on YouTube as soon as I get a strong enough wifi signal.

Once the rhino had decided that he had seen enough of us he wandered back into the jungle – plowing through thick brush that would have stopped our jeep in its tracks. Tek confirmed it was a male rhino, one of the 600 rhinos in the park, 20-25 years old and weighing 2-1/2 tons. Mr. Rhino was off to knock over some acacia trees to get more to eat from the upper branches that he couldn’t reach. Simply amazing! There are only 2,000 of these incredible creatures left in the wild.

We enjoyed the rest of the tour with stops along the river to view more birds including geese that were migrating from Siberia and the Indian pond heron. We stopped to take in some views of the sun as it was headed towards the horizon.

Certainly a day to remember!

Cheers!

Today we were up early for our road trip to Barauli Homestay. This will be the first time there for everyone in our group except for us. Thanks to the 9:00am departure we arrived at our destination in mid-afternoon & were able to see a lot more of the final 90 minutes of the trip compared to our last time here when we arrived in the dark.

After leaving Pokhara & spending a couple of hours on the road we stopped for a stretch break at a small spot that had a pedestrian suspension bridge over the river for farmers on the other side to be able to access the highway.

Most of our group took advantage of the opportunity to cross the bridge but the trail to access it was very steep so Catherine & I decided to stay close to the bus.

Right alongside the highway there are a lot of very basic shelters (shacks) made of corrugated tin, wooden planks and wire fencing. They are tacked onto the side of cliffs with bamboo poles.

Inside are clay ovens heated by wood as well as propane burners. One wooden bed in the back with a small hammock for the children. There is usually a small table and plastic chairs and the ubiquitous chicken coop. There may be a small shop out front to sell snacks and tea for the truckers.

As we pass by them we are constantly reminded of how incredibly fortunate we are back home in Canada & how much we take for granted.

I hope that I will be even more appreciative of our good fortune when I return home.

Getting closer to Chitwan National Park the standard of living rises substantially. Homes are much larger & elaborate. I am fascinated by their construction.

The buildings start with a poured concrete floor & foundation with several “towers” of reinforcing rods placed at strategic locations. These are ultimately covered with concrete & form the supporting structures for the brick walls & for the next floor to be built above.

Many buildings are two stories with their water & electricity utilities on the roof. It is also not uncommon for more reinforcing rod towers to be installed on the roof in case another storey is added at some time in the future.

When we arrived at Barauli Homestay we were once again greeted by local ladies dressed in traditional clothing. Each of us was given a garland of flowers & a tika placed on our foreheads.

We took a few minutes to settle in to our cottages & then we went on a short jeep ride to view the sunset by the river. The group was also treated to chai tea & cookies while we were on the riverbank.

After returning to the village we were entertained by a group of local women performing traditional dances (same as the last time we were here). (With special guest appearances 🙀)

Following the performance we had a wonderful dinner in the dining hall & then off to bed.

Tomorrow we will spend another day at this location.

Cheers!

Posted by Catherine

The itinerary for today started out with a 5:00am drive up to Sarangot to see the sunrise followed by a 2 hour walk back. We decided to forgo this activity. It was very hazy and didn’t look like it would be much of a sunrise. Nothing could top what we had already seen in Ghandruk anyway.

Photo below: view of the city from our hotel room balcony

We went for a late breakfast at The Lemon Tree cafe on the main street, just around the corner from our hotel. They make a lovely large pot of Nepali chai and have very friendly staff. Just like the Black Walnut Cafe in our neighborhood at home.

Well almost! We watched the city wake up, people unlocking the rolling metal doors of their shops and setting up their wares – trekking gear in every second shop, t-shirts, souvenirs, clothing, pashminas, small grocery shops – carefully sweeping the sidewalks with long twig brooms.

A tiny woman came to the door of the cafe selling green vegetables from a huge basket tied around her head. Tourists of all nationalities paused to peruse the outdoor menu. School buses were going in both directions as they only get Saturdays off here!

The local traffic on the sidewalk & on the street was mooooving slowly. It was a bit surreal sitting in the restaurant enjoying our breakfast with chai tea while a cow stood outside on the sidewalk looking in on us…. “would you like some more milk for your tea?”

We went for a short walk along the lakeside.

There were a few spots of colour along the way.

We went back to the hotel so I could get ready for my head and neck massage at 10:00. I had found a small spa above a restaurant a few steps from the hotel.

All of the spa ladies were about 4 feet tall and maybe 80 lbs and I wondered how Seema, the woman who would be looking after me would manage. I didn’t have to worry as she had thumbs of steel and dug into all the sore spots. Very different from what is typically is offered as the table was wide and low and she climbed right up on the table to get over top of me. It turned out to be more of a full body treatment for an hour but I didn’t complain. After a hot shower at home, I felt like a new woman. The best $15.00 I’ve spent so far!

We met the group at 12:30 to take the bus to another session of momo making with Sisterhood of Survival group.

Another lovely experience and such a great cause to support. Unfortunately our previous experience didn’t make any difference to our momo making skills. Still hopeless!

We also had a lesson on the etiquette of eating with our right hands and then got a chance to play with our food on our thali lunch plates. Saves on cutlery!

We had hoped to get to the International Mountain Museum but we ran out of time and energy. We bought a few snacks and drinks for our trip tomorrow to Chitwan Park and headed back to the hotel for a quiet night. TV reception was good with dozens of Indian movies and dramas to choose from. We managed to enjoy a couple of movies with English subtitles!

Namaste 🙏