Thursday, Dec. 26, 7:35AM
Mahendra Nagaf (West border of Nepal)
1028km
Song: Territorial Pissings, Nirvana
We did remarkably well on our push to the border by Christmas, pedaling to our limits (70-90km) every day for 9 of 10 consecutive days, leaving the last 40km for an easy Christmas Eve. The plan was to spend a couple days here in Mahendra Negaf, a decent size border town on the Nepali side, where we hoped to have some internet and a chance to rest up and relax for the holiday and before India. We are here now, relaxing somewhat, but the events leading to now were not at all as we could have anticipated.
I didn't write for the last 3 days on the road due to exhaustion. We all have been pretty sick with digestive issues (ahem), except for Cara who suffered through it earlier on the month, hence had a bit more fortitude to overcome whatever we ate, ironically, in Rihar, Village of the Year. We've had a pleasant enough journey, but the days all had a similar tune: wake up at daybreak, bike till lunch time, eat Dal Bhat, bike till dusk, check-into a tiny guest house, wash up, eat Dal Bhat, repeat.
I'm sad to report that I'm sick of Dal Bhat. This shift occurred at the onset of my illness, I guess by bad association. We were actually loving it moer and more each time, as I think my three cohorts still do, but I've just had enough. 45 days, 90 meals of Dal Bhat. Bring on the Indian cuisine!
In Rihar I stocked-up on sweets, a half kg of the yummy powdered sugar-covered ones I mentioned before, but sadly (and also due to my ill association), I couldn't eat them. As Christmas was approaching I imagined myself Saint Nick on wheels, and gave them out to the kids across the countryside whenever I stopped and they came to say Hi. I honestly can't imagine a response of any more unfettered joy, intrigue and anticipation from the kids if I was a bearded fat man with reindeer over the tall cycling American curiosity that I am. My having a small token to give made this role ever more rewarding.
Closing near the border city we called our Indian friends Cab and Jaspal to coordinate meeting up for our Northern India road trip, and got invited to accompany them to a wedding in Punjab. The only catch: we'd have to book-it, as the wedding was in 2 days (today, actually), and we would have had to cross the border on Christmas Eve and take a 12 hour night bus (which is against our rule of thumb), to meet in Delhi to head North on an 8-hour car ride with them to get there in time. It wold have been a crunch, but we decided to forgo our laid-back holiday on the border for Adventure.
Things did NOT go as expected. We arrived at the Nepali border crossing and they checked us out of the country. As we walked back to our bikes with stamped passports in hand, they shut the gates behind us. The sun set and was gone. We then had to ride 1-2km on a road that can only described as Nowhere. It was pitch black, but swarming with evening traffic. The dirt road was terrible, dangerous, uneven, rocky -- my chain fell off 3 times. This road was indeed Nowhere, as it belonged neither to Nepal or India, and we weren't yet at the Indian border, if we made it there at all. In parts, there was a worn-in dirt bike path along side of the road, but it too was harrowing, as it was only wide enough for a single bike but traffic went in both directions. Also, it was elevated, so if you fell off (which was easy for us as our handlebars have so much sway with all the baggage) you would either topple down a cascade of rocks into the river to our right, or fall 3 feet down into the craggy dirt road on the left. I was to too tired and unsteady to brave the path for long. We finally made it to the Indian border. And it was Closed.
We were stuck with no Country. The officer who needed to sign our paperwork had left for the night and lived 5km away, in India. We asked if there was any way we could get him to come back, expecting to pay a bribe (which they had to do coming-in from Indian last time), as we could not go back to Nepal. The Nepali border guy should Not have stamped us out if he knew India would be closed. But I think this is all part of the games that Immigration officers like to play, like the penalty he also charged me for not having a Departure slip (which I never got). After our pleading and explaining that this was our Christmas Eve, we had to meet our friends in Delhi the next morning to go to a wedding, and that it wasn't our fault that Nepal let us exit if we couldn't get into India, he handed us the immigration paperwork to fill out. A Christmas miracle?!
Cara cannot find her Passport. The zipper of its containing compartment was half-open, surely large enough for it to jump out, especially on that horrid road. For 2 hours we scoured the entire stretch of road by flashlight, us, the Indian police, the Nepali police. On bike, by motorcycle and Jeep. It was gone.
Since then we've spent countless hours with police, at border offices, crossing into India and then back, getting Visa extensions, putting ads on the radio, calling Embassies. Cara has to go all the way back to Kathmandu to get a new passport, and Nepali visa, and Indian Visa, and the US Embassy is closed for the next 5 days due to the Christmas holidays so we're here for a week. Jamey and I will stay here on the border with the girls' bikes and luggage, at the Hotel Sweet Dreams, which, to us, is the Ritz. (Funny, as I write this, a mouse scampers across the Carpet - yeah, we have the carpeted room baby!) Seriously, we're in the nicest suite here, I'm eating Eggs for breakfast (whoo hoo!), we have always-on power due to generators, and a private bathroom with western toilet. Funny thing is, we miss the squat toilet! I won't get into too much detail, but we've agreed that it's easier when you're squatting than sitting, and the TP is just a bother. How's that for a total 180? We got our Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners here at the hotel -- room service. And I'm getting into the habit of pressing our buzzer and ordering beers. Kick butt!
Jamey and I will spend the week catching-up on internet (it's been almost 2 weeks!), troubleshooting our problematic bike chains (which have been coming off too regularly), eating Dosas, and hopefully gong on safari in the nearby Wildlife Preserve. Bonnie will accompany Cara on the 12-hour bus journey to Kathmandu as she too needs consular services (no more passport pages), and we'll hopefully meet-up and ship out in under a week.
Can you believe, on my day off, that I was up at 7:30am? Now it's finally internet time! See you online! Hot coffee and cold showers, Anthony
Friday, December 26, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Slow and Steady (Biking Blog)
Sunday, Dec. 21, 10:37PM
812km
Rode our booties off today, 90km. It was our sixth consecutive day on the road. Good news is that I'm finding the point when I'm exercising where I'm pushing ahead steady but not too hard, so I don't get prematurely tapped out of energy. We divided the day up into 4 parts, so we took a short (10min) break every hour and a half (or 22km). That way the large distance didn't seem too endless. I'd say half the day the roads had a long steady slightly uphill grade, which combined with all our weight made it difficult to move fast, and it seemed like we should be going faster but it took a lot of work to keep going. But like I said, I found my threshold and I kept it moving, even though I could only move at 15km/hr for half the day. The other hindrance is that the road's was so textured (paved with small rocks, not asphalt) so even on downhills I was only able to achieve 35-40km/hr instead of the 50 I can do otherwise. Every day has it's ups and downs, literally and figuratively.
In other happy news I found a workaround to finally make Senuti (the iPod 'backup' software) see my iPod (and Cara's, and Jamey's). This means I can clear more room on my iPod to backup photos, and I can also borrow some tunes from my cohorts. Listening to music on the road has been awesome... I'm for once I can really listen to all the lyrics of my favorite music (since I have plenty of time to concentrate, unlike back home when I'm always doing 3 other things while playing tunes.)
Basically I'm becoming a find-tuned cycling machine. That's about it. So it's cycling, cycling, cycling until Christmas, when we'll hopefully be crossing into India, and then we'll cycle a little more until we get picked-up by friends and we'll be on holiday, cruising around in a big Jeep for maybe 2 weeks, visiting some of the sights (like the Taj Mahal in Agra) among others. I'm looking forward to some good old-fashioned tourism! I'll also probably be eating way too much Indian food and sweets... to make up for all this healthy eating! Actually, it's amazing that we all love the national food here so much, even though it's pretty much the same meal over and over and over. I love it because its real home cooking every time, with fresh veggies cut down in the back yard or nearby every time, made fresh with love. Try to find that in the USA! India's gonna be very different, so we're living it up, even though it is very simple (and we have no choice in the matter.)
I've also borrowed Bonnie's Nepali phrase book in an attempt to Wow the locals with my smooth Nepali phrases. So far, so good. They understand our Nepanglish well enough most of the time anyway, but it's fun and I think they appreciate that we're trying.
Ok, up at 6:30 to do another 90km tomorrow. Only 3 days till Christmas Eve! Hope your Holiday parties were awesome and merry. Enjoy the family and Holiday cheer! xoXo, A
812km
Jungle monkey
Rode our booties off today, 90km. It was our sixth consecutive day on the road. Good news is that I'm finding the point when I'm exercising where I'm pushing ahead steady but not too hard, so I don't get prematurely tapped out of energy. We divided the day up into 4 parts, so we took a short (10min) break every hour and a half (or 22km). That way the large distance didn't seem too endless. I'd say half the day the roads had a long steady slightly uphill grade, which combined with all our weight made it difficult to move fast, and it seemed like we should be going faster but it took a lot of work to keep going. But like I said, I found my threshold and I kept it moving, even though I could only move at 15km/hr for half the day. The other hindrance is that the road's was so textured (paved with small rocks, not asphalt) so even on downhills I was only able to achieve 35-40km/hr instead of the 50 I can do otherwise. Every day has it's ups and downs, literally and figuratively.
In other happy news I found a workaround to finally make Senuti (the iPod 'backup' software) see my iPod (and Cara's, and Jamey's). This means I can clear more room on my iPod to backup photos, and I can also borrow some tunes from my cohorts. Listening to music on the road has been awesome... I'm for once I can really listen to all the lyrics of my favorite music (since I have plenty of time to concentrate, unlike back home when I'm always doing 3 other things while playing tunes.)
Basically I'm becoming a find-tuned cycling machine. That's about it. So it's cycling, cycling, cycling until Christmas, when we'll hopefully be crossing into India, and then we'll cycle a little more until we get picked-up by friends and we'll be on holiday, cruising around in a big Jeep for maybe 2 weeks, visiting some of the sights (like the Taj Mahal in Agra) among others. I'm looking forward to some good old-fashioned tourism! I'll also probably be eating way too much Indian food and sweets... to make up for all this healthy eating! Actually, it's amazing that we all love the national food here so much, even though it's pretty much the same meal over and over and over. I love it because its real home cooking every time, with fresh veggies cut down in the back yard or nearby every time, made fresh with love. Try to find that in the USA! India's gonna be very different, so we're living it up, even though it is very simple (and we have no choice in the matter.)
I've also borrowed Bonnie's Nepali phrase book in an attempt to Wow the locals with my smooth Nepali phrases. So far, so good. They understand our Nepanglish well enough most of the time anyway, but it's fun and I think they appreciate that we're trying.
Ok, up at 6:30 to do another 90km tomorrow. Only 3 days till Christmas Eve! Hope your Holiday parties were awesome and merry. Enjoy the family and Holiday cheer! xoXo, A
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Rihar, Village of the Year
Saturday, Dec. 20, 8:22PM
Song: P.S. I Love You by the Beatles
723km
Today began like Groundhog Day, only I was the groundhog. I didn't want to leave my tent, as there was a 'school' of children waiting outside already by the time I took off my sleeping mask, watching to see if I'd have a shadow or not. After taking my time packing up everything inside, I emerged, with a glorious long shadow coming from our east-facing river view, the sunniest morning I can remember here. (All of our recent lowland mornings have been foggy, with the heavy cool winter mist finally burning off by around 11AM.)
Somehow our 8AM wake-up became an 11AM departure. Before we hit the roadside, Cara had a flat tire, our collective first of the journey. I, being the only coffee fiend of the group, pedaled 5km ahead the the village of last night's food run, (more accurately named Bhalu Bang), for a coffee and a boiled egg -- a great find. Just as soon as I had my mug of coffee in hand, the group had caught up, but Cara's tire was flat again. As per my paragraph on crowds gathering wherever we go, no less than 30 people gathered around to watch Jamey at work, and I turned the camera on Cara and Bonnie and they had at least 50 crowded arond just observing them be Cara and Bonnie. I told them what I was documenting, and they said if this was India the crowd would be at least as big, only they'd be touching them. For some reason we all lingered and procrastinated, as if we didn't feel like biking, but we were finally on the road again, at the beginning of our day's expedition, at noon.
It was an average day, I was a bit slower than yesterday (with a bad case of weary wobbly legs), and at 4:30 we were looking for a spot to camp. This part of Nepal is much more a forest, and the vilage we stopped-in had a really cute looking inn, all clay with super cute thatched roof, and a misspelled cloth sign advertising their Guest House and Restaurant. As we stopped and debated staying (and maybe showering) vs. camping somewhere down the road, a friendly drunk man was trying to lure us to the restaurant for food, and a group of older teen boys were asking us if we needed help finding a place to stay or if we wanted to camp. They led us to the school across the street and told us we could camp there!
I think half of this friendly village escorted us to the school yard, and as soon as we asked if we could sleep inside they were hoisting a small child up into a gap above and between the wall and the roof of the first building, who opened the door from inside a minute later. This classroom is NICE! So spacious, with a clean floor, and men, women an children were all standing around smiling and helping us inside, moving the desks to the side of the room to clear room for us. This hospitality is Amazing! One guy asked if we had candles, and showed me where he lives in case we need anything. Unlike the other school we stayed in, the kids weren't annoying at all, and as soon as one of the older boys told them to give us privacy, we were left alone in our room. We washed at the nearby water pump with 40 people watching, and I'm so used to it by now that I barely noticed. I actually felt important. as I think we are of more value to the community as entertainment then for the inn-keeper to make 200 rupees, but I also believe the Nepalis have an earnest desire to do good will, and the potential commerce wasn't even an issue. I was wondering if the inn-keeper would be sore that we opted to stay for free in the school instead of his family's Inn, but after we were settled we were brought over there to eat by our unofficial 18 year old host for the evening, and the inn-keeper was the most gracious host! We were sat at the wood-burning fire/clay stove and we watched him cook our meal from scratch for an hour while we warmed-up, actually fulfilling my wish from last night to be snuggled-up by my Dad's fireplace. The food was *amazing*, the chutney out of this world, Jamey declared it his favorite Dal in his two months here, and all for 50 rupees. Even better, at 7am tomorrow he's hooking us up with our energy food, alu paratha, for breakfast. We have 90km to do, to make-up for today's lackluster mileage accrual.
I've been on a sweets kick, and after dinner our friend brought us over to a sweet shop next to his family's house, and a second Christmas wish from last night was fulfilled: a sweet so incredibly similar to Dineen's sugar dipped cookies manifested. Mmmmmmm! Merry Christmas to me!
Other noteworthy features of Rihar, Village of the Year include: it's clean, quiet, our privacy in the school persists, the sky seems especially huge here -- tonight's heavens are the brightest and clearest since the Adikari farm in the mountains, and Internet is only 140km away! Lol, I guess no place is perfect.
Song: P.S. I Love You by the Beatles
723km
Groundhog onlookers as we made breakfast.
Today began like Groundhog Day, only I was the groundhog. I didn't want to leave my tent, as there was a 'school' of children waiting outside already by the time I took off my sleeping mask, watching to see if I'd have a shadow or not. After taking my time packing up everything inside, I emerged, with a glorious long shadow coming from our east-facing river view, the sunniest morning I can remember here. (All of our recent lowland mornings have been foggy, with the heavy cool winter mist finally burning off by around 11AM.)
Tire-changing onlookers.
Somehow our 8AM wake-up became an 11AM departure. Before we hit the roadside, Cara had a flat tire, our collective first of the journey. I, being the only coffee fiend of the group, pedaled 5km ahead the the village of last night's food run, (more accurately named Bhalu Bang), for a coffee and a boiled egg -- a great find. Just as soon as I had my mug of coffee in hand, the group had caught up, but Cara's tire was flat again. As per my paragraph on crowds gathering wherever we go, no less than 30 people gathered around to watch Jamey at work, and I turned the camera on Cara and Bonnie and they had at least 50 crowded arond just observing them be Cara and Bonnie. I told them what I was documenting, and they said if this was India the crowd would be at least as big, only they'd be touching them. For some reason we all lingered and procrastinated, as if we didn't feel like biking, but we were finally on the road again, at the beginning of our day's expedition, at noon.
It was an average day, I was a bit slower than yesterday (with a bad case of weary wobbly legs), and at 4:30 we were looking for a spot to camp. This part of Nepal is much more a forest, and the vilage we stopped-in had a really cute looking inn, all clay with super cute thatched roof, and a misspelled cloth sign advertising their Guest House and Restaurant. As we stopped and debated staying (and maybe showering) vs. camping somewhere down the road, a friendly drunk man was trying to lure us to the restaurant for food, and a group of older teen boys were asking us if we needed help finding a place to stay or if we wanted to camp. They led us to the school across the street and told us we could camp there!
I think half of this friendly village escorted us to the school yard, and as soon as we asked if we could sleep inside they were hoisting a small child up into a gap above and between the wall and the roof of the first building, who opened the door from inside a minute later. This classroom is NICE! So spacious, with a clean floor, and men, women an children were all standing around smiling and helping us inside, moving the desks to the side of the room to clear room for us. This hospitality is Amazing! One guy asked if we had candles, and showed me where he lives in case we need anything. Unlike the other school we stayed in, the kids weren't annoying at all, and as soon as one of the older boys told them to give us privacy, we were left alone in our room. We washed at the nearby water pump with 40 people watching, and I'm so used to it by now that I barely noticed. I actually felt important. as I think we are of more value to the community as entertainment then for the inn-keeper to make 200 rupees, but I also believe the Nepalis have an earnest desire to do good will, and the potential commerce wasn't even an issue. I was wondering if the inn-keeper would be sore that we opted to stay for free in the school instead of his family's Inn, but after we were settled we were brought over there to eat by our unofficial 18 year old host for the evening, and the inn-keeper was the most gracious host! We were sat at the wood-burning fire/clay stove and we watched him cook our meal from scratch for an hour while we warmed-up, actually fulfilling my wish from last night to be snuggled-up by my Dad's fireplace. The food was *amazing*, the chutney out of this world, Jamey declared it his favorite Dal in his two months here, and all for 50 rupees. Even better, at 7am tomorrow he's hooking us up with our energy food, alu paratha, for breakfast. We have 90km to do, to make-up for today's lackluster mileage accrual.
Schoolhouse sleeper onlookers.
I've been on a sweets kick, and after dinner our friend brought us over to a sweet shop next to his family's house, and a second Christmas wish from last night was fulfilled: a sweet so incredibly similar to Dineen's sugar dipped cookies manifested. Mmmmmmm! Merry Christmas to me!
Sweets shop!
Other noteworthy features of Rihar, Village of the Year include: it's clean, quiet, our privacy in the school persists, the sky seems especially huge here -- tonight's heavens are the brightest and clearest since the Adikari farm in the mountains, and Internet is only 140km away! Lol, I guess no place is perfect.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Camping Out
Friday, Dec. 19, 11:13PM
Song: Crickets, the river's gentle murmur, a dog barking
671km
Today was such a great day! We woke up in Shithole, Nepal, and it was actually raining slightly and overcast. The feeling was unanimous that we wished to lay in bed, watch a movie, read our books, maybe go spend some time on the internet (when the power came on), and even maybe have a hot shower or go see a movie. Unfortunately we were speaking of luxuries only available in dreams, as none of this was possible, nor did we want to linger unnecessarily in our unsavory guest room. We walked around searching for our power-food, alu paratha (big spicy potato pancake and curry), and we actually found it! Hot damn they were good! (I've probably written about 'em more than we've actually eaten them, today being only my second time in Nepal), so how could it not be a spectacular day!?
I had a surprising amount energy today. I lead the pack, cruising up our mountains with sheer conquest pumping through my legs, and it was the most beautiful scenery we've had in 2 weeks. Sun dissolved the clouds, and I was actually Happy to have big hills, because that means big beautiful mountain scenery. Unlike the mountains I know back home, which are big, gradually rising grey giants, the Himilayas are the product of post-Pangea India crashing into the Asian continent, causing countless rippling hills, closely packed together as far as the eye can see. Anyway as long as they're not too steep, it's a pleasure to see and worth the upward effort (and downward reward.) At one pass Jamey and I got ambushed by about 20 students and we spent 30 minutes taking pictures and hanging out. Everyone wanted pics with us, wearing our helmets and posing on our bikes. I wanted one of their email addresses so I could send them the pics, but unbelievably None of them had one! I especially like the little baby sitting on my back rack for a shot.
Not far out of the mountains we saw a neat-looking clearing (that didn't look like anyone's farm land) which we thought might be campable, but I insisted we bike along the footpath leading into the woods to see if we could get nearer to the river, and we found the sweetest place to camp right on a cliff overlooking the valley. This place is incredibly sweet! So tonight we pitched our tents, washed up in the river, boiled water to drink and for tea, and now we're sleeping in a peaceful quiet spot under the stars.
When we're not staying on a farm, in a guesthouse, or at hotel, (ie. in a school or in the woods), two of us will bike to the nearest town to pick up some food for dinner and some fresh fruit for breakfast. It was Bonnie's & my turn, so we biked 5km in a spectacular sunset to a town that sounds like BallBang. We did well, scoring chowmein, samosas, and veg. fritters for dinner, and tomatoes, cabbage, garlic, green beans, cilantro, oranges, bananas (and salt) for a fresh fruit & veg breakfast salad tomorrow. We made this once before, trying to re-create a tiny salad we were served at the best little hole-in-the-wall in Demauli, plus one important lemon -- I had a little English-speaking guardian angel taking me all around town asking for one! -- but no lemons in town. What fun it was! The town was dark except for a dozen fires here and there... it was so surreal, all the fires in the street. We went down a dark side street to find take-away soda (most soda is in glass bottles which you drink there at the store or restaurant), and the boy took me to 8 different stores and hotels. I never in a million years thought I'd feel so perfectly at home walking down a street lit by firelight in a foreign country, holding a 4th grader's hand, shopping for dinner, and here I am. We always create a stir wherever we go, but now I'm totally used to it, and it's pretty fun. When I came back from my hunt with the boy to find Bonnie waiting for our hot food, she had no less than 20 kids crowded around her. Each of them took turns shaking her hand and practicing their English on her. Soon we were on our way with a massive amount of food for $4 (incl. 4 kilos of fruits & veg!) and we enjoyed our nighttime ride home lit by our bike lights. We stand out so much from the other on the road as we're the only ones with lights! (One girl on the road the other day said 'Goodbye tourists!") Save for some rough pavement, it's pretty safe!
It's SO nice to be camping out. I love the farms and the country, and love a little time in the cities (to get my fixes), but I really can do without the in-between towns that are basically crappy urban centers, devoid of the riches of agro-Nepali country goodness. You're paying to stay in dirty dingy guest houses, and despite the people's consistent friendliness it's like purgatory, and you can't wait to get out. A few kilometers out you let out a sigh of relief at the green fields, goats jumping (well there are goats everywhere but city goats are all shabby), clay homes with thatch roofs, clean streams... Anyway camping is the best, and this spot is glorious. Plus, there's nobody peering in our window (like in the school house). Actually, there's nobody, except for some apparently beautiful girl passing through that Jamey and Cara went down to the river with to fetch some water, whom they shared a long silent moment just sitting and enjoying the peace.
At first I used to think it was weird, but Nepalis just come and chill with you, whatever you're doing, often times without saying a word. It's not like they're just staring and being weird, either. And it happens everywhere: on the side of the road a whole family or two will just come and stay with you while you do your thing; at a store; in the hotel... today the 18yr (newlywed) girl just came into our guest room (for the 5th time, unannounced) and just hung out while we were carrying on, goofing and cracking jokes. It's funniest in the restaurants -- the server will sit at the table; or the whole family, with friends and neighbors, will just sit and watch you eat. This may all sound rude or invasive, but really it's not, because the vibe is so much less formal and impersonal like in most businesses we know -- it's we who are the guests, and we have stepped into the lives of these families. A server isn't really a server, but the inn-keeper's son or cousin. The cook isn't a cook, he's the owner of the guesthouse or kitchen you happened upon. On the street when we ask someone for help, everyone around is interested, because they all want to know (innocently enough) what's happening in their town, eager to help with no motives or $trings attached.
I went down to the river after dinner to wash up, and walked around with my headlamp off (ie. in total darkness save for the moon and it's reflection on the water) and I realized, as I've done repeatedly, that I'm in Nepal! Orion is looking down at me from above, just like at home, but instead of being surrounded by millions in an orange cloud I'm in dark, in the quiet, alone. Ahhhhhhhhh. I see a headlamp across the way and hear a Nepali voice. I'm in Nepal!!!! It's my extreme privilege to spend time in this alternate universe on Earth. I can't believe it's true, that I can just hop on a plane and be in a place like this. This is the miracle of our day, of our good fortune, of our good planet that we can do this. It is everything I've wished for. And I'm going to do it, again and again and again. The only thing that would make it more perfect here is You.
We came up with a Christmas plan tonight. Just before the border there is another National Park. Hopefully, we can camp in it and enjoy the peace of Nepal for one last night.
I can't believe we're going to step into another world yet again, so soon. But for now it's time for me to sneak behind my eyelids. I imagine being curled up on the comfy couch, my belly full on eggnog and the white glazed Christmas cookies, glowing embers in the fireplace, the Christmas tree and manger still yet alive in frozen timeless time. It's time for bed! Goodnight, my beloveds!
Song: Crickets, the river's gentle murmur, a dog barking
671km
Today was such a great day! We woke up in Shithole, Nepal, and it was actually raining slightly and overcast. The feeling was unanimous that we wished to lay in bed, watch a movie, read our books, maybe go spend some time on the internet (when the power came on), and even maybe have a hot shower or go see a movie. Unfortunately we were speaking of luxuries only available in dreams, as none of this was possible, nor did we want to linger unnecessarily in our unsavory guest room. We walked around searching for our power-food, alu paratha (big spicy potato pancake and curry), and we actually found it! Hot damn they were good! (I've probably written about 'em more than we've actually eaten them, today being only my second time in Nepal), so how could it not be a spectacular day!?
Hills to brighten my day
I had a surprising amount energy today. I lead the pack, cruising up our mountains with sheer conquest pumping through my legs, and it was the most beautiful scenery we've had in 2 weeks. Sun dissolved the clouds, and I was actually Happy to have big hills, because that means big beautiful mountain scenery. Unlike the mountains I know back home, which are big, gradually rising grey giants, the Himilayas are the product of post-Pangea India crashing into the Asian continent, causing countless rippling hills, closely packed together as far as the eye can see. Anyway as long as they're not too steep, it's a pleasure to see and worth the upward effort (and downward reward.) At one pass Jamey and I got ambushed by about 20 students and we spent 30 minutes taking pictures and hanging out. Everyone wanted pics with us, wearing our helmets and posing on our bikes. I wanted one of their email addresses so I could send them the pics, but unbelievably None of them had one! I especially like the little baby sitting on my back rack for a shot.
Nepali teens, no emails.
Not far out of the mountains we saw a neat-looking clearing (that didn't look like anyone's farm land) which we thought might be campable, but I insisted we bike along the footpath leading into the woods to see if we could get nearer to the river, and we found the sweetest place to camp right on a cliff overlooking the valley. This place is incredibly sweet! So tonight we pitched our tents, washed up in the river, boiled water to drink and for tea, and now we're sleeping in a peaceful quiet spot under the stars.
Sunset food run
When we're not staying on a farm, in a guesthouse, or at hotel, (ie. in a school or in the woods), two of us will bike to the nearest town to pick up some food for dinner and some fresh fruit for breakfast. It was Bonnie's & my turn, so we biked 5km in a spectacular sunset to a town that sounds like BallBang. We did well, scoring chowmein, samosas, and veg. fritters for dinner, and tomatoes, cabbage, garlic, green beans, cilantro, oranges, bananas (and salt) for a fresh fruit & veg breakfast salad tomorrow. We made this once before, trying to re-create a tiny salad we were served at the best little hole-in-the-wall in Demauli, plus one important lemon -- I had a little English-speaking guardian angel taking me all around town asking for one! -- but no lemons in town. What fun it was! The town was dark except for a dozen fires here and there... it was so surreal, all the fires in the street. We went down a dark side street to find take-away soda (most soda is in glass bottles which you drink there at the store or restaurant), and the boy took me to 8 different stores and hotels. I never in a million years thought I'd feel so perfectly at home walking down a street lit by firelight in a foreign country, holding a 4th grader's hand, shopping for dinner, and here I am. We always create a stir wherever we go, but now I'm totally used to it, and it's pretty fun. When I came back from my hunt with the boy to find Bonnie waiting for our hot food, she had no less than 20 kids crowded around her. Each of them took turns shaking her hand and practicing their English on her. Soon we were on our way with a massive amount of food for $4 (incl. 4 kilos of fruits & veg!) and we enjoyed our nighttime ride home lit by our bike lights. We stand out so much from the other on the road as we're the only ones with lights! (One girl on the road the other day said 'Goodbye tourists!") Save for some rough pavement, it's pretty safe!
Camping spot by the river
It's SO nice to be camping out. I love the farms and the country, and love a little time in the cities (to get my fixes), but I really can do without the in-between towns that are basically crappy urban centers, devoid of the riches of agro-Nepali country goodness. You're paying to stay in dirty dingy guest houses, and despite the people's consistent friendliness it's like purgatory, and you can't wait to get out. A few kilometers out you let out a sigh of relief at the green fields, goats jumping (well there are goats everywhere but city goats are all shabby), clay homes with thatch roofs, clean streams... Anyway camping is the best, and this spot is glorious. Plus, there's nobody peering in our window (like in the school house). Actually, there's nobody, except for some apparently beautiful girl passing through that Jamey and Cara went down to the river with to fetch some water, whom they shared a long silent moment just sitting and enjoying the peace.
At first I used to think it was weird, but Nepalis just come and chill with you, whatever you're doing, often times without saying a word. It's not like they're just staring and being weird, either. And it happens everywhere: on the side of the road a whole family or two will just come and stay with you while you do your thing; at a store; in the hotel... today the 18yr (newlywed) girl just came into our guest room (for the 5th time, unannounced) and just hung out while we were carrying on, goofing and cracking jokes. It's funniest in the restaurants -- the server will sit at the table; or the whole family, with friends and neighbors, will just sit and watch you eat. This may all sound rude or invasive, but really it's not, because the vibe is so much less formal and impersonal like in most businesses we know -- it's we who are the guests, and we have stepped into the lives of these families. A server isn't really a server, but the inn-keeper's son or cousin. The cook isn't a cook, he's the owner of the guesthouse or kitchen you happened upon. On the street when we ask someone for help, everyone around is interested, because they all want to know (innocently enough) what's happening in their town, eager to help with no motives or $trings attached.
I went down to the river after dinner to wash up, and walked around with my headlamp off (ie. in total darkness save for the moon and it's reflection on the water) and I realized, as I've done repeatedly, that I'm in Nepal! Orion is looking down at me from above, just like at home, but instead of being surrounded by millions in an orange cloud I'm in dark, in the quiet, alone. Ahhhhhhhhh. I see a headlamp across the way and hear a Nepali voice. I'm in Nepal!!!! It's my extreme privilege to spend time in this alternate universe on Earth. I can't believe it's true, that I can just hop on a plane and be in a place like this. This is the miracle of our day, of our good fortune, of our good planet that we can do this. It is everything I've wished for. And I'm going to do it, again and again and again. The only thing that would make it more perfect here is You.
We came up with a Christmas plan tonight. Just before the border there is another National Park. Hopefully, we can camp in it and enjoy the peace of Nepal for one last night.
I can't believe we're going to step into another world yet again, so soon. But for now it's time for me to sneak behind my eyelids. I imagine being curled up on the comfy couch, my belly full on eggnog and the white glazed Christmas cookies, glowing embers in the fireplace, the Christmas tree and manger still yet alive in frozen timeless time. It's time for bed! Goodnight, my beloveds!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Holidays (and the Border) fast approaching, Santa M.I.A.
Thursday, Dec. 18, 10:18PM
A Shithole, Nepal
636km
How do four Americans in Nepal celebrate the holiday season, you ask? This morning over breakfast we listened to Christmas carols on Jamey's mini iPod speakers. And we've watched Babe's la la la, la la la, la la la, la laaaah scene like 10 times this month. ("Chrismas means carnage!!!") I saw a Charlie Brown Christmas tree today, well actually it was just a branch sticking up on top of a freight truck, but it was close enough to make me happy. Besides that, our Navidad is not so Feliz.
We're trucking along well, and it looks like we'll be crossing the border around Christmas Eve, give or take a day or two. NOT exactly our ideal way to spend Christmas, but what can you do in a place where your holiday doesn't exist? The extent of international cuisine outside the major tourist cities is Chow Mein and Indian food. Jamey told us over Dal Bhat tonight that his Christmas Meal so far consists of a bag of Classic Lays potato chips (all the salty snacks here are flavored with masala), Root beer, Soy jerky (from his personal US stash), and orange slice Gummy candy. As completely ridiculous as that sounds, it's no joke!
Life on the road is swell, and we're racking up the kilometers. Today was a great day of cruising on flat road, and it really flew by for me, for the first time. We were Drafting again today (riding tight like a flock) and I really like it... It's nice to work as a team, and it's less physically and mentally taxing as you're not racing yourself or trying to catch-up (if you're trailing your friends), rather you're just keeping up with the pack, and you get to coast. A great development! Today I realized that, in addition to Traveling(TM), which has been obvious from the outset, I am also Exercising regularly. I never looked at it that way before, but this is the stuff that people do to achieve goals, like losing weight or maintaining good health. And I was thinking of it all along as mere transportation!
Today we passed a caravan of buffalo walking down the street, and at one point (when we had just overtaken the herd) I noticed about 30 of them in front stampeding after us! It was a hot minute or two of screaming, laughing, and heavy peddling! Those beasts were BIG and running full force on our tails... it was awesome. Cara, listening to music on her headphones, was the last to notice. Awww, (poor girl!)
In other exciting news, our luxury digs tonight include private WC and a mirror! In all fairness we've been renting the 200 rupee ($2) rooms, but honestly I can't imagine what the more expensive rooms would do differently, based on what I've seen. I snuck into one of the fancy rooms in our hotel in Damauli to use the western shower, (as the shared one for the floor had no running water), and the difference was basically a blue carpet, a private toilet, a tv and arm chair, but it too lacked running water, there was an empty rum bottle on the bed, and the toilet had two condoms floating in it. I'm not trying to bust on Nepal, but I guess the condom box we just found in our room (with explicit sex scene pictured -- why do they have to portray sex so nasty?!) made me think of it. At another hotel in that town we were offered a room for a whopping 1500 rupees, and we just laughed and then they put us in a room for 200. But now I want to at least see what they would have offered us for $20, so my opinions can be more informed.
That's all I've got for tonight. Actually, speaking of tonight we are sharing a room with two beds pushed together, and we're all sleeping head-to-toe, Charlie and the Choc. Factory style. As usual I'm the last one awake, and it might take a while to sleep (we've got a snorer!) So I'm out. As always, New York, (and yes, NJ too!), and you All are in my thoughts. I'm really getting excited for India... more adventure awaits! And you can bet your correspondent will be reporting. Namascar. A
A Shithole, Nepal
636km
How do four Americans in Nepal celebrate the holiday season, you ask? This morning over breakfast we listened to Christmas carols on Jamey's mini iPod speakers. And we've watched Babe's la la la, la la la, la la la, la laaaah scene like 10 times this month. ("Chrismas means carnage!!!") I saw a Charlie Brown Christmas tree today, well actually it was just a branch sticking up on top of a freight truck, but it was close enough to make me happy. Besides that, our Navidad is not so Feliz.
Babe
We're trucking along well, and it looks like we'll be crossing the border around Christmas Eve, give or take a day or two. NOT exactly our ideal way to spend Christmas, but what can you do in a place where your holiday doesn't exist? The extent of international cuisine outside the major tourist cities is Chow Mein and Indian food. Jamey told us over Dal Bhat tonight that his Christmas Meal so far consists of a bag of Classic Lays potato chips (all the salty snacks here are flavored with masala), Root beer, Soy jerky (from his personal US stash), and orange slice Gummy candy. As completely ridiculous as that sounds, it's no joke!
Life on the road is swell, and we're racking up the kilometers. Today was a great day of cruising on flat road, and it really flew by for me, for the first time. We were Drafting again today (riding tight like a flock) and I really like it... It's nice to work as a team, and it's less physically and mentally taxing as you're not racing yourself or trying to catch-up (if you're trailing your friends), rather you're just keeping up with the pack, and you get to coast. A great development! Today I realized that, in addition to Traveling(TM), which has been obvious from the outset, I am also Exercising regularly. I never looked at it that way before, but this is the stuff that people do to achieve goals, like losing weight or maintaining good health. And I was thinking of it all along as mere transportation!
Posters like these Indian beauties decorate many roadside lunch-spots.
Today we passed a caravan of buffalo walking down the street, and at one point (when we had just overtaken the herd) I noticed about 30 of them in front stampeding after us! It was a hot minute or two of screaming, laughing, and heavy peddling! Those beasts were BIG and running full force on our tails... it was awesome. Cara, listening to music on her headphones, was the last to notice. Awww, (poor girl!)
Nepali wiring job on our ceiling fan.
In other exciting news, our luxury digs tonight include private WC and a mirror! In all fairness we've been renting the 200 rupee ($2) rooms, but honestly I can't imagine what the more expensive rooms would do differently, based on what I've seen. I snuck into one of the fancy rooms in our hotel in Damauli to use the western shower, (as the shared one for the floor had no running water), and the difference was basically a blue carpet, a private toilet, a tv and arm chair, but it too lacked running water, there was an empty rum bottle on the bed, and the toilet had two condoms floating in it. I'm not trying to bust on Nepal, but I guess the condom box we just found in our room (with explicit sex scene pictured -- why do they have to portray sex so nasty?!) made me think of it. At another hotel in that town we were offered a room for a whopping 1500 rupees, and we just laughed and then they put us in a room for 200. But now I want to at least see what they would have offered us for $20, so my opinions can be more informed.
That's all I've got for tonight. Actually, speaking of tonight we are sharing a room with two beds pushed together, and we're all sleeping head-to-toe, Charlie and the Choc. Factory style. As usual I'm the last one awake, and it might take a while to sleep (we've got a snorer!) So I'm out. As always, New York, (and yes, NJ too!), and you All are in my thoughts. I'm really getting excited for India... more adventure awaits! And you can bet your correspondent will be reporting. Namascar. A
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I Miss You, Hello Pain
Tuesday, Dec. 16, 9:26PM
Butwal, Nepal
Song: Deep in Velvet (Turnips Mix) by Aphex Twin
565km
We were on the road by 8:30am, and biked until sunset, 90km! For me, though, arriving in Butwal, out far far away goal, was against all odds, as I started this leg of the bike trip in supremely sore shape from our last day's hard work on the farm, we crossed the steepest mountain pass yet (5km/hr all the way up for 90min - I wanted to die), and then after 30km on flat road my quads felt like they were gonna explode, and sitting in a gazebo playing with baby goats I tried to convince peeps to quit, still having 28km to go! After stretching, eating Advil, and massaging the crunchy bits out of my legs (which I didn't even know could get that way) we pushed on, practicing for our 1st time on this trip a group riding style called Drafting in which you ride on each other's tails, the leader up front setting the pace and taking all the wind resistance, making it probably 25% easier for the riders behind.
Yesterday's ride was pretty damn ugly, basically because we were traveling through the surrounding 'burbs of that dump Narayanaghad, and even the guest house we stayed at, though charming in some aspects, like the dining room we which felt like a tiny local pub in Prague -- the one in Vinorhady that serves Kozel (goat) beer -- the town was so dingy and so was the stinky green petri-dish mutant cesspool behind the outhouse... I was worried that it'd be 500+km of dumpy lowlands. I'm speaking mainly of aesthetic appeal, as Nepalis are Nepalis wherever you go (good), but today the sights got kickass again, with sprawling farmland, tall forests, cute villages decorated for weddings, goats when you need 'em (for smiles and their cute voices), and increasing numbers of Buddhist temples and, for me, more interesting Hindu temples (which I haven't seen so many of) with crazy big colorful 3D statues of gods and goddesses.
Butwal, where we are tonight, is a big crazy city, much bigger than Pokhara, and more like Kathmandu. There are stores with everything, from tech and fashion goods (which I haven't seen in a month ago in Kat - seems so long ago!), internet, hips kids, hustlers, rickshaws, the works. The scene at night was mayhem -- Kathmandu never got this crazy! This town is also close to the birthplace of the Buddha, so it draws many visitors, hence the booming industry. I ate SO much food and a startling variety for dinner and didn't even feel overstuffed (cuz it's all more or less fresh and healthy). It's nice to alternate between city and rural life! Our hotel room (and potty) is so clean and modern compared to any we've been in, same cheap price, although we had a conversation about how even this 'nice' Nepali room would Never pass back home... our standards have just adjusted so much, and I couldn't be more happy about it. We have TWO outlets, and TWO light bulbs, and a clean enough floor to stretch on, and a ceiling fan! [[Family: skip the rest of this paragraph]] >>> Cara and I went up to the roof after we brushed teeth to check out the view. I noticed a temple atop of the neighboring building and we were gonna try and sneak up there to see, and walking back the way we came through the darkness I tripped on a brick and my reflex was to grab the nearby wall. Ow! It was covered with the Rustiest nails all along the top, and my middle finger had a nice hole poked in it. Add that to my two head bangings today and it was just another day on the road. (My body's never sustained so many cuts, bruises, bites, band-aids, scabs, and bumps before. I'm using this vessel!) Thank gods for preemptive tetanus shots.
We're sleeping-in tomorrow - 8am, yay!, then getting some yummy city alu paratha (fav. (Indian) breakfast food), hitting a book shop (burning to finish that Dalai Lama book I started on the farm), and getting our weekly internet fix! We'll be on the road by noon for a short 50km day... it's already 12:45 (yikes!) so I need to regulate. Aww, and I was going to write about all the things I've been missing... ok, quick:
(New song: Late In the Day by Supergrass)
I MISS: * Christmas! Wish I had some Yule-tide cheer in my stocking. * my girl, Amy. got the sweetest email from her last week and I've been running it over in my mind every day... * By day I daydream Burning Man, and at night I dream in Black Rock City. I look forward to it more every day. Only 250 more days and I'll be on my way back! So happy I'll get to start preparing as soon as I'm home! If you want to come this year (Helen Jen, Jasandra, GC) the BM family always has room for You! Let me know so we can start to conspire by email :) * My dear family! Mom, Dad, Dineen, Cristina, Robbie, Dave, Grandma, Tommy, Devon and Dylan... it's burned into my soul to be spending this time of year with you, and instead of having outings and feasting I'm taking you along in my head on this adventure. * My cozy and comforting Brooklyn home. Axl Rose - my red-hot son, and the best neighbors and roommates... * My NY family... Mis Amigos! Where art thou now? (Drop me a line yo!) * Obama! Wish I could see the news more often so I know what's up with my Prez-elect. * Okay, enough schmaltz for tonight.
Sweet siamese daydreams, A
Butwal, Nepal
Song: Deep in Velvet (Turnips Mix) by Aphex Twin
565km
We were on the road by 8:30am, and biked until sunset, 90km! For me, though, arriving in Butwal, out far far away goal, was against all odds, as I started this leg of the bike trip in supremely sore shape from our last day's hard work on the farm, we crossed the steepest mountain pass yet (5km/hr all the way up for 90min - I wanted to die), and then after 30km on flat road my quads felt like they were gonna explode, and sitting in a gazebo playing with baby goats I tried to convince peeps to quit, still having 28km to go! After stretching, eating Advil, and massaging the crunchy bits out of my legs (which I didn't even know could get that way) we pushed on, practicing for our 1st time on this trip a group riding style called Drafting in which you ride on each other's tails, the leader up front setting the pace and taking all the wind resistance, making it probably 25% easier for the riders behind.
Yesterday's ride was pretty damn ugly, basically because we were traveling through the surrounding 'burbs of that dump Narayanaghad, and even the guest house we stayed at, though charming in some aspects, like the dining room we which felt like a tiny local pub in Prague -- the one in Vinorhady that serves Kozel (goat) beer -- the town was so dingy and so was the stinky green petri-dish mutant cesspool behind the outhouse... I was worried that it'd be 500+km of dumpy lowlands. I'm speaking mainly of aesthetic appeal, as Nepalis are Nepalis wherever you go (good), but today the sights got kickass again, with sprawling farmland, tall forests, cute villages decorated for weddings, goats when you need 'em (for smiles and their cute voices), and increasing numbers of Buddhist temples and, for me, more interesting Hindu temples (which I haven't seen so many of) with crazy big colorful 3D statues of gods and goddesses.
Butwal, Nepal
Butwal, where we are tonight, is a big crazy city, much bigger than Pokhara, and more like Kathmandu. There are stores with everything, from tech and fashion goods (which I haven't seen in a month ago in Kat - seems so long ago!), internet, hips kids, hustlers, rickshaws, the works. The scene at night was mayhem -- Kathmandu never got this crazy! This town is also close to the birthplace of the Buddha, so it draws many visitors, hence the booming industry. I ate SO much food and a startling variety for dinner and didn't even feel overstuffed (cuz it's all more or less fresh and healthy). It's nice to alternate between city and rural life! Our hotel room (and potty) is so clean and modern compared to any we've been in, same cheap price, although we had a conversation about how even this 'nice' Nepali room would Never pass back home... our standards have just adjusted so much, and I couldn't be more happy about it. We have TWO outlets, and TWO light bulbs, and a clean enough floor to stretch on, and a ceiling fan! [[Family: skip the rest of this paragraph]] >>> Cara and I went up to the roof after we brushed teeth to check out the view. I noticed a temple atop of the neighboring building and we were gonna try and sneak up there to see, and walking back the way we came through the darkness I tripped on a brick and my reflex was to grab the nearby wall. Ow! It was covered with the Rustiest nails all along the top, and my middle finger had a nice hole poked in it. Add that to my two head bangings today and it was just another day on the road. (My body's never sustained so many cuts, bruises, bites, band-aids, scabs, and bumps before. I'm using this vessel!) Thank gods for preemptive tetanus shots.
Next day, I ended up using the rusty nails for the forces of Good -- to dry my laundry -- as does the hotel.
We're sleeping-in tomorrow - 8am, yay!, then getting some yummy city alu paratha (fav. (Indian) breakfast food), hitting a book shop (burning to finish that Dalai Lama book I started on the farm), and getting our weekly internet fix! We'll be on the road by noon for a short 50km day... it's already 12:45 (yikes!) so I need to regulate. Aww, and I was going to write about all the things I've been missing... ok, quick:
(New song: Late In the Day by Supergrass)
I MISS: * Christmas! Wish I had some Yule-tide cheer in my stocking. * my girl, Amy. got the sweetest email from her last week and I've been running it over in my mind every day... * By day I daydream Burning Man, and at night I dream in Black Rock City. I look forward to it more every day. Only 250 more days and I'll be on my way back! So happy I'll get to start preparing as soon as I'm home! If you want to come this year (Helen Jen, Jasandra, GC) the BM family always has room for You! Let me know so we can start to conspire by email :) * My dear family! Mom, Dad, Dineen, Cristina, Robbie, Dave, Grandma, Tommy, Devon and Dylan... it's burned into my soul to be spending this time of year with you, and instead of having outings and feasting I'm taking you along in my head on this adventure. * My cozy and comforting Brooklyn home. Axl Rose - my red-hot son, and the best neighbors and roommates... * My NY family... Mis Amigos! Where art thou now? (Drop me a line yo!) * Obama! Wish I could see the news more often so I know what's up with my Prez-elect. * Okay, enough schmaltz for tonight.
Sweet siamese daydreams, A
Monday, December 15, 2008
Leaving Nepal, 520km to go
Monday, Dec. 15, 9:26PM
30km West of Narayanaghad, Nepal
Song: Peacock tail, Boards of Canada
475km
Today I've officially been in Nepal for a month! And I can't believe we're already leaving, although we have 2 weeks left on our tourist visas and it'll take much of that to get out, the way we're going. Nepal is a relatively teeeny country, and we visited its three largest cities and countless villages in between. Now we're heading due west, traversing what would be a big ol' stretch of NE India, but opting to cover the distance on the Nepali side of the border, bound to meet up with friends that the group made on a farm outside New Delhi in the month before I got here. All I can really know about them is that one is the son of a well-to-do organic Indian farmer, who thinks Cara is his girlfriend. More on that in 2 weeks.
I'm happy to report that yesterday we spent our last day on the Bhattarai family farm actually doing some labor! It may be hard to grasp, but we woke up early and busted our hump all day moving a huge pile of hay. I'll skip my essay on the significance of hay on a farm, but everyone with buffalo needs it, and it takes a lot of work to make those picture-perfect straw muffins you see everywhere! I'm sore as heck, more than any day of biking so far, so we done good! What's funny is that we spent all day 'processing' the hay (shaking the leftover rice out of it), finally got the whole pile moved into a nice muffin in the back yard just before sunset, cleaned up the loose mess, swept the yard, until all that was left was a modest 4 foot mound of salvaged rice. Exhausted, we were so happy to be done, and hungry! Imagine it pitch black, no lights anywhere, and all of a sudden you hear this ominous noisy tractor coming down the street. Balarm borrowed my headlamp and rushed out into the street, and I see a silhouette of the biggest, most oversized (3x the width and height of the tractor) Mountain of new hay I've ever seen, and they dumped it into the middle of the yard, right on top of our little pile we worked so hard for! It looked like an avalanche, many times bigger than the hay we started with, and all we could do was jump into it. And that's where we made a cozy nest to eat dinner. So fun!
It's too late to write about today! We're getting up at 6 to bike 70-100km (big day!) Just in case you weren't sure, Nepal still kicks supreme booty! Today we started our long journey on the right foot, and now we're savoring our long country road exit route. This evening we're in a simple guest house with most gracious hosts, and our candle-lit dinner and stimulating, hilarious conversation about Nepali economics and culture couldn't have been more enjoyable. Love and humility, A
30km West of Narayanaghad, Nepal
Song: Peacock tail, Boards of Canada
475km
Today I've officially been in Nepal for a month! And I can't believe we're already leaving, although we have 2 weeks left on our tourist visas and it'll take much of that to get out, the way we're going. Nepal is a relatively teeeny country, and we visited its three largest cities and countless villages in between. Now we're heading due west, traversing what would be a big ol' stretch of NE India, but opting to cover the distance on the Nepali side of the border, bound to meet up with friends that the group made on a farm outside New Delhi in the month before I got here. All I can really know about them is that one is the son of a well-to-do organic Indian farmer, who thinks Cara is his girlfriend. More on that in 2 weeks.
Hay Muffin (the goal)
I'm happy to report that yesterday we spent our last day on the Bhattarai family farm actually doing some labor! It may be hard to grasp, but we woke up early and busted our hump all day moving a huge pile of hay. I'll skip my essay on the significance of hay on a farm, but everyone with buffalo needs it, and it takes a lot of work to make those picture-perfect straw muffins you see everywhere! I'm sore as heck, more than any day of biking so far, so we done good! What's funny is that we spent all day 'processing' the hay (shaking the leftover rice out of it), finally got the whole pile moved into a nice muffin in the back yard just before sunset, cleaned up the loose mess, swept the yard, until all that was left was a modest 4 foot mound of salvaged rice. Exhausted, we were so happy to be done, and hungry! Imagine it pitch black, no lights anywhere, and all of a sudden you hear this ominous noisy tractor coming down the street. Balarm borrowed my headlamp and rushed out into the street, and I see a silhouette of the biggest, most oversized (3x the width and height of the tractor) Mountain of new hay I've ever seen, and they dumped it into the middle of the yard, right on top of our little pile we worked so hard for! It looked like an avalanche, many times bigger than the hay we started with, and all we could do was jump into it. And that's where we made a cozy nest to eat dinner. So fun!
Hay mountain, us in it
It's too late to write about today! We're getting up at 6 to bike 70-100km (big day!) Just in case you weren't sure, Nepal still kicks supreme booty! Today we started our long journey on the right foot, and now we're savoring our long country road exit route. This evening we're in a simple guest house with most gracious hosts, and our candle-lit dinner and stimulating, hilarious conversation about Nepali economics and culture couldn't have been more enjoyable. Love and humility, A
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