Chitwan National Park

26th April

A 5.00 am start today with a walk downside to the taxi drivers home. We headed by taxi to the Pokhara Transit Bus Terminal, where we were also meeting Nicole. After some confusion over tickets we were on our way. Ahead of us a hot five hour journey. The only event noteworthy along the way was the presence in one town of riot police and rocks thrown all over the road. There was a demonstration of some sort. We think that with the supply of petrol here at a premium some locals were protesting as it was directly outside a petrol station. 

The situation from what I can make out is that Nepal owes India billions in unpaid bills for petrol and India has said no payment, no petrol. Therefore it can be a wait of up to two days to secure 10 litres of fuel in some cases. Our taxi driver only managed to get petrol the other day as we were tourists hiring him apparently. Diesel is easily obtained, though most locals don't have and can't afford diesel vehicles. There is government elections here soon and the Nepalese are seeing this as a good thing and seem confident of change and change for the better, according to the taxi driver and the principal of the school.

Chitwan National Park

On arrival we were met by jeep to be taken to the Eden Jungle Resort. Rather nice, hot showers and the foods not to bad, plenty of veges which we have been craving. We spent the afternoon looking at Tharu Village and some elephants. We can hear them trumpeting from our room as well as the lovely jungle sounds, very relaxing. 

27th April

Another early start down to the river for canoeing in a traditional wood boat, these take up to three months to build from one large tree trunk. We meandered along in the canoe for quite a distance with our guide pointing out all the bird life. We saw one crocodile, who was resting in the water near the bank. Different to the ones Heather and I saw in Darwin. These crocs have a long thin jaw with two wee raised bits on the end, still a bit intimidating though. 

After disembarking we went in search of a rhino, and possibly a tiger if you were really lucky, or not.  Funnily our health and safety briefing was run very fast and climb a tree if they decide to attack, bloody brilliant! The guide was caring a rather sturdy stick which was reassuring. Anyway after a long hot walk examining poop and tracks we finally spotted one, too the guides relief, the rhino was close enough  for a decent photo and far enough away for us not to have to worry about having a climbable tree close by!

We continued along the track to an elephant breeding centre and saw a few cuties, and other elephants of various sizes. Bree unexpectedly got a lovely slobbery elephant kiss, very funny. Feeding time was over and the elephants with their handlers were heading to the river for a wash and swim, which we viewed after crossing back over the river on a rickety bamboo bridge to view bath time. You could see they were loving it with them all rolling around and spraying themselves. The handlers were also scrubbing them down.

We went on a two hour elephant safari through the jungle, we spotted a herd of small deer, a wild pig, monkeys and various bird life. We hoped to see another rhino but they appear to be quite elusive, I think we have been lucky to sight the one. The elephant trek was as expected; a very jerky ride and it was extremely hot, but we enjoyed the experience, perhaps a oncer.

In the evening we attended a cultural show.

28th April

After bird watching at 6.30 am we head back to Pokhara on the bus. 

Hopefully to power on for a while.

Sorry still no photos, however we have thoroughly enjoyed the national park and a change of scene.

Sarangot

An early start upside this morning to Sarangot to see the sunrise as it is a public holiday. At the top of the hill there is a stunning view of snow clad mountains. One peak in particular towers above the rest of the mountain range, though haven't got a name of the peak as the info board at the top was rather limited (unlike the DOC info boards in NZ).  it is very disappointing the amount of smoke in the air from fires in the jungle. Smoke and dust are caught in an immersion layer in the valleys and gives the whole area a very thick haze most days, spoiling the views and making breathing not that pleasent. Nepal as a tourist destination and it's stunning scenery is doing itself a great disservice and not forgetting the health related issues for the Nepalese; it's government needs to seriously address the issue. I have heard that trekking/treking in the Himalayas is also spoilt by the rubbish and the lack of infrastructure to deal with its disposal, the same can be said for most parts of Kathmandu. Rural areas seem to be coping better but you can see rubbish starting to be visible also. 

Upside and Downside

Explanation - Upside is up the mountain to Sarangot Village, paragliding, the school, the shop in the bedroom of someone's house, wifi outside the government school gate.

Downside is down to the spring; where we wash and clean our clothes, the grandparents house, Lakeside and Pokhara. 

So when you are going anywhere you are either going upside or downside! 

Tonight we went downside with the kids to see the grandparents for a visit and stayed for dinner, they have no English, but through the kids we were able to communicate. We were proudly shown the cow (I think they thought we didn't know what a cow was) and their water buffalo. The house was a very traditional style made of a schist like stone and clay. They were very friendly and hospitable people. A beautiful and peaceful spot and they have very well tended gardens and fields. 

Just before we left this evening a group of about 40 monkeys passed by our homestay, a few rocks were thrown to deter them, and I could hear shouts from the neighbours. They will rip out the corn and if they get close enough to the house, steal, chew shoes and cause general mayhem.

We had our booking tonight confirmed for a trip to Chitlan for this weekend. We have booked an Elephant Jungle  Safari and a small trek with the group of volunteers in the area whom we spent the week with in Kathmandu, I'm really looking forward to catching up with them and the safari.

We are struggling to get devices charged as the electricity is always out, so a head torch is an essential item. My cell phone has been flat since yesterday and it is causing me some consternation! It is my only communication with the other volunteers. All the other volunteers are in a similar situation with wifi, so of course no power no wifi. I can only text, or I could only text.

The young boy Amish is forever trying to organise us into activities with him as the guide, he took us to Lakeside (downside) the other day.  His wee brother Agus couldn't go, he is only five, so we made a big deal of him taking us for a walk and guiding us around the road close by the other night. He kept calling out to the neighbours telling them all about his guiding abilities.

We have just found out Thursday is a holiday, a bit like Waitangi Day we think. Fine by us, we are going upside to Sarangot.

Teaching in Sarangot

Very interesting...the Nepalese children are lovely but they have very little English and what English  they do know is hard to understand and they have difficulty understanding our English with our Kiwi accent, so communication is very challenging. Most of the teachers only speak Nepalese and there is not enough teachers for all the classes. The noise level is intense in some rooms. The main teaching approach is from a workbook for each subject, it's all read, rote and copy. Some of the content is unusual and the books are full of errors. In most of the junior classes the teacher shouts out what is written or to be learnt and the children shout it back, all sitting crammed up on bench seats and tables. However the children are lucky to have an education at all, as many are from poor families. There is also a government school next door but it only has one English class and if the students want to go on to higher education, they need English. Therefore many parents, if they can afford it opt for the private school. It is not a lot of money by our standards but here it is hard for many families to afford it. 

It is very hazy throughout the area today and we can't see the other side of the valley and barely see the lake. Jim has just made the boys at our homestay squirty bottles from old fizzy bottles, it will cause trouble I'm sure, they are very excited, simple fun. 

A Whole New Experience

Saturday was a rest day so we walked down the hill to Lakeside and then on to Pokhara. The track down was very steep and rough with some very old man made steps in some parts. This area is also known for paragliding and there were dozens flying today, what seemed like nonstop. It was a clear beautiful day and quite hot, some locals were swimming in the lake, bathing, washing clothes, fishing and the water buffalo were cooling off. There were a couple of boats out fishing, for trout and carp. 

We found a cafe with wifi in Pokhara and this is a treat to be able to get online. We have no wifi at the house and electricity goes off all the time, so just keeping devices charged is a challenge. 

Pokhara is a large city of about two hundred thousand, some areas are quite dirty and it's very dry and dusty. There is quite a haze over the whole valley which I think is mainly a mist and dust but also from fires in the hills that you can see, even though the locals say "no smoke", I can't quite believe them when we can actually see it!  The air was really clear this morning and I could see the mountains behind us, beautiful. I have to muscle up and walk to the top of the ridge; where Jim walked the other morning for a very spectacular view. It takes about an hour and a half up, very up, very step, very not my ideal walk, but it must be done at least once. There is a restaurant/hotel at the top as it is a popular tourist area with all of the walks and paragliding in the area, not to mention the scenery.

We try to help around the home with chores as it is mainly Meena who does all the domestic work, including feeding animals, tending the large kitchen garden as well as the fields. We had to cart water from the spring yesterday as the main pipe had been broken on the road by a vehicle; it is being repaired today. I hope so as it is a very steep climb back up from the spring. 

Most meals are cooked over a open fire and quite simple fare, but plenty. We have to buy bottled water as we cannot risk drinking even the spring water. Jim has gone to suss out the local shops to see what he can find, we feel we need a few treats. He is back, without treats, oh well.

We start at the local school today, so who knows what this will be like.

Texted one of the other volunteers today, and their homestay is also modest, ( love my tack, so not like me). They have a river to wash in, but their house ablutions are a bit dire. We are managing but I will never, ever, ever take electricity and a real shower for granted, nor a western toilet. We have 

Pokhara - Sarangkot

We have arrived at our honestly after a very long 8 hour bus ride, to be met by our taxi to our homestay in Sarangkot. Our home stay family is very welcoming and attentive. The children have quite good English and we have had the youngest, 5 year old Aakash take us to the shop to get water. On the way we went by the road, but on the way back we followed along a track and through the neighbours property, so at this rate will will meet the whole village in no time at all. We are very, very rural and away from other volunteers so this is another experience again. The views are stunning as we are almost at the highest point in the area and look down to Phewa Lake and the city of Pokhara. 

The family has a modest home and you walk past the water buffalo and a calf tethered next to the house. It has terraced fields where they grow veges and quite a lot of corn.  Dishes are washed under a tap outside and Meena has already enlisted me to help out with the family washing of clothes, that will be hand washing as I have already established there is no washing machine of any description. The home stay parents both work as teachers at the local school and Aatma is the principal of the school and his wife Meena teaches the youngest class.

Jim is getting up early to go for a walk up to the top of the hill with Aatma's brother tomorrow at 5am. I'm having a sleep in, we have had a big week with very early starts. 

Wifi is really problematic, so may only get a brief update and probably no photos for a while. We are safe and sound.

Chitlin

Day two in Chitlin we started early as we had another very dusty jeep ride through the countryside, the real Nepal. The roads were extremely dusty and rough and it was quite a challenging trip for all of us.  We headed to a lake called Indra ------- ( can't remember).   This is the largest man made lake in Nepal and it was beautiful, we walked down into the lakeside along a goat track.  Several long  canoes were waiting to take us across the lake and we returned by walking over a swing bridge which spanned the lake (227 metres). There was a village at the lake with the usual homes and gardens, again very rough streets with all manner of goings on. There was evidence of fish farming in the lake which we think was for rainbow trout, as earlier in the day we had visited a small rainbow trout hatchery. 

After arriving back from the lake it was a quick lunch then back into the jeep for a ride back over the pass, again very tiring and rough. That evening we went to a buddist supra and then out for dinner. 

Friday 17th April

Well our first major disappointment today. We were up at 5am for our flight booked over the Himalayas and viewing of Mount Everest. Though there is always uncertainty with this flight leaving due to visibility on the mountain we were hopefull, it had been a starey night so that was promising. So with tickets in hand we managed to maneuver our way through a very chaotic domestic terminal and find the waiting area. Still looking promising... The call came and we boarded the plane, taxied to the runway and then stopped, what we thought just waiting for another flight to leave. But no, cancelled so back to the airport. As we are leaving tomorrow for Pokhara we were unable to rebook, and probably won't get the opportunity again. However nothing ventured, nothing gained. We had a beer for Sir Ed tonight instead.

Quiet afternoon with a quick trip around the shops and some last minute photos. Out again to dinner with everyone, visiting the Monkey Forest Temple on the way and some panoramic views of the city. Early start tomorrow as bus leaves at 6am for a five hour bus ride providing traffic is in our favour.

Wifi might be limited again in Pokhara. 

In Kathmandu city there is only power for about six hours a day which makes charging devices a juggle, wifi and hot showers a challenge. Makes you appreciate what we take for granted at home. 

Kathmandu

We arrived safely in Kathmandu on a day with very low cloud and no mountain views as we flew in. The city has really bad air pollution, far worse than I expected, we are going to wear masks, extreme but necessary during parts of the day. The local area in Kathmandu where we are staying is called Thamel.   A real maze of building up to 6-7 stories high with shops on the first level. They sell an amazing assortment of goods from trekking gear, cashmere clothing, pashminas, felted products, a real assortment. The main supermarket is exceptionally well stocked and prices are super cheap.  There is not the street food vendors here as you would see in India, and the street front retailers are not so aggressive in selling which is rather nice, quite a relaxed atmosphere with lots of tourists.

It was the Nepalese new year the day before we arrived and in the Nelalese calendar it is 2071. There are lots of banners and prayer flags decorating the streets, which again are mostly unpaved and dirty, however haven't noticed the 'street' smell here yet.

Volunteers on this placement are from Australia, China, Singapore, France, Finland, Austria , Philippines, Canada and USA.  We think we are heading to an area in Pokhara which is nearer the mountains and by a lake. We have been given the choice of two areas, so you never know. The other area is flatter and hotter but closer to the Chitwan National Park, five hours away from each other.

Tuesday 15th April 

Today we have headed by jeep to a place called Chitlin with the other volunteers for an overnight excursion to see some of the local area outside of Kathmandu. After a rough ride through a mountain pass we arrived in a beautiful valley dotted with traditional Nepalese style homes amidst plantings of pear trees. Further down the valley there are olive groves also. Looking across the valley are terraced fields where the locals grow vegetables. The weather here is very changeable aud varies from 1- 2 degrees at night to high 20,s during the day at this time of year. 

We have enjoyed a delicious lunch and have a language & cultural class this afternoon, followed by a walk around the wee village where we can taste and purchase goat cheese is we are interested. 

An added excitement as we arrived was a runaway tractor & trailer unit careering down the hill right in front of us as we were walking to our accommodation, someone hadn't put the breaks on. Luckily everyone run out of the way and it came to rest against a tree, if it had gone any further it would have rolled and been a huge loss for the farmer. Don't think insurance is an option here.

Our accommodation is basic but clean and what a stunning view. 

Last few photos of India

At the monument in Amritsar where several hundred Indians were shot in 1919 by the British.
This monument was by our hotel and close to the Golden Temple

Many of the Indians present during the massacre jumped into
 the Martyrs' Well to escape the firing from the British

There are thousands of these, decorated heavy trucks on all of the roads
Not many cab comforts

Last afternoon touring in Delhi the old governors house now the Presidents residents 

Our travels in India down to Agra to see the Taj Mahal up to Bir the over to Amritsar and back to Delhi
Also many day trips around Delhi and Bir.

Delhi to Kathmandu this morning

Indian Pakistan Border

An experience that wont be forgotten. India and Pakistan have been at war four times since the British left in 1947 so this border and ceremony are is very symbolic. Sorry the photos aren't as good as I would have liked them to be. The crowd was too big to move to get good photos. My thoughts was that it was something between a national sporting event, rock concert, and haka.

The gate for important people like Maree and I

The Pakistan Border and supporters

The funny hats were out in force

This fellow sat behind us reassuring!!!! 

The flag and a Gandhi portrait
above the Indian Gate

The Indian supporters and dancing girls 

Ceremonial Guard doing the unique march

The Golden Temple Amritsar 

Early morning with sunlight shining
on the Golden Exterior

Sikh people washing in the water around the Temple
There was a covered area for woman to wash in

Yes we waited in line

Funny hat day everyone had to cover their 
heads with an appropriate head cover

Maree with head covering in prime spot for a pose

There where lots of remembrance to the war dead
This plaque remembered solders from the 1971 war  

Ceremonial Guards

Goodbye to our friends at Bir

Grandad waving 

Our home stay in Bir

The volunteer crew
Jim Fiona Lavendar Maree Michelle
Billy and Stuart

Our hosts with Maree and I
 Dawa Jorden Yushe Tenzin 

Amritsar and the Pakistan-India Border

The Golden Temple was a memorable experience and worth the seven hour detour to see the famous SikhTemple in Amritsar. We stayed at a hotel quite close so we could walk there. Head coverings were needed for entry and bare feet. 

The Harmandir Sahib, also Darbar Sahib and informally referred to as the "Golden Temple", is a prominent Sikh Gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It was built by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjun, in the 16th Century. Wikipedia

The Golden Temple is set in a man made pool where the Sikh faith bath, men in the open and woman in a segregated private area. We also noticed people drinking the water and bless themselves - it wasn't fit for drinking but to the devout it has special properties. The temple is very ornate, gold and inlaid with semi precious gems and paintings like wallpaper cover the internal walls also. The temple is surrounded by a rather grand complex which houses the Sikh who live here. They provide food, chai and a place to sleep at night free of charge if you wish to stay there, regardless of religious belief or nationality.

In the afternoon we were lucky enough to hire an excellent taxi driver come guide to drive us to the Pakistan - India border for a border crossing ceremony at 5pm. The approach to the border was high security and foreigners are separated (segregated) from the local population. We had to walk about a kilometre up a two lane road by ourselves while the Indian nationals, which there were hundreds walked up the other side of the road. Thank goodness for security as it was quite unusual. After going through a security screening we were seated in the foreigners section with only 50 or so others compared to up too four-five thousand Indians in their area. 

Then the 'show' began, there was singing, dancing, chanting, people running up and down in front of us with the India flag. The soldiers or border security, who were dressed in ceremonial clothes began  marching in turns towards the closed gates between each country and stomped, postured, showed a manner of displays of power and oneupmanship, whilst the same was going on on the Pakistan side. Each side, crowd included trying to outdo each other with song and cheering. What a performance! It was a cross between a rock concert, sporting event and a Haka. Difficult to put into words. 

Jim is going to add a link with the photos.

Goodbye Bir

Again we say goodbye to our new friends and home stay family. We received prayer shawls from Yeshe and Billy which was lovely. After photos all round and well wishes for everyone's future travel we waved goodbye, ready to leave and move on to new adventures, but also sad to leave such a beautiful and unique area of India. We have a new understanding of  the Tibetan people's plight and also how they have over the years made a home for their families in India through shear hard work and determination.

They are a very gentle and humble people who devote a lot of their time to prayer and devotion, both to their beliefs, family and community.  It has also given us an insight to the Budist Monks and their life in the monestry., and how some of them came to be there. 

After a seven hour drive we finally arrived in Amristar thanks to our taxi driver coping with all of the detours and road works. 

Our hotel is better than expected and even has a shower with hot water which is a treat after four weeks of bucket showers, which I quite like to be honest. The recipe is two jugs of water boiled in the electric jug, pour into big bucket and top up with cold water to desired temperature.  To shower scoop water out with your small scoop. Pour water over yourself, lather up, then rinse. Squeaky clean.

Tomorrow head to the famous Golden Temple, which is a Sheik  temple. We have just been sorting out our headwear as we need to be covered up.

Views of Chokling Monastery where we taught 

Jim's classroom

Views from the roof of our home stay 

Our Mountain Trek Adventure

Suzuki 800 cc we needed to get out and push 

Mountain Village where we left the car

Maree and Fiona hanging on to the back of the truck

Rhododendron Forest 

Billy making lunch

Billy Maree Jim and Fiona

Mountain Views

Some of the forest types on the walk

One of the mountain villages scattered through the area

Trek to the Mountains

 We had an early start this morning to travel to some hot pools with Billy and Fiona. It was as usual a rather entertaining car ride with a goat jam along the way with the usual tooting, and a rather precarious ride up the mountain in an very small car.  Twice we had to get out of the car so it could get over the ruts without bellying and having to push it once. We got to the end of what was practical by road without wrecking the vehicle. 

The walk which unbeknown to us should have taken two hours, was shortened as we managed to hitch a ride on the back of a truck heading up to the power station at the end of the road.  Did I mention that our taxi driver, come guide didn't have a clue where to go in spite of professing he did, typical India. After arriving at the power station, he asked the workers which way to go, which confirmed our suspicions. 

After hiking for about an hour up a very steep mountain track to find as we reached a ridge we still had two ridges to go in the distance before we got to where he was pointing, which was the location of the hot springs. By this stage adding up the hours to go, then get back we decided that as the views were stunning we would count our losses and be happy with the hike. 

Finding an overhanging rock for some shade,  Billy made us fresh bread and tomato slab sandwiches. Yum.

Heading back down the mountain path after about 20 minutes our driver waved his hand called something out in Hindi, which was interpreted by gestures that he had lost the f------ car keys!

Well Fiona and I sat down, Jim, Billy and the driver had no choice but to back track and hope they were where we had sat down for lunch.

Luck was on our side and eventually the boys were back with the keys. We continued down the track and reached the power station.  On the way down we saw a very small snake slither across the track in front of us. First snake sighting in India. Hoping to get a ride back in the truck we hitched up the road in turned out to be wishfull thinking. So we continued walking on for about two hours til we reached the car, very hot and tired. 

The drive back, aside from being very bumpy was uneventful and I for one was pleased to be home. However it was a great day out and the scenery looking both up the mountain and down the valleys were stunning.

Views from the rooftop of our home stay - Bir

Making Momos with Yeshe

Last Week in Bir

Jim , Billy and I went for a walk yesterday to Upper Bir and looping back around to Lower Bir. A very pretty walk with the usual goat herders grazing their flock, terraced gardens with the occasional lone person working the plot (usually woman), homes ranging from very minimalist stone cottages with slate roofs to three story homes. Many cows are tied up outside homes or just wandering along the roads and street. (In fact a rather stroppy bull is in the Main Street at the moment annoying all passerbys, me included, I had to take a rather wide berth as he swung his head around looking very grumpy as I passed.) We also walked past the paragliding site, though there wasn't anyone flying today because of low cloud around the tops. 

The weather can change quickly here and it started to pack in at the end of our walk, it was amazing to see a fast moving weather cell heading towards the mountains behind us and the lightning and thunder storm that followed, very noisy and impressive. Lucky we were only five minutes from home. 

Yeshe (home stay mum) is giving us a cooking lesson this afternoon, and we are making momos. Momos are a Tibetan sort of dumpling filled with veges and then steamed, and they are delicious. You can also fry them, but we prefer steamed. We have enjoyed trying some different foods. We are eating lots of vegetable, chickpea and lentil dishes; still no meat. We have tried the Tibetan tea which comes in two types, black and salty or white tea made with buttermilk and also salty or sweet. It's not to be recommended.

We are sadly counting down the days we leave Bir, again we will miss the wonderful friends we have made here and our home stay family. However on a positive note we are looking forward to our 6 hour taxi drive to Amaritsa where we are going to stay one night and visit the Golden Temple. From Amritsar we take an overnight bus to Delhi and have a day there before heading to Kathmandu early Monday morning. 

Stu and Fiona Nutella monsters

Donkey jam

Views of the countryside on our motorbike ride Saturday morning