the last week of nepal: genesis

The last (and arguebly the best) week of Nepal began with a difference. A bus ride of a difference. In all our time in Nepal, we had never really explored the wilderness that was the bus-stop. Not just an everyday bus stop, but rather the behemoths that were trans-state buses. Since Nepal didn't have "states" per se, and well, it WAS Nepal, the buses were..erm...less behemoth-like and more oh-my-God-this-many-people-in-THAT-thing?! like.

Add to this the sheer number of street vendors that decided that being friends with Jimbo was the best thing they could do at 6:30am. When I say "street vendor" I mean a man who once had an accordion, but decided to gut it and use the empty space to carry coke, expired snickers bars and toilet paper and try and sell it (by annoyance) to supposedly unsuspecting tourists. A snippet from their conversation...

Street vendor (SV): Good morning friend!

Jimbo: Uh...Hello?!

SV: You are going to

Jimbo: Uhh..maybe. I think we're going to Chitwan.

SV: Oh! That is a lovely place. It is a long journey. You better buy some Coke.

Jimbo: No.

SV: How about a lovely Snickers bar for a snack?

Jimbo: I just ate breakfast.

SV: How about toilet paper? Everyone needs toilet paper!

...

This all continued (with the SV's authentic indian accent) until we got on the bus. Actually, it continued in the bus where he decided to try and follow us in. And then, of course, his friends were outside the windows. Eventually, the bus drove out and we had our peace and quiet. Asking one of the locals, we found out Chitwan was about 300 kms away. Not that far, you say?

Well you're right! Except this is Nepal...

After about 2 hrs, we had just cleared the valley. It wasn't so much that it was a very difficult drive (don't get me wrong- I'm glad they took their time: one slip and we'd be tumbling down the side of a mountain and looking very much like a metal pancake with red jam), but more the sheer number of people on a bus designed for far less number of people, while tryign to climb a sharp incline. All this resulted in our MAXIMUM speed for the journey settling at a break-neck 50-60 km/h. We achieved this for...say, an hour or two? In total that is. For the week.

The moment we climbed out of the crevice that was Kathmandu Valley, you noticed something different about Nepal: it WAS beautiful. The valley with its congested streets and smog reminded you of something which was a cross between a very packed nightclub, complete with smoke machine, and a Nazi concentration camp (we didn't really see this part of it- we left that for the impoverished locals to experience). Outside the valley, however, all you could see was green and scenery. It was brilliant. Think mountains in the distance, their tops laced with snow, touching the clouds complete with green valleys.

Though after about 2 hrs of this, it DOES become repetitive. What was interesting was the toilet breaks. We sometimes stopped at, what looked like a house in the middle of nowhere. It turned out, that that's exactly what it was! With one big difference: it sold food and had access to toilets (read: hole in the ground). The cuisine was "authentic" as much as road side stalls go and the smell from the toilet was also quite "authentic" - nothing like earth, feaces and urine all combined into one slush contained in a hole in the ground to give you a unique fragrance. This is one aspect of the trip I don't really miss. But I can't speak for the others.

Eventually (and I do mean eventually- as in a LONG time later) we neared a town where the bus stopped. Chitwan! Finally! It was only 3 or 4 pm at this stage. It only took 8 hrs to travel 300 km!!! Ahh travelling in Nepal. The joys.

Well actually- we WERE'NT in Chitwan. This was just another stop. The roads were that bad further along that we had to go by 4 wheels drives from now. But at least, we were only 30 mins away (so we were told).

But that's all a story for the next post...