Kathmandu, Nepal 9/17/07

Kathmandu, Nepal 9/17/07

Well I think I’m number one on the standby list for a flight to Delhi. Now I just have to wait 2 hours to find out if I make the cut. I have found a seat about 10 meters directly in front of the ticketing desk. I plan on sitting here, making eye contact as often as possible with the staff at the ticketing desk, and looking as pathetic as possible. After 2 hours of that I’m betting they’ll probably bump their own mother just to get me out of their sight! Sorry but it’s a dog eat dog world and I have connections on another airline to make in Delhi and then Milan! Not making this flight out of Nepal will mean more “change of reservations and difference in fare” charges. In between my desperate pleading stares at the crew I’ll jot down some paragraphs and sum up my days here in Nepal.

Wow, what a great country! Even now as I sit here with a broken foot begging to get on a flight part of me doesn’t want to leave. I love it here!

After I wrapped up my trekking days with Ngima, and some wandering around Pokhra, I headed back to Kathmandu. I have pretty much been here for the last week.

The guys from Karnali Excursions gave me a great tour around Kathmandu one day. The tour included visits to the Boudhanath Stupa, Pashuputi, and Durbar Square in Patan. Each spot was an amazing cultural experience and I probably took a hundred pictures. The structures have stood for over a thousand years and are basically still in use for the same religious purposes that they were built. I was totally shocked at Pashuputi when I realized the fires next to the river that I was photographing were actually bodies being cremated. After that the smell of smoke in the air made each breath really shallow.

On the 10th I went into The Last Resort office in Thamel (an area of Kathmandu) to sign up for two of my most favorite activities; bungy jumping and canyoning. Unfortunately all those rains I talked about in other entries raised the river and water levels to high in the canyon areas so canyoning wasn’t possible. (insert heavy sigh) I was very disappointed. For those of you keeping track I was too early to go canyoning in Interlaken last Spring and now I’m to late to go canyoning in the Fall. Very frustrating! I guess I need to plan my canyoning trips better.

I can’t really complain though because the Last Resort also offers rafting options and with the high water levels it tuned out to be the best rafting trip I have ever taken. I’m getting ahead of myself though. First I have to talk about actually heading to the Last Resort, all the friends I made there, and the 160 Meter Plunge I took off the bridge.

I gathered in front of the Last Resort office at 5:45 a.m. on the 11th. I was the only one there besides a security guard but soon more sleepy eyed backpackers started showing up. The plan was to take a bus about 3 hours North East of Kathmandu, close to the Tibetan border, to The Last Resort.

The bungy bridge is a small suspension bridge that crosses over a 166 meter wide canyon with the ragging Bohte Kosi River about 160 meters below. The bridge is only a couple meters wide and in the middle is the jumping platform. The bridge also leads from the main road to the Last Resort compound. I had signed up to bungy on day one, stay the night at the “Resort”, raft the next day, and then head back to Kathmandu.

I’ve done several of these kinds of excursions on my travels and have always had a blast. Not only is the actual activity always a thrilling adventure but I’ve also found these type of activities are GREAT for making friends…another favorite past time of mine. I figured this overnight trip would produce some people to have some dinner and drinks with back in Kathmandu. In the end I actually made some of my best backpacking friends of this year there.

Before I even got on the bus I met an American named Angela from Michigan. We continued our conversation on the bus and chatted until the first rest stop. The bus was crowded and increasing in temperature with every passing minute so as we began to board again, after the 20 minute rest stop, Angela and I decided to join a couple English guys on top of the bus and ride like the locals for the second half of the trip.

Nepalese roads are pretty bumpy, as one probably would imagine, even when not going through a recently cleared landslide area. Riding on a luggage rack on top of a bus you feel every bump but the seats inside aren’t much better. On the top you at least have the wind in your hair and full view of the amazing scenery as you bounce along the road. I loved it!

Nothing in Nepal moves real quick, one of the many things I love about this place, and once we arrived at the Last Resort we all just sat around for awhile as the staff leisurely got organized. Eventually they gave us a briefing on how the bungy jumps would be organized.
Each of us was weighed and then we were divided into two groups depending on your weight. I fell into group two.

After we were weighed those of us staying overnight were shown the tents that we’d be staying in that night. Nice accommodations; simple but nice. Basically just a large wall tent on a stone slab; hot showers in an outhouse nearby, and an open air lodge/bar with low Asian tables surrounded by pillows. My kind of place!

Everyone started talking and getting to know each other as we milled about waiting for our groups turn to jump. There’s nothing like knowing you are all going to be jumping off the same bridge soon to build instant commodore. By the end of the day I think I had chatted with everyone there but I was spending most of my time with 4 in particular; Angela (Michigan), Eric (Portland), Andrea (New Orleans), and Claire (England).

The actual jump doesn’t take long; a few seconds of free fall, maybe a minute of bouncing, another minute to lower you to the bottom where you are unhooked and then about 20 minutes to hike back up. Waiting your turn to jump is what takes forever. Out of the 30 or so jumpers that day I was the 3rd from the last to go. At 11 a.m. when I saw the bridge I was excited to jump. By the time I actually jumped it was after 3 p.m. I was past excited. I just wanted to jump! So as soon as I got to the edge that’s what I did. I screamed and jumped.

When I was at the bottom I kicked myself for not waiting on the ledge longer; soaking up the view, letting the adrenaline build. It was great fun, like past jumps, but it was over to quick. I could have gone again for another $25 but frankly I just didn’t feel like waiting. I’ll have to check the heights when I get online but the Nevis seemed much bigger in my mind. (Further research: Nevis Bungy, Queenstown New Zealand = 134 meters…it still seemed bigger than this one.)

That night at the resort was a blast. Sipping beers, telling stories, playing card games…without a doubt my best night out since I left the States in July. The night went late but again it was a slow morning getting ready to go rafting. I felt pretty good by the time we eventually started putting the rafting gear on and I felt great as soon as my toes hit the chilly water.

There were 3 rafts in our group and my raft was Clair, Andrea, Angela, Eric, and a drill sergeant of a rafting guide. He seriously barked the commands at us and I quickly forgot that I was the one paying him. It was understandable I suppose because the river was kicking! There were almost continuous rapids the whole way.

Eric and I got our asses kicked in the front of the raft and when we stopped for lunch we both looked at each other slightly stunned.
“Are your legs killing you?” I said.
“Yes! And my shoulders feel it too! Let’s switch sides after lunch so I’m equally sore on both sides of my body when we are done.”
“Agreed!”

When we got back to Kathmandu Eric, Andrea, Clair and I all checked in together to the Kathmandu Guest house and got 2 double rooms (Angela already had a place in Patan). I went on the Last Resort excursion hoping to meat some people to share some meals with and I ended up with someone to split a hotel room with for a few nights. Score!

Andrea and Eric only had a day to hang in Kathmandu before Eric started the Annapurna Circuit and Andrea flew to Pokhra. Claire, Angela and I hung out for a few days in Kathmandu. They even stuck around a day extra to fit in a rock climbing trip with me. Now there was an adventure! And the actual climbing part wasn’t the highlight of the day.

The whole climbing day was a fiasco from the start. We were supposed to go the day before in the afternoon but when we arrived at the office there was some Nepalese confusion taking place. Eventually we learned that the King had decided to visit the park where we were going to climb…and apparently the park is not big enough for the King and a few climbers. So Angela & Claire changed their travel itineraries and we made plans to go climbing the next day for a full day. Well it turned out to be a full day adventure but only about 2 hours of actual climbing.

We got to the same park as we had planned the day before, at about 11 a.m., already behind schedule because they couldn’t find shoes that would fit us. After 2 hours of sitting outside the gate of the park, it became evident that the one guy that needed to be there in order to sign our climbing permit wasn’t coming to work that day. You gotta love bureaucracy. They don’t have running water, or power in most houses but government bureaucracy is thriving. And who says they are a “developing” nation?

After some debate with our climbing guide on our options he tells us there is another place we can go; a natural climb (not a man made wall) but it was an hour away. “Sounds good! Let’s get moving!”

Soon into the ride I realized “an hour”, converted from a tour guide trying to keep a client happy into actual time is more like at least 90 minutes. After 90 minutes we then had to stop and ask directions because our guide had not been to this spot in about 8 years. By the time the cab turned onto a steep uphill dirt/rock road I was laughing out loud at the experience. We are talking steep! Full off roading in a tiny Toyota taxi. At one point the 2 guides (did I mention there were 6 of us in this taxi) had to get out of the car to reduce the weight so the little car could make it up one of the switch backs. I just kept laughing.

We eventually make it to the top of a ridge over looking the Kathmandu valley and the cab dropped us off at the gates of a monastery. The view of the valley was nice but there were no rocks to climb in sight.
“So this is the spot?” I said with a confused look.
“Close. Now we walk.”
“How far?”
“Oh, about 40 minutes.”
This time I did the conversion to actual time in my head and I started to laugh out loud again. We all did. It was one of those things where you just say…”We’ve come this far, there is no going back now!” So we started to hike.

I was at least wearing my Teva’s but the girls just had on simple flip flops. Not good for hiking and really bad for the steep downhill, uphill, and contour hiking that we had to do in order to get to the climbing site.

Oh, and remember my great leech record from my 12 days of trekking? Only 2 small bites; well I shattered that record quickly on this little trek. By the time we got to the rock face I was bleeding from multiple spots on both feet.

We eventually found the spot and started climbing. The actual climbs weren’t that great but I still think of it like a great day. I won’t forget it that’s for sure and Clair, Angela, and I laughed most of the day. That’s never a bad thing.

Amazing culture, great outdoor adventure and scenery, more friends from around the world that I hope to cross paths with again: it’s pretty easy to see why I love this country. To be fair though, I have found these things in other spots around the world. There are a couple other incidents that help set Nepal apart from the rest, and these incidents could be summed up simply un the title: The amazing Nepalese people that I met.

One example happened on my day of wandering in Pokhra. It was a great day of wandering and just looking around. I started off to walk about 45 minutes to the Tibetan Market that Ngima had given me directions to before he left town. Well after 1 hour of walking I realized I missed a turn along the way. After 2 hours of walking, and getting lots of stares from the locals because I was obviously not in an area they see many tourists walking, I decided I’d hop in a cab...as soon as I saw one again...and have them take me to the Tibetan Market. Eventually I found a few cabs sitting together and between 3 of them they knew enough English to figure out where I wanted to go and then they explained it to a 4th driver who didn’t speak any English at all and he took me to the spot. I guess it was his turn in the queue. 20 minutes by cab and I was finally at the market.

Once there I had wandered for about a block through various stands and booths that were selling jewelry, carvings, etc. before I finally stopped to talk to one of the booths. All over Nepal I had seen various beaded necklaces that I knew had Buddhist significance but I wasn’t sure what. When I saw a set of beads at the market that caught my eye I asked the guy what they were and he said, "Buddhist Prayer Beads”.

He explained how they use the beads, which is similar to Catholic rosary beads. While I liked the beads I had no intention of buying them. I have always felt weird turning religious symbols into tourist souvenirs. I know that might be odd for a person that does not ascribe to any organized religion but in my mind it’s a matter of respect.

As the booth owner was explaining to me the standard prayer they say at each bead, “Om Mani Padme Hum” I felt a tug at my arm from behind me. It took me a second to recognize who the Nepalese man was that wanted my attention but then I realized it was the cab driver that brought me there. He gestured for me to follow him away form the booth which I started to but then realized I still had the prayer beads in my hand.

“What do you want?” I asked, thinking there must have been some confusion on the fare and now he wanted more money. In my head I was thinking there was no way I’m paying him more money now. We agreed on 100rps before we left and that’s what I paid him. My guard was up which made me crumble even more when I watched him pull my camera out of his pocket.

I practically dropped to my knees. He handed the camera to me as all the pictures that I knew were on it…EVERY picture I had taken in 2 weeks in Nepal; ALL my trekking shots, my only copies of these pics…they all flashed in my mind and I got goose bumps on my arms. I started bowing my head and repeating, “Dhanyabaad” (Thank you)
I pulled out my money and doubled what I paid him for the fair. He just smiled and walked away.

To give you an idea on what this taxi driver did, he had driven me across town for 100rps. Probably one of the farthest fares he could earn and still be in town. He found my camera in the backseat of his car. He didn’t wait to see if I came back for it, he came and found me. He could have easily sold it for at least half the camera’s value, which if bought new in Nepal would be about 20,000rps! It might be the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for me…and it happened in one of the poorest countries on the planet.

The Tibetan booth guy saw the whole thing and was blown away too. He started thanking the driver also, then he turned to me, pointed at the beads I was still holding and said “Those beads good luck for you!” My look of shock turned into a big smile. Anything to make a sale…but he had a point I thought “How much?” I chuckled.

I bought a few things from that guy and spent a lot of time talking to him. I was such a good customer he even bought me a dal baht lunch at a stand across the street. We talked about Tibet, his homeland, and how he hopes the world won’t forget them and will help persuade China to free them. It reminded me a lot of talking to Cubans in Miami. Immigrants that have been waiting over 50 years for something to change…anything to change…so they can go home. We also talked about the trustworthy cab driver that returned my camera.
“He does not know how much he just did to help Nepal?!” the Tibetan booth vendor said, “You will go tell many people this story and more people will come to Nepal and spend money.”

Well I don’t have many readers on my Blog but I’ll do what I can to help spread the word.

Eventually I said goodbye to my Tibetan friend and I walked on up the hill to the World Peace Pagoda…with my new lucky Buddhist Prayer Beads around my neck and my camera safely velcro-ed in my pocket.

My other example of the endearing Nepalese people didn’t come from one single encounter or moment. It started as soon as I left the airport and it didn’t stop until I finally returned to the airport to fly out today. It was the service, dedication, compassion, kindness, and overall friendship that I received form the trekking company I hired, Karnali Excursions.

I found the company on the internet while I was in India. I was just exploring my trekking options. I sent several inquiries out to companies on different routes and when I settled on the Annapurna range Karnali sent me an 18 day itinerary with a price. Their price was better than other sites and I decided to just go ahead and book it on-line instead of waiting to get there. I figured it would be one less thing to think about and I could focus on just navigating Kathmandu. By the time I left the country on day 25 Karnali Excursions had under charged me the agreed to price and WAY over delivered on their services.

Hira with Karnali Excursion

http://www.trekkinginnepal.com/

I’ll save the professional testimonial on their company (like putting me in the nicest rooms possible on the trip, always being on time, etc.) for their website if requested. For my journal I’ll just document how nice they were to me.

I don’t know if they are like this with every customer but from the start I thought of them as friends. “Them” I keep saying “Them”. It’s just an easy way to sum “them” up. “Them” is actually Hira, Shree, Ramesh, and a couple other guys whose names I could never remember but they still lit up and said “Mr. Mat!’ whenever they saw me. Oh and Ngima of course, but I only met him in the office once so it’s hard to put him into that “Them” category.

I think most of their clients leave after their trek is done. I had about a week to spare after the trek so things like the standard farewell dinner and a ride to the airport didn’t quite fit with my schedule, or so I thought. While floating around Kathmandu after my trek I’d still stop in their office to ask questions. They would let me use the internet for free and they also gave me tips on other things I could do with my time in Nepal. We made plans to grab some food before I left town but then my rock climbing fiasco wrecked that plan.

I was bummed that I missed our dinner but I sent them an apologetic note that night explaining what had happened. I figured that would be the end of my time with the Karnali guys, until I came back to Nepal on another trip of course. I was wrong.

When I checked my e-mail 2 days later, after the accident, hospital, and flight juggling, I found a note from Hira. They had been searching for me to make sure everything was OK and take me to the airport. When I never responded they started checking random guest houses to try and locate me. When I finally hopped into their office I just found one of the nameless assistants. He immediately dropped his jaw “Oh my Mr. Mat! What happened?! Hira knew something was wrong!!”

He got Hira on the phone and then Shree came to the office to get me and take me to a nearby café where they were having tea with some friends.

I don’t think Hira is much older than me but when I got to the café and cruised up on crutches with my swollen toes he had the look of a parent. That look of I’m gonna hug him…and then I’m gonna kill him. It’s a look I’ve seen in my Mom’s eyes many times…and probably would see right now if she was here. (BTW…I have not told them, the “P’s”, about the foot yet and I’m not sure I will. There’s nothing they can do and it will just stress them out more than they already are. Maybe when I get back to WPB :-)

Like a parent Hira gave me a hug and then began the cross examination. “What happened? Why didn’t you call me when you needed help? What doctor did you go to? What did he say? Are you in pain? Do you need anything? What about your flights?” It was seriously a barrage of questions and a minor debate. I kept smiling and saying “I’m fine. What were you guys gonna do? I got hurt so I put myself in a cab and went to the hospital. What would you guys have been able to do?”

Seriously it was a conversation way past that of a tour operator and a client. A client who’s trek ended over a week ago and had long ago paid in full.

“Mat you are very independent and that is good but sometimes you need to ask for help.” He said.
I laughed “Have my parents been calling you?!”

I stuck around for coffee with them and their friends and eventually the topic got off my broken foot and we were back to our laughing conversations about life and the world.

The next morning Shree arrived at my guest house at exactly the time he said he would. He brought a guy to box up some items I wanted to ship home, (books, souvenirs, my new mandala, a few left shoes that I wouldn’t need for the rest of the trip, etc.) and he got on the phone with the airline to help me move from standby to confirmed. He was on the phone for 15 minutes in a heated, fast, conversation in Nepalese. He didn’t get me confirmed but I’m pretty sure he moved me to the top of the standby list.

Eventually Shree put me in a paid for taxi and sent me to the airport. “If you don’t get on that plane you call us.”

Got it! No way am I crossing Hira again….and since I’m now sitting on the plane waiting to take off it doesn’t look like I’ll have to worry about it.

So “Viva Nepal! Viva Nepal!” I have not even left yet and I’m already trying to figure out when I could come back and how I could learn Nepalese in South Florida.

Thoughts like these; thoughts on the future, my future, are heavy on the brain these days. More so than normal. I have come to another fork in the road of life and I have chosen a path to follow. I am excited on where this path will lead but part of me still worries that I have chosen the path more traveled by. …..No change that. I don’t care who has or has not traveled the path I’m taking. It’s my path and I’m an individual able to accomplish anything I set out to do. I still worry this path will cloud my mind, perception, and goals for a lifetime of happiness but I will deal with these things one step at a time. I just hope I continue to feel as alive as I do when I wander.

MJF