NOTES FROM NEPAL

What a contrast coming over the border from India, one minute the hustle, bustle, noise and sheer volume of people and then nothing its quiet no car horns no pushing its amazing and the border well the most informal so far. We arrived to a queue of trucks at six in the evening, trucks that continually cross the border empty from India to bring back aggregates from the Nepal river beds, queues of these trucks stretch away on each side of the crossing point, which itself is located in what only can be described as the town high street and consists of a raise up pole barrier across the road with a small brick wall dividing the rest of the street off, not that this is any deterrent to crossing, before we had our passports back from immigration with our Nepalese visas some of us had already walked across to the money changers on the Nepal side to change money and then wandered back again with nobody challenging us. The immigration office was located between two shops on the Indian side and once Jacko had parked the truck outside under the direction of one of the officials this then made it very difficult for the other trucks to pass, which meant that Jan could feed the drivers in the queue biscuits as they passed they where that close, there goes my snacks for the next day then. By nine o’clock we were through, due to the lateness of the hour we stopped at one of the first Hotels instead of making the planned bush camp which would of been another hour up the road, we then took over the driveway and proceeded to cook our evening meal, although we did have rooms to sleep in. The peace and quiet was bliss and after a little walk back to the border to buy some beers we settled down to our first peaceful night in Nepal. Narayan met us at the border he’s EOE’s agent in Nepal for organising travel and visa’s and would give us the rundown on what was available in the way of trekking and things to do while in Nepal. We headed off to Chitwan National Park the next morning the drive was refreshing after India, very bumpy yes but no rubbish laying around, less people about and some stunning scenery as we entered the foothills of the Himalayas for me this was where the trip really begins, arriving at Shiva’s Dream Hotel (much nicer than most of our hotels to date but where do they get these names from) EVENING DINNER CHITWAN NATIONAL PARK

after spending the last 10km of road having to lift power cables so that we could get through, we are getting quite dab hands at these now and yes Roy we have taken your points onboard about Health & Safety and have decided to call a meeting the day after we arrive in Sydney to discuss any outstanding issues such as steak handling on the barbeque and drowning at the bar under the local Toohey’s beer.
Chitwan National Park is famous for its tigers, and Rhino’s and you can do treks through the park both on foot or by elephant we opted for the half day trek on foot the first day followed by a two hour elephant ride on the second day, now for those of you who know Jan, will well appreciate her love of animals !! but after a little persuasion she was up for the walk which also involved a one hour canoe ride at the start, now this canoe started life as a tree which has had it’s branches removed and the trunk hollowed out so it was perhaps not quite as stable in the water as a luxury liner but Jan soon settled down to a tense nervous ride down the river, we soon saw some freshwater crocodiles basking on the river bank which helped to relax her even more (not),

we stopped off at one of the local watering holes and discovered a couple of Rhino bathing a short distance away and to give Jan her due she left the canoe and came and watched the Rhino with us something about the crocs getting her if she stayed with the canoe comes to mind. Once we land our two guides give us the safety briefing about what to do if we come across some of the wildlife, basically Rhinos you quickly climb a tree unless your in the long grass and then you struggling, Sloth bears can climb trees so lets hope we don’t come across them and as for tigers well stand tall and stare them down if all else fails then the guide will hit them with their two foot long stick it was at this point that Jan was hoping we wouldn’t see any animals and she was right apart from some fresh dung from the sloth bear there were none to be seen. The walk took us nicely back up river coming out opposite the village and after a wade through the mud up to your knees at times to get in the canoe for the short trip back across the river we make for the bar and a well earned beer and buffalo steak, delicious. This bar as it turns out is where we spend all of our early evenings watching the sunsets over the river with a bottle of the local brew Everest or Gorhka to keep us company. Next day brings both the elephant ride one of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever had, perhaps it’s because I’m losing weight and haven’t got all that padding anymore? (wishful thinking), this is followed by the elephant washing where we can all get in the water with the elephants, great fun is had by all even Jan joined in and climbed aboard Kat even gave us a step by step guide on mounting the elephant please see photos. Pokhara is our next stop, it’s set beside Lake Phewa you can see the Annapurna mountain range from our hotel’s windows but as this is monsoon season we are lucky just to get a couple of clear hours in which to see them. Our first couple of days spent here is mainly drinking, eating and shopping everything’s so cheap, steak dinners for three pounds and these are beef not buffalo, trekking gear is available North Face without the inner label, but at a fiver for a pair off zip off trousers we’re not complaining.

POKHARA THE VISITING BUDAH'S

A group of us opt to do a two day trek and then a two day white water rafting trip, meeting up with the rest of the group in Katmandu a few days later it’s there we have a two week break from the truck to do our own thing. The trekking went well although I don’t think I’ve climbed as many steps in one go in all my life, as the first day consisted of two hours climbing vertically through small hamlets and paddy fields to get up to the tea house where we stayed,

ENSUITE COWS TO OUR BEDROOM IN THE TEAHOUSE

once there we had some lunch and then went for a walk to the view point above the village during which we were introduced to the Leeches, a rather fast moving tiny little creature that once it’s latched on to you and sucked your blood turns into something the size of a small python (mild exaggeration), now we knew they were a problem at this time of year they only come out during monsoon but we didn’t realize just how much of a problem they were, if you stopped walking they were on you like a flash and quickly made their way up your trousers until they found flesh into which they could start to dineJan being the natural animal lover amongst us handled the situation very well by racing back down the hill with one of the guides in hot pursuit with only occasional stops on top of large rocks to check that none had managed to locate their selves on her person, the rest of us took a more leisurely pace down which might explain why on reaching the bottom I had a couple on my ankles, two on my stomach ( I know it’s big enough it can take it) and one on my neck, I didn’t feel a thing until you have to pull them off, salt is the way to do it but we didn’t have any and they weren’t spending the night camped out on my body!

BEFORE AND THEN AFTER THE LEECHE'S & YES THAT USED TO BE MY BLOOD

SETTING OFF IN THE MORNING TO RETURN

THE END OUR GUIDES doug, lynda, jan, me,

that Jan got away with it completely scot free unbeknown to me I left one in the shower so when she followed me in it ended up on her foot (I never like her to feel left out). At least at this time of year the place is empty of trekkers and we have it all to ourselves well apart from the leeches, October and November are apparently the best months for trekking with clear skies and cooler temperatures I wouldn’t mind returning in a couple of years time to walk the Annapurna circuit it takes about 18 days to do with some fantastic mountain views (how about it Colin up for it after your success on the three peaks).

SNOW COVERED ANNAPURNA RANGE

Next was the white water rafting again this is difficult at this time of year because the rivers are in flood with all the rain but we managed to spend a couple of days on the Seti river and survived to tell the tale with some very basic overnight camping consisting of a hose for a shower, local food and a fire on the beach THE DINNING FACILITIES WHITE WATER RAFTING definitely want to do some more when we get to New Zealand, we were then ready for some five star comfort at the Malla hotel in Katmandu. The Thamel district of Katmandu is Nepal’s tourist capital but with some good internet access and hundreds of restaurants and bars to choose from with good cheap food its serves us well for our four day stopover although pollution from the traffic and lack of pavements means a hazardous lifestyle while we are there. CALLUMS BIRTHDAY MEAL IN THAMEL KATMANDU LYNDA, ROB, JO, DOUG, KAT, JOHN, MO, CALLUM , ME

Packing up all our cold weather gear and sending it home is one of our first jobs as we now definitely know that both China and Tibet are off the itinerary now as visa’s are still not be issued. We spend four relaxing days at the Malla Hotel using the pool and gym (only Jan in the gym I hasten to add my lifestyle hasn’t changed that much) and then it’s off up into the mountains to a place called Nagarkot where its very quiet with brilliant views out over the Himalayas, Everest can be seen in the far distance on clear days but we have to forego that experience as there is far too much cloud about at this time of year, views from our balcony.Due to the enforced change of route we now only have a few days left before the truck leaves Katmandu on the 23rd of July and heads off through the west of Nepal to Bardia National Park, here we spend a couple of days for Jan to make some more friends in the animal kingdom and then its back into India for five days driving down to Mumbai where the truck is being shipped back to England (Felixstowe of all places), we then take the overnight train across India to Calcutta and from there fly to Bangkok arriving on August the 6th. South East Asia we will do in or on local transport your never quite sure when you see the amount of people on some of these buses, route yet to be decided, but ending up in Darwin to traverse Australia as per the original plan. Must dash for now we need to internet and book the flights to Bangkok or it will be a slow boat to Thailand.

ADVANCED GOAT HANDLERS COURSE NEPAL

INTERNATIONAL FELIXSTOWE ROADRUNNERS AT IT AGAIN IN NEPAL

INTERESTING INDIA

THE GANG, ME, JACKO, PAUL, CALLUM, LINDA, DOUG, JAN, JANE, JO, MO, KAT.
We left Lahore at midday on Wednesday the 18th June being only 30 km’s from the border with India, we were looking to cross in the late afternoon although you might think that after our experience’s of the last three weeks we would have been out of there as soon as possible, the reason for our late departure was so that we could watch the border closing ceremony that takes place at 1830, this spectacle some of you might have seen when Michael Palin featured it in his Himalaya series a couple of years ago. We arrived at the border and were amazed to find the cleanest and plushest building yet in Pakistan, the immigration building, with clean toilets, marble tiled floors and air con that worked, a complete contrast to their building on the Iranian border the mud hut with a bus shelter tacked to the side, the crossing went smoothly enough, a few words of gifts from the officials so we left them with a copy of that days newspaper complimentary from the hotel not quite what they looking for but that was more than enough for the memories that we were taking from their country.
We entered India through gates that have seating grandstands either side of them, for seating the ten to fifteen thousand people who attend the closing ceremony every evening, we went through the formalities of the Indian immigration and customs which involved removing your backpack from the truck and passing it through the scanning machine, just what good that done when all our tents and roll mats were left in the lockers unchecked we’re not sure but I’m sure it ticked the right boxes for the officials. We then proceeded to join the crowds queuing to get through security for the closing ceremony, luckily all foreign visitors get to sit in a separate grandstand and when the temperature is in the 40s we are pleased not to be crammed in like sardines although we were still fairly well packed in which meant, being careful not to drown in your own sweat. The difference between the Pakistan side and the Indian side became abundantly clear, bright saris and men and women sitting together on the Indian side where as the Pakistan side had separate seating areas for men and women and the dress was a lot more toned down, then the music started each country trying to play it louder than the other, with a party atmosphere and dancing on the roadway from the Indian ladies, that took us nicely into the closing ceremony where the soldiers who must have been specially picked for their long legs proceeded to carry out their quick marching and kicking at the Pakistan border guards, watching John Cleese in the ministry of funny walks must have been part of their training.

After the ceremony finished we continued on to Amritsar passing a huge sign welcoming us into the largest democracy in the world, so this is India.
We camped in the large grounds of a guest house

which also had a pool and chilled beers in the fridge, heaven after five weeks in the Islamic dry countries of Iran & Pakistan. We had one day here to go and visit the sights, which included the famous Sikh Golden Temple, after another fraught tuk tuk ride into town where we had only one accident clipping the back of a car which led to a short discussion/argument whereupon both drivers then got back in their vehicles and drove off, basically it seems that no rules on the road means no body can be to blame when it all goes wrong not very reassuring when your sitting in the back of one of these things!

JOHNNY DEPP LOOK ALIKE CONTEST AT THE GOLDEN TEMPLE

THE BIGGEST TONGUE CONTEST

After Amritsar we’re back on the road heading up into the mountains to Dharamsala this is where the exiled Tibetan Dalai Lama is based and it came as a refreshing change to get off of the hot plains and into the cooler mountains, we spend our day there walking the last 4 km up the mountain to Mcleod ganj, passing where the exiled Tibetan government reside to see the Tibetan temple and the Dalai Lama’s residence this we do in between the rain showers complete with cows, bulls, dogs and monkeys which roam the streets quite freely, Jan’s starting to relax just a little in the animal filled streets.

In the evening we visit the off licence called the “English beer and wine shop” trying to track down some red wine for Jan, it’s been six weeks since her last drop and the shakes are becoming quite noticeable now, plus it’s our 28th wedding anniversary and a treat was in order, we purchase a bottle of their finest red grape wine which turned out to be more like a port than a red but never mind, rob, john and me enjoyed it even if Jan wasn’t so keen.

ANNIVERSARY DINNER FOR SEVEN

Leaving Dharamsala the next day we start the journey to Delhi its about 300 km’s but on the windy mountain roads with lots of lorries we struggle to do 20 km’s an hour and the day slowly turns into a very long endurance event with cars lorries overtaking on the inside and outside of you sounding their horns at every opportunity not to mention blind bends and brows of hills but somehow they always manage to squeeze that twenty foot vehicle into a ten foot gap usually right on top of your radiator cap. With so many holds ups during the day we end up one hundred and fifty km’s short of where we wanted to be camping, and so the search for an appropriate bush camp begins, now we’ve done petrol station forecourts for lunch and tea breaks but never as yet camping at night but when its getting late and there is no other place we are grateful for the brightly lit Indian Oil station forecourt.

After pitching or should I say placing out our tents there’s no way you’re going to get tent pegs into block paving, the manager lets us cook just in front of their forecourt along with a couple of other trucks that have stopped, it was at this point that the already long day started to get unbelievable difficult, the manager had gone home and one of the employees had decided that he didn’t want a bunch of foreigners sleeping on his forecourt and called the police to move us on, so after several heated words, we have to repack the tents, load the tables and chairs and at eleven o’clock at night after leaving at six thirty in the morning we move on, luckily by the time the police arrived we had managed to cook and eat our dinner so we were now just looking for somewhere to sleep, a few miles down the road we find a closed petrol station and stop there, most of us can’t be bothered to get the tents out so crash out in the seats for a few hours not bad going the first time in eighty days of travelling that we failed to find somewhere to camp. Four o’clock the morning we’re back on the road we need to be in Delhi before ten o’clock as trucks are not allowed in between ten in the morning and ten at night, we get to the outskirts at seven thirty and stop for breakfast on another petrol station forecourt, this one it turns out has a

welcoming committee consisting of what seems like all the flies from Delhi much to Jan’s annoyance (by now she’s much better with cows, dogs and monkeys). We join the commuters for the slow crawl into the capital finally arriving at the hotel just before ten after having to lift some low power cables in one of the smaller side streets, a quick drop off at the hotel as the traffic policeman has no intention of letting a twelve metre truck loiter on his streets and off we go to find somewhere to park never an easy task when in a capital city. As it happens just opposite the hotel is Delhi’s fire service headquarters, I decide this could be the answer to our problem and set off inside to try and get the required permission, the first officer was very helpful and sympathetic to our problem but said that only the CFO could give permission, please go upstairs and ask, so off Jacko and me go, after speaking to his PA and writing my name and reason for visit down on a piece of paper, five minutes later we are sat in his office drinking tea and discussing the fine detail of our trip, thirty minutes later we emerge complete with permission to leave the truck there under the watchful eyes of their gate staff.

Please if anybody back home in Suffolk happens to have a member or ex member of Delhi fire service turn up and ask to park their truck during their round the world trip please return the favour. Back to the hotel by now a couple of hours has passed and I find a not too pleased other half, the standard of the room is well below Jan’s standards and she has already been up the road to sort out another hotel so it’s up bags and off to the Alka hotel for a couple of nights stay. Tuesday saw a whistle stop tour of the city hiring a cab between four of us to get around, after the first of the sights the Jama Masjid the biggest mosque in India and the Red Fort, a craft

HUMAYUN'S TOMB IN DEHLI THE TAJ MAHAL WAS REFINED FROM THIS

MORE PRACTICE AT SQUATTING

market our taxi driver said was the next place to see, we made it clear to the driver that his families bazaar and his brothers restaurant was not on our list of places to visit and the trip continued in a stony silence, but we did manage to see most of the main attractions in this bustling city of different extremes, from the Canary Wharf style developments out by the airport to the uptown shopping malls at Connaught Place to the cows & rubbish in the streets down by the railway station.
The Americans Larry and family rejoin us after their enforced absence because they couldn’t get visa’s for Iran and we head for Jaipur the second city on the famous golden triangle route through India, it rained, the first we had seen since Islamabad in Pakistan and the aftermath of several crashes we see on the road down to Jaipur, must be all those bald tyres struggling in the wet conditions.

MOSQUITO NET BEING PUT THROUGH ITS PACES IN AGRA
Jaipur is a pleasant city the best in India so far, lots of palaces from the Mughal empire to see and our accommodation is very pleasant no need for an upgrade here Jan’s happy.

THE WORLDS LARGEST SILVER POT WITH TWO OTHER POTS FOR COMPANY
Agra is the third city on the golden triangle and of course it’s the home of the Taj Mahal “its beauty cannot be described in words, one falls short of words while describing it’s beauty” quote courtesy of Katherine’s postcard, we visit at six o’clock in the morning to beat the crowds and as it turns out the weather, photo’s all done we return to the hostel for breakfast when the skies open and the first of the monsoon rains appear, turning the roads into rivers and forcing several in our group out of their rooms because of flooding. Another early start and we are off to Varanasi some 400 km’s away, here we are introduced to the Indian dual carriageway system good for making progress on, until you come across the vehicle coming the other way down the outside lane a common occurrence, or the cow or person sat in the road not flinching as you drive by inches away it’s a wonder they still have enough people to have the biggest democracy in the world from what we have experienced in our few close encounters. This trip as it happens, turns out to be almost as difficult as the one the previous Sunday to Delhi, making good time at the start, well after a minor knock which took off the wing mirror and so a quick change was made with the spare from under the floor and we’re back on the road, not expecting to reach Varanasi in one day we expect to bush camp overnight and get in the next day, unfortunately towards the end of the day we hit a major town called Allahabad and you guessed it no signs of any suitable sites to camp not another Petrol station forecourt we think, but as the rain comes down and nine o’clock approaches we come across a large restaurant/truck stop which can not only feed us, but also allow us to sleep in one of the empty dining rooms, the icing on the cake for some of us was that they had a TV showing the European cup final, the only thing missing was beer, oh well this is an overland trip I suppose we should have some hardship! Varanasi sits on the Ganges and it’s the heart of the Hindu culture, if you’re a Hindu then this is the place to be cremated bodies are flown in from all over India to be cremated in public on the Ghats that line the river, these are alongside the bathing Ghats where Hindu pilgrims come to wash away a lifetime of sins, from the state of the river that we saw this morning you’re more likely to get some life threatening disease than salvation from their sins. We were up early (5 o’clock see it’s not all play) to take a boat trip on the river and see all this in action, the rain is still coming down hard but at least it’s warm and Jan’s nervous in case the boat sinks (not like my wife to worry)she wasn’t very reassured when our guide informs us after just leaving the shore that he and a boatload of French tourists capsized ten years ago they all made it out safely probably walked ashore on the all the rubbish that’s floating by, I’m pleased to say the same fate didn’t await us, we were wet when we got out of the boat but only from the rain. We had planned a barbeque in the evening by the hotel pool and as we were cook group that day it meant us going out and getting some meat for it another first for us picking five still very alive chickens and then waiting while they were killed and plucked, which didn’t actually take any longer than buying it over the counter at Morrisons while we were waiting for the chickens the butcher cut up the goat ribs for us by holding the knife between his toes and drawing the ribs up down with his hands very skilful, we were certain that we would find some fingers amongst them when we came to cook in the evening, at least we knew it was all fresh it was all still warm.Next stop Nepal, India has been interesting and colourful, noisy and entertaining, cleaner than Pakistan and nice to see the ladies walking on the streets without having to be covered up, it’s been like stepping back in time with the old Morris Oxford Ambassadors and

Royal Enfield motorcycles still produced in India today being driven everywhere, an experience we wouldn’t have missed but not a country for us in the future. We are looking forward to Nepal, and at Kathmandu we have a two week break from the truck to recharge our batteries, perhaps rafting and a trek or if it’s still raining we might just chill out at a luxury hotel we both need a holiday !!!!!!!! this over landing can be quite tiring

SOME STREET SCENES OF INDIA

IN INDIA THEY LEAVE THE WHEELS AND PINCH THE TRUCK

A DEHLI STREET