Kathmandu Valley Photos

Kathmandu, a set on Flickr.

Here are the photos from our site visits in Kathmandu.

Last Day in Kathmandu

We've spent the last few days of our time here in Nepal exploring in and around Kathmandu Valley. We're back in a big city with lots of people and lots of traffic and loads of other tourists :) The food & atmosphere is great and the sites have been amazing- and François is in his heaven with every second shop being chock full of knock-off outdoor gear at "bargain" prices ;)

We visited several UNESCO World Heritage sites; Kathmandu's famous Durbar Square (where if you don't get christened by a pigeon, you should buy a lottery ticket), Patan Durbar Square where we were treated to a rooftop panoramic view and cold local Nepali beer, Bhaktapur where we indulged in the "King of Curds" (the creamiest, sweetest yogurt served in a clay pot from a little hole-in-the-wall shop) and finally Bouddhanath which is home to one of the world's largest Bouddhist stupas with pilgrims from all over the world dressed in all the colours you can imagine.

Tomorrow we fly on to Bangkok to start our next tour which will take us through Cambodia and Vietnam. We've checked with our travel agent and received the all-clear that Bangkok is functioning well, despite the flooding in Thailand.

This has been a great opening leg of our adventure. We've met some great people in our tour group and in the places we've travelled so far. We're sad to part ways but more great adventures lie ahead!

Lasting memories of Nepal: Annapura mountain views, temples, temples and more temples, throaty sound of Nepalis waking up in the morning (no need for further description....).

Namaste and see you in Bangkok!

Photos of India & Nepal 2011

India & Nepal 2011, a set on Flickr.

Our photo samples from India and Nepal tour

Into Nepal- Limbini, Chitwan and Pokhara

After an extremely long bus ride that became a 12-hr marathon, we crossed into Nepal just before sunset. Little did we know, the border becomes a human shark pit after dark with people coming out of the shadows claiming to be your tour guide, only money exchanger in Nepal, etc. Luckily, the immigration process out of India and into Nepal was a breeze compared to physically getting across the border. We hopped back on a bus and had a quick overnight stay in a jungle lodge with the promise of a "western" breakfast, complete with sausages, awaiting us in the morning-which our entire group ordered. What did arrive the next morning were indeed sausages, slightly hotdog-flavoured and curiously fingertip sized....but it was a welcome treat :)

After a brief guided tour of the birthplace of Buddha and a nearby temple (with a bizzare Buddha-land amusement park feel), we made our way to Chitwan National Park for a few days of rest. Standout moments at Chitwan were watching a rhino grazing at sunset and an early morning elephant safari.

Then we were on the bus again to Pokhara, home of the Annapurna mountain range. Pokhara is extremely touristy and it seems foreigners outnumber locals here. We had the treat of visiting a nearby mountain village, accessed by 2hr hike into the mountains. We stayed with the host family for one night and had fantastic views of the mountains. We're now back in Pokhara and getting ready to head to Kathmandu, our final destination in Nepal. We'll hang out in Kathmandu and explore some of the World Heritage sites and markets before we board a plane and start the next leg of our adventure: southeast Asia.

PS- We've finally managed to upload some photos on Flickr. We'll post the link in our next message.

Varanassi

So, Agra stinks. Literally.
Indeed, it's the home of the incredible Taj Mahal, and the amazing Red Fort, but these wonders are juxtaposed by the thick smog of surrounding brick factories and sulphur haze of chemical dye plants. All in addition to the usual scents of India. Yet another example of the land of contrasts that is India.

We boarded a train for an overnight ride to Varanassi, the land of the great Ganges. It amazes us how and where people can sleep: anywhere and everywhere with the train station being no exception. Tip for catching trains in India- keep your eyes on the porters. The PA system announcements will lead you astray; the platform screens are way off too. But the porters, they're in the know. The train itself was surprising good and tidy (except for the bathroom area, but that is no longer a shock). Turns out the sleeper beds are more comfy to lie in than sit, and it's finally paid off to be short when you ride the train- we enjoyed a much more comfortable sleep than the 2 tall Dutch girls who were sharing our sleeper car.

We arrived in Varanassi only 2.5hrs late, which is practically early :) The traffic makes Delhi and Jaipur seem like a quiet Sunday drive in the country. We braved the crowds and watched the evening prayers on the banks of the Ganges (pronouced locally as "gan-gus"). The sunset/nightime setting was a good cover of darkness to be on the water, so you could concentrate on the prayer rituals and not what might be floating alongside. There were literally thousands of people on the banks. Some for prayer, some to watch, some to cremate the bodies of loved ones travelled from far away. And another hundred boats in flotilla just off shore. To head back to our bus, we piled into cyclo-shaws and somewhere between trying to race each other within the chaos of people, we got separated from our group. Not knowing where to send our confused driver, we decided to ask him to take us back to the hotel. By cycle. Some 7+ kilometers away! It made for a very entertaining adventure and fun for us (but shaved a few years of life off our tour guide with worry!).

We got up early this morning to go back to the Ganges for morning prayer which turned out to be very different from the evening. The evening being more a group/mass ritual and the morning a much more solemn, individual time. For better or worse, we could see everything from the water- bathers, worshipers, laundry washers, mourners (and some floating bits that we won't talk about here...). The sunrise made for some fantastic photos and a really special experience, even if we didn't always understand what was going on.

Today is our last night in India and tomorrow we will cross the Nepalese border (fingers crossed!). Then we'll continue on with a new local guide to explore Nepal. We're both extremely excited for Nepal and Kathmandhu.

A few words to describe our experience in India: dirty, honking, colourful, filthy, extremes, squalor, majestic, sensory overload :)

Jaipur, Tordi Garh & Agra

We left Delhi to head to Jaipur, the capital of Rajisthan state. Much the same as Delhi: loud, busy, and very "fragrant". Highlights of Jaipur included the best lassi (fresh yogurt drink) anywhere from Lassiwalla, Amber Fort and amazing textile shops with every print, colour and type of fabric you can imagine. We visited a hand block printing shop where they apply designs to the fabric and were wined and dined in the luxury of the shop. A delightful contrast to the street vendors who hassle you as soon as you step off the rickshaw.

In Tordi, a small village 2hrs out of Jaipur by exciting jeep ride, was a welcome and delightful respite from Jaipur. No horns honking, just kids who were ecstatic to see us and even more ecstatic to have their photos taken. We took a camel cart up to the sand dunes to watch the sunset and sip on homemade chai masala. Since we will leave India before Diwali, the inn keeper put on a small fireworks display for us to celebrate our own Diwali. The next morning, we did a small tour around the village, where local rarely see tourists. We were followed (politely) by endless kids eager to have their photos taken as many times as they could get. Tordi was a beautiful escape from the hustle and bustle we've been experiencing so far.

A slightly faster, bumpier return to Jaipur and then we boarded a local bus (perhaps the filthiest, loudest, most uncomfortable vehicle we've been in) for the short 10hr ride to Agra. We arrived late last night, haggard, hungry and tired, but were delighted to find a comfortable bed in the middle of tourist mecca. We've never been so happy to get to a touristy area.

At dawn this morning, we went to the Taj Mahal to see the sun rise. The Taj is made up with gems and semi precious stones inlaid into the marble, so it sparkles from all angles in the sun. We now can appreciate why it's one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Later today, we'll visit the Red Fort here in Agra before boarding an overnight train to Varanassi. Should be interesting...

PS: Having problems uploading photos to the site. Stay tuned.

Four Days in Delhi

Delhi, our first destination, has been...interesting. François' curly hair has afforded him celebrity status, with numerous people wanting to take a photo with him. He too, has borne the brunt of vendor haggling (partially because of the unusual hair, partially just because he's the male).

We figured out the metro system (small victories) and managed to get ourselves to many of the "key" sites we wanted to visit (see photos). Our sleep is no longer so far off schedule and the food to date has been good- although the yummy-looking, significantly less expensive street food is tempting (though not tempting enough to risk

Lessons Learned in Delhi:

1. Everything is quieter in the morning. The airport. The streets. The metro. The sites. Most doesn't get bustling before 11am.

2. Honking is just another language here. Honk loudly. Often. And even if there's no one around, honk anyway....

3. If a vehicle could conceivable fit somewhere, why not give it a try. Bike, car, truck, bus, tuk-tuk. Think pedestrian alleyways are just for pedestrians? Think again! And make sure to honk. A lot.

4. Don't trust maps. Trust locals giving you directions less. Trust "tourist information" offices the least. I think they get some kind of points for giving tourists bad leads.

5. Stick close to locals when crossing the road. There is no such thing as jaywalking in Delhi. There is no such thing as a pedestrian crosswalk in Delhi. There is no such thing as vehicle lanes in Delhi.

6. You can almost set your watch by the 5pm power outage. Or by the hum of all the generators kicking in at 5:03pm. Everyday. On special days, you get multiple power outages. Can only imagine what it's like during Dawali when thousands of LED-lights strung everywhere get turned on.

7. The metro turns into a rugby-scrum at 4pm. Push to get on; push to get off. But yet every second train, which comes every 3min, is half empty.

We were told by some wise person that 2 days in Delhi is all you need.

They were right :)