Varanasi/India – Kathmandu/Nepal
Good Bye India! I just had put together the most important rules to translate Indian English into English. So here the ‘f’ is often replaced by ‘p’ (works also the other way around) and the ‘th’ sounds like a t’, just to mention these two. ‘Fifty’ then sounds like‘pippty’ and one says ‘tank you’ and I tink. Over also the times of the strangest services, offered on the street, like ear cleaning. But also over are the immense stress and the permanent noise of the car horns. In general the Indian people are very friendly, but it often demands a great deal of self control from your side. An undisturbed break is almost never possible. There are always people around, starring at you with an unbelievable patience, touching the bike and you miss the sense of private space. For me absolutely annoying, is the inability of many people here to give clear information, especially when you ask for directions. Over and over again they just answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Even when you just ask them to show you if left or right, their hand moves somewhere in the middle… It is difficult to ask for directions here.
I am in Nepal now, the praised land for the mountain enthusiasts. It is more silent here. A pleasure, to cycle undisturbed on an almost traffic free road. It is also colder – only mid 30s C. First sight stop is the ‘Royal Chitwan National Park’. They have there crocodiles, rhinos, tigers. But at first a little disappointment. I was hoping to be able to explore the park independently, or just to cycle through, but instead no bikes are allowed and you need at least one guide. I still wanted to go in. At first we were canoeing, watching crocodiles. Then a hike through the jungle. I am the only visitor, so we are a group of three. There was not to much wild life to see, but the impression of the jungle itself was worth the trip. At last we rode on the back of an elephant through the bushes. It seems, that the other animals are more used to him. I can see Rhinos and the guide claims that he saw 2 tigers, which is quite rare. Unfortunately I didn’t see them, but I am still a hero, because I was so close to them. They could have caught me without previous notice! ;)
Later I turn onto a small side road to Kathmandu. Just one lane wide it winds across the mountains. The first steep rise. About 2000m up, to an altitude of 2488m. In a slow pace I am cycling 3 days through a beautiful scenery. Jungle, fields on steep slopes, small villages, great views, silence. A pleasure, when you are able to arrange with the time and the effort it takes to go up and up, hour by hour, the whole day and the day after. From one of the highest points on this road it is supposed to be possible to see 14 really high mountains, including the Mt. Everest. Unfortunately I can only see clouds. I spent one night there in a private house in a small village.
Now I am in Kathmandu. Here, first of all, I have to organize my further journey, because it is not allowed to enter Tibet individually. But before I move on, I want to take some time off, take a backpack and have a closer look at the highest mountains around.
Tom
translated by Maik
pictures to this article: Varanasi/India – Kathmandu/Nepal : Fotos
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