Nepal

At krydse grænsen til Nepal er som at komme fra en bikube ud på stille sommereng. Forskellen er slående, men 30 mill. mennesker er jo også en væsentlig forskel. Turen fra Varanasi til Bhutwal foregik endnu engang med tog nogle timer, hvorefter vi krydsede grænsen Sunauli-Bhairahawa på gåben. I Bhutwal overnattede vi blot og fik en god middag for tidlig næste morgen at fortsætte til Lumbini, som er Buddas fødested. Det er så helligt, at man ikke må have sko på eller medbringe dem i området omkring den store hvide bygning, som indkapsler stedet, hvor Budda blev født – der var ønskebrønde både inde og ude, så du kan bidrage lidt til ”kassen”. Ligesom i Indien løber der mange herreløse hunde omkring og lider under heden.  De er alle venlige og burde blive taget hånd om, men kulturen er så anderledes.

Man kan bruge nogle indiske penge i Nepal men ellers har de egen mønt. Også her er der forskel på priserne alt efter om man er lokal eller turist.

Varmen var stadig ulidelig, men det blev dog en smule mindre varmt efterhånden som vi nåede Barauli i Churia-bjergene, hvilket var godt eftersom der ikke var aircondition i de små lerhytter, som vi skulle overnatte i. Landsbyen lå langt væk fra turistområder og muligheden for at være der var foranlediget i samarbejde med landsbyens beboere. Høns, geder, køer og marker samt kun med de mest elementære fornødenheder var et totalt afbræk fra larmen og menneskemængden og bilerne i Indien. Vi blev modtaget af kvinder iført lokal festklædedragt med blomsterkranse til os.

En hyggelig cykeltur rundt i området på cykler, der havde set bedre dage og som mere passede til små pygmæer end til høje vesterlændinge, blev den første oplevelse. Overalt råbte og vinkede børnene. Vi cyklede til Rapti-floden tæt på, som lå lige inden for hegnet til nationalparken Chitwan med næsehorn, tigre, leoparder og krokodiller m.fl. Dagen efter kørte vi imidlertid langt ind i nationalparken i Jeeps men så desværre ingen tigre eller leoparder, men vel ikke så underligt når der kommer larmende biler tæt på. Nationalparken er ikke lige som en Afrikansk steppe med masser af synlige dyr. Vi kom dog tæt på næsehorn – næsten for tæt samt så nogle tamme elefanter. Krokodillerne var ”desværre” også rimelig fraværende – der var en enkelt at spotte langt væk, men der var hjorte og masser af fugle bl.a. påfugle og papegøjer. Om aftenen var der ret imponerende lokal stammedans. De unge tilskyndes til at holde deres traditioner ved lige. Uheldigvis var jeg for træt til at deltage i gåturen i landsbyen næste dag. Det var hele tiden en kamp at holde trit med de andre pga. den virus, som jeg havde reddet mig.

I Pokhara, Nepals 3. største by, som ligger ved Phewa-søen, begyndte temperaturen at blive mere normal. Det tropiske lavland ligger helt tæt på bjergene, hvilket ikke kan opleves nogen andre steder i verden. Byen har udviklet sig til en ren turistby med masser af souvenirbutikker og restauranter og et startsted for bjergvandring, men stadigvæk en ret rolig by. På vej til hotellet besøgte vi et hjem for kvinder, der er sluppet fri fra menneskehandlere. Kl. 5 næste morgen gik turen til Sarangkot, som er et udkigspunkt, som ligger 1592 m over havet for at se solen gå op over Himalayabjergene, men diset vejr forhindrede os desværre i at se toppene ligesom al flyvning over dem måtte aflyses. Herefter blev det til endnu en dag med shopping og sightseeing i området.

Dagen efter blev det til endnu en lang køretur på ca. 200 km mod Katmandu, som varede 7-8 timer pga. de lokales uhensigtsmæssige kørsel og overhalinger i bjergene, som skabte en kø på flere timer mellem Pokhara og Katmandu. Vi nåede derfor også kun lige akkurat tempelkomplekset Swayambhunath (kaldet abetemplet pga. de mange Rhesusaber, der holder til). Templet ligger på en bakketop 77 m over dalen. Forneden af bakken går der en 300 trin trappe op til toppen, hvis man går hele turen op. De aber, som vi havde hørt så meget om myldrer rundt, var næsten fraværende måske pga. den særlige højtid med mange mennesker både lokale og turister. Hele komplekset var pyntet med en masse flag. Udsigten fra toppen var utrolig god og man kunne se ud over Katmandu. Om aftenen gik turen til en af Thamals mange restauranter og en kort tur rundt i de mange gader.

Den allersidste dag oplevede jeg for første gang regn på turen. Det væltede ned i nogle timer og så var det overstået, og for første gang kunne man tage en trøje på og lukkede sko. Efter regnen var Katmandus gader i Thamal (bazarområdet) det rene pladder, men det tog noget af støvet fra alle gaderne. Katmandu er utrolig støvet og beskidt. På Durbar Square var de i gang med genopretning af ødelæggelserne efter orkanen året forinden. Det kostede derfor en bondegård at komme ind på pladsen.

Mellem Durbar Square og Thamal for jeg vild. Jeg anede ikke hvor jeg var. Til sidst måtte jeg spørge en lokal, der ikke var til at slippe af med og som ”uden beregning” bragte mig broen over til det finere kvarter Durbar Marg, hvor butikkerne var færre og mere vestlige at se på. Han fik ikke en krone. Efterfølgende måtte jeg så spørge igen spørge om vej. De 2 unge betjente gik langt for at vise mig vej, men jeg er nu ikke sikker på, at de vidste hvor jeg skulle hen.

Godt udmattet fandt jeg omsider hotellet og så var det tid til at køre til lufthavnen, så jeg kunne komme hjem og pleje min sygdom, som var begyndt at tære rigtig meget på mig. 

Crossing the border of Nepal is like going from a busy bee cube to a silent summer meadow. The change is strikening, but 30 million people are also quite a difference. Another train ride from Varanasi to Bhutwal and the border of Nepal took this time only a few hours. We crossed the border Sunauli-Bhairahawa walking. In Bhutwal we just stayed the night and had a nice evening meal before heading to Lumbini the next day to see the birth place of Budda. The place is so holy that you cannot wear shoes or bring them into the area of the great white building which surround the place where Budda was born – There are wishing wells inside and outside, so you can contribute to the ”eternal” collecting money culture. Just as in India there are a lot of street dogs running around in the heat. They are all kind and should have been taken care of, but the culture is so different.

Indian 100 INR is also a valid currency in Nepal apart from this they have their own currency. Also in this country the prices are different depending on whether you are a native or not.

The heat was a little less unbearable as we arrived in Barauli at the Churia mountains, which was good as there was no aircondition in the small huts of clay for our overnight stays. The village was far away from tourist areas and our staying was made possible in cooperation with the locals. Hens, goats, cows and fields together with only the necessities were a total disruption from the noices, crowds  and cars of India. We were received by woman dressed in local outfits putting flower wreaths around our necks.
The first event in the village was a nice bikeride around the area on bikes, which had seen better days and were more fit for Little people than tall westerns. Everywhere the kids were shouting and wawing. One of the stops was the river Rapti not far away. It was behind a fence as the river was within Chitwan national park with rihnos, tigers, leopards and crocodiles etc. The next day however was a jeepride round the national park but unfortunately we did not see any tigers or leopards, but not so strange as cars are not silent vehicles. The national park is not like the African Savannahs with lots of visible animals. We did however come close to some rhinos – almost too close. Also a couple of tame elefants were around. Unfortunately crocodiles were fairly absent  – only one to spot far away but dears and lots of birds such as peacocks and parrots. In the evening an impressive tribe dance was performed by the locals. The Young ones are encouraged to keep their traditions alive.  Because of my virus I was too tired to attend next days walk the village area. Most of the time it was a struggle for me to keep pace with the group.

In Pokhara, the 3rd biggest city of Nepal by the lake Phewa the temperature started to become a little more normal. The unusual combination of tropical lowland and Mountains is not seen anywhere else on the globe. The city has developed into a tourist area with lots of souvenir shops and restaurants but still rather peaceful and a starting point for trackers. On the way to the hotel there was a stop by the home for women having escaped their trafficers. The next morning 5 am we were heading to Sarangkot, which is a peak 1592 m above the sea to see the sunrise over the Himalayas. Unfortunately the weather was to misty and we couldn't see the top of the Mountains. Even flights over the Mountains were cancelled for the same reason. After this there was another day of shopping and sightseeing in the area.

The day after it was another long car drive of about 200 km to Katmandu. It lasted 7-8 hours due to the crazy driving by the native people and the many takeovers on the narrow mountains roads ended up in a car queue of several hours between Pokhara and Katmandu. Therefore we only just made it to the tempel complex Swayambhunath (also called the monkey tempel due to the many Rhesus monkeys that stick around). The tempel is on a top of a hill 77 m above the valley. From the the bottom of the hill there are 300 steeps to the top if you walk all the way up. All the monkeys that we had heard so much about were absent - maybe because of the extra many local people also present to celebrate the season. The entire complex were full of small flags in different colours just as was the case in Buddas birthplace in Bhutwal. The view from the top was amazing and you could see most of Katmandu. In the evening we were walking the streets of Thamals to visit one of the many restaurants.

The last day in Nepal it rained for the first time on my trip. Actually it was pouring down for several hours and then suddenly it stopped. For the first time I wore a cardigan and closed shoes. After the rain the streets of Katmandus especially in Thamal (the area with bazars) were very muddy, but it cleared away some of the dust. Katmandu is unbelievable durty and dusty. In Durbar Square a reconstruction of the damages from the hurricane the year before was ongoing. The price to enter the area was astronomic.

Between Durbar Square and Thamal I was lost. My inner compas was totally out of order. I had to ask a local for help but of course he was not that easy to get rid of - he wanted to show me the way out of the area "free of charge" and brought me to the bridge to the richer nabourhood Durbar Marg, where the shops are fewer and more western. He didn't get a dime. However still not knowing the way to the hotel I had to ask two young policemen for a direction. They walked far to show me, but I think they did not know where I was heading because I ended up not far away from the spot where I had started in Durbar Marg.

Very exhausted and in good time before having to go to the airport I found the hotel so I was able to get back home and get well, as the virus was beginning to wear me out.