My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Ahhhh......Pokhara.....it's everything I've heard and more. Love at first sight. After 4 hours in a local bus we switch to a taxi and head for my hotel. Sandeesh and I part ways as he will stay in a different hotel and then depart for Kathmandu the following morning. It's awkward as we shake hands. He's expecting a tip but I gave him $40 before we began the trek and I paid him for 21 days and we actually trekked for 14 days. Therefore with some 10 percent standard mark up (lol) he was paid a total of $180 more than what we had agreed on initially. That's more than a 50 percent tip so I'm OK with that and I just say goodbye. I liked Sandeesh OK but I'm glad to part ways. My hotel is awesome and for less than $10 per day I'm thinking I could retire here. Samu or something like that takes care of everything for me. This kid works his tail off while I'm there. The views from my room are incredible.....







Pokhara has a tourist area known as Lakeside (it's main road runs right along the shoreline of Fewa Lake). There are tons of souvenir shops and it seems to go on forever. It's exciting and I'm having a great time browsing the shops. Such a dramatic switch from the past 2 weeks. I don't regret my decision one bit.....



I spot another vehicle that is worthy of a picture. Tons of cool vehicles in Nepal.....



Fresh fruit juice is available everywhere.....



I have a great night's sleep at this low elevation and the perfect temperatures in Pokhara.....

 

[VicHanson]

Hi Jerry,

First chance I've had to sit and look at you pictures, they are fantastic! Sounds like you are having a great time, looking forward to the rest of your trip. I just got to L.A. last week, will be here for about a month before heading north to Tahoe and east to Minnesota for the summer. I expect to be on the East Coast this fall, maybe we can meet up if you'll be there.
Vic

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The following morning I eat at the hotel and then I decide to take a taxi to one of the Tibetan Refugee camps. There are several of these in the area and I'm anxious to see one. Unfortunately they are quite depressing. So many Tibetans live in exile due to the illegal occupation of their country by China. Both India and Nepal have large populations of Tibetans that would love to return to their homeland but China makes it impossible....



I mention to some of the Tibetans that I've volunteered for a Free Tibet organization in Washington, D.C. The old and young are so moved by this and my wrists are now covered with handmade bracelets that they offer me in thanks (I'm feeling as though I had done more and I really don't feel worthy afterwards).



Some of the older Tibetans I meet tell me about escaping with the Dali Lama in 1959 when the Chinese invaded Tibet and killed over one million Tibetans. We talk about how the Chinese are ruining their culture and even trying to destroy their language, even trying to breed with the Tibetans. It's really painful to listen but they want to talk about their plight so what to do.....



I walk to the monastery and talk with a monk for awhile.....I remove my shoes, enter, take some photos, make a donation, and leave. I'm feeling depressed here too.....







I walk around the settlement camp and take some pictures. I'm feeling really bad at this moment. It reminds me of some of the Indian reservations that I've visited in America. It's the same feeling actually.....









The Tibetans are hopeful that the Chinese will accept an idea proposed by the Dali Lama and his delegation known as the Middle Way. This would allow Tibet to self rule, but the Tibetans would acknowledge that they are a part of China. The Chinese have not accepted this concept and have continued to imprison many Tibetans for their beliefs. The Dali Lama just turned 80 and he dreams of returning to Lhasa.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I decide to walk back to Lakeside and browse some of the non touristy shops. I find some great deals on stocking caps. I'm now in a section of Hindi people and it's interesting to see the contrasts of the people.....





As I'm walking towards my hotel a cab stops so I jump in. I've walked enough I decide and for a few dollars it's money well spent. Plus these people need our money. Tourism is way down in Nepal this year and I'm hearing it over and over and I'm seeing it first hand. I hang out at the hotel with my new best friend and drank too much coffee....



Shambhu asks me if I would like to see a Nepali live band at a bar tonight when he gets off work. He works 7 days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and lives upstairs in a room with another worker. I think sure....that could be fun for both of us. So I return to my room and hang out.....



At the bar I buy Shambhu a beer and I have a Coca Cola. We sit together, listen to music and watch the people dance. Some Nepali girls are getting drunk and one very large woman begins telling me to ******k off. She's falling down and I'm trying to ignore her. Finally she disappears but then reappears when Shambhu is making a video for me. She grabs him and he agrees to delete the video. She's twice his size so again, what to do. We leave early, return to the hotel, and Shambhu volunteers to take off work for a few hours the next day and show me Pokhara. I agree because he's so nice even though I have hotel reservations in Kathmandu the next night. He was so excited when I said yes.....ugh.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I return to my room and begin to think that I need to get to Kathmandu in the morning. I pack my bags that night and plan to tell Shambhu that I've changed my mind. In the morning he sees my backpack in the lobby and I'm feeling like a jerk. He can't hide his disappointment. When I first arrived at the hotel I noticed this bounce in his steps. He ran everywhere and was always smiling. I had my coffee and meal and he was so sad. Serious. As I was leaving he asked if he could have pictures with me so he grabbed his manager and staged several best friends shots. We said good bye, I gave him some money which he refused but I insisted and then I was gone.....

The bus ride from Pokhara to Kathmandu was nothing special. I sat with a guy from the Czech Republic. We talked a bit about Shambhu and I told him Shambhu's family lived at the base of Mount Everest and they were peasants with a large family. Shambhu left when he was 17 to work and had only seen his family once since he left 4 years ago. Every month he sends his parents money from his small income. So we came up with this great idea...when I get to Kathmandu I'll call his boss and offer to take him to his village.....I have a week to kill......





Traffic is crazy between Pokhara and Kathmandu. Honestly I don't understand how it can possibly work. Passing on blind curves going uphill is so common so long as you honk your horn. All the while you look out your window and there's a drop of 2,000' to the river. Nobody cares.....but me. We only see one accident....2 motorcycles hit head on. Traffic is backed up for at least 30 minutes and lots of people jumping out of their buses to take pictures. Everybody in the world has a cell phone ! I choose not to photograph it.....it's ugly. After 8 hours we are back in Kathmandu. I make a call to Shambhu and they say "OK I will be there tomorrow". I have no plans for the next 7 days.....I can't wait to see what is next for me.....this is the best part of travel....the surprises.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Hi Jerry,

First chance I've had to sit and look at you pictures, there fantastic! Sounds like you are having a great time, looking forward to the rest of your trip. I just got to L.A. last week, will be here for about a month before heading north to Tahoe and east to Minnesota for the summer. I expect to be on the East Coast this fall, maybe we can meet up if you'll be there.
Vic

Hey Vic.....that just might work. My plan is to leave Virginia and drive north into Canada and then onto Alaska for the summer. I've driven the US route so many times now that I'd like a change and if fuel prices stay low this may be the year to cross Canada. I hope to leave beginning of June. Nepal reminds me of your past home.....Peru. Many similarities......

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Today turns out to be a leisure day.....just hanging out around the hotel, taking walks along the streets of Kathmandu, and reading my book. I'm actually just waiting to see if Shambhu (not Samu) shows up today. I'm out front of the hotel around 3:30 and I happen to see Shambhu's smiling face. He's always smiling.....always. He's got that bounce back in his steps and he almost runs to greet me. He calls me sir (which drives me nuts but he just can't help himself). I ask him how he's feeling and he says he's just so happy. Inside the hotel I immediately offer him cash for the bus and taxi fares and he refuses. Eventually I win and we begin to make our plans. He informs me that he has 2 sisters that live in Kathmandu so we make plans to visit them. We take local buses to the other side of town.....I'm so loving getting out of the tourist district.....

I count 22 people in our mini van......



On the way I ask Shambhu what his boss thought about me calling and making him this offer. He says that his boss was also happy for him and was glad that someone had rewarded him. It made feel good, really good.....yesterday I had felt so bad, really bad. Shambhu is still smiling.....



The mask is common in Nepal due to the dusty streets. I've avoided wearing one so far. There's no doubt in my mind about there being a smile behind the mask.....



On the way to meet his sisters he says if I want we can go to his best friend's place for dinner (they grew up in the same village and he really wants to see him). I say yes of course.....and I'm thinking this is going to be good.

His friend provides free meals to everyone. There's a live band performing Nepali music. The food is awesome and I stand out like a sore thumb.....





Shambhu, 2 of his sisters, and his nephews pose for pictures.....





We've made tentative plans to leave tomorrow morning to visit his parent's village. We plan to stay for 3 days. I understand that it's a 6 hour bus ride, then a 5 to 6 hour walk to their village. I say tentative because it appears that there will be a shutdown of all services in Nepal tomorrow which of course means buses will be out of service. There are rumors that it could be for 3 days but most likely only tomorrow. People are upset with the Prime Minister of Nepal so this will be their day of protest....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

So our worst fears turned to reality today as the anticipated shut down of Nepal occurred. I got a call from Shambhu telling me that he couldn't make it to my hotel as the entire transportation system was on strike. At least he was able to hang out with his family and friends. As for me, the hotel receptionist asked if I would like for him to take me to Durbar Square (a historical site in Kathmandu which was built over 200 years ago). So that was my day.....lots of walking all day in perfect weather......





This is Samir......my host for the day. What's amazing about his offer was that he'd just finished working the night shift from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. but still offered to help me. He refused money (payment) as well. He said "You good guy. It would make me feel bad". Typical Nepali......



I first met Samir when I stayed at this hotel 3 weeks ago. He just loved my tattoos. When I returned he had this huge octopus tattoo on his arm. Ugh.......



And some pictures taken at Durbar Square......

 

[Micmac]

What a fantastic trip. And now I see you are going to Canada and Alaska this summer. You just can't stay put. See you when you get back.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We shall see but that's plan for now......

I've not heard back from Shambhu and it's getting late. I decide to go walk the streets of Kathmandu and my plan is to go to the jungle on a tourist bus for a few days. My guess is that Shambhu has decided to go visit his family near Mount Everest but I'm not sure what's going on. The streets are bit dark but I've never felt threatened in Nepal. And I'm not then either. My only fear is that I'll get lost but fortunately an hour later I'm at the hotel packing, getting ready to leave in the morning.

The taxi drops me on the side of the street and as I'm stepping onto the bus there's Shambhu.....awesome ! I've got a friend to share the jungle trip with. We drop nearly 5,000' vertically and gets hot.....like really hot. What an awesome change.....

Toilet break....Nepali bathrooms along the road are really nasty.....





We arrive at our jungle lodge and it's perfect for us. And for $6 per night it's a steal. We went to the lookout tower for some jungle views. Not far away is the river.....



This is Shambhu's first vacation ever. He's really smiling now. He loves my camera so I decide to make him in charge of all photography in the jungle. Nepali people can't figure him out. I got him some white sunglasses and with the Nikon camera he looks totally out of place. I'm loving it......

There's a certain culture in Nepal....almost like a caste system. It's one thing that I do despise here. It's like the westerner is better just cause he's a westerner. It's not my style and I won't allow Shambhu to call me sir. It's a really big struggle for him. We relax in hammocks in the beautiful courtyard.....



The heat is getting to us (mostly to Shambhu) so we hike to the river and spot a rhino. Amazing !



We strip down and go for a swim in the river. It feels amazing and neither of us wants to gets out. Then we spot elephants. There's game everywhere here. It couldn't be any better.....



Now we're standing on the shore when an Australian couple that I'd met on the trek walks up. They've been to Nepal quite a few times and they say so you've been swimming have you ? Then they say aren't you worried about the crocodiles ? Hmmmm that hadn't occurred to me (I'm feeling really stupid). They point downstream a bit and there's 3 crocs. It's our last swim.



And then more elephants.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Shambhu loves taking pictures. It's odd to me for some reason. I don't understand his fascination but he's glued to the camera. I have lots of pictures now.....









I love dogs and this guy just shows up. He's super cool and we both love him until he rolls around in the elephant ********.......



Like I said.....I have lots of pictures now.....pictures of everything.....and I mean everything that we see.....I like it......Shambhu is really happy......

We head back to the lodge and see a crowd of westerners looking at a rhino. They're all in a restricted area and a soldier walks up and yells at Shambhu to get the tourist out of there. He assumes that Shambhu is a worker cause he's obviously a Nepali. This type of thing happens often during our travels together......

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Now we've hired a Jeep and guide for a 12 hour ride through Chitwan National Park. The first thing we do is hop into a dug out canoe to get to the other side of the river where our Jeep is parked. The air is still cool since it's 6:00 a.m. and we're the first Jeep to access the park.



Almost immediately we spot game.....I believe that a small herd spotted deer was the first game we see....



Then lots of peacocks. They're everywhere in the Nepali jungle.....



The Nepali bison was pretty cool. Our guide said it's rare to see one of these guys as they tend to stay away from people and the Jeep trail.....



We spot 35 rhino during our 12 hour ride. The guide tells us that on average 2 rhinos are poached annually. He says that it's typically poor Nepalis that do the poaching and are paid between $10 and $20 for each horn. He says they're sold to China where wealthy Chinese pay huge sums of money for the horns. What a ************** waste.....it really pisses you off when you actually see these animals.





The good news is that the rhino population is growing......the tiger population, once down to 9, has now grown to 120. Unfortunately we don't see a tiger....





Our Jeep was perfect for spotting game. We rode in the back with the guide and had a driver. Both guys were great.....



Shambhu has never had a driver's permit. I told him to jump in there and pose for me.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

As we're crossing a creek Shambhu spots something thrashing around in the water. The guide thinks it's a crocodile and tells us we need to stay put in the Jeep. After maybe 10 minutes the thrashing stops and the guide hops out to see what's up. He yells it's a python, come quick and look. It's fairly obvious that it's just eaten an animal.....





The snake was quite content with it's full belly so we walked right up to it.....





This bird landed right on the Jeep's roll bar. He showed no fear and hung out with us for several minutes.....



There are look out towers throughout the park. The park is also heavily guarded by Nepali soldiers. We have seen at least half a dozen outposts (you're instructed not to photograph them....not sure why actually)......





Not sure what I'm focused on in this picture.....and I'm not even sure why he took it.....but that's me.....



The heat in the afternoon was intense. We'd had enough by 3 but our guide and driver were going strong. I wanted in that crocodile infested water so bad.....

 

[2wheelbob]

Jerry - Thanks for posting up your travels! I'm currently on a ship bound for Alaska and your tales have helped me to leave the boat for awhile and travel along with you. If you make it back to Wyoming this summer, I hope you'll stop by for a visit. Stay safe my friend!! Bob

 

[longhorn1]

Jerry, Thanks for posting. What a great story. Longhorn