Final (late) Blogpost

So K and I made it back a while back. So this is the final blogpost

India and Nepal were very different from what I am used to here at home. But it was an excellent experience, definately need to go back!

अपडेट...

so it has been a while! Last time I wrote, I was still in Pokhara. Since then, we've been to multiple cities! It was an uneventful bus ride from Pokhara to Kathmandu. 7 hours or so. We spent 3 nights in Kathmandu, seeing the sites. Went to Patan, Swayambunath, Bouda and Bhaktapur. The architecture is amazing!!! I have tons of pics, will upload like crazy in a few days!!! [aside: everyone here in Nepal/India LOVES Bryan Adams. Seriously. I've heard his song being played everywhere!! the one thats like 'everything I do, I do it for you...' Its playing right now in the internet cafe lol]
Trip from Kathmandu to Lumbini (birthplace of the Buddha) was a bit more *exciting*. Nepal was having many bandhs (read:strikes) on the day we were travelling. The trip was supposed to take 9 hours, but instead took over 12 due to all the road blocks!!! There were two issues going on. The President and Vice president were just elected in Nepal, and the VP was callous enough to take his official oath in Hindi, and dressed in Indian clothing. So many many people were very offended, thus the strikes. ANother issue was that students wanted decreased bus fares, and so they were blocking roads too. Anyhow, it was a long long journey. Lumbini was pretty cool though. Theres tons of different temples there, all in the different styles of each country that built the temples.
From Lumbini, we went to India. It was a 3 hour bus ride from the border of Sunnauli to the nearest railhead at Gorakpur. From there we took a train to Varanasi. I think it was 6 hours or so. Since we booked our tickets the day of travel, all the AC cars were booked up, so we went in non-ac, which was pretty gross. It is MEGA humid in this part of the world!!!
Varanasi..... dusty, dirty, loud, crazy.... It is quite the place. There was a big Shiva festival going on, with tons of pilgrims dressed in orange, yelling 'bolbum' or something like that. They get the Ganges water, and RUN through the streets to the temple with it. Seriouisly, they will run you down!!! It is true what they say, everyone in Varanasi will try to rip you off. Except for our awesome hotel. But everyone else will try to take advantage of you.
Our last day in Varanasi, we went up to Sarnath to visit Karma and Tashi (the monks we met earlier on in the Jeep to Gangtok). It was nice visiting them again. They took us on a tour of Sarnath and then Tashi took us back into Varanasi so we could catch our train up to Agra. We went to a McDonalds, and I got the McAloo Tikka burger:p K got the Veg Surprise burger lol.
So the train up to Agra was 5 hours late. An 11 hour train ride that is 5 hours late... Go figure, its India!! And yet again we managed to not get an AC berth, so yet again it was a sticky-gross night in the non-AC car. Oh and I managed to get the flu sometime in here...
Anyhow, now we are in Agra, but tomorrow is our last day here. We take the train up to Delhi tomorrow evening. We were lucky to arrive here during the birthday celebrations of Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal. Due to these celebrations, entry is free!!! Normal entry is Rs750 (about $15 CAD I *think*, to put into perspective, our accomodations cost Rs 300 per night) So K and I have been to see the Taj about 4 times :D I highly reccommend it to anyone!!!
thats the past few weeks in a very small nutshell!!
till next time,
D

Round Rotis and Husbands

Today was a roti rolling day। At work, I helped Amaa and Uma with rolling rotis. I am not very good at making them round. They were rather square/rectangular/long. When I got home, I found out that we were having roti as well! (we usually eat rice) So of course I volunteered to help. My roti rolling skills have improved, I did even manage to roll ~2 round ones! Anyhow, according to the people here, having the ability to roll round rotis means that you will easily find a good husband. So my roti rolling abilities show that I will not find a Nepalese or Indian husband.

नमस्ते!

दंयका इस अवेसोमे!!!! इ लव एअतिंग रोटी! व्हो नीड्स अ हुसबंद अन्य्वाय्स? यम! इसं'टी थिस थे कुलेस्ट थिंग एवर?????

Nepalese of the Male Variety

Funny anecdote....

Getting clothing made is quite inexpensive here, under $2 to get a shirt made. So Kat and I are trying to take advantage of such an opportunity. So we were at a cloth shop (theres tons everywhere) looking at cloth, and the salesman starts asking K if she'll take his friendship. And then he says he wants to marry a foreign girl. And then asks if she'll marry him :p Of course, K said no, and said that she already had a boyfriend. So he asks if she has any friends who'd marry him :p lol....
And then at another fabric store K was getting a pair of pants made, so on the receipt she wrote her cell phone #. And lo and behold, the stringy haired salesman texted her the next day and asked for her friendship. And sent a lovely poem haha. And phoned multiple times...

Good times good times, since all I do is sit here and laugh :D

Bikes, Cars, and Walls

So as you might know, I rented a bike and ride it to and from work everyday. And lately it has been raining crazily when I need to go out. So, the other day I forgot my poncho and only had my umbrella. So I biked back up from work, with my umbrella (and got soaking wet still). Some of the roads here are potholes connected by street. Well, going down one of those roads, I managed to run into a parked car:p

The other day I managed to hit another parked car and a wall. All in the span of 5 minutes or so. So beware, all you pedestrians.....

Namaste

Still in Nepal. Rainy rainy ness is here. Or just here when I need to ride my bicycle. It seems like its always pouring rain when I have to go somewhere on my bike. Murphy's law? Not really missing you folks at home (sorry!) but am missing the beaches, especially on the sweltering days that we've been having. Its freakishly hot (okay, probably only low 30's), then it rains a bit and we get a bit of a reprieve, then goes back to freakishly hot, all in one afternoon. I am very glad that I am not in India right now, because for sure it must be hotter there.
We have about 2 weeks left in our volunterring. Time flies! We are now planning phase 3 of the journey. This will take us from Pokhara, to Kathmandu, to Lumbini, across the border into India, to Kushinigar, to Varanasi/Sarnath, to Agra, and then back to Delhi. All in the span of about 2 weeks or so. Wow, in fact, in exactly 1 month and a few hours, we will be boarding a plane back home! Crazy... I understand why people travel for longer periods of time. I met some UK volunteers at my volunteer workplace, and they had been gone for 8 months. That seemed like alot when I was talking to them, but seeing how our time in Pokhara has flown by, it definately doesnt seem so long anymore!!!

ants and deet

So deet is toxic for ants. Nepal is full of bugs. As with many subtropical countries, there are bugs everywhere. We had a few minor ant infestations, mostly due to us leaving food in our room. So in an effort to kill as many buggers as possible, decided to try the 30% Deet lotion on the ants. And it works. All you need to do is touch the darn buggers with it. Humans 1, Ants 0.

Life in Pokhara

As you might (or probably don't) know, Nepal has a fuel crisis. A few months ago, the Nepalese government stopped paying Indian Oil for fuel. And Indian Oil didn't like that. Seeing as Nepal is a landlocked country, and has no oil reserves of its own, all oil comes from India via Indian Oil. Anyhow, there was a strike a few days ago, where the buses and taxis were all off the roads. For me, the cyclist, this was bliss!! The buses here chug along and release huge clouds of black exhaust - yuck!! So for 5 days there was gloriously semi-unpoluted air (still motor cycles around). Anyhow, now that the buses and taxis are back, the air is gross and gritty and black in areas. And it doesnt help that it hasn't rained really well in a few days - but it is raining now!! Hopefully there is a good soaking tonight, and the rain stops tomorrow when I have to leave again for work.

Life in Nepal

So as you all know, Kat and I are staying with a host family in Pokhara. My volunteer placement is a ways away from our home, so I rented a bicycle and cycle to and from work everday. It is ~10-15 minutes there (nice gentle downhill slope) and 17-25 minutes back (uphill, of course). The main obstacles are major potholes, erratic motorcyclists and taxi drivers, stray cows and water buffalos, and the ever present black exhaust from every vehicle. I swear my lungs must be black by now. Oh yea, I forgot about the suicidal buses. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant enough ride. On the way home I cut through Chipledunga (how cool of a name is that?) which is a market area, and buy goodies. Like the other day I bought a kilo of mangoes for 50 NRs. Yes, I overpaid, since I heard a local getting them for 40 NRs, but in CAD, 10 NRs is really not much. Like 15 cents. Today I bought a cucumber for 5NRs. They are 15NRs per kilo. Food is pretty cheap here. Kat and I like going to the supermarket and stocking up on cookies and candy :) North American brands are obviously more pricy, but the things produced in Nepal or India tend to be pretty cheap. We've been trying various types of cookies. The last pack we bought was mango creme cookies, for 20 NRs :D So in addition to the LOADS of food that our host family feeds us (seriously, its tons, I'll take a picture tonight :p ) We are eating tons of junk. Good times. So get ready to see Kat and Dan Ver. 2.0. meaning twice the size :p lol jk

Croc Tan - because its too funny

Prior to setting out on this trip, many people suggested bringing crocs for the rainy weather. Normally, I would turn my nose up at the thought of wearing crocs, but the wet runners issue made me come around. Thankfully I did not have to shell out any moolah for a pair, cause my grandma had a pair that was too big for her :D Anyhow, I am now a semi-convert to wearing crocs. Why? Because of torential downpours. When it rains, it pours! Plus, my runners are sopping wet as we speak, cause Kat and I got caught in a torrential downpour yesterday. Apparently yesterday was the start of the monsoon, but you could've fooled me, since there has been torrential rain periodically pretty much since we landed in Delhi. Anyhow, back to the title... In Pelling, my runners got soaked after getting caught in yet another torrential downpour. So, in Darjeeling I had to wear crocs, since my runner smelt like rotting. Seriously. After a long day of walking in Darjeeling (and a subsequent shower) I looked at my feet, and what'd you know? Dark spots. Seriously. I still have a distinct croc tan, since during trekking I wore runners (which thankfully dried in Pokhara). So I have 5 dark dots on my right foot. Amusing, eh?

Trekking

Kat and I went on a 6 day (but really more like 5.5 days) trek in the hills surrounding Pokhara. Much of the trail was uphill, or downhill, not much inbetween. Needless to say, my legs are sooooo sore! We got nice views of Annapurna South, Hiuncholi, and Machapuchre from many of our stops. The weather held up nicely, as it is the beginning of the monsoon. It only poured once during the day, but every day was pretty wet. And there was a huge abundance of leeches - ewww! I never got bitten, but at one point I had 2 leeches on one shoe, and 3 leeches INSIDE the other shoe. Kat got one bite though:p The grossest thing is when they climb up your legs. The best/quickest way to get rid of them is to either flick them off with your finger, or pinch them and roll them into a ball and throw them away :p

Day one was taking a bus from Pokhara to Nayapul, and hiking up to Tikendunga, where we spent the night in a guest house. This one was pretty nice, but its all relative :p Nice means low levels of bugs, bright, and a cleanish bathroom:p Food is really expensive (again, relative) on the trail, because everything has to be carried in either by porters, or by donkeys. I think more often than not it is human porters that are used though.

Day 2 was killer, we hiked up from Tikendunga to Ghorepani. Straight up a gazillion steps. In the rain (this was the rain day). On the way, there was a dead man under a plastic sheet, with some villagers surrounding him. Kat thought he was asleep. He was definately dead. Another foreigner's guide told her that the man had been drinking and had fallen off the mountain. I believe it is possible to die from falling down those blasted steps!! Our stay in Ghorepani was nice. The guesthouse was by far the nicest - no bugs!! We met a Finnish couple there and the man was quite interesting, and we learnt alot about the Finnish med school :p

Day 3 was the short hike to Tadapani. The guesthouse here was gross. The shower had dead worms and live leeches in it :S But the company here was quite nice. We met a British girl, and her smiley guide, an American lady and her Tibetan guide (and very fast walking porter), and an Aussie girl and her guide. Most people here trek with guides, because well, they know the area so well. Kat and I had a guide arranged for us via our volunteer program. He was nice at first, but got to be quite annoying by day 4ish. Anyhow, the afternoon in Tadapani was raining, so we played cards with the British girl and her guide. Its quite amusing how no one knows each other's names, we just refer to eachother by their country of orgin. The American lady was over 70 years old, but was doing a 17 day trek! Incredible! She seriously has been to so many countries - I definately want to do the same!! (not the trekking part :p, 6 days is enough for me) We kept on crossing paths with these 3 other groups, during the rest of our trek.

Day 4 was trekto Landruk. Here we saw the villagers butcher a young water buffalo for meat. It was pretty cool! 6 families pitch in to buy the buffalo, and they all share the meat equally. They also all share the workload of killing and butchering the meat. Kat and I spent about 3 hours just watching them! It was like a party/celebration for them. The kids came out, the wives watched and some helped with the cleanup, and the local wine was brought out. They invited us to share wine, but we declined. They also insisted we try the freshly grilled buffalo liver, so Kat and I both had 2 small pieces, not wanting to get ill from anything! It was really good. Oh I should note that we didnt actually see the buffalo get killed, it was already dead by the time we came accross the activity. Landruk was my favourite stop, because it has a community feel to it. And this is where we met the eccentric Irish-Aussie girl and her of Mongolian descent guide. A dog followed the girl down from Gandruk, which is about 1.5 hours away, and she bought it food to eat, and gave it all her leftovers. So from that point it followed her all the way down to the end of the trail.
Day 5 we walked to Dhampus, which was actually pretty flat, which was a nice change. And it was a boring town lol. So Kat and I spent the late afternoon/evening watching the water buffalos walk around.
Day 6 - Today! Finally reached the end of the trail in Phedi! Part of the trail wound around rice paddies, while the rest was down some steep steps. Oh how I hate steps!! Anyhow, caught a bus (that had a seriouisly suicidal driver) back to Pokhara, and here I am now :p

So that is my Nepal trip up to date. And I got kinda bored writing it lol. Kat and I move in with our host family tonight. They live kinda far from both our volunteer placements, so we will be looking into renting bicycles.

Thats All!

Darjeeling to Nepal

Last post had our intrepid heroines rendez-vous -ing in the exotic locale of Darjeeling. In this episode of summer travels in far far away land, our heroines are in another country, miles away from home.

Kat and I spent a total of 3 nights in Darjeeling. I managed to get a minor cold during this time. It sucks. We also discovered the wonders of sending laundry out to get done. We tried to do our own laundry in Pelling, but it refused to dry, and as a result we had some pretty nasty smelling laundry by the time we got to Darjeeling. Since Darjeeling has a water shortage, the guest house requests that guests do not do their own laundry to save water. Thus, we sent our laundry out, and it came back smelling fresher than we could have ever imagined!! It was slightly pricey, but worth every penny!! (you would aggree too, if you smelt it prior to being sent away... phew!!!)

Anyhow, back to Darjeeling. We went to the Shree Mahakal Mandir, where there are lots of monkeys about. Mandir means temple. Our guide book warned us of the monkeys. We were very excited to see the monkeys! Kat went up to a mom and baby to take its picture, and she got too close. So she ran away while the monkey hissed. I was busy taking pictures of the prayer flags, and did not notice the monkey coming towards me. So it cornered me and raised its creepy paw and I screamed. Other tourists laughed, and I eventually ran away from that freaking monkey. So that is how Kat got a monkey to attack me. She usually leaves out the part how she was the instigator, and how I was an innocent bystander. Anyhow, these monkeys are vicious. They were chasing other tourists around. There was a guy with a big stick whacking the monkeys that got too close to him. Another monkey also grabbed the hair of a girl, as she walked by it. Kat has this on film. So, if you're ever in Darjeeling, and go to the Shree Mahakal Mandir, avoid the monkeys. And travel in a big group.

Darjeeling was also the site of the almost dog attack. Like most cities here, there are plenty of stray dogs wandering about. Who knows if they have rabies or not. Anyhow, Kat and I woke up about 3amish to catch a jeep upto tiger hill to see the sunrise. Tons of tourists do this, it is seriously a mass exodus out of town. Hundreds of tourists and jeeps leave Darjeeling early early early to head out to tiger hill. Unfortuneatley it was cloudy the day that we went, so there wasnt much to see. It was also very cold, and slightyly amusing to see the Indian tourists so bundled up. Darjeeling must be one of the few places where Indian men walk around with scarves tied around their heads and women's shawls wrapped around them!! It was cold even for Kat and I, so imagine how cold it must feel for someone used to the heat!! Anyhow, about those dogs. We were walking down the deserted street, and suddenly these stupid dogs run up to us and bark ferociously. My instinct is to run (bad). Kat apparently knows how dog's eyes work, so she stays still (cause apparently they can't see you if you dont move?!) So eventually the dogs stop barking and we slowly skulk off. Later on in the day, when the crows are out, the same dogs tried to attack a boy. All a man had to do was pretend to kick them, and they ran off. So maybe thats how the locals avoid dog attacks!!

After Darjeeling, we took a very cramped bus down to Siliguri. This took 5ish hours. There were 15 people in jeep!! From Siliguri, we took another jeep to Panitanki, which is the Indian border town. There we waited FOREVER to exit the country. There was a big group of Bangledashi tourists, and they processed all of them before they got to us. It was hot, and painfully slow. Finally we got our exit stamps, and walked accross the border to Kakarbhitta (Nepalese border town). The guide book says its about 100 m, but its more like 1km. Or it felt like that with the heavy packs and hot hot heat. The bridge that connects Panitanki with Kakarbitta is very nice though, the views are of rice paddies and cows! It took much quicker to get our Nepal visas. We spent the night in Kakarbhitta, because the next day we flew to Kathmandu, via Bhadrapur. We decided to fly, due to my tendency to get carsick. Also, the political situation in the far east isn't great, we hear, so flying may have been a good idea. After experiencing the 7hr busride from Kathmandu to Pokhara, I am very glad that we flew!! We flew Buddha Airlines, which was very nice. The plane carried ~20 people, but looked very new. It even had an open cockpit, so we could see directly into the cockpit and see the piolet and copilet flying!!

We spent 1 night in Kathmandu, before taking the bus to Pokhara. Kathmandu is dirty, dusty, and hectic. But, it has some very nice old temples, that are very much used! It is refreshing to see how life occurs around these temples still, rather than roping them off. We also saw the house of the Royal Kumari, who is a living goddess. She is replaced approx every 8 years, when she reaches the age of 12. We didnt see her though, but maybe we will be lucky enough on our return trip to Kathmandu.

Busride to Pokhara was uneventful. The buses are less comfortable than the shared Jeeps. It was a HOT ride!! I am not made for such hot weather!! Luckily, Pokhara is cooler. There are afternoon thunderstorms, that cool off the air. Today we started our Nepalese lessons. I am not very good, but hopefully with practice I can improve :) I can say 'Mero ghar Canada ho", which means I am from Canada.

We will do some trekking on the weekend, then start our volunteer placements. The reasoning of trecking first, is to avoid the monsoon, which will be starting soon.

Till next time,

D

Pelling and Darjeeling

Pelling was a little mountain town, centered around tourism. There is not much to do there, and most people use it as a base for daytrips or for trekking. We stayed 2 nights, arriving late in the day the 1st night. We ate dinner at this small restaurant, called 'Open Restaurant', run by a Sikkimese family. Kat is now hooked on momos. That day, we hiked up to Pemaganste Monastery, then down the hill to the town of Geyzing. We took a jeep back up to Pelling, ate lunch, then hiked WAAAAYYY up to Sangacholing Monastery, which is one of the oldest in Sikkim. I seriously almost died on the hike up. Am sooo out of shape!!! While at Sangacholing, it started to torentially downpour. I find that some monasteries are definately more affluent than others, as they are much cleaner and in better shape. I don't know how many monks are in the state of Sikkim, but there must be tons. There are monasteries everywhere. I am starting to be able to recognize some of the statues/paintings, but still am pretty bad at it. Karma must have pointed out specific boddhisvattas hundreds of times, yet I still don't really remember. From Pelling, we took a jeep down to Geyzing, then booked tickets on a jeep for Jorethang from there. The trip down from Pelling we sat in 1st seats, which actually wasn't that great... got kinda woozy, but not too bad. I love these Pudina Hara capsules that were suggested on an India travel forum. They are just mint extract, and are quite good for managing motion sickness and general nausea. Trip from Geyzing to Jorethang we rode 3rd seats, which wasn't too bad. The jeep had no door on Kat's side, and an open window on the back, so there was plenty of airflow. Jorethang was HOT!!! About 34 degrees, according to the people at the tourism office. You know its hot when even the locals are wilting!!! In Jorethang, we found the ticket booth for booking a jeep to Darjeeling. The road to Darjeeling is as described in our travel guide: precipitous and hair raising. It is incredibly narrow, bumpy, and steep throughout. But the views are amazing!!! Part of the journey winds through many magnificent tea estates. The tea fields themselves are in impeccable shape! It took us 5 hours in total to get from Pelling to Darjeeling.

Sikkimese people are super nice!!!

So it was after dark when we arrived in Gangtok. It was nothing like I expected. I expected a small town, that wasnt too commericalized. It was a major shock, arriving in a town where the streets are lined with hotels!! The town is ver;y popular with Bengali people trying to escape the heat. Kat and I did not prebook any accomodations, as we expected to just go to a hotel in the guide book and stay there. So once we got off at the jeep stand, we were dazed and confused (or at least me :p ) The two monks (Karma, and I don't know the name of the other... was pretty carsick lol) phoned our expected accomodation for us, and after a long round about way, we ended up staying at the home of Karma's sister. Karma's family treats us very nicely. He and his sister (Namgim) took us on a whirlwind tour of Gangtok and surrounding areas yesterday. We visited multiple monasteries, the waterfall, and all around Gangtok. Since it is tourist season, taxis can be hard to come by, so coming back from one of the destinations, we hitched a ride with a dumptruck playing loud Hindi music. It was truly an experience. Last night we stayed at their family's house, out in the village. It is very pretty out there, very green around. Today we visited Rumtek Monastery, where we met some of Karma's friends. It is pretty cool, getting the behind the scenes tour whereever we go! Anyhow, must sign off. Will be going to eat soon, and everyone is waiting. Are staying 1 more night in Gangtok, and tomorrow will go to Pelling. Deekie, (Karma's older sister) has arranged for somewhere to stay for us (very busy there too)

internet cafe is closing!!

till later...

First post from India

So it has been 5 nights in India so far. 1st impressions of Delhi was hot, dusty and dirty! Very chaotic, but also super awesome! It is quite the change. We stayed in the Pahargang area, which is very run down. Well compared to Canadian standards. I'd post pics, but there is no card reader here. There is trash in the streets, and many skinny cows roaming about!! We arrived during a torrential rain storm, so thank goodness the temperature was very pleasant. Our plane was late, so we checked in around 2;15am. Next day walked around tons, bought our train ticket to New Jaipalguri (aka NJP), and tried to find the foreigner's registration office to get our Sikkim permits (but failed in that). Bought some probably overpriced indian clothes too :p Next day, woke up and took a cycle rickshaw to the train station to catch our train. The train tickets were $80 USD for the two of us, but this was for 1600km train journey, and included meals. Since we booked via the tourist office at New Delhi Station (NDS), we were placed in a compartment with 4 other foreigners. 1 american, 2 Nepalese, and 1 Bhutanese. They were all very pleasant. The train was 28hours long. We booked 3tier a/c class, which is exactly as it sounds, 2 triple bunkbeds on each side of the compartment, and a tiny table in between. I officially had the top bunk (more headroom) but Kat hijacked it from me, so I got stuck with a middle tier bed. The Bhutanese man we met we found out was a monk, late in the journey. He got off the train at the same stop as us, and bargained and paid for an autorickshaw to Siliguri from NJP for us! We tried to pay our share to him, but he refused to take it. At Siliguri, he took us to the foreigner's registration office there, and we got our Sikkim permits there. He then took us to the Jeep stand accross the road and bargained for seats in a shared jeep for us. We paid 150 Rs each, for the 5-6 hour jeep ride to Gangtok. This was a good deal he got for us, because people who got 3rd row seats paid the same!! 12 people fit into a jeep, 4 in front, 4 in 2nd row, and 4 in 3rd row. luggage is strapped to the top of the jeep. Also sharing the 2nd row with us was 2 more monks, both from Sikkim. At first we thought they were Korean (most asians here are korean, or so we think), but they were actually Sikkimese. They were very nice, and explained the stops and police checkpoint to us. So after a long bumpy ride, we arrived in Gangtok. It gets dark here really early, like 6-7pm ish.

Next blog:p

Seoul

Made it to Korea!!
Waiting for flight to Delhi, in a free internet cafe, that uses laptops!!
Flight with Asiana was excellent. Plenty of food and drink!! Watched 4 movies!!!

c'ya in delhi!

Trip!

We leave technically tomorrow!!
Our trip is split into 3 phases:
Phase 1: Fly to Delhi via Korea. Spend 1-2 nights in Delhi, then take the train or plane to Sikkim/West Bengal area. Spend a few nights there, then cross the border into Nepal. Take the bus from Kakarbitta to Janakapur and spend the night there. Continue on and take the bus to Pokhara, where we will be volunteering (phase 2)

Phase 2: Orientation/trekking/volunteering in Nepal

Phase 3: Fly/train from Kathmandu to Delhi. Spend the rest of our time in the Uttar Pradesh state. Visit the Taj Mahal on a day trip. Shop in Delhi and bring back souvenirs ;) Return home August 6th, also via Korea.

Flights

Flights have been purchased! And visas have been picked up! So we are well on our way! We fly Seattle to Delhi May 19th, and return Delhi to Seattle August 6th.

Will post rough itinerary when there is one made :)

Prelude

Kat and I are traveling to India and Nepal this summer. The trip started off as a 6 week volunteer abroad trip, but since we have to fly through Delhi to get to Kathmandu, India was added to the itinerary. The plans as of today are ~1.5 weeks in India, ~6 weeks in Nepal, and ~1.5 weeks in India. Tomorrow is flight ticket purchase day, so at least our departure and return will be set by then. The Nepal parts of the trip are pretty set too, since we are going through an organizer for that. In Nepal we will stay with a homestay family. Kat is picking up our Indian visas today.

There is alot to plan for the India parts of the trip!! India is a fascinating country, and it doesn't seem like we'll have enough time to do the small areas on our wishlist!!!

Until later...