Getting to NYC

Oh my god. What a long series of craziness!

Ok. From the beginning. The journey to New York in total was going to be over 80 hours. Right from the beginning it was action packed! Well, not really. But some crazy shit did happen.

On the overnight bus from Pokhara to Sanauli, at about 2am, the bus tipped over. The roads in Nepal are pretty dangerous and narrow and sometimes there isn't enough space to pass one another. On a road that was bordered by one cliff and one hill, we were, thankfully, on the inside. The driver pulled over just a little too far and the wheels sank into the gutter. The bus tipped onto its side and was stuck. I wanst hurt, although a lot of people were. It took what felt like a life time to climb out onto the road.

So at 2am, in the middle of nowhere Nepal, six Nepalese men and myself went hitch hiking. Its totally normal and reliable form of travel there so we hopped onto the top of a lori and rode the rest of the way to the border. It was fun but nerve wracking because I kept thinking that if it tipped over too, it would be my end.

I reached the border of Nepal and India at about 6am. Woke up the immigration officer and after a 40 minute battle, he finally got out of bed and stamped my passport.

On to Gorahkpur. I had reserved a train ticket but, per standard Indian crap, when I gt the the station to pick it up I didn't actually have a place on the train. A 7 hour bus ride to Lucknow would remedy the problem and I could take an over night train from there. Simple enough right?

The bus to Lucknow ended up taking 10 hours. We got stuck in a major traffic lock, took a detour and ended up with our bus stuck in mud in some village somewhere. The only time I have ever thanked being a woman in India was when they told me that I didn't have to stand in knee high mud to help push the bus out.

I made it to the train station with only 10minutes to spare. Good God, it was stressful.

The train was posh though. 2AC with a bunch of women and chai and bed linens. I slept well.

I arrive in Delhi in the morning and spent the day napping, eating and wandering around the markets. I bought spice for Phil from a man who I chatted with and drank chai with for hours.

Later in the evening I went out to wander the bazaar at night. I stopped to buy bangles and talked to another man and his brother for two hours. They were Muslim and two of the nicest people in Delhi. They invited me to dinner with their family and to continue talking with them until I needed to leave for the aeroport. I accepted.

I forgot for that moment that Muslims eat a lot of meat and when I arrived for dinner was served Buffalo meat. oops. But, for me, it was a unique opportunity that probably wouldn't arise again. To avoid being rude I ate the meat and with the men no less. The women ate later in a separate part of the house and I was privilege enough to sit with them and see behind the burkas. Totally worth eating meat, even though it was nasty as hell, for the experience of a life time.

The eldest woman, I forget her name, invited me to her grandsons wedding. It is a great honor to have foreigners at weddings in India and since the family liked me and I them, she said that she would begin looking for a wife for her son and would have a big wedding next year. I agreed that if they boys emailed me and were serious about my coming back, I would be honored to be their guest.

Anyway, I left them to head out to the aeroport and to my wonderful surprise I found that the rickshaw drivers were on strike that day. Great. After an hour of bargaining and finding three British guys to go with we split the taxi for Rs. 800. (this was an outrageous price. Its four times what it should have been, even with four people. But they had wanted to charge me Rs. 500 on my own so...) There was a strike, what could we do?

At the aeroport, my bag was too heavy to check. I had to pack things with me and throw a few things away. I finally got on board and was finally off to Moscow. OMG!

Moscow was boring. The aeroport is lame, nothing there. I met a German girl who was just a doll. We have agreed to keep in contact and when Im back in Europe Ill have another person to go hangout with!

The 11 hour flight to NYC was just long and dull. I felt like it would never end and that I would explode with anticipation.

I kind of panicked upon arrival. I hadn't heard from anyone about a place to stay and couldn't get hold of Phil. It was all finally worked out and now I'm sitting happy in Brooklyn. Vegan dinner, a long sleep and a breakfast of bagels later and Im feeling relaxed. I just need a shower and to find a phone and everything will be complete!

Seeing Phil is just wonderful. I have missed him so much. And in a day or so, Ill head down to DC to see a few more people!

I still have pictures from Nepal to upload and all that but for now, Im just enjoying the fact that I can wear short shorts, eat western vegan food and fucking relax!

The Craziest Week of My Life So Far!

Where to start? I always do this but this time its really difficult because there is SO much to tell. Ill just start from the beginning and forget what ever I already told. You can read it again, it wont kill you.

I left Jake at the train station in Varanasi on the 3rd. It was supposed to be an easy train ride north to Gorakhpur to catch the bus to Nepal. The trains in India are insane! I couldn't find the proper car or anyone to help me find it when I bumped into four British guys. They were also looking for the same car and were worried about missing the train. They took me under their wings and I went off with them to find my proper place. When we finally found it, it turned out I was sitting in a private compartment with six Indian men, alone. Andy came over to check on me a few times and told me to call if I needed anything. The men stared at me for almost an hour before they got bored and went to sleep.

The next morning, as we arrived in Gorakhpur I met three girls from Canada. I caught a bus with them to the border, thinking that the guys were headed somewhere else. But to my surprise, I found them at the border office as I arrived. They had somehow beat there!

We all decided to take a bus together to Pokhara and set off! It took 12 hours to get to Pokhara instead of six. We were all tired and hungry and thought it would be better if I stuck with them instead of wandering the streets alone. I shared a room with Max and the other three piled into another room. There I discovered that my ipod was missing. I'm pretty sure it was stolen. I thought I would be more upset than I am.... still, it sucks.

Our first full day in Pokhara was spent riding motor bikes around! It was so much fun and I got tons of great pictures from the back! The lake here is so beautiful and warm! We also visited the bat caves and I broke my second camera of the trip in there. Thankfully, the screen is the only broken part!











Another day in Pokhara was spent wandering around and taking it easy. We had a pick nick at the lake and went swimming with the local kids. It was good to rest up because the next day was our rafting adventure! The guys had run into a friend from home and invited him to come along on the raft. We were now a group of nine! And the boy/girl ratio balanced out a little!

The rafting trip was fun, even though I thought I was going to die. Id do it again in a heart beat!

We ended the rafting trip in the middle of nowhere just outside Royal Chitwan National Park and had to take a truck into town. They guys drank a whole bottle of whiskey on the way and were completely pissed by the time we got there. After my "near death experience" I wanted a drink and ended up pissed as well. But it was all good fun.







We went for elephant baths in the morning! I thought that riding an elephant would be cruel but when its to the river for a bath they love it! They go nuts for spraying people with water and playing and splashing. I had such a fun time but ended up really dirty because of it. We even got a ride back to the hotel after the bath.











The rest of the day was spent hanging out and nursing hangovers and making plans for trekking. Two of the girls had to head back to Pokhara and couldn't go trekking so we had to say goodbye. I was sad to see them go and will have to make a trip to Cambridge to visit next year.






The trek was so crazy and amazing and exhausting and wonderful. I hated so much of it but also loved it at the same time. It was two full days of walking. 16km the first and 22km the second. We walked through the jungle to a village and then back again. It rained most of the way and the leeches were out in full force. Nasty. I was covered in them but Danny got the worst of it out of everyone. The grass in the jungle is crazy. We felt like ants crawling trough someones front yard it was so tall! We saw two wild rhinos and a tiger and some deer. Now Im glad I did it but at the time I was miserable.







We stayed in this tiny village where I saw the most beautiful sunset of my life. We drank beer and ate more Dal Baht than you could dream of and went to bed early. I have so many cuts, scrapes, blisters and leech scars on my feet and legs its disgusting. Im hoping everything will heal by the time I get back to New York otherwise Ill have to wear trousers and trainers the whole time Im there!

Haha. To make things even better, after trekking 22km the second day we had made arrangements to sleep in a tower in the jungle. We were all very tired, grumpy and hungry and the guide wanted us to go as soon as we got back. We all refused and insisted on real food and showers. We only got the first before we had to go.

The tower was horrible. Overpriced, dirty, filled with bugs and not enough space for all seven of us. I don't think it would have been so bad but we were tired and just wanted rest.

The next day we headed back into town where we sat in the same restaurant all day. We had three meals there and lounged around until late in the evening. Finn and I ran off to find tee shirts, and everyone else went to check the internet and to buy bus tickets and stuff but other than that we didnt leave for 24 hours! As a joke, Finn asked if we could sleep there and the waiters said yes! So we slept there!

Finn and I had a great time with a shop keeper trying to buy silly things. We were bargaining hard and he wouldnt budge! We finally offered him whiskey and he finally lowered his price! Haha. I love it.

Sleeping in the restaurant turned out to be a crazy idea. The waiters gave us a "special lassi" for free and tons of free beer. They watched porn with us and tried to make a dance party. It was all crazy fun. I have a new love of funk music and some memories that will last me quite a while.


Somewhere in all of that we had a dance party in a rooftop restaurant. The Nepali guy in the middle asked me at the end of all of it: "Sometime? Long love?" Hahahaha. He was really drunk and we all got a laugh out of it.








But my ass hurts and its already taken me three hours to do this much so youll have t wait for the rest of the photos until later! Dont worry, Ill upload them before I leave Nepal.

Nepal

So Ive got to make this quick. Sorry! I really wish I could write more but Ill try to fill you in later!

Varanasi sucks. I hate that city so much. Nepal is way better than anywhere in India.

Ive met four British boys that are pretty cool. We have been hanging out and Ill be traveling with them for a bit.

Pokhara is beautiful. Nepal is the most beautiful place in all the world, easily. Ill have pictures soon.

Yesterday we rented motor bikes and rode around the town and out to some bat caves. It was really rad and I got way too dirty climbing around in the mud. It was wild and probably totally unsafe but SO much fun.

Today was lazy. We slept until almost 1pm and then had breakfast at the lake. I went swimming and played with little nepali boys and the guys.

Getting here was terrible. I took the train from Varanasi to Gorhapur and then the bus to the border. After that it was supposed to be just six hours to Pokhara but it took 12 instead! Road blocks, a broken down bus and a million military checks later....! Totally worth it though.

Tomorrow, we are all going on a rafting trip down the Seti River. Its class 4 rapids. What the hell am I thinking?!?! Should be fun. It will take us straight to a Chitwan Natl Park. There Ill hopefully see rhinos and tigers and all sorts of crazy animals!!!

So yeah. Thats life right now. The guys are crazy and wild and completely reckless and I love it. I think I need to loosen up a bit anyway.

Ill have pictures soon. I cant see Annapurna here which is a shame but Ill just have to come back later. And when I do Ill do some trekking!

Im getting excited to come home and see everyone but Im in love with Nepal and dont want it to end. The people are nicer and quieter. The landscape isnt covered in trash and it so green. Way greener than the Northwest!

There are a ton of other things I want to tell but just dont have time. I feel like Im running a million miles a minute but Im not.

Its going to take me almost two days of straight travel to get back to Delhi but hopefully it wont be too bad.

But I have to go. Im still wet from swimming and the rain and I need to eat something before I perish!