01.-08.08.15
Emerging from the jungle after zipping with the Gibbons, we found ourselves under a bit of time pressure. Our visa was expiring that very day. Thank heavens for the shower facilities in the offices of the Gibbon Experience. Necessary would be the understatement of the century when describing our need for one.
A quick re-pack and triple sealing of our wet and odorous clothes and we were off, on a Tuk Tuk heading over the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (apparently the 4th so far – must be a shaky friendship), where a bus to Chiang Mai would be waiting for us. But not before taking a quick look what the online world had to tell us after three whole days of WIFI-less-living. An Email caught my attention, between stuffing socks that could be considered biohazardous or WMD into multiple plastic bags… “Hi Rosanna, You’ll be pleased to hear that we have reserved you…” Sender: project nepal.
Woah. What. Is. Happening. Right. Now.
We had been accepted. The last thing we had heard from them, was that we were on number 1000something on the waiting list. We had written it off as probably not happening. We were wrong. We had been accepted.
Sitting on that Tuk Tuk to the border of Laos, I couldn’t wipe a big fat grin off my face. I didn’t even try. Crossing the border just happened in the background. I didn’t care about paying a “late fee” of 10.000Kip, due to it being a weekend. I didn’t care about the few dollars I lost on exchanging our last Kip into Baht. I didn’t care about having to get onto a big bus to get to the Thai border. I didn’t care about waiting in line to get into Thailand. It just happened.
My head was spinning. Decisions, decisions. Were we going to Nepal?
Our bus to Chiang Mai was a big and comfortable van. We had a crazy driver going 110km/h at night. After the 40km/h bus rides in Laos, I was not used to seeing the outside world flying by AND being on the wrong side of the road – I gripped the handle in the bus as hard as my rope on the zip line. We got overwhelmed by the choice in the store at the gas station – they had everything and the prices were reasonable! I don’t think we had quite grasped the fact that we were now in Thailand (hours after zipping through the jungle in Laos). Somewhere along the way, the decision was made – we were going to Nepal. We just started talking about it like it was obvious we were going. And that was it.
Chiang Mai
We arrived at the bus station at around 9:30pm and it took forever to find some Wifi to get directions to a hostel a friend had suggested. But eventually we made it and checked into the Mapping Hostel, where we fell onto our mattress in our tiny room and fell asleep instantly.
It was a night of broken sleep for me. I just couldn’t stay asleep. My head was too full. I kept sitting up and adding items to our shopping and to-do list. And then woke up early, eager to start the day.
It was like a switch just flipped and we went off “travel-mode” to “we-are-going-to-volunteer-in-Nepal-mode” and suddenly sightseeing and orientation and all that touristy jazz didn’t matter anymore. We were in Chiang Mai, one of the most visited cities in Thailand, offering so many things to do, sights to see and experiences to be made. But we were blind to trekking, elephants and cooking classes. We had stuff to get done.
The morning/early afternoon was spent doing laundry and handwashing our rain jackets, backpacks and shoes. Soaking and scrubbing them with toothbrushes till they looked almost new again.
The rest of the day spent with online stuff, paper work etc.
The next morning we headed to the mall – a real mall! We did let ourselves get distracted by the abundance of food, which we did end up making use of. But all the while, we were focused on working on our list. Electrolytes, medicines, gloves, work clothes and so on. We managed quite a bit as well.
That evening we walk to night market – in the end, all streets where tourists might walk along are a market. We temporarily became travelers again, browsing the stalls, eating street food and shopping a bit here and there. Bargaining was more difficult, because there are enough tourists in this city that someone ignorant will pay the higher price at some point.
We ended our very long day of walking with a foot massage, which was pure bliss.
Our last day in Chiang Mai was used to send stuff to the Philippines – lighten the load of my bag and make space for more important stuff. And then shopping in a second hand store to get some work pants.
We had lunch with James and then spent an hour or two in the hostel. I sewed my shoes while Mo bought us train tickets. We were going to Bangkok and we were going to do it in style.
Midnight Train To Bangkok
Our first train ride in Asia and it was going to be a long one – around 12h. We boarded the purple express train filled with foreigners and were shown our seats, which were, at some point of the ride, going to be converted into beds. We spent the first few hours watching series, as the pitch black landscape rolled by. We stopped a few times along the way to pick up more passengers.
Around 10pm, most had already retreated into their beds, someone came by and made ours. With nimble hands and movements that suggested he had done it a million times before, the seats were stretched out and something resembling a very large overhead compartment was let down to create a bunk bed. We both had top bunks and, after squeezing into one to finish our last episode, we closed the curtains, put on an eye mask and caught a few hours of sleep.
We slept somewhat well in our little baby blue cubby holes, till our conductor woke us in several different languages, as we slowly crept into Bangkok City.
One Night In Bangkok
We opted for the cheapest way to get around and took a public bus ride through town. We traversed China town, drove by temples and the amulet market, watched the streets slowly coe to life as shops opened, stalls were set up and people set off to work. We had decided on staying around the infamous Kao San road – backpacker haven, often condemned as being “not Asia” and unauthentic. But we figured, with only one night in Bangkok – we might as well.
We chose one of the many interchangeable hotels and then set off to walk about and get our bearings and some breakfast. The Kao San road was shorter than expected and in the morning hours, just another tourist melting pot. Stalls selling clothes, restaurants and bars, massage parlors and cheap tailors.
But we needed more than this road could offer, so we took on a 6km walk to the MBK Center, a huge old mall with market like stalls and cheap everythings. It was hot and sticky and I could feel the pollution clog up my lungs, that had been spoiled by months of mostly clean air. It was a nice walk though, sipping delicious red Thai iced tea and watching our surrounding change from small stores and alleys to high-rises and multi-lane-roads.
The MBK Center was fun enough – good food, great shopping and very overwhelming! Afterwards, we visited Central World as well, the largest shopping mall in Thailand and one of the largest in the world, but by then, we couldn’t really enjoy it anymore. We were tired and had to admit to ourselves, that we had probably overdone it a bit in the end.
Nothing some food, some resting our feet and a whole lot of water couldn’t fix. The scarily fast Tuk Tuk ride home also brought us back to life. We even had enough energy to take a stroll along the Kao San by night – many more stalls had popped up, every second one selling cheap Pad Thai noodles. More exotic dishes included coconut ice cream serves in half a young coconut, lots of different barbeques and insects – scorpion on a stick, tarantulas, crickets etc. Ladies selling little wooden frogs that made croaking sounds when dragging a little wooden stick across their backs and the blasting music of every single bar and restaurant provided the background noise, along with the calls of “cheap suit for you” and the haggling discussions between tourist and vendor. Once up and down this road was enough for us. All we wanted was our bed in our dark dungeon of a room and some real sleep.
We spent as long as we could in the hotel room and then walked about for the lastest last minute errands. To pass the time – and just because we wanted to – we had a 1h Thai massage and came out stretched, relaxed and ready for the trip that lay ahead.
We tasted our way through the many different kinds of street food, including (but not limited to): grilled sticky rice in banana leaf with taro, broiled pork knuckle with rice, roasted chicken, Tako (coconut pudding with sago), crispy fried sticky rice with sugar and sesame (a crunchy oily delicious mess) and the obligatory thai iced tea.
Travel, Travel, Travel
And then our journey began. Not wanting to take an expensive taxi, we found out where the bus to the Airport Link left and walked there, fully laden with our very heavy bags that were now filled with electrolytes, work clothes and comfort food. We hopped on the air-conditioned bus number 79 and then sat in traffic. It was like being back in Manila, only worse. We crept along and the bus filled and emptied along the way. The ticket guy kicked us off at some point and pointed down the main road. We followed his finger, ended up at the Skytrain station and, after much confusion, found the platform from where the Airport Link left.
We did get to experience a phenomenon that we had only heard about but not yet witnessed. At exactly 6pm the national anthem is played everywhere where they can – including the train station. Everyone freezes in their tracks. The world around you stands still. It’s eerie and funny at the same time.
On the train – which looked like any subway train in many parts of the world – Mo was rapidly approached by a chubby cheeked young Thai in a red track suit (probably a school uniform), who started asking very many questions in broken English. Where were we from? What were we doing in Thailand? Did we like it here? Where are we going next? Where have we been? How long did we spend there? Do we like Thai food (followed by many questions of exactly which Thai food we ate)? Are we married? Are we planning on coming back to Thailand? In between, he typed things into Google translator with shaky hands. It was cute and strange and hilarious at the same time. He explained that he rides the Airport Link everyday and speaks to at least one foreigner. He even took pictures of us “for memory”.
We got to the airport with just enough time to drop off our luggage, get through immigration and security and make our way to the gate. We had left our hotel at 5pm, gotten to the airport at 7pm and boarded at 8pm. So much for getting there early and hanging out at the airport – something we were actually looking forward to.
We flew to Mumbai with Jet Airways, an Indian airline affiliated with Etihad. It was an uneventful 4h, aside from the fact that there were very many young children sitting in our vicinity and they seemed to have made a pact: when one stops crying the next must start. And the Korean guy next to me had no sense of personal space and spread out his legs to get comfortable, not really caring that his leg was basically there where mine should have been – on my side.
Mumbai airport is the worst airport I’ve transited in so far. We waited forever (must have been around an hour) in a line (of three to four people next to each other) that was not roped off and constantly being cut, to get to one of two counters to have a lady look at our boarding passes, mark them and give us baggage tags. Then waited forever to go through security to be checked in a glass box, cause I’m a woman, and then thoroughly have the contents of my bag checked by multiple security guards multiple times because of a lighter (which fell out and was later found on the floor next to me when I tipped out my bag in anger – I was then grinned at like an idiot).
We found a nice little corner and pushed some comfortable couch-like benches against the wall. We had an 11h layover ahead of us and it was the middle of the night. We had Pizza Hut midnight munchies and then tried to sleep. Earplugs and eye mask – absolute necessity to drown out the electronic music they were playing and the blinding white fluorescent lighting. It worked well enough.
We woke up in time to stroll around the duty free – freshen up with some perfume and ultra hydrating skin cream, and the boarded a flight that was definitely not full. We had booked seats in the emergency exit row and enjoyed our leg room (not that I needed it). The flight got delayed and we waited in the plane for quite a while, but the inflight entertainment was on and so it didn’t really matter. Movies and a full meal on a 2,5h flight seemed like a pretty good deal, as well.
Touchdown Kathmandu
After the shiny marble floors, fancy stores and bright lights of Mumbai airport, landing in the brick terminal of Kathmandu was a stark contrast. Low ceilings and sparse lighting, hallways smelling of stale mountain air and very few people. We knew from the time we set foot off the plane that we had entered a different world. Southeast Asia suddenly seemed very far away. But this was not such a bad thing. We grinned at each other every few steps and uttered sentences such as “We made it.” And “We’re in Nepal.” And “This is awesome.” Over and over again.
Getting a visa for Nepal was the easiest so far. We filled out forms at an electronic booth, pulled out a stub, went to a counter, paid 100$ for three months and went through immigration.
We were greeted by pouring rain, fresh air and many people trying to help us with cabs and directions to the ATM. One very persistent man followed us to the ATM and offered us a cab ride to his hotel and if we ended up staying with him, we wouldn’t have to pay. If we didn’t like it, he charged us a fair price. We agreed and found ourselves sitting in the back of a leaking hybrid van/car that was at least as old as me.
The windows fogged up, but what we could see between the rain was new. Small roads, many cars, hills, slim buildings tightly squeezed together. A mountain city. We couldn’t really see any direct destruction by the earthquake (we were going too fast and zig-zaggy), aside from many construction sites and some heaps of rubble.
Not knowing what to expect of a place is a great basis for surprises. Thamel, the main tourist area of Kathmandu, surprised us. Roads were slim, allowing one car to pass at a time, though only with some honking to clear the road of pedestrians, that have to walk there since there are no pavements. Stores filled with outdoor and trekking gear from all known international brands and travel agents offering trekking, climbing and rafting. Colorful textiles, fluffy woolen sweaters (on which I have definitely laid an eye for the upcoming winter), bronze statues, wooden beads, jewelry and books – so many new sights, so many new shopping possibilities! The air was cool and tasted different, new spicy smells oozed out of restaurants and even the incense had a foreign aroma. Unlike in many main tourist areas we visited before, Thamel was alive with locals. Less white folk spending their few days bargaining and trying to find the best burger in town, more of a “spot the traveler” amongst people going on with their daily routine. Some streets, of course, were filled with bars, most of them on the second floor or rooftop. In the evening, live music was heard from many of them. So much life. So much energy. So different.
We ended up staying in the hotel of our cabbie and our room was spacious and had a TV with English channels. Just right for some rest and relaxation. As I write this, we’re watching nonsense in the background, just having come home from a good meal. Legs up and mind at ease. The last week(s) have been hectic – treks, long bus rides, hot and busy days running errands, a night on a train, endless shopping and to do lists, trying every form of public transport in Bangkok, 18h travel to Kathmandu – and we are tired. It feels like we have been on the go non-stop and of course, traveling SEA for over two months adds on to that. Constantly packing, checking in and checking out, getting on and off busses, haggling and hunting for bargains. Getting here was like exhaling, loosening the straps of our backpacks and arriving somewhere. Knowing we will be here for at least five weeks, we are excited to settle down and really BE somewhere.
We walked a few streets in Thamel up and down, have eaten in a few places, found our supermarket, found a bakery that discounts delicious cake after 7pm, watched a lady draw a beautiful mandala on the sidewalk in front of our window, were asked my every third young male on the streets if we were looking for hash, marveled at the beautiful fabrics… breathed in the life on the streets and exhaled in happiness of being here. Here, in the center of town, it is hard to believe that only a few months ago this country was struck by disastrous earthquakes. There are closed shops, construction sites and small piles of rubble in between the busy hustle and bustle. We ate brunch in a place between two empty lots that men were still clearing bricks from. We walked a bit further, just a block or so, looking for a restaurant we had read rave reviews on. We turned into an alley and it opened up to a gaping pit. Water pouring out of pipes on both sides, algae growing along at the edges, rubble cascading down the sides, broken furniture, a bag with clothes peeking out. Two girls were climbing around and playing there. Across from it was a collapsed building and men demolishing what was left of it. We walked on and block later, after a few confused steps back and forth, looking for the restaurant, we realized that it had been on a lot that was also closed off, collapsed. It was a strange situation and I felt it deep down in my gut – the realization that we are in a region where catastrophic events have affected the lives of so many people. And we were walking in the middle of it all, looking for a restaurant.
Tomorrow we check into the base of All Hands and start a new chapter of our travels. We look forward to this experience with excitement and anticipation. I am not a Buddhist (though I have been reading into it and enjoying every word), but I like the idea of karma. We have been so fortunate, so lucky in the last year and four months since we left Berlin. The comfort of a home in the Philippines, the generosity of family and friends there, finding good jobs in Australia, traveling Southeast Asia without any troubles, meeting genuine people, creating unforgettable memories… And now it’s our turn to give back. To express gratitude for our good fortune by helping those who have been unfortunate. By lending our hands to All Hands.
Emerging from the jungle after zipping with the Gibbons, we found ourselves under a bit of time pressure. Our visa was expiring that very day. Thank heavens for the shower facilities in the offices of the Gibbon Experience. Necessary would be the understatement of the century when describing our need for one.
A quick re-pack and triple sealing of our wet and odorous clothes and we were off, on a Tuk Tuk heading over the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (apparently the 4th so far – must be a shaky friendship), where a bus to Chiang Mai would be waiting for us. But not before taking a quick look what the online world had to tell us after three whole days of WIFI-less-living. An Email caught my attention, between stuffing socks that could be considered biohazardous or WMD into multiple plastic bags… “Hi Rosanna, You’ll be pleased to hear that we have reserved you…” Sender: project nepal.
Woah. What. Is. Happening. Right. Now.
We had been accepted. The last thing we had heard from them, was that we were on number 1000something on the waiting list. We had written it off as probably not happening. We were wrong. We had been accepted.
Sitting on that Tuk Tuk to the border of Laos, I couldn’t wipe a big fat grin off my face. I didn’t even try. Crossing the border just happened in the background. I didn’t care about paying a “late fee” of 10.000Kip, due to it being a weekend. I didn’t care about the few dollars I lost on exchanging our last Kip into Baht. I didn’t care about having to get onto a big bus to get to the Thai border. I didn’t care about waiting in line to get into Thailand. It just happened.
My head was spinning. Decisions, decisions. Were we going to Nepal?
Our bus to Chiang Mai was a big and comfortable van. We had a crazy driver going 110km/h at night. After the 40km/h bus rides in Laos, I was not used to seeing the outside world flying by AND being on the wrong side of the road – I gripped the handle in the bus as hard as my rope on the zip line. We got overwhelmed by the choice in the store at the gas station – they had everything and the prices were reasonable! I don’t think we had quite grasped the fact that we were now in Thailand (hours after zipping through the jungle in Laos). Somewhere along the way, the decision was made – we were going to Nepal. We just started talking about it like it was obvious we were going. And that was it.
Chiang Mai
We arrived at the bus station at around 9:30pm and it took forever to find some Wifi to get directions to a hostel a friend had suggested. But eventually we made it and checked into the Mapping Hostel, where we fell onto our mattress in our tiny room and fell asleep instantly.
It was a night of broken sleep for me. I just couldn’t stay asleep. My head was too full. I kept sitting up and adding items to our shopping and to-do list. And then woke up early, eager to start the day.
It was like a switch just flipped and we went off “travel-mode” to “we-are-going-to-volunteer-in-Nepal-mode” and suddenly sightseeing and orientation and all that touristy jazz didn’t matter anymore. We were in Chiang Mai, one of the most visited cities in Thailand, offering so many things to do, sights to see and experiences to be made. But we were blind to trekking, elephants and cooking classes. We had stuff to get done.
The morning/early afternoon was spent doing laundry and handwashing our rain jackets, backpacks and shoes. Soaking and scrubbing them with toothbrushes till they looked almost new again.
The rest of the day spent with online stuff, paper work etc.
The next morning we headed to the mall – a real mall! We did let ourselves get distracted by the abundance of food, which we did end up making use of. But all the while, we were focused on working on our list. Electrolytes, medicines, gloves, work clothes and so on. We managed quite a bit as well.
Our room at the Mapping Hostel - a mattress and just about enough space for our bags.
When it's raining and all the lines are full... Drying your underwear and socks, backpacker style.
That evening we walk to night market – in the end, all streets where tourists might walk along are a market. We temporarily became travelers again, browsing the stalls, eating street food and shopping a bit here and there. Bargaining was more difficult, because there are enough tourists in this city that someone ignorant will pay the higher price at some point.
We ended our very long day of walking with a foot massage, which was pure bliss.
Our last day in Chiang Mai was used to send stuff to the Philippines – lighten the load of my bag and make space for more important stuff. And then shopping in a second hand store to get some work pants.
We had lunch with James and then spent an hour or two in the hostel. I sewed my shoes while Mo bought us train tickets. We were going to Bangkok and we were going to do it in style.
Midnight Train To Bangkok
Our first train ride in Asia and it was going to be a long one – around 12h. We boarded the purple express train filled with foreigners and were shown our seats, which were, at some point of the ride, going to be converted into beds. We spent the first few hours watching series, as the pitch black landscape rolled by. We stopped a few times along the way to pick up more passengers.
Chiang Mai train station.
During one of our stops along the way : Happy Toilet - Best Public Toilet of the Year.
Around 10pm, most had already retreated into their beds, someone came by and made ours. With nimble hands and movements that suggested he had done it a million times before, the seats were stretched out and something resembling a very large overhead compartment was let down to create a bunk bed. We both had top bunks and, after squeezing into one to finish our last episode, we closed the curtains, put on an eye mask and caught a few hours of sleep.
I kept listening and checking for signs that our bed was going to collapse.
We slept somewhat well in our little baby blue cubby holes, till our conductor woke us in several different languages, as we slowly crept into Bangkok City.
One Night In Bangkok
We opted for the cheapest way to get around and took a public bus ride through town. We traversed China town, drove by temples and the amulet market, watched the streets slowly coe to life as shops opened, stalls were set up and people set off to work. We had decided on staying around the infamous Kao San road – backpacker haven, often condemned as being “not Asia” and unauthentic. But we figured, with only one night in Bangkok – we might as well.
We chose one of the many interchangeable hotels and then set off to walk about and get our bearings and some breakfast. The Kao San road was shorter than expected and in the morning hours, just another tourist melting pot. Stalls selling clothes, restaurants and bars, massage parlors and cheap tailors.
But we needed more than this road could offer, so we took on a 6km walk to the MBK Center, a huge old mall with market like stalls and cheap everythings. It was hot and sticky and I could feel the pollution clog up my lungs, that had been spoiled by months of mostly clean air. It was a nice walk though, sipping delicious red Thai iced tea and watching our surrounding change from small stores and alleys to high-rises and multi-lane-roads.
The MBK Center was fun enough – good food, great shopping and very overwhelming! Afterwards, we visited Central World as well, the largest shopping mall in Thailand and one of the largest in the world, but by then, we couldn’t really enjoy it anymore. We were tired and had to admit to ourselves, that we had probably overdone it a bit in the end.
Nothing some food, some resting our feet and a whole lot of water couldn’t fix. The scarily fast Tuk Tuk ride home also brought us back to life. We even had enough energy to take a stroll along the Kao San by night – many more stalls had popped up, every second one selling cheap Pad Thai noodles. More exotic dishes included coconut ice cream serves in half a young coconut, lots of different barbeques and insects – scorpion on a stick, tarantulas, crickets etc. Ladies selling little wooden frogs that made croaking sounds when dragging a little wooden stick across their backs and the blasting music of every single bar and restaurant provided the background noise, along with the calls of “cheap suit for you” and the haggling discussions between tourist and vendor. Once up and down this road was enough for us. All we wanted was our bed in our dark dungeon of a room and some real sleep.
We spent as long as we could in the hotel room and then walked about for the lastest last minute errands. To pass the time – and just because we wanted to – we had a 1h Thai massage and came out stretched, relaxed and ready for the trip that lay ahead.
We tasted our way through the many different kinds of street food, including (but not limited to): grilled sticky rice in banana leaf with taro, broiled pork knuckle with rice, roasted chicken, Tako (coconut pudding with sago), crispy fried sticky rice with sugar and sesame (a crunchy oily delicious mess) and the obligatory thai iced tea.
Travel, Travel, Travel
Our "We're-Going-To-Nepal!"-Selfie
And then our journey began. Not wanting to take an expensive taxi, we found out where the bus to the Airport Link left and walked there, fully laden with our very heavy bags that were now filled with electrolytes, work clothes and comfort food. We hopped on the air-conditioned bus number 79 and then sat in traffic. It was like being back in Manila, only worse. We crept along and the bus filled and emptied along the way. The ticket guy kicked us off at some point and pointed down the main road. We followed his finger, ended up at the Skytrain station and, after much confusion, found the platform from where the Airport Link left.
We did get to experience a phenomenon that we had only heard about but not yet witnessed. At exactly 6pm the national anthem is played everywhere where they can – including the train station. Everyone freezes in their tracks. The world around you stands still. It’s eerie and funny at the same time.
On the train – which looked like any subway train in many parts of the world – Mo was rapidly approached by a chubby cheeked young Thai in a red track suit (probably a school uniform), who started asking very many questions in broken English. Where were we from? What were we doing in Thailand? Did we like it here? Where are we going next? Where have we been? How long did we spend there? Do we like Thai food (followed by many questions of exactly which Thai food we ate)? Are we married? Are we planning on coming back to Thailand? In between, he typed things into Google translator with shaky hands. It was cute and strange and hilarious at the same time. He explained that he rides the Airport Link everyday and speaks to at least one foreigner. He even took pictures of us “for memory”.
U-Bahn Fahren
Sunset from the Airport Link
We got to the airport with just enough time to drop off our luggage, get through immigration and security and make our way to the gate. We had left our hotel at 5pm, gotten to the airport at 7pm and boarded at 8pm. So much for getting there early and hanging out at the airport – something we were actually looking forward to.
We flew to Mumbai with Jet Airways, an Indian airline affiliated with Etihad. It was an uneventful 4h, aside from the fact that there were very many young children sitting in our vicinity and they seemed to have made a pact: when one stops crying the next must start. And the Korean guy next to me had no sense of personal space and spread out his legs to get comfortable, not really caring that his leg was basically there where mine should have been – on my side.
Mumbai airport is the worst airport I’ve transited in so far. We waited forever (must have been around an hour) in a line (of three to four people next to each other) that was not roped off and constantly being cut, to get to one of two counters to have a lady look at our boarding passes, mark them and give us baggage tags. Then waited forever to go through security to be checked in a glass box, cause I’m a woman, and then thoroughly have the contents of my bag checked by multiple security guards multiple times because of a lighter (which fell out and was later found on the floor next to me when I tipped out my bag in anger – I was then grinned at like an idiot).
We found a nice little corner and pushed some comfortable couch-like benches against the wall. We had an 11h layover ahead of us and it was the middle of the night. We had Pizza Hut midnight munchies and then tried to sleep. Earplugs and eye mask – absolute necessity to drown out the electronic music they were playing and the blinding white fluorescent lighting. It worked well enough.
We woke up in time to stroll around the duty free – freshen up with some perfume and ultra hydrating skin cream, and the boarded a flight that was definitely not full. We had booked seats in the emergency exit row and enjoyed our leg room (not that I needed it). The flight got delayed and we waited in the plane for quite a while, but the inflight entertainment was on and so it didn’t really matter. Movies and a full meal on a 2,5h flight seemed like a pretty good deal, as well.
Touchdown Kathmandu
After the shiny marble floors, fancy stores and bright lights of Mumbai airport, landing in the brick terminal of Kathmandu was a stark contrast. Low ceilings and sparse lighting, hallways smelling of stale mountain air and very few people. We knew from the time we set foot off the plane that we had entered a different world. Southeast Asia suddenly seemed very far away. But this was not such a bad thing. We grinned at each other every few steps and uttered sentences such as “We made it.” And “We’re in Nepal.” And “This is awesome.” Over and over again.
Getting a visa for Nepal was the easiest so far. We filled out forms at an electronic booth, pulled out a stub, went to a counter, paid 100$ for three months and went through immigration.
We were greeted by pouring rain, fresh air and many people trying to help us with cabs and directions to the ATM. One very persistent man followed us to the ATM and offered us a cab ride to his hotel and if we ended up staying with him, we wouldn’t have to pay. If we didn’t like it, he charged us a fair price. We agreed and found ourselves sitting in the back of a leaking hybrid van/car that was at least as old as me.
The windows fogged up, but what we could see between the rain was new. Small roads, many cars, hills, slim buildings tightly squeezed together. A mountain city. We couldn’t really see any direct destruction by the earthquake (we were going too fast and zig-zaggy), aside from many construction sites and some heaps of rubble.
Not knowing what to expect of a place is a great basis for surprises. Thamel, the main tourist area of Kathmandu, surprised us. Roads were slim, allowing one car to pass at a time, though only with some honking to clear the road of pedestrians, that have to walk there since there are no pavements. Stores filled with outdoor and trekking gear from all known international brands and travel agents offering trekking, climbing and rafting. Colorful textiles, fluffy woolen sweaters (on which I have definitely laid an eye for the upcoming winter), bronze statues, wooden beads, jewelry and books – so many new sights, so many new shopping possibilities! The air was cool and tasted different, new spicy smells oozed out of restaurants and even the incense had a foreign aroma. Unlike in many main tourist areas we visited before, Thamel was alive with locals. Less white folk spending their few days bargaining and trying to find the best burger in town, more of a “spot the traveler” amongst people going on with their daily routine. Some streets, of course, were filled with bars, most of them on the second floor or rooftop. In the evening, live music was heard from many of them. So much life. So much energy. So different.
We ended up staying in the hotel of our cabbie and our room was spacious and had a TV with English channels. Just right for some rest and relaxation. As I write this, we’re watching nonsense in the background, just having come home from a good meal. Legs up and mind at ease. The last week(s) have been hectic – treks, long bus rides, hot and busy days running errands, a night on a train, endless shopping and to do lists, trying every form of public transport in Bangkok, 18h travel to Kathmandu – and we are tired. It feels like we have been on the go non-stop and of course, traveling SEA for over two months adds on to that. Constantly packing, checking in and checking out, getting on and off busses, haggling and hunting for bargains. Getting here was like exhaling, loosening the straps of our backpacks and arriving somewhere. Knowing we will be here for at least five weeks, we are excited to settle down and really BE somewhere.
We walked a few streets in Thamel up and down, have eaten in a few places, found our supermarket, found a bakery that discounts delicious cake after 7pm, watched a lady draw a beautiful mandala on the sidewalk in front of our window, were asked my every third young male on the streets if we were looking for hash, marveled at the beautiful fabrics… breathed in the life on the streets and exhaled in happiness of being here. Here, in the center of town, it is hard to believe that only a few months ago this country was struck by disastrous earthquakes. There are closed shops, construction sites and small piles of rubble in between the busy hustle and bustle. We ate brunch in a place between two empty lots that men were still clearing bricks from. We walked a bit further, just a block or so, looking for a restaurant we had read rave reviews on. We turned into an alley and it opened up to a gaping pit. Water pouring out of pipes on both sides, algae growing along at the edges, rubble cascading down the sides, broken furniture, a bag with clothes peeking out. Two girls were climbing around and playing there. Across from it was a collapsed building and men demolishing what was left of it. We walked on and block later, after a few confused steps back and forth, looking for the restaurant, we realized that it had been on a lot that was also closed off, collapsed. It was a strange situation and I felt it deep down in my gut – the realization that we are in a region where catastrophic events have affected the lives of so many people. And we were walking in the middle of it all, looking for a restaurant.
Tomorrow we check into the base of All Hands and start a new chapter of our travels. We look forward to this experience with excitement and anticipation. I am not a Buddhist (though I have been reading into it and enjoying every word), but I like the idea of karma. We have been so fortunate, so lucky in the last year and four months since we left Berlin. The comfort of a home in the Philippines, the generosity of family and friends there, finding good jobs in Australia, traveling Southeast Asia without any troubles, meeting genuine people, creating unforgettable memories… And now it’s our turn to give back. To express gratitude for our good fortune by helping those who have been unfortunate. By lending our hands to All Hands.
One of my first pictures in Nepal: Momo eating Mo Mos (Nepalese dumplings - yummy!)
No comments:
Post a Comment