to the road to kathmandu and chitwan galore
Added: (Thu Oct 06 2005)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
A myriad of colours of Lavender with mountains and rivers and valleys and gorges- this dear reader was the experience I had with Nepalese hospitality and to sum it up- in a nutshell never before have I met myself at home-
From Katmandu It takes approximately 5 hours to reach the what is known as The Chitwan distract in southern Nepal and this was also where I spent many times traveling to and fro along the magical genies path
From high above in the mountains to down in the valley the colour of the trails left her myriads of dazzling shapes and crosses-
As I look to the left then to the right up or above or down below doth I see hospitality as though it were my very own home.
In the rivers, up the mountains through the ravines of pure gold and scarlet red; or down in the waterfalls along the fields of poppies and shades of violets Nepal- this is my home my life my all-
From door to door, shop to shop, small thin dark brown bodies with smiling faces to and fro they welcomed me with open arms and not just to their homes their lives-
Their motto I will never forget
When I met myself at home it was sitting down at a small café. Yeap it sure felt good to drink a cup of chiya- not to forget no milk or sugar and yes I’ll have an omellette – this was exactly how I wanted to feel like a Nepalese man like here and at home.
To my left I could hear the thrush of the calling bird and the torrent of the river down below. The sun was sky high beaming down on the tin roof but I was among a myriad of colours of mountains and rivers with heavy clouds hovering suddenly to shed their wet tears with showers.
I am drinking my tea, the stool I am sitting on is comfortable and the man is drinking with me to make me feel secure and sound-
So how do you like Nepal- I love it dear friend- it’s great- such a simple life but much happiness and such a smile.
I was parched, and feeling right as rain, as fit as a fiddle.
So I returned to the bus, it was full of people going home and smiling as the driver returned to his seat and continued the epic journey down the valley-
It was down the steep road behind carnage of lorries trying to outmaneuver past some burnt buses and one which had lost its grip and was half way in the gutter and half way on the road.
This was the life- waiting, sweating, looking and wondering if this life was meant to be like this for – in a country so poor and yet so rich in culture I still couldn’t believe I was here- Nepal this was my Nepal this was my home, my all.
From time to time I had to take off and clean my glasses from the dust which had accumulated on the lenses but 20 minutes later they were dirty again
On a normal road this 120/130 km route down south should have taken 2 hours- modern style, English or America style.
With a road like this in Nepal with bending and swaying this way and that each and every journey was one hell of an adventure.
The sun shone down brightly down drying up all the pools and leaving a fresh glistening look of refreshment all around.
The quantity of traffic was as expected one vehicle after another it never seemed to end but most of the cars or buses or trucks were old fashioned no wonder there were so many breakdowns or accidents or landslides.
So what attracted me about this fabled land- everything, the dirt, dust, mountains and Nepalese. I loved being in Asia it was so cool and people were seen with simple lives working fields gathering with which to live.
When Nepalese treat you they don’t just do it in style they afraid to do anything less: - leave something around on the bus in the house or on the bed or on the seat- it will remain there until someone hands it to you.
It may be expensive or cheap, valuable or not- leave something around and go back, it will still be there oh yes it will be there for sure.
When I traveled down in the bus which was too small to stand up I saw the life and the country past me by. So this was the life, this was Nepal; it was fashionable it was just great.
Go to the market place in deepest Kathmandu and see their ware, stroll down Thamel and buy a nice souvenir in one of the many shops of colour and texture. See the many white tourists and bid them hello and farewell- welcome to my home, welcome to my new – my all- I always felt at home in Nepal.
Along the Valley we crossed over the river and saw lovely water or what remained of it until the next monsoon until we came across a lovely surprise- the journey halted- why- no move, no more- what was wrong- didn’t know. There was a lovely present in store- no not burnt out lorries or a bus having gone over the edge. No there was no lorry overturned with oil spewing all over the road or toilet break- it was even better- I reveal all in the next part- don’t miss it.