Ratna Park and Durbar Square (NOT for children)

February 29 - March 2

We were so busy arranging the itinerary for the next two weeks that we didn't have time to visit Durbar Square on our third day in Kathmandu. 

We felt we needed to dedicate a full day for the square because we have to pay 750 Rs for the entrance fee, and it would be a waste of money if we could only be there for a few hours, so we went to Ratna Park instead.

On the way, we passed by this popular suicide spot, now understandably closed to the public.

We were surprised to realize that Ratna park is also the bus park. It was full of people, and vendors covered every square inch. I got a pair of warm socks and Henri tried to look for underwear, but they only had designer labels like Calvin "Klen."

We tried momos from the cart... FINGERS CROSSED!

And said "no, thanks" to Bhimsen Tower because of the excessive entrance fee. We had a view of the city from the overpass, and there was not much to see because of the haze :-/

We finally had time to go to Durbar Sq a days later.

It's the former seat of power, and at one time, only heirs that were born here could become king.

It was the week before Holi so it was also a very colorful day to visit.

The first thing that welcomed us was this altar to Bhairab, Shiva's blood-thirsty avatar. Adjacent to this statue, there is a stage where goats (and just a few days ago, A BULL) are killed as a sacrifice on special holidays.

What's there to do in Kathmandu? (Feb 28)

Lots. On our first day, we did the historic walk around Thamel and south of Durbar Square after having a much-deserved breakfast at Gaia. 

Buddhist and Hindu temples abound in Kathmandu, and some of them have veeery interesting things you should keep your eye out for.

Souvenir shops.

A 3rd century sculpture just chillin' in the street.

The tootchache god. It's in a section of town with a lot of dentists.

The Great Escape (Feb 25 - 27)

I had a bad fever and our train ticket to Gorakhpur was still #35-36 the day before the trip to the border of Nepal. Our visas were expiring soon so we weighed our options and thought of:

a) going to the border of Nepal by bus - a two-day project that  would be hard to attempt given my health situation (I was coughing out blood!!!) plus, the bus fares would be triple that of the train fare

b) finding another train route... which would end up with us taking the bus again at one point or another, and if we couldn't get on the train that we booked more than a month ahead, what would be the chances of us getting a train a day before?

c) getting a plane from Delhi to Kathmandu

Well, all options considered, we realized the two most feasible were going by bus or taking a plane, and because taking a plane was only 50 euros more than the bus option, we thought it would be worth paying the extra 50 for the convenience of taking a plane. 

So while Henri cancelled the train ticket and looked for the bus station of Delhi, I tried to book the plane to Kathmandu.

February 26 – 27

So we took a bus to Delhi the next afternoon, and outside our window was a virtual greatest hits of sights we saw on our five-month road trip in India.

The breathtaking landscape, the wandering cows, four acrobatic men in one scooter (the most we could do was three: me, Henri and the bike renter, who came for us when our bike was stolen by a drunk Israeli in Auroville), and let's not forget about the bikes carrying livestock, bed frames, and once, even a washing machine!

Sometimes the villages would remind us of other places we've seen; either back when we were wide-eyed newcomers in October, or in the months that followed, when we were sleepy-eyed backpackers just dreaming of the next shower.

 

But we also saw the heartbreaking side of India: the indiscriminate mining and destruction of mountains, the trash, the pollution, the way they play fast and loose with their treatment of children.

Our last stop was a roadside restaurant where Indian passengers are left alone to pee, but foreigners like us are hassled to pay 5 to 10 rupees. Oh, I won't miss that! It was just in front of a cement factory that turned the sky black even before sunset.

We reached Delhi at 8. Dropped off on the highway, we had a vague idea of where the airport was (no more than 2 kilometers away) and taxi drivers offered their services for 300 rupees. Maybe they thought we were stupid because they kept trying to convince us the airport is “very far” after we told them to get lost. But one guy found us and said he'd take us for 50 rupees, that sounded about right so we quit trying to be heroes and took a cab to the airport. Mheheh.

It felt a bit nostalgic to be back where it all started. We never planned it, but the trip in India came full circle. Look at how much Henri has changed! He didn't have a “moustak” back then.

Our flight was at 7am, and after some hijinks at the departure area because of silly airport rules (everything has a catch, I don't understand why they have posters up announcing they have the 2^nd best airport in the world – who voted in this poll? Their moms?) we were flying!

Looks Like We Made It!

We're back from the Annapurna Trek and all we got was this shirt!

Five days walking 80° up and down the Himalayas can do wonders. We lost weight, we were forcibly turned into vegetarians, we learned to ignore the pain from muscles we didn't know we had (the butt has muscles???), we survived the cold and heat, and the unholy combination of heat and cold.

I'm proud of Henri, who limped home on our last day because the road down was hard on his feet. And going up was torture for me, but he was my cheerleader and without him, I would probably still be in the mountains, wheezing and complaining about my wobbly knees. Our guide, Bhagwan, was not a bad addition to the team. He lied sometimes about how near the pit stops were (to get me to walk), but he's alright in my book :)

Nous venons de passer 5 jours magnifiques et plein d'émotions fortes. Nous nous sommes prouvés qu'on pouvait monter 1400m en 7h, puis partir avant le lever du soleil le lendemain matin pour admirer le spectacle sur un sommet à 3200m d'altitude. Nous avons souffert, enduré, laisser nos pensées divaguer pendant la marche et nous avons survécu!
Je suis TELLEMENT FIER de ma chérie et je veux le clamer à la terre entière!
Ce trek nous a encore rapproché, comme si l'altitude avait le pouvoir de sceller les unions, ou peut-être l'effort fourni en commun et cette douce sensation d'arriver au point fixé.
Nous vous racontons tout çà très vite, avec les belles photos des sommets, et vous embrassons tous bien fort!!!

Toute l'histoire... prochainement!
The full story -- SOON!

Happy Holi!

Today is the colorful festival of Holi, the day when youngsters in Nepal and India are given license to throw paint and point water guns at unsuspecting victims - INCLUDING FOREIGNERS!

Notice our Nepal makeovers? Henri lost his moustache and I cut my own hair! (Well, it was a boring night in Kathmandu...)

We arrived in Pokhara from Chitwan this afternoon and the mountainside was like a war zone! Kids were throwing water balloons at our bus. Some people were barely recognizable after the attack, but it was all in good fun. Full story on our Annapurna trek entry... Hopefully soon :)

Happy Holi, everyone!

Woah Amber (is the color of your energy)

After breakfast, we took a bus from Jaipur to Amber (also Amer), the former capital of the Rajputs before it was moved to present-day Jaipur. It is only a few minutes from the city but it feels like miles, even centuries away.

Winter left the trees and the surrounding hillsides naked so we saw the gold and pink walls in all their glory.

On the way up, elephants carry lazy tourists up to the gates.

It costs 500 rupees to go up on the poor things. They looked pretty in their face paint, but to be trained to go up and down these walls all day seemed unnatural and unkind.

Elephants were used to storm gates to ransack villages and pillage palace coffers.

Centuries later, they continue to enslave these majestic creatures... for 500 rupees.

It's not so high up, but inside the fort, there are palaces with labyrinthine passages where you could walk around for hours and end up lost.

And underneath the palace, the tunnels.

We went back to Jaipur for lunch. By then, I begun feeling a fever coming on, but we walked to Albert Hall anyway after I drank a paracetamol and crossed my fingers that it's just overexposure to the sun.

We were not planning on going to Albert Hall at all, because we read that the exhibits were prety dull. But since we had the composite ticket, it was practically free. We planned to save Nahargarh (Tiger Fort) for last because the view before sunset would be better.

The biggest surprise was this mummy from Egypt.

We had leg cramps walking around the museum and I wasn't feeling any better so we decided to go back to our hotel. We had trouble getting a rickshaw because they refuse to use the meter and asked for a hundred to three hundred for less than 3 kilometers. One of them is the guy in the black rickshaw below:

He didn't even care that the policeman had started butting in on the conversation. He didn't want to use his meter and he drove away. Eventually, we got someone who agreed to use his meter and I dug into the covers and slept until morning, running a 40° fever and coughing out blood.

I felt like this:

Blehh.

Tickled Pink in the Pink City

Jaipur is called "The Pink CIty" because of the color of the bricks used in the building of the city. It reminded us of another Pink City, Toulouse. I guess it was only fitting that Jaipur gave us a taste of France after a loooong time. We found French press coffee, baguettes and blue cheese at Anokhi, a restaurant and boutique. HAPPINESS!!!

On our historic walk, we passed through the bazaars specializing in bangles, shawls and marble...

to get to Iswari Minar Swarga Sal, the highest minaret in Jaipur.

From here you could see the tiger fort and the entire city.

The entrance is only 10 rupees and since it's not a major tourist spot, we were the only people there.

RANDOM PHOTO DU JOUR 11

Hola! It's been a while since we played this game, 

so welcome back to Random Photo Du Jour!

CAN YOU GUESS WHERE THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN?

Hint 1: it's not in France.

Hint 2: it's a BIG lake.

Good luck!

MEANWHILE IN NEPAL:

1 day before Chitwan (or like Henri says, "shitone")

4 days before Holi in Pokhara

5 days before Annapurna Trek

rrrrrrRanthambore!

We left Pushkar at the break of dawn. I was still a little sick, but strong enough to carry my backpack. 

First, we had to take a bus to Ajmer, where the buses going to Sawai Madhopur  await at 9am. We took some chai and biscuits and waited for the bus.

Ajmer, covered in early morning mist, looking like a mirage.

We were surprised that it took 8 hours to get to Sawai Madhopur, which is the closest town to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, one of the best places in the world to spot a tiger. By normal standards, it should be 2 hours, and by Indian standards, 6!

We passed through a lot of villages, some of which turned out to be very interesting when we read about them after, but at the time all we wanted was an end to the swirling dust. The landscape was, as usual, fantastic - Rajasthan does not disappoint in that department, and we had a lot of time to admire it because every few meters away were herds of sheep in the hundreds. That meant we stopped every 5 minutes to wait for the flock to be ushered to the side.

We were dropped off at the corner of Sawai Madhopur and Ranthambore, and the guesthouse manager picked us up at the roundabout in a safari jeep. Hatim, our friend from Mumbai (whom we met in the safari in Mudumalai), recommended the guest house because he comes here often, and I got to bargain the price of the room even before we got there :D