VARANASI
Great day. Highlights were the Bharat Mata Mandir (the amazing marble relief map of India), the market around the Vishwanath temple, Sanarth and the Dmamek Stupa, the ceremony in the evening along the Ganga and the lovely Japanese and Koreans we met today. Been one packed day.
Out of Nepal and back into India!
Finally. We have wifi, masala chai and Indian food! 10 amazing days on the Karnali river have just passed where we met some unforgettable people and had so many laughs.
There were six of us in total on the trip; a German couple, an Australian couple and us two. The rapidrunners team that accompanied us throughout the trip were made up of Raja, boss and excellent chef; Santosh, a loveable and hilarious Jack Sparrow character; Smiley, self explanatory and Sagar and Prashant, two very talented kayak loopers and lovely guys.
The first few days of the trip were made up of a mixture of grade 3-5 rapids. At one point, Mamie and I decided to have a go at the front where we discovered the true force of the water - thanks to Meera I remained safely on the boat! It was so much fun. We spent our evenings indulging in amazing food including freshly caught catfish (YUM), attempting to teach cheat to Sagar, listening to music around camp fires and drinking rum and the local alcohol, Roxy (a yeasty vodka) which I will not be having again.
One evening, our relaxation was interupted by an insane storm. We had noticed this huge storm looming ahead over a forest fire in the distance (to add to the drama!) but we had no idea what was coming. If Mamie hadn't suggested we move our clothes inside our tent, our tent would have literally blown away. Santosh, our hero in this story, told us to get in the tent with 'Oh, hello? Lona?!' (nepalise for 'what are you doing/you crazy?!') but I had a serious dilemma. I needed to pee, badly. Do I one, run after my towel, two get into the tent and piss myself in the process or three, save my dignity but risk being blown away? It was terrifying and hilarious at the same time. Santosh shielded our tent as we huddled inside and when we told him to come inside, he replied with 'I'm dancing!'. It seems the Roxy was still having an effect. If you're wondering what happened with my dilemma, my dignity survived but sadly the loo or hole in the ground did not so I had another issue after the 'eye of the storm' had passed.
Santosh was amazing. He kayaked me across a strong current so that I could cliff dive, he saved us from a storm and he provided us with so many laughs.
Thank you to Meera, for looking after my foot (yes, my foot again - cut it on the rocks) and saving me from the rapids; to Mitch, for your generosity and cooking tips; to Matt, for your speedos and your great sense of humour and to Sophie, for your kindness and great girly chats!
We are now in Varanasi, one of the holiest places in India. We feel it's time to make our uni decisions! We will be up bright and early tomorrow for sunrise over the Ganges so I'm hoping we'll take some amazing shots and won't see too many dead floating bodies!
P.S. one of the shots is for mum - pixy safely around my neck! Missing you loads xxxxx
Even with the crazy bus journeys where music plays for hours and Mamie's hair gets in my face and the not-so-good-chai, I am really loving Nepal! I'll try not to repeat what Mamie's already said but it's true, there is definitely a more relaxed atmosphere here. The stares are curious and less intense.
Highlights: elephant bathing, jungle safari (although I admit the charging rhino was terrifying - I've never climbed a tree so fast in my life), bungy jumping, canyon swing, Astam and the boys at The Nippon Guesthouse who gave us each a flower!
Astam was a really authentic, down-to-the-basics, humbling experience. It was also exhausting. We had ten inquisitive kids that we basically babysat for 24 hours. We were made to dance Nepalise style, made to play snap (which we taught them and later regretted) non-stop, woken up early and taken on an early 'morning run' and we even helped with the farming. It was a lot of fun. When the two year old, Nikita, stole and refused to give back Mamie's chanel sunglasses, the laughing stopped... at least for Mamie! Then they went off with my ipod which made me a little bit anxious myself.
I actually found the canyon swing more scary than the bungy jump I think because the rope looked pathetically thin, the pivot is very far in the distance and you free fall for longer. I'm very proud of us for not chickening out.
Miss you all. Maybe blog in just over a week when we have wifi!
(From last week)
The best of my phone shots of Ranakpur and Jodhpur... 5 are in Ranakpur - farmers, leopard, monkeys etc) The others are taken in Jodhpur showing the blue city and the fort (the last is taken from the guesthouse rooftop where I am sat right now - you can just make out a lantern with the fort behind).
My dad will be interested to know that we saw eagles today circling above the swallows in the fort in Jodhpur.. thought of you :) - imagined you with your camera getting very excited!
Amy xoxox
Nepal here we come!
We have left Delhi with a positive feeling. It was nice to know that there is some justice in the world! It's also good to know that the Delhi police do help at least sometimes :) - they even put their police lights on so that we could get to our train on time - I admit, we were rather giggly and excited!
Mamie and I have decided that as the start of our gap years didn't exactly go to plan (e.g. I haven't learnt a language and generally been a bit useless... in my opinion, all High Society's fault! ...and Mamie spent a lot of wasted time with SATs) that we will turn it around now. We're reading multiple books (one called 'how to overcome mental tension' - travelling in India is stressful!). We've decided to buy a sketch book and be creative, inspired by a visit to the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi, which we loved. We have made an effort with the language; I am still struggling with the hindi for thank you over two weeks in, but the point is we are trying! We have been to an Indian drums lesson. Let's forget the bit where the teacher was still drunk from Holi and spent the 2 hours reciting Om to us. Finally, we have vowed that we WILL go bungee jumping!
Very excited about entering Nepal.. will keep the blog updated if the wifi is decent! Miss you lots,
Amy
