The Journey out of Nepal

view from the top... of the bus

The wheels coming off the bus... LOL!

view of a village along the way...







I spent my final few days in Nepal in Namo Buddha, i really needed the peace and quiet and the beautiful surroundings. I decided not to head back into Kathmandu to catch a bus, but decided to just wing it from where I was. The day started off with a challenge of the bus being full to the brim (bursting in fact) – there wasn’t even space on the roof. So my friend who was travelling in with me on the first leg of the journey, and I decided to walk to the main road – which is about an hour and a halfs walk... Remembering I had all my lugguage... and it was hot, despite only being 9am in the morning. We walked half way before we hitched a ride on the back of a truck with some local people who were delivering milk, they dropped us off at the main road and from there Kenna and I were going in different directions. A bus was there ready to take her to where she wanted to go, but i had to wait about an hour before a bus came that was going in my direction.
A local Nepali woman with her 2 year old son, were waiting with me and she was heading in the same direction, so she said that i was to catch the same bus as her as her bus went to Bardibas. So a bus arrived and i hoped on, saying where i was going, but no-one was paying too much attention. I decided to sit on top of the bus, as it was jam-packed inside, and i was a bit nervous about my luggage being on top with many people, so for four and a half long hours, i was perched on top, catching a tan. The views from up there were spectacular – this bus was taking me on a tour of the back-valleys. The road was a single track dirt road with sheer cliffs on one side and steep ups and downs, and at one point we had to reverse the bus in order to gain momentum to get up the hill. At this point I was contemplating death, and quite calmly saying my Om Mani Padme Hungs. There was nothing i could do, so there was no point in being anything but calm. During the journey, i discovered that the bus was not going to where I wanted to go, and they were asking double what the Nepali woman had told me the price was. So i did contemplate just going back to Kathmandu and starting again, but then just decided to keep going on the path i had already begun. In some places the road is under construction, so we had to drive along the river bed. I continued to enjoy the scenery and the increasing amount of space that was opening up on the roof of the bus as everyone was getting off. Finally we came to a little village, and i was pointed in a direction where a lot of other people from the bus were walking. This was where the bus was stopping, and in order to carry on in the direction that i was going, I would have to walk for over an hour – still with all my luggage and still very hot. A kind Nepali guy took it upon himself to show me the direction of the bus, and even carried one of my bags for part of the way. He was suggesting that i stay at his house for the night and continue my journey the next morning, but i decided that was not a very good idea, so i remained insistent that i would continue with my journey. Once again, I managed to get a ride for the last half of the walk with the construction workers. They dropped me and my Nepali friend off in the nearby village where we could catch the bus heading towards Sinduli, where i could then catch another bus to Bandibas, where I could then catch a further bus to Kakarbitta, which is one of the borders between Nepal and India. I had two seats to myself in this bus, and watched the scenery from my window – just as well, as we had entered monsoon territory and it was raining slightly. This bus terminated in Sinduli, and when i wanted to catch the next bus i was told that there were no more busses that day – it was 7pm – so i would have to spend the night here. I was kind of hoping to have gotten an overnight bus to the border, but that was not to be.
Finding accommodation proved to be very interesting... This area is not really visited by tourists, so i had a lot of people starring open mouthed at me as I walked down the street looking for a place to stay. Every place i went to said they were full, which i believed initially, but then i started noticing the pattern. No one wanted me staying at their hotel, except one place but they were wanting to charge me NR500, which is just an absolute rip off. When I tried to negotiate, they were not having it, and as they were the only place taking in tourists they could stand firm on their price. I moved on thinking i would find somewhere else... Time is moving on, darkness is approaching and I am still carrying all my bags. I ask a Nepali woman if she knows where i can stay, she sends two young girls to take me to a hotel. When I get there, the owner ignores me initially as he says good bye to his customers – which i take to be good manners on his part, not giving tourists any special attention. When he did finally look at me though, and I asked him for a room for the night, he said that he was full. Now i could see the key holders behind, him and there must have been about 20 rooms... but he was full... so i carried on walking down the street, really feeling the strong sense of rejection and not being wanted. By now i was starting to get emotional, but continued to walk in the dark until a Nepali girl came to me and said she would take me to a hotel, and if we couldn’t find one that would have me then i could come to her house. I was really grateful for her being there, and she took me back to the NR500 place – I once again tried to negotiate, but they were not interested, so i swallowed my pride and took the room at the high price.
I was grateful to have a place to sleep tonight, although i am feeling a bit had. I get a feeling that i have stumbled upon a strong Maoist area, where tourists are not wanted, and if they are going to be here then they will get the most out of them. It is just such a different experience than what i have had in other parts of the country, although i did sense an undercurrent of it in some places. This was just blatant though.

Sindhuli to Siliguri
As i had paid my accommodation the night before – due to their paranoia that i might run off without paying – i got up early and let myself out of the building, making my way to the bus station amidst stares suspicion. Arriving at the bus station the first bus i saw, gave me a feeling of death, but i asked them anyway where they were going. They were going to Bardibas which is where i was heading, so there was not much choice but to get on it. About half way through the 37km journey, the bus driver was finding difficulty changing gears, then after looking in his wing mirror, abruptly stopped the bus. Everyone got off very quickly, and I followed, only to discover that the wheels had come off the bus – quite literally!! One set of back wheels had come out so far that there was not much left to hold the bus up, so if we had gone a little bit further, it would have been a different story that i tell... So i waited half an hour for the next bus to come by – and of course they were full, so i decided to sit on top where there is fresh air and more space. When we came to a police check post, we stopped about 100m before it and everyone on top had to get off and walk past the police... and then about 100m after the check post the bus stopped and we all got back on again. Apparently we are not allowed to travel on the roof tops of busses. I was then dropped off at Bardibas where i spent 2 ½ hours waiting for my next bus. This next bus was to take me direct to the border post of Kakarbitta, where i could cross into India near Darjeeling and Sikkhim. Once again this bus was full, so for the first 10 minutes until it stopped for lunch, i was crammed inside – after lunch i was back on the roof. It was a different experience being on the roof this time, as the bus was going a lot faster and therefore the wind was much harder. Nonetheless, i stayed there for six hours until we hit our second rain shower and they brought all of us and our luggage inside the bus – this was when i realised that there was actually space inside, so i stayed there for the next half an hour until we reached the border. Crossing the bridge at the border was really beautiful – it is a long bridge, maybe 700meters and on either side is a beautiful valley, people were crossing on bicycles, rickshaws, motorbikes and the occasional car and truck. I had no hassles crossing, and so i made my way to the bus stand to catch a bus to Siliguri – it was now 6.30pm and they said it only takes an hour, i think it took a bit longer because of all the stopping and starting. So I arrived in Siliguri at about 8pm and started looking for a place to stay.
Once again i came upon many places telling me they were full. Then i came upon one place that told me they had room for Asians only. This was a very interesting experience for me, for someone to be so openly racist – and yet i was grateful for the openness, as there was the possibility that i was just being paranoid. I asked him why he only allowed Asians, but he didn’t answer and carried on chatting and laughing with his buddy. Being a white person from South Africa, I have never really experienced how black people must have felt during apartheid, the constant feeling of rejection and not being accepted/wanted – so it was very interesting.
I then managed to find a place and we negotiated a price for a single room for two nights, and then he proceeded to tell me that he had no single rooms, only double – and the price was double too – so i left. I was very hot and tired of carrying my luggage, but once again my stubbornness got in the way and i carried on. I then managed to find a few more hotels that were willing to have me stay, but at a price... still i carried on walking. Finally i found somewhere that was in the middle of what i wanted to pay and what everyone else was asking from me – it was also 9pm, so i had decided to stay here no matter what the price! I will spend 2 nights here so that i can organise a permit for Sikkim as well as catch up on internet stuff, like changing my flight and many many e-mails!! I will now only leave India on around the 5th of August.