On to Nepal!

May 8

I got behind on blogging. We ran into a few days where we didn't have power and I couldn't charge anything. I had already used all of my portable chargers as well so I was kinda screwed. I could have written in my journal but I found out that I can type blog posts on my phone and upload them when I have Internet. It takes so much less time to only have to write it out once. I think it takes me an hour or two, depending on how much I write, to type out what I wrote. It's pretty much a waste of time. So, maybe I'm lazy, but really, I'm just saving time and energy. The next few days won't be as descriptive or long I am sure because I am doing them a few days after the fact. We can all thank Dr. Grossman for teaching me how to write vividly, descriptively, and very long entries about my personal experiences. I will do my best to recount the important things and still give good descriptions based on what I can remember.

Aunt Cindy, I will work on talking about the people in my group. Anything you would like to know specifically?

Today we pretty much traveled all day long. We had to meet downstairs at 5am and we again headed to the train station in tuk tuks. It was Stacey and I in the back with a bag behind our heads, my bag between us and Solvei's bag on top of us across our laps. It was crowded and things were jabbing me from every which way. At one point Stacey's bag even fell onto my head but I was holding Solvei's bag so I couldn't so anything about it. It was a fun ride to say the least.
Our train was only about half an hour late this time so that was exciting! When we were getting on the train a man almost punched Z in the face for no reason at all. It was strange. Z was just trying to get us all on the train and get the guy to move toward the train. This is a generalization and may be incorrect but it seems like Indians are very quick to anger and aggression.
On the train I was in a middle seat which I normally don't mind but both girls on either side of me weren't giving me too much space and it was pretty annoying. I couldn't even have an arm rest. I think we were in the train for about 4 or 5 hours.
Then we switched over to driving in 2 jeeps and a little car. I was in the car with Monica, Curtis, and Stacey. Again, I got the middle seat so everyone was sleeping on me. There was no AC in the cars either. We were all sweating in places we didn't even knew sweat.
We stopped for lunch along the way while we were still in India. I ordered chicken curry and garlic naan. To my surprise, the chicken came out with bones and all. I am not very good at getting meat off of chicken bones. I think I ended up having 5 small shreds of chicken and the naan. Oh well though.
Once we got to the border, we had to stop and wait for the other jeeps. We had been really far ahead of the other 2 cars. In the town where the borders meet, there were a number of trucks lined up for a long way back. We skipped this line and went further up. We waited for probably a good 15 minutes or so for the other vans to arrive. The driver wouldn't let us open the door either. We were roasting!
Once the other vans arrived, Z came around and handed us cards from India that we had to fill out about our departure. We gave him our passports and then we got out of the cars. Why we had to fill all of that out in the car beats me. I was sweating so much that my hand left sweat marks on the paper and I could barely write anything because the pen didn't work. No Alyssa, it was not an RSVP pen ha.
Then we had to cross the street and go to a little counter where they gave us our passports back.
After that, they put some bags on a little cart for a man to transport across the border for us but I missed that happening so I carried mine across. At the border there was an archway that said INDIAN BORDER ENDS and then there was no mans land (not super long but long enough you couldn't be in both countries at once) and then another archway that said WELCOME TO NEPAL.
Honestly, crossing the border was the strangest thing ever. It was so different in such a small area of space. Plus, I don't think I've ever been able to cross from one country to another on foot before. But in India, it was so dirty and dusty and crowded and busy and hot. And in Nepal, 100 feet away I already felt like I could breathe easier, it was cleaner, less crowded. Once we got to our hotel which was just a 5 minute drive from the border it even seemed cooler. It seriously was the weirdest thing.
The cars from India bringing us to the border will normally cross over into Nepal and take us all the way to the hotel since its such a short drive over the border. Z said that they decided not to this time because the country is still having problems with the government. The royal family was murdered a few years ago and since then Nepal has been working on their constitution and the people have had a lot of problems with it. I don't know all the details, this is just what Z told us we needed to be aware of. Before we came to Nepal he said 2 things:
1. Enjoy the transportation in India now because it won't be as great in Nepal. We have to take public buses instead of private ones and there is no AC.
2. Because of the instability of the government it is possible there may be strikes while we are in Nepal. This could affect our activities because there is a curfew meaning people do not go out all day.
Before we went to the hotel though, we had to get everything with the border control situated. We had to fill out a short form and then I got my passport stamped and I waited for everyone else to get their visas... Only 3 of us had visas. Note to self: if at all possible, wait to get your visas abroad. It is way cheaper and at least at the Nepalese border it was less of a hassle than getting the visas in the states.
When we were waiting for everyone to get their visas and make their way to the vans, a bunch of kids came up to us and were just standing there watching. Monique took out a bag of food she had bought at lunch earlier and the kids started holding out their hands. She ended up giving them some of her cereal (?) and they all started shoving it in their mouths and putting their hand out for more. She gave the first 2 kids a big handful and they couldn't carry it so she took some of her stuff out of a plastic bag and put the cereal in there for them. She also gave them her warm water. It was adorable.
We drove the 5 minutes to the hotel in Jon AC vans and when we walked inside it was extremely nice. None of us were expecting that at all either. The houses we had just past weren't as rugged as the ones in India. They actually looked better built, had designs on them, were painted more colorfully... Also random but the people here look more Asian. The way they write Nepalese and Hindu are the same, but they are spoken differently. It sounds like Z can communicate easily enough with them though? I'm not totally sure. But the hotel even had a huge pool! There was AC, an elevator with a window to the outside so you can see a view. Free wifi in the lobby!
I showered but we just had a spicket that was shorter and a shower head that was taller. I couldn't figure out how to get the shower head on so I squatted down to shower under the shorter spicket. Ridiculous I'm sure but sweating as much as I do here, you shower however you have to.
I don't think I mentioned this earlier, but the first time we really experienced power outages was in Varanasi. The lights go out and you don't know for how long. It usually came back on within half an hour. This happened a lot at the hotel in Nepal as well. I was surprised that Varanasi was the first place we experienced power loss because I was under the impression that it is pretty normal in India.
After my shower, I sat out by the pool for a while with the Norwegians. Marianna was telling me about how she wants to be a singer/songwriter and her plans for the future relating to that. There were so many mosquitoes by the pool side. It was gross and annoying.
We ended up moving inside to eat dinner. They don't have a bunch of Nepalese food, just momos which weren't on the menu, but Nepalese restaurants serve a lot of different types of food. I ordered chicken chowmein and it was delightful. The noodles were really soft and there were vegetables and chicken and it was very tasty. I also had an Everest beer, one of their main beers. I think Gorkha is also one of their national beers. They sell and advertise Tuborg a lot as well but that is a Danish beer.
At dinner there was also a huge rat that kept poking itself out from the top of the wall and all the girls right there kept screaming. I guess it ran down on the floor a few times as well. The waiters response when they told him was yes, there are too many. Lol. Okay. Good answer.
When we were paying they also go around and write out itemized receipts for everyone. They still use carbon paper. Monique got confused and started taking apart all the papers and the waiter almost had a heart attack. Paying for sure will take forever here. It will be interesting, especially with such a large group.
In the morning we head to Lumbini for a few hours and then drive to Chitwan. Should be exciting!