Katmandu
astrid70 | 24. Januar 09
I made it. Incredible. If you want to see your Lama there can be quite some obstacles: I wanted to leave Gangtok on Thursday early morning. I got up a t 5 am to get a jeep to Kakavitta at the Nepali border but there was a strike in West Bengal: Gurkaland. Is the biggest problem there right now. So i just made it to the Sikkim border 40 km from Gangtok and stayed a whole day in a dusty, loud town with nearly no atraction. But if you are a buddhist you are lucky: your mind and your behind is always with you so you can meditate:))
Yesterday I took a jeep to Nepal but my driver forgot to drop me quickly at the Indian border to get a stamp in my passport that I have left India. So I had to walk all the way back over the bridge: forth and back 1 km each, my workout.
Than at the immigration office there was a man waiting to offer me a bus to Katmandu. I am shure he bribed the police for this infomation. And he told me there is only one bus going: his at 10pm. But than in the street someone appeared and told me he is cheating me. There would be a government bus station and the bus would leave soon. So i rushed after him, bought a ticket, I am shure still for too much money because on my ticket and the money I paid finally there was a difference of 120 RS. Like always here!!! Nice countries.
Anyway I had a busticket and a woman sitting right besides me who nearly spoke English but she was some kind of protector on the tour. We had to change the bus and walk over a bridge made of palm trees to cross a river as the last monsson has washed away the street and it was not yet rebuild. Some weeks earlier, you even had to take a boad to cross.
She took me with her, took care of my luggage and that I found my right bus again!!! Early in the morning we arrived finally after 18 hours in Katmandu. It was still dark, my driver couldn' t find the right hotel and I ended up in some expensive but quite and clean hotel in Thamil.
Let's seewhat happens today:)
Yesterday I took a jeep to Nepal but my driver forgot to drop me quickly at the Indian border to get a stamp in my passport that I have left India. So I had to walk all the way back over the bridge: forth and back 1 km each, my workout.
Than at the immigration office there was a man waiting to offer me a bus to Katmandu. I am shure he bribed the police for this infomation. And he told me there is only one bus going: his at 10pm. But than in the street someone appeared and told me he is cheating me. There would be a government bus station and the bus would leave soon. So i rushed after him, bought a ticket, I am shure still for too much money because on my ticket and the money I paid finally there was a difference of 120 RS. Like always here!!! Nice countries.
Anyway I had a busticket and a woman sitting right besides me who nearly spoke English but she was some kind of protector on the tour. We had to change the bus and walk over a bridge made of palm trees to cross a river as the last monsson has washed away the street and it was not yet rebuild. Some weeks earlier, you even had to take a boad to cross.
She took me with her, took care of my luggage and that I found my right bus again!!! Early in the morning we arrived finally after 18 hours in Katmandu. It was still dark, my driver couldn' t find the right hotel and I ended up in some expensive but quite and clean hotel in Thamil.
Let's seewhat happens today:)