Delhi To Mussoorie

Arriving in Delhi from our Kathmandu adventures, we have a few hours to kill before our night train. We catch a taxi from the airport to the YMCA where we deposit our carry-ons with our stored baggage and then go for a walking tour and in search of supper. It is 43C (110F), so our energy levels are not exactly normal. Eventually a rickshaw fellow convinces us he knows the ideal air conditioned location - we pile in a couple rickshaws for the ride over. It is further than expected, and the A/C turns out to be marginal but the food is okay. The rickshaws even insisted they would wait to take us back – and sure enough an hour plus later they are sitting outside when we exit. Maybe business is more competitive than one would think for their business. We kill a little more time at a Café O’Day coffee shop before heading back to the YMCA lounge, also A/C, before catching a taxi to the train station for our 11:55 PM train to Dehradun. This time we are back with the private First Class sleeper compartment, and although not as nice a car as our first experience, it is much appreciated after the 3-tier sleeper. It is a short night though, as we reach our destination at 6 AM. The taxi is waiting and by 6:15 we are on the road heading up the mountains to Mussoourie. He deposits us outside Kellog Church just after 7:30 AM where we are now at a height of 7,500 feet in the midst of the Himalayan Mountains. The air is cool – almost enough to put on a jacket. It has been 30 years since I have been here – another spot of some of my sweetest childhood memories. I am surprised at some of the emotions it stirs.
An interesting building near the YMCA in Delhi.

Ancient and modern both on the big city streets.

This familiar place. None of us actually tried it. In fact, the only non-Indian food we had at any time was toast and jam at breakfast. A most excellent mustache, I must admit!

We never looked at the menu so I don't know if toilet paper was an entre?

Waiting for an "opening" to try and get across the street.

Riding to a restaurant in our rickshaws.

Relaxing at the Cafe O'Day coffe shop, an upscale airconditioned joint. Our iced coffee's were about Rs 150 or $3.00 USD

Now we're at the train station in Delhi, waiting for our "midnight express".

As you can see, not as glamorous as our very first 1st Class trip, but still very comfortable with a door that locks so we didn't have to worry about anything disappearing. I am on the phone with Loree here.

Merv with some night time reading.

James is chillin'. If you look closely at the laptop, Phil had just finished uploading to the blog!

Phil's bed, all nice and pretty.

Our taxi driver, waiting for us at the train stationin Dehradun.

Heading up the mountain road.

James, trying to wake up. It was a pretty short night and we were all tired.

That white line is the road we are headed up on. It is extremely twisty with lots of hairpin turns.

We had to stop halfway up so Merv could take care of some"loose ends"! ha ha ha ha

Lots of monkeys live in this area. These black faced one are Langoor monkeys.

Coming up into the town of Mussoorie. A statue of Lord Shiva I think.

This is a two way street.

We were dropped off at the steps of Kellogg Church. The house we stayed at is just to the left of this view, right across the street.

Nepal Finale

20:00 Phil and I go have supper at a restaurant where we can still hear the band across the street. James wanders off on his own and finds another decent band playing some blues.
23:00 Time for bed – the power is still off so no fan to stir the stifling air. I try and go to sleep on top of the covers until the dive bombing mosquitoes show up. I try and bury myself under my sheet but covering my head just makes it too hot. I go knock on Phil & James door – they have some OFF wipes – but there is no answer and I do not want to knock too loudly. I try dialing their room but the call does not go through so eventually I head down the 5 flights to the front desk to ask them how to call a room. Turns out you put a 2 in front of the room number. Phil answers and by the time I am back upstairs he has already dropped off some wipes on my bed. Merv seems to have blissfully slept through all this. Sometime later during the night, the power comes on and the fan starts working.
9:00 After a quick breakfast we do a final wander of the streets to see if there is anything else interesting. Phil & I buy a few things. The taxi is lined up for about 11
11:30 We are in the check in line at the airport. Coming in we had to show our tickets and put our bags through a scanner. Any bag security thought might be checked they slap a “Security checked” sticker on and return it to the owner. There are 3 check in lines and we are only about 30 feet from the counter.
12:30 We have moved about 6 feet in the hour. This is getting REAL frustrating!!! While waiting we did discover there is a exit ‘fee’ due of US$ 18 each, so at least that was looked after. I jump queues, leaving the other 3 guys where they are in case one line moves better. Turns out it was a good choice. When I get to the front the other 3 join me and we finally get checked in. This should have been so easy!
13:00 We head upstairs to the departure lounge to discover another line – this one for immigration. Another form has to be filled out first. By the time we get to the front of the line they hardly look at them any ways. On we go to discover another security check – one line for men and one for women. Our bags go through the scanner and we go though the people scanner followed by a frisk. Is that it? NO. Now you take your bags to some tables where a person opens it up and checks through each bag. What was the scanner for? The guy I get pulls out a bracelet I had purchased that morning, looking at it like he has never seen such a thing before. He tries to put it on – it does not fit. I loosen it up and he puts it on – now looking at me with this “how is that going to stay on” look. I tighten it up again. He examines his wrist long enough that I begin to think he wants me to give it to him. Then we take it off, he looks at the rest of my stuff and then stamps my boarding pass. That must be it now. We head down another hallway to a large waiting room where another boarding card check is done. Finally our flight is called and we line up for yet another boarding card check before filing into yet another waiting room. The door finally opens and we climb on the bus to ride to the plane. People are pushing and shoving through the doorway as though they might be left behind or lose their seat if they do not arrive first.
14:15 You have got to be kidding! We get off the bus at the plane only to discover yet another bag check. Once again 2 lines, ladies and men. Once again frisk everyone. Once again check through every bag. Finally we are on the plane and in our seats. But peace still does not descend. There is a large group of people who either have never flown or are simply unmannered. They are constantly going up and down the aisles, switching places, shouting to each other. Finally the attendants force everyone into a seat and the plane takes off. That departure was enough to almost make you not want to ever return to Kathmandu again. I later find out they started all these checks after a flight was hijacked by the Taliban to Pakistan a few years ago. That would be the way to wreck a day!
16:15 We touch down in Delhi, our Nepal adventure complete. It is amazing how modern Delhi now feels.

Postscript: 6 days later in Delhi we are reading how the Nepalese PM tried to force out the Army Chief, the President reinstated the Army Chief, the PM’s coalition splits over the issue, the PM resigns and there are now street demonstrations taking place by the Maoists(the PM’s party) in the streets of Kathmandu. I guess our timing was excellent!
Waiting for our supper to arrive. We could hear a couple of live bands through the windows.

This is one of the bands Jimmy went to see after supper.

This cute little girl was 13. She goes to school during the day and sells purses at night to make money for the family. What is your 13 yr old doing?

James and I both got a shave and haircut here. I would let someone shave me every time if it only cost $2 back home!

This was an interesting sign. I don't know anyone who encourages the beggar but I guess it happens.

We never did take a ride on these riskshaws. We stayed in walking distance from the Kathmandu Guest House.

James walks right on by.... this salesman doesn't meet criteria. He's a he and he's old!!!!

Huh? Uhh....huh....aahhhh....nothing!

The courtyard cafe at the KGH. A very cool place to hang out.

We walked by this statue several times before we noticed the monkey climbing up the pecker!

Nepal Day 2 Part 1.1 - 0400 to 1300 hrs

4:30 AM We stumble out into the KGH parking lot where our taxi is waiting to take us on our tour. The streets are mostly deserted but the potholes and dust seem just as bad. We are driving up to Nagarkot which is located in the mountains surrounding Kathmandu, about an hour away. Our hope is that it might be clear enough there to see some of the mountain landscape and maybe catch the sunrise. Surprisingly, the road once outside the city is actually better than in town. Although the pavement is only about 8-10 feet wide and rough, it is at least not pocked with potholes. The road starts winding quite steeply up with many hairpin turns. There is no traffic but I wonder what happens when you meet a bus on this road.
5:30 We have reached Nagarkot which is located at about 7200 feet. The air is fairly cool but unfortunately the haze remains. We take some pictures of the hazy sun rising and then start the trek back down. There is a village close by, so we stop there for chai, toast and omelets and watch as the villagers carry out their morning rituals. There is a water tap just across the street from us, and many ladies are there filling their water jugs and carrying them back home.
9:00 We have reached the ancient city of Bhaktapur where the taxi drops us off – no cars are allowed. We spend an hour wandering through the streets which are very much as they were hundreds of years ago. People still live and work in this place.
11:00 We are dropped off at a large complex called Pashupatinath, the most sacred Shiva temple in Nepal. A trickle of a stream runs through one part of it. This is where they still do cremations every day, and several are in progress as we watch. It seems very odd that this would be a public spectacle. In the stream there are cows standing – they seem to be very attracted to each cremation as it takes place. Ladies are washing their clothes or children in the stream, some people are bathing, garbage is strewn everywhere. When one cremation is finished, they simply push all the ashes off the platform where the fire was into the river to join all the other garbage.
13:00 The driver has taken us to several more places, but after being on the road for 8 hours already, we have had enough and ask to be dropped back at KGH. Then it is off to find some lunch and do some shopping. There are lots of choices and we pick up some things for gifts. Then it is back for a nap so we don’t crash too early tonight.
Our car and driver, waiting for us in the parking lot of Kathmandu Guest house at 0430 hrs.

We arrived at the resort at Nagarkot to see what we could see......

...not much to see because of all the haze. What we could see was nice as was the temperature.

Three cool dudes, but the coolest one was taking the picture.

This was a very nice resort at the top of the mountain.

We hung out until sunrise, then it was time for breakfast.

Some Nepalese Rangers (army I think) were doing some serious jogging up and down the hills.

The ladies collecting water for the day.

A lot of cute kids in Nepal.

Our waitress at breakfast.

The scenery wasgreat butI wish it had been clearer.

The white sign is pointing the way to the swimming pool. LOL Someone had a good sense of humor!

Just looking.....

We called these things "Mad Max" because they looked crazy. they were the main mode of transportation up in the mountains.

Use your head woman..... use your head!

Entering the old city of Bhaktapur. It was very cool, hundreds of years old.

Some more cute kids.

Washing clothes. These ladies don't get to sit around watching soaps or "Better Homes & Gardens on TV. Any of you ladies reading this have a great life! More cute kids..... they were everywhere!

Lord Randy looks down from on high!

Taking a break from walking for a few minutes.

There were tons of these old very cool looking buildings. Loved it. A pottery mill in the middle of this complex with a dude making clay with his feet before someone else makes the clay into objects. Very interesting to watch.

James wheelin & dealin again!!! She had probably heard about him from Kathmandu! ha ha ha

The very center of the complex where farmers were making deals selling their goats.