The Nepali Valley: 5,000km

“You go, you explore, you see, you do, you get, you experience. But still whatever it is, isn’t enough. Every new day, you go, you explore, you see, you do, you get.. you experience.”

20131129-154044.jpg

After staying with a family for one night in one of the small farming villages — I asked to use their water pump and got invited in — I made my way up and down the hills to where I would begin my climb into the mountains. I spent a few days riding through a national park which meant my only companions were monkeys, as almost no one lives in the area. In fact, I would often go over an hour without seeing another person or car. When I did come to a village, it consisted of small mud houses with thatched roofs, and lots of goats, cows, and ox. It was the kind of place where little five year old girls could climb up a tree with no branches in order to cut limbs off of a tree fifty feet up for her goats. I thoroughly enjoyed the area, and stopped off whenever I could to buy a chocolate bar or a cup of tea in order to hang around for a bit.

Continue Reading…

Flat, Easy, But Oh So Hot: 4800km

“…It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it.”

20131129-153031.jpg

I love Nepal. I am finally able to camp again, I am no longer followed by young sleazy adolescents, and I can live off of bananas, juicy oranges, and of course, rice, dal, and samosas, for only three dollars a day. Though I am still anxious to get to the mountains (I can see the start of them to my left at all times, talk about tantalizing!), I am enjoying all the small farming villages I have been passing through these last few days. Nepal is obviously poor, even more so than India, but the people are beautiful and smiling which is what counts. Hundreds of children wave and follow me daily (no joke, I swear every child has a “white cyclist radar” and is able to sense me coming from kilometers away), and most of the women smile and wave as well. Even the old wrinkled grandmas hobbling slowly down the road carrying who knows what in a giant basket on their head stop to smile and wave, something that never happened in India. Though it is still impossible to do anything without a crowd, at least it is always a friendly one.

Continue Reading…

Let’s Talk Politics

“History is made by those who break the rules.”

I noticed straight away after riding across the border that there were no cars in Nepal. I am on the one highway that goes through the area, yet there are only pedestrians, motorcycles, cyclists, and of course, a few ox. Oh, and army trucks, an awful lot of army trucks. Though I probably should have realized that was unusual, once you are on the road for enough time, you stop being surprised by anything. Turns out this wasn’t normal for Nepal though, and the reason there were no cars, buses, or trucks, is because Nepal is “closed.” Though I had heard this from a few Indians before arriving, when those same people are the ones telling you that Nepal doesn’t have any mountains (guess Everest is yet to be discovered!), you take everything with a grain of salt. Turns out that they were right on this one though.

Continue Reading…

A Great Introduction: 4550km

“Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating.”

20131129-143829.jpg

“We have a small house, but very big hearts,” the enthusiastic twelve year boy told me moments after his sister (who I had stopped to buy bananas from) brought me home to my first Nepali family. And he couldn’t have been more right. The family was poor, farmers with little more than a roadside stand and a small country house (the kind I have been eyeing longingly) to their name, but I have yet to meet someone anywhere in the world happier than Lokraj, my new little brother for the next few days. His sister, the one who invited me here, is a beautiful laughing girl herself, and the family quickly became my favorite one I have stayed with so far. The children’s mother and father are old, old enough to be their grandparents (I wonder if maybe that is the case), and absolutely wonderful people as well.

Continue Reading…

Crossing Over: 4510km

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.”

20131120-155217.jpg

As I crossed the border into Nepal I was elated. I was finally in Nepal, a country I had dreamed about visiting for years, and one of the countries I am most looking forward to getting to know. It was time for me to get out of India as well. Though I had a mostly wonderful experience, the last week has been taxing and has unfortunately left me with a somewhat sour taste of the area. (Besides my issues with the men and the constant unfriendly stares, I was also ripped off by rich business men every night for hotel rooms since they knew I had no other choice.) Nevertheless, I will be returning once again to India next summer (after about five months in Nepal), notably to the mountainous regions of Spiti, Ladakh, and Kashmir. But more about that another time, for now, I am in Nepal.

Continue Reading…