Well...I stayed up all night last
night. I was packing and generally
getting things in order while
online. It was important to get any
large upload/downloads completed
before switching to stealth mode (the
satellite modem).
Dawa swung by the Kathmandu Guest
House at a little after 5am and we
took a tiny taxi to the bus station.
The taxi driver won the prize for
the worst driver I have ever
seen...so it was an amusing drive.
Things were moving along at the bus
station. Every useless trinket in
the world was being hawked...as well
as some beautiful mangoes and
pomegranates.
Mango Vendor
Dawa climbed on top of the bus and I
passed our bags up. Porters with
huge loads of 'who knows what' were
also depositing their burdens on top
of the bus.
(Click here to see the video
"Next in Line")
(to be uploaded August 3rd)
This was to be the
'Super Express' to Jiri.
Actually, the ticket said 'Supper Express',
but I wasn't expecting a meal. I
hadn't slept the night before, so I
was excited to fold myself into the
tiny seat and snooze.
(Click here to see the video
"Boarding the Bus")
(to be uploaded August 3rd)
We pulled away from the bus station
and merged into
the busy traffic of Kathmandu.
(Click here to see the video
"Leaving Kathmandu")
(to be uploaded August 3rd)
Fortunately, our driver was a total
maniac, so we were able to make some
good time.
There were a few points where I woke
from my slumber to try and increase
the circulation to my limbs (so
they didn't just fall off). A
brief
glimpse out the open window showed
me the edge of cliffs and about a
foot between our back wheels and a
huge drop.
Merrily, our driver blew his horn as
we coasted down steep hills. The
brakes squeaked and protested as he
applied them...usually at the last second
before a huge curve. I've been on
many buses in the Third
World...including Ecuador (a country
known for its fiery bus crashes),
but the skill of any previous bus
drivers in no way compared to
the wanton disregard for safety of
this Nepali driver. I was in
fatalist heaven...certain that we'd
get to Jiri in good order and enjoy
some good food.
(Click here to see the video
"Super Express")
(to be uploaded August 3rd)
Before I knew it, Dawa was helping
me unhinge my arms and legs and
telling me that we were in Jiri. A
100ft walk brought us to a 4 story
(Nepali story) guest house where
most of the doorways were about 5ft
8inches.
'Watch your head', said Dawa...as I
bashed the top of my noggin on the
door frame. Now I was more awake! We
put our personal effects into our
respective 'rooms' and headed to the
third floor for some grub.
Chilies on the Roof in Jiri
A
bit of wholesome food and some tea
with fresh milk (straight out of the
cow) was served...then I promptly
spread out on the spacious bench I
had been sitting on and fell asleep.
It was 3pm.
Dawa and Gelu would be visiting with
old friends in town while I was
snoring. Dawa also is in charge of
the Sony video camera...so he has
been taking some awesome footage and
capturing some outrageous images. A
few of the images in these updates
were taken by him.
Looking North from Jiri
I
awoke at 8pm, covered in an
extremely plush blanket, to the
inquisitive stares of about 10 Sherpa folk. They were all looking
like they were ready for dinner.
Dahl Bhat was served with curried
chicken and potatoes. I must admit
that this was some of the tastiest
food I have had during my whole time
in Nepal. There was three kitchen
staff: The chef was a woman in her
late 20's (or so) and her two
smiling helpers were 23 and 12-14
years of age. Talk about hard
workers. These women aimed to
please. Mountains of rice were
produced each time I thought I was
finished and the succulent chicken
was spooned out of a bottomless pot.
The Super Kitchen Staff in Jiri
I
listened to Sherpa conversation while Dawa quietly translated and
smiled like the Cheshire cat. My
stomach was satisfied and I was
ready to get some work done on my
laptop. Everybody was in bed by
10:15pm, so I was able to have the
third floor to myself (except for
Dawa sleeping in a corner) and work.
I mowed through email and got
another couple of updates out of the
way...including this one.
At about 4am, I'd answered most of
my pressing email and considered the
short descent to my room. Sleep
would be sweet. I levered open the
French (Nepali French) doors that
were directly in front of my bed and
set up the sat modem and laptop on
the balcony.
After a quick connection, I powered
down the little machines and got
comfortable on my slab of plywood.
The blanket was a little short, so I
turned it so that I was spanning the
longest part of the heavy, fabric
square and started to count Dzo.
Some 5am horns blasted, the morning
light pierced the darkness and some
movement started to happen in the
street. I stuffed some toilet paper
in my ears and quickly feel
asleep...
