MIKE'S NEWS

"How is it riding on th roads in India?" they ask.
"Well" I answer. "Apart from the Crazy truck drivers,
Rickshaws full of school kids,
Holy cows wandering where they please,
Buses bouncing down the wrong side of the road,
Dogs
Old ladies that rely on the gods to get them across the street,
A food vendor or two setting up shop in an intersection,
The odd sleeping man on the curb,
Pot holes and rocks,
Camels pulling carts,
Monkeys eyeing our supply of bananas,
Local cyclists twisting their head 180 degrees to have a look at us,
Taxi drivers and Elephants......
It's fine!"

As you can imagine, after a full day of riding through this, one is tired from the strain of concentration.

India, as hard as it was at times to ride, has left me with some great memories. The many friends we made and people we stayed with along the way, as always, contributed greatly to this.

We started in Delhi, staying with the wonderful Varma family where we were made to feel at home and have some great laughs together. We then rode through Rajasthan, and amongst its colourful people, staying in both small villages and large towns.

In the far west of the state, camels took place of the bikes for a 3 day trek into the desert. The bike may be uncomfortable at times but these humped long-legged spitting beasts were not made for smooth riding either. At each dismount, it took a good ten minutes fo me to feel normal again.

My lovely creature had his moments. Now and then wanting to eander off in his chosen direction. On one of these occasions, as I tried to steer him back by pulling hard on the reins, he swung his head violently around at me and let out a probectile vomit. It missed! But he won the battle and I let him do as he wanted until the guide arrived.

Back on the bikes, we headed back towards Delhi. Unfortunately aour journey was to be interupted by local disturbances. Riots had broken out in some of the towns. Conflict between Muslims and Hindus. We had to bus past a town where only two weeks ago, we attended a wedding with a lovely family.

Withe the tension spreading and the monsoon weather coming in fast, we decided to take the train some of the way to the Nepal border. This was not something I liked doing but when we reached the Himalayas of Nepal, I was glad to be here before the monsoon.

The main road to Pokhara was a bit of a rough ride. True, we did not have the traffic and other obstacles of India. But we didn't have tarmac fo 30kms!
In the lakeside town of Pokhara, we stayed with Rabindra and his family for a few days. Jo and I shopped for our gear to go trekking. Leaving our bikes at Rabindras, we caught the bus to the start of our 28 day walk. On the crowded rickety bus we met Christelle and Vincent, a French couple. A very fortunate meeting, for we travelled together fo the whole walk and had a fantastic time sharing each others company.

Walking from below 1000m to above 5000m, we passed through a diversity of terrain and weather. Forest, closed valleys, snow-covered scrub, dry river beds and tangled jungle. All amazing and stunningly beautiful (as only the photos can show!). Each day we walked for about 4-6 hours, eating and sleeping at the many basic restaurants and lodgings along the way.

On the 12th day, it was the big pass of the Thorung La. Nothing high in the climbing world but at an altitude of over 5000m, we all felt the effects of the thinning air. We had to take a few rest days to prepare for this. The climb up the snow was steep and slow. I could only move at a shuffle. Everytime I went faster, my legs siezed up for lack of oxygen. Clouds came and went, creating a stunning effect on the land and a serious effect on our minds. People have died here before.
A long day. 4 hours up and 6 hours down. It was the descent that hurt the most. We all slept well that night.

After 28 days in this beautiful and peaceful area, it was difficult to enter back into the noisy world of traffic.

Back in Pokhara, we rested fo a few days, as well as joining in the celbrations of the 1st year anniversary of the death of our friend Rabindra's grandfather. This was a very important day where all the family had gathered from around the country.

On our ride to Kathmandu, we climbed a few big hills. One road went up....and up for 50 km! Not all on a good surface

We also visited the Chitwan National Park. With our guides, we walked for two days in this low land jungle looking for animals. Our talented guides helped us spot bears, mongoose, deer, crocodile, peacocks, monkeys, a wide range of birds and RHINO. These, I was fascinated with. I loved the game we played too. Search for the hard to find rhino. Sneak up on him. Wait until he sees you. Then run like crazy! Good adrenaline rush.

There are many elephants in the park too. Mostly domesticated and used fo sight seeing tours. At about 11am every day, the elephants got a wash in the river. We went down to help out. I think we got the wash! Sitting on the back of one of these beautiful animals. It would load up it's long trunk and then spray me deliberately. Great fun!

In Kathmandu, we are having a few rest days, enjoying the temples and pleasant weather. Unfortunately, we are in a nation wide strike. Forced upon the people by a rebel group opposing the government. Many places are shut. It has made the roads rather traffic free which is a bonus.

Next adventure is Thailand!

To see the photos go to ofoto.com
the photos are under jodies email address (when you sign in) and the password is mikeandjo. Happy viewing!
We have done this for it is much easier to view the photos and a lot quicker

Love and smiles
Mike



Jodie's India

I discarded my Islamic “bat” as I walked through the Mumbai Airport to collect my bicycle. Free!!!!
India. What an assault on the senses! Smells.....spices, body odour, heat and...shit!!! Uugghhh! what a horrible smell, it gets up my nose! but these people seem not to notice it.

Travelling to Delhi enabled us to work out that THERE IS NO SYSTEM.
"Not today, the Rajhastani Express is full"... I rejoined the sort of queue at the tiny window...and it closed. Waiting... hoping the times of opening displayed were correct and that it would open in 20 mins. I filled out a request form and was ushered to the front of the queue by a velly kind man. ...and tomorrow? - full also. But we could go on the waiting list. How long was that???

We were told to go to another station office. We headed, instead, to where the train left from, Mumbai Central and hoped we could get on the train.

Not more than 100m from the airport, we were driving past a 'slum shanty' village. A shock to my system.......more to come!! Dirt, shops, rubbish, dirt, horn honking, cows and so many slums. How do people live like this?

This is India.

Women swathed in bright colours walked in bare feet. Some balancing their loads easily on their heads. A mother bathed her young child outside the door of their slum home - just metres from the chaotic traffic. These homes are poles of wood or bamboo supporting plastic sheet rooves. Layer upon layer of drab ripped plastic, anchored down by the odd tyre or stone. Strung along the home wall were lines of washing, adding some colour to these poor bleak dwellings.

The "colour" is the people. Their smiles. Gathering in groups by the side of the road - which doubles as their front yard. Children playing happily, men washing, a few transvestites here and there. They seemed happy - with so little. Fires or gas burners heating the water for the evening meal - as meagre as that might be.

I have never seen this kind of poverty.
Never even dreamed about it, or been aware of it. I knew India was a poor country, but wasn't ready for the reality of it all. I was ignorant....Not any more!

In Delhi, I phoned Sanjaya and spoke to Ninnee.......his wife. Sanjaya is a man!!!! shock, shock. Goes to show how much I know about Indian names. And all this time I thought he was a she.

Gazing out the window of a taxi, stopped at the lights en-route to Sanjayas. A grubby hand is held out, a pleading face appears. Nose dribbling, dirty tatty clothes....begging for money. And not more than 6 years old. What to do??
No money. It's not the right way. It is so hard to ignore them.

Staying with Sanjaya and his family made us feel most welcome and at home in Delhi. Sanjaya, with his ridicule of the british and great sense of humour. Ninnee is the very best cook in Delhi. Pooja, their daughter has the most beautiful smile and Baba, the grandfather. He has the most interesting tales of his army service...he is now 92, but remembers riding a bicycle around Europe as a young boy of 16! Bet he worked harder than us, with not so many gears.

One night, I woke up and felt like I was going to die. What was this painful feeling in my chest? Why couldn't I breathe freely?
I was assured the next day it was only heartburn/indigestion. OUCH!
Throughout India and Nepal, we have experienced this many times. Fortunately never for too long. Apart from the odd bout of diahorrea (is that how you spell it?) these are our only health complaints. Oh, and Micheal is currently going to "die" from a snuffy nose!

In Kishangarh, we navigated through a crowded street life of cows, bikes, wedding parades, women with huge nose rings, colour turbaned men. Everywhere we looked, something amazed us. That evening we were honoured to attend a local wedding with our hosts. The women became excited when I agreed to wear a sari like them.

Where does all that 5 metres of beautiful cloth go?
Round and round, pulled tight, gathered in the front and swung over the shoulder (all gracefully of course). Done by the experts, it looked... no, it looked hard even then!

Dancing is energetic in India, and they would not allow us to leave until we danced on the bridal stage. Sometimes I felt we were more of an attraction than the bride and groom, though only coz we were the only foreigners there. I enjoyed the wedding party, meeting people, wearing a sari and sampling the many types of food available.

Rajasthan is the state of forts. Always perched high on a hill, a one time inpenetrable. We visited magnificent forts with high walls, great gates, carved wooden images and entrances in Chittorgarh and Jodhpur. My favourite fort was in Jaisalmer, on the edge of the desert. We stayed in the fort wall of golden sandstone and spent hours wandering the city within. Intricate wooden carved windows, old crumbling walls, an abundance of cows and crowded markets. In the evenings, we would dine at the rooftop restaurant with a view overlooking the city and the desert.

We joined Paul and Georgia, a Perth couple, for a 3 day camel trek. What a way to travel! Think I'll stick to the bike though. Not exactly designed for comfort, especially at a run.
Camels are funny looking creatures and spit and chew and bellow. There faces and antics are so comical. How I stayed on the hump wihist it stood up? is a certain amount of good luck and holding on hard!!
We travelled to tiny remote villages and patches of sandunes where we camped in the sand. The heat of the day was intense, forcing us to rest in the shade (still bloddy hot though). We enjoyed relaxing, watching the camels and reading to pass the hottest times. I thoroughly enjoyed the trek and now have and entirely different perspective on camels.

Where is Ranakpur??
I think we miscalculated the distance a bit, but en-route we stopped at some amazing old (but working) waterwheel wells. A turbaned man sat huddled behind his 2 bullocks, harnessed to the wheel beam. Round and round they plodded, truning the train of ceramic pots that were dipping deep down into the well and retrieving water. Fascinating system. Takes a bit linger than turning the tap on!

And Ranakpur?
Eventually, after a rise and descent on potholes. A magnificent white temple, nestled in the green glades of the forest. All exquisitely carved from stone. 1444 beautiful columns, none exactly alike. Snall frog-like heads in the border patterns, lace-work arches, stone elephants, holy figurines...all part of the Jain Chaumukha Temple. Outside, the monkeys played and jumped around. I delighted just as much in watching their antics as in the coolnes and remarkability of the temple.

We returned to Delhi via the relaxing town of Pushkar and narrowly avoided riding into riot territory. The bus for us. Much safer.

In India, I especially enjoyed the hospitality of many wonderful people. It is our new friends that make our journey so special. We now have a "second family" in Delhi with Sanjaya. Thankyou to Dr. Bhatnagar and Abhishik in Jaipur, Hukamraj in Udaipur, Rani in Jodhpur, Rakesh and his family in Kishangarh and Jalela the potter in Molela. We really loved meeting you all.

Beautiful Nepal


Nepal is indeed a beautiful country. Immediately I felt a calmness in the mountains and forest environment. We rode past thatched clay houses, smiling faces, walking "trees", terraced fields and negotiated potholed roads.

In Pokhara, we were welcomed by Rabindra and his family, his wife Anju greeting us with the best 'cuppa' in Nepal each morning. WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!
28 days of trekking in the magical mountains. Stunning views at every turn. We trekked with Christelle and Vincent, a French couple, for the entire month, developing a great friendship and enjoying the company.
Clear blue skies greeted us most mornings as we rose early to trek. We walked for 4-5 hours through deep valleys, tiny villages hugging the hillside. We climbed into the mountains, over flimsy bridges, over large metal bridges adorned with prayer flags. Skipping out of the way of donkey trains well loaded with provisions.

I discovered walls of prayer wheels, walking past them and spinning them all, wishing and dreaming as I did. We crossed the high pass att 5416m - the Thorung La. The highest I have ever been and the slowest I have ever walked. The thinness of the air affected my mind, making ne a bit dizzy. Slowly, we all made the pass in the snow. The mountains were surrounded, in and out of the clouds. A dramatic environment. At the highest point, we saw only prayer flags and white! The clouds had dropped right in and the weather deteriorated. Snow was falling! As we descended, the weather fined up a bit and we could see the magnificent mountains again. A long way down. 6 hours worth and some very sore knees and toes. A tiring, but a wonderful day.

On the other side, we walked along a fantastic river bed with wonderful stones in it. We moved into rhododendron forests and they are so pretty. The trees so tall and full of pink and red flowers. In the forest, the branches were covered with moss carpet or frilly ferns and leaves. The enchanted forest of Harry Potter!!!!(guess what I have been reading!)

We climbed back into the Annapurna Sanctuary. An absolutely brilliant view of ten peaks between 6-8000m. Wowee!! What a wonderful birthday present!!! to see fantastic mountains with a great background of storm clouds. A very special place. On the way down, we enjoyed a hot thermal spa right next to the river in beautiful forest.
It was the best way to enjoy Nepal and I will return again. In Chitwan N.P, we trekked through the jungle. A totally different yet very pleasant environment. With the hlep of our guides, we spotted a bear. My first bear! - from a distance. Also spotted deer, mongoose, peacocks,crocodiles. BUt the best were the Rhinocerous! Absolutely huge, and ferocious looking. We crept up on many and watched until they sensed us. We lingered a bit, hoping they wouldn't charge our way. Then "run!" Mayaram would say, and that we did.

A wonderful experience for me was washing the elephants in the river. I was offered to get on the elephant - harder than it sounds - and she then squirted me with water from her trunk. A very wet but fun bath! I never realised how bagy and leathery elephant were and spent much time exploring her trunk, how it worked, patting and scrubbing her. A fantastic way to learn about the elephant and enjoy them.

Now we are in Kathmandu. The stupid maoists have imposed a 5 day strike on the people. They are scared so they don't open their shops. How do they live??? No shops? no shopping! Oh well, there is one day tomorrow before we leave for Bangkok. One day is all I need!!

Today we visited Patan. A city with a beautiful Durbar Square. An area filled with old temples and buildings. Some with some very erotic wooden carvings on them . The struts that hold up the rooves are wooden, carved with such erotica, or torture scenes, or holy worshipped images. Fascinating to look at.

Kathmandu is busy even with a strike. Lots of people on the streets. Nothing else to do! Riding a bike is hazardous as pedestrians never look, nor do other bikes (plenty of them). We enjoyed the hospitality of Shiva when we arrived. He is involved with village help programs to improve literacy and education .... halted by the maoists at the moment. I have spent copious amounts of time at the internet computer, loading photos to ofoto and typing this. Hope you like the pics. They are better to view this way and more of them. (see end of mike's news for address)

I am looking forward to Thailand. A new language. A new culture. Oh, and the monsoon weather!!!! now, where is my rain coat??

cheers with
love and smiles
Jodie