Mar. 14, 1978 - Burma

Left for the Kathmandu airport after another brief stroll around the city and a bit of souvenir buying.  They had little jeweled temple dogs made locally that I liked.  The flight stopped in Calcutta for a short time where we got a blast of hot, humid air.  The weather was the same when we landed in Rangoon at 4:30 local time.  We were thoroughly searched by customs and made to declare everything in writing – including rings and bracelets and money.  We found out why on the taxi ride in from the airport to town.  The driver’s friend spent the entire trip inviting us to sell anything we had and to change money – he had a pocket full.  He offered us 12 to the dollar rather than the official seven.  We told him no thank you, although I felt when we got out at the hotel that he should have paid us for listening to his spiel.

The hotel, the Strand, was fully booked but she found us one room without a bath and air conditioning.  This is such a muggy place that it would be nice to have a shower in the room but we said yes, rather than wander around.  Rom is $8/night.

We walked out to the tourist office where, posted prominently, was the notice “tourists are advised that they can only go to Mandalay and Pagan by air – price $64. Tickets had to be bought with US dollars."  So much for the train ride we had planned.  We walked as the sun went down and were met by a young man who said he was a student at the engineering school on his holiday.  He invited us for tea and then wanted to take us to the main temple.  He found and paid for a taxi and then for our shoe check and lift fee.  He was well-dressed – almost the only person we saw in western dress.  Everyone else wears sarongs.

Shwedagon Pagoda is the biggest in the world.  It is actually hundreds of temples, each elaborately carved or gilded, containing statues of Buddha.  People bring flowers and folded paper umbrellas as gifts and our guide bought us flowers to present.  We watched the thousands of people who had come in the cool evening.  Some were pouring water over a statue of Buddha as a way of offering and it seemed a smart thing to do on a warm evening.  Our friend, Chesno, wanted to take us to dinner but we said no let us take you, so he took us to a small Burmese restaurant where we had rice with pork and fish and a sour vegetable salad, fish soup and a pleasant refreshing local lime soft drink.  The meal for the three of us came to 30 kat (about $4).  Traditionally, the rice is eaten with a soup spoon, using a fork as a pusher.

Our friend wants to meet tomorrow to take us to an island.  We went back to the hotel where the ceiling fan made a pleasant breeze but there were cockroaches running about and three got on the bed when I picked up my purse.  I hope I shooed them all out.

Mar. 13, 1978 - Nepal

Break, it did.  We were lucky again as we were in Kabul that the weather broke for a sight seeing trip.  We took a 4-hour bus ride to the “Chinese border” where we registered, looked across the river and the friendship bridge to Tibet, and then drove back down the river valleys.  Some people got their passports stamped.

Children along the road to Tibet

The Himalaya Range was clear of clouds in the morning, affording fine views with the terraced hillsides in the foreground.  By the time we returned to Kathmandu it was drizzling again.  Time to move on.

Mar. 12, 1978 - Nepal

The Nepal weekend is Saturday and most things close.  On Sunday stores open again but nothing much seems to get going until 9:30 – even American Express doesn’t open until then during the week.  We walked around Kathmandu, marveling at the temples and the way people include them as part of their everyday activities. Children climb on them and ring the bells and parents bring flowers and food offerings.  This is a very holy city.

We toured the palace, a feast of carved wood windows, doors and struts now being renovated by the Nepalese government and UNESCO. 

I was most impressed by this and we were able to climb the steep narrow wooden stairs four floors to the top to see the view.  By then it had stopped raining and the mountains were exposed with a fresh
dusting of snow.

 We arranged for a tour for the next morning since it looked like the weather might break.

Mar. 11, 1978 - Nepal

Woke up to a drizzle and walked around a bit until departure time of noon.  Arranged to leave one suitcase with the Elephant Camp Office and rode in the taxi to the airport with the camp food.  The camp people were very helpful and saw to our checking in.  However, the plane was to be delayed.  We waited, had lunch in the airport coffee shop, and waited some more with the rain coming down now even heavier.  Finally, at 4:30 they announced that all flights were canceled due to bad weather – even the special charter plane to Tiger Tops. So back again to town where we got another hotel and  had dinner and read until bedtime.

 

I am reading The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux describing his train trips he took in 1970 or so  through Asia.  He vividly describes trains, stations and the people he meets.  His description of the Indian trains we took was quite accurate right down to the miles of people squatting along the tracks.  He says, Because it was still early and because Indian villagers seem to think of railway tracks as the margin of their world, there were people crouched all along the line, shitting.  It quite amazed me.  He also describes the people who live in railway stations – whole villages, he says, because of the security it affords.

Mar. 10, 1978 - Nepal

Plane to Kathmandu left at 10:25 and we got to the airport with time to spare, except that Bryan had forgotten his camera bag and he had to rush back to the guest house and back (30 minutes) while I checked the bags, but since this is India the plane was later than we were.  The height of Indian bureaucracy was when we finally were all crowded into the waiting room we were made to take a bus – literally squashed in – to the plane, only maybe 25 yards from the terminal.  The bus hardly had room for a u-turn and then we piled out.  I counted 14 employees standing around the boarding ramp watching this all.

We had a lovely flight into Nepal and I’m sure I saw Mt. Everest.  However under the clouds it was too overcast to see much of the surrounding mountains.  I hope it clears tomorrow. Right now the weather is cool and pleasant.  Lovely country, very friendly people but they don’t pay much attention to you, which is good.  There are many tourist and “freaks” who have their own society here I imagine.  We came in on the plane with a Smithsonian Intuition Study Tour which goes on later to Butan.  That would be terribly interesting because it is only open for tours.  They’re staying at the most expensive hotels; here in Kathmandu it is the Yak and Yeti Hotel (yes, really) at $40/night double.  Ours is much more basic at $7.50/night and called Hotel Cozy.  The location is good but we found another called the Guest House for $5. which looks even more pleasant and quiet.  A hot shower sure felt good since our room in New Delhi didn’t have one.

 We wandered around getting our bearings and deciding what to do.  Settled on going to a game park for animal viewing since the weather isn’t clear enough for mountain vistas – a big splurge at $150/night but you can ride elephants into the game park and maybe see tigers.  This is called Elephant Tented Camp; it’s big brother, Tiger Tops, costs twice that.

Mar. 9, 1978 - India

What a lovely day!! A pleasantly rolling train ride through country villages and farms to Agra,  3 hours from Delhi, a scooter taxi to the Taj Mahal and some time just sitting to enjoy the beauty of the marble inlay and surrounding gardens.  In the tomb itself a guard showed us how to use a flashlight to illuminate the inlaid stones so the marble shines translucent.  Each flower might be comprised of up to 50 petals. Exquisite.

After a light lunch we set out for the Red Fort of Agra.  We didn’t know much about it but the train didn’t leave until 7pm.  We found it as engrossing as the Taj, more so because we felt we were discovering it for ourselves.  For about 3 hours we napped in the courtyard, watching chipmunks, green parrots and monkeys (apes, Bryan says) playing and bigger birds soaring above.

Then we wandered about to a Palace within the fort that still retains enough of its amazing original splendor: marble carved screens, mirror encrusted baths, large and small mosques, and beautiful views of the Taj in the distance.  (It was here the man who built the Taj for his wife was imprisoned by one of their 14 sons until his death.)

The Taj Express is popular with young Indian couples and even on a Thursday was crowded with people going just for the day from Delhi, just like us.  Most tourists take bus tours but I’m glad we did it as uncomplicated as we did.  We were back in Delhi by 10pm.

Mar. 7-8, 1978 - India

Might as well write Tuesday off, also dinner with religious fanatics.  Spent all Monday night and Tuesday throwing up and sleeping.  Bryan took care of dropping off passports and getting visas.  Wednesday afternoon I accompanied Bryan to a nearby hotel so he could eat where we ran into the woman who had sat next to me at dinner on the floor.  She, too, was sick – said she had “a touch of the flu.”  She said it couldn't have been food poisoning since we were eating Baba's....well you know the drill.  We figured that Bryan hadn’t gotten it because we were sitting separately and were served from separate buckets.

By Wednesday evening I was feeling well enough to go gingerly downtown where we bought tickets on the Taj Express for the following morning.  Reservations took 45 minutes of standing in line and the same information on two separate forms, one in duplicate!  Round trip was 24 rupees each, 2nd class.  Made an attempt to eat dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel.  The nicest hotel in Delhi is the Ashoka which we strolled through after dinner.