There were a few hangovers this morning after a group consumed a bottle of the cheapest vodka available last night but to everyone's credit, all were on the Truck on time to leave at 5:00 a.m. They were celebrating our "last night in India".
Our last 400 km drive was not an easy one. The roads were narrow and congested which required constant passing of slow moving vehicles. The temperature was very hot, 46C; and the facilities along the way were limited. The scenery was flat, stony, dry and un-noteworthy. I doubt that many tourists take this route.
The border crossing into Nepal was uncomplicated. The Indian immigration office was a house in the middle of the congested main street of Belahiya. The Nepalese customs was a slightly larger house and we paid our US $40 for our 30-day visa, and were welcomed into Nepal by a friendly border official. We walked from there through the streets to our hotel and sank into the air-conditioned restaurant of the hotel where we substituted Nepalese “Everest” beer for the Indian “Kingfisher” beer.
The power in Nepal, as in certain parts of India, is erratic. Fortunately, the hotel has a generator but unfortunately; we were unable to check email and still don’t know the fate of our China/Russia trip.
To be honest, I never woke up today. The short sleep, the hot temperatures, and the long drive left me sleepy all day and at 10 in the evening I literally collapsed into bed exhausted.
So on this our last day in India, in an effort to put it all into perspective, the following is a summary of our thoughts:
We have traveled from Mumbai in the western upper limits of southern India to Nepal in the northeast border of India, and although this is quite a distance, there are many other regions of India, which offer a different experience, such as the Great Himalayan circuit. India stretches you in every way; it forces you outside of your western-norm, and it challenges you to learn more about its religion and history both of which add a layer of colour over society and affect modern living on a constant basis. The journey has been an unforgettable experience. We have seen sights that exceeded all expectations such as the Taj, the ghats in Varanesi, the ruins at Mandu, and the forts and palaces; and we have come to discover the personalities of the Indian psyche which in many ways have disappointed us due to the greed/expectation of something for nothing/the scourging of the tourist, and the lack of compassion. But, we have also met the opposite: the kind-hearted giving nature and the realization that great change is needed to give the majority a quality life. We have struggled to come to grips with some of the social problems such as abuse of women, poverty, child labour, and we have been appalled at the environmental issues such as pollution, garbage littering the towns and country side villages, contaminated waterways, and the lengths of plastic found in the cows stomachs. We have come to love some of the Indian characteristics: the cups of masala chai, the head woggle, the big wide smiles of the adults and children; the ringing of the bell in the temples to wake up the God and say “hello”. We have lived through its dynamic history from the invasions by Muslim armies in the north in the 1000s, to the Mughal Empire and the Rajputs in the 1500-1700s, the British onslaught in the 1800s, and finally independence in 1937. We have tried to learn about its main religions, Hinduism, Muslim, Buddhist and Jain, and although we have learned and seen much there are still many more layers of society that we have not even touched. People say you either “love” India, or “hate” it. I think I love it and hate it all at the same time. It is a fascinatingly different country!
So far, our group has been really terrific and together has an interesting mixture of knowledge levels and personal skills. There hasn’t been much time for partying or physical activity so life has been a little “serious”, but all in all, it has been an amazing experience that has broadened my mind and stretched my senses.
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