Road Trip

The one thing I told Bry before we left was that I didnt want to travel by local transport. I am not really a snob but in Nepal and India it is just not easy. Well it seems getting out of Tansen isnt that easy and the only way down is local bus. We are lucky and have seats but not so the man with 4 boxes of chickens, the women with their bags of veges or the man with his full billy cans of milk and joghurt. Tansen is perched on a mountain top at 1500m so its a long way down past vertical cliffs and crumbling rock. Thankfully this bus driver is much more careful than the last and there is no death defying passing acts. Just as well since we are already teetering on a narrow mountain road. A massive traffic jam greets us half way down. Not caused by traffic but by a snaking line of people stretching for miles. Our bus slowly inches past the colourful queue. Its the final day of the Nepali new year and thousands have come to the local temple situated conveniently at a hairpin turn in the road. About an hour later we clear the crowds and are off again. About 100km amd 4 hours later we make it to the Indian border. Chaos reigns. In fact I dont think Ive seen a more chaotic border. We walk through dust, heat and flies to a small hole in the wall where you get your entry visa. Theres no where to write out the card so I balance it on top of my pack and jostle with the monks and yellow capped chinese bus tour to get the entry permit. I have to say it doesnt take long before we are off again. This time its a 4 wheel drive shared landrover to Gharakpur. Everything seems to have intensified in India. The heat, the people, the constant noise and activity. We pass miles and miles of wheat fields. They are harvesting and bundles of wheat lie higgeldy piggeldy everywhere. Gharakpur is busy and noisy. Its really just a stop on the way to Varanasi. Overnight sleeper on the train first class tonight. That more like it! Namaste Sandy.