27.06.07

Hope you're enjoying day 2 of being 22 Muily.

So we get on bus at the bus park in Kathmandu and journey to Gorkha. A couple kilometers into the trip, the bus fills to maximum seat capacity, but that doesn't hinder the bus from filling with more people - it's in the business of brewing the most foul smelling odour of human waste from both ends of the body. The steel seat frame look like something they pulled from a plane crash and loosely bolted to the ground. A vertical support pole was loosely held in place to the roof with 1 bolt which jingled to each and every bump for the first 15 minutes of the ride - afterwhich it succumbed to gravity and left the pole to choose its victim. It was a good thing, someone was using it as a secondary support and prevented it from knocking someone out. The bus boy came a while later to replace the bolt with his fingers. The brakes also squealed without mercy to the ears as the bus jolted to a stop. Shouldn't complain cause this bus actually stopped - very improtant when you're going on winding mountainous roads at break-neck (literally) speeds. So is my experience with the local bus.

After the food break, I decided to ride on top of the bus. There were only 2 of us. It turned out to be the much better choice as the bus was soon packed with too many people. personal space is a rare commodity on the local buses. I've witnessed people puke and spit, and heard stories of people getting pissed on. Then evn the roof got crowded with a gentleman carrying a load of last plastic barrels. Additional company on the roof consisted of the stray electrical cables that hung a bit low, so it was a bit of a game to not get clothlined (it wasn't like dodging bullets, but it was fun enough)

Then we finally got to Gorkha and the fun began. After hiking 1500 steps, we came to the Shah temple of the king (who now longer has power) and whom Hindus beleive to be the reincarnation of the Vishnu god. the view was beautiful, but somewhat stunned at what sacrifices would have looked like, there was a chopping block somewhat fresh from a recent animal sacrifice there... Hindu culture very hard to appreciate, it's rather messy. And they really hold cows in high regard. Their dung and milk is considered holy.

Sandip, Sujan, Suda and Nigani left us after that to return home. Females must be home by 1830 or else there is big trouble. For males there is no restriction - another e.g. of how this is a male dominated society here. majority of ppl on streets men.

We finally go and get some food afterward. we find a decent restuarant and have our fill of momo's (siew luung baow), omelet and daihee(yogurt). We return to a guest house afterward to take cold baths and talk a bit more before returning to the same restuarant for some dinner. It's during dinner that a drunk man comes to us and starts shouting things like 'you're human! i love humans!' I think he was trying to make us feel welcome as foreigners there. it was entertainment for the other people in the restuarant. i was tring hard not to breakout into a fit of laugter. long story short, we got out of there just in time to get home before the monsoon rains came down.