Phuket, we’re off!

The long and intermittent trip home starts here after a spectacularly relaxing last day in Phuket. To be fair it started last night when we flew to Bangkok, but that’s a technicality. Before we flew to Bangkok we lived it up a little by relaxing with a two hour Thai aromatheraputic oil massage, we detoxed by drinking ginger tea and we retoxed by eating KFC.

Mahlah sits down after our massage

I say we had a big shabang of a Thai massage with oils and aromas etc; I went for the full on Thai massage and Mahlah chose to have a selection of vegetables and creams, possibly salad dressings, laid on her face instead. She still got rubbed with oil but the poor dear didn’t get to enjoy any of the punches or wrestling moves that I received, she just came out glowing like a golden Buddah instead. To be fair, after paying a bit more at a swankier, more professional looking place, I came out relatively unscathed, feeling way better. I felt less like my masseuse had it in for me, except when she took hold of my left ankle and right shoulder and made a surprisingly successful attempt to bring the two together.

I have to say at this point that, although I may joke, Thai massages are a brilliant experience that must be tried by anyone travelling to the land of smiles. They are wonderful and, if you go to the right place, they can diagnose and relieve some pretty serious problems for a relatively cheap price. Just make sure you go to a place where they wear relatively modest, professional looking garments rather than mini-skirts and strappy tops  otherwise you may end up getting more than you bargained for.

Another Thai tradition we got to experience before heading north was weather that makes Britain’s look droll and predictable by comparison. At one point I was getting wet feet and sunburn at the same time.

A flight, a sleep and a dozen or so hours later we are in Bangkok getting ready to pop out to the truly massive Chatuchak Market, which sells everything from full size model animals and waffle shaped eggs to swords and replica weaponry (at least I think they’re replicas). Obviously these few exotic, and even erotic, wonders are joined by a good deal of harem pants, sarongs and tourist tat in which we intend to indulge.

Then there’s the nineteenth of October, our last full day abroad on the trip and then … home!

What do you mean you don’t have it in Orange? Buddhist monks check out golden Buddah statues and accessories.

Pashupatinath

Pashupatinath, a sacred Hindu temple on the banks of the Bagmati river seemed too spiritual a place to not visit, given its reputation as the holiest place in Nepal so venturing a few kilometres out of town by bus, (which it transpires would have been quicker to walk) we arrive. Not too sure what to expect, we walk with some trepidation to this UNESCO world heritage site. Rather then a place to take in breath taking scenery, this was a trip to broaden the mind as today we were visiting this holy site knowing it likely we would see one of the many open cremations that take place daily.

Perhaps rather naively on my part I wasn’t expecting the whole affair to seem so blatantly like a money making tactic at the expense of mourning families. Even along the entry road were stalls selling various tourist type merchandise. Something felt uneasy about watching albeit from a distance as only Hindus and buddists can entre the temple itself what at home is a personal and private time for family,  yet here is a tourist attraction, and one certain famous travel book company even refers to the temples acrivities as “tantalising” to the watcher.

Rather hauntingly I can still picture the outline of a body covered over but burning on a pile of logs. The smell, not a strong unpleasant smell as i had feared but nevertheless one of smoke coated my nose and eventually nausea set in for us both. I think what sickened me most was people crowding round to take photographs of the bodies engulfed by flames. There were around 6 in total, all at different stages of burning. It is the role of some who work at the temple to continue to cover the bodies with straw after the funeral service ends to keep them burning and also probably to conceal the actual corpse. Once there is nothing left but ashes this is then swept into the river. It is rumoured that local women will hand wash laundry further down the river as the fat helps with cleaning much like actual soap.

Like many things, it is markedly different to our own western culture. Perhaps it is my western values that make me feel distinctly uncomfortable at someones funeral seeming to be a commodity. Perhaps the concept of death seemed a little too close to home for me at the moment. I have to be honest in saying it was intriguing, and in many ways very moving. I too can see, and indeed encourage the importance of seeing the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult in any culture. This experience however was perhaps not for me.

Time travelling in Nepal

Mahlah tells me that we have spent about a week in Kathmandu, this is news to me as time is going so quickly that it seems like no more than a couple of days. Adding to the sense of time travel is the fact that it is 2071 in Nepal, which goes by the Hindu calendar. I am inclined to believe Mahlah and conclude that I am not a Timelord though as the list of things we’ve done since being here is getting so long and most people are still driving around in dodgy Peugeot 106s.

Getting back to the here and now we’ve been to the breathtaking, bustling Durbar Square twice now, once to take in the array of magnificent palaces and temples from the outside and the second time to see the same brilliant architecture from within the large complex as well as the museums that lie within. I won’t lie, the two oddly reverential museums to a king who indulged in hunting rare animals and throwing wild parties around the world while his people starved and tried to rebel are strange. Especially given that the same starving people eventually blew up the king and then rose up against his family. However the architecture and the feel of the place make it worth a visit.

The Narayanhity museum, set in the modern palace built by the aforementioned king for himself and his family, is an unusual view into Nepal’s recent royal history. The thing that sticks in the mind is that the public is given a perspective on the life of a loving family before being led out into the grounds to be told that, during a party in 2001, the oldest son got drunk and high and slaughtered his whole family after being thrown out for ‘behaving improperly’ with a woman. The building where it happened has been knocked down but the gardens around are chillingly intact, including the climbing frame where the dead royal family members used to play. The country rose up against the royals shortly after that and, as such there is no memorial, only factual information on the massacre.

That was pretty heavy. On a lighter note we’ve also discovered the best burgers in the entire world, which is weird given that we’re in a largely Hindu country. They are served at the Electric Pagoda in Thamel, which is every bit as cool as it sounds. We also went to the ‘Monkey Temple’ on the edge of Kathmandu, also known as Swoyambhu, a buddhist temple on top of a tall hill, meaning more steps. The views were brilliant as was the monument itself, a gold spire adorned with unsettlingly judgemental eyes atop a white dome dusted with saffron. The spirit of the place was a little lost in all of the people trying to flog stuff. What would Jesus say? But on the up side there were monkeys and they’re always fun.

Today we go to Pashupatinath for an experience quite unlike any other … I will say no more until our next post.

Discovering where I am

Earlier today I was sat having a bite to eat and watching an electrician on a rickety bamboo ladder wrestle with a spaghetti like mess of wires. I wondered briefly how much he was paid and what happened when one of the rungs, many of which looked like replacements, broke until I was distracted by a young boy bouncing by on squeaky bottomed shoes which seem popular in Nepal, possibly as a means of keeping track of kids. It was a lovely little moment, just one of many I have had that has helped define my trip so far while having no bearing on the grand scheme of things.

“To travel is to learn”, so says the old adage often visited on by tourists, ramblers and journeyers of all descriptions. It’s a beautiful and simple truth that quickly becomes self evident to any traveler, prompting them to become more curious and to want to seek out new knowledge. For me even simple moments, like the one described above, can be lessons.

For some the search for new truths often leads to the bandying about of another phrase, which is used much less deservingly in my opinion: “discovering the true Nepal” or indeed India, Sri Lanka or wherever else. I have no  problem with the idea, it’s a noble sentiment to want to scrape away the shiny veneer of consumer culture that every country’s tourist board works to attach to the motherland. However, I’ve begun to notice that the people who go to ‘discover the true Nepal’ (for example) are often misguided about what the true Nepal actually is.

There are a good number of people who land in Kathmandu, the country’s biggest city, and quickly disappear into the mountains to ‘discover the real country’. Lets look at this for a second, they will leave the nation’s capitol and and largest metropolis, which contains a significant portion of its 27 million people. In doing this they are leaving behind a place where people lead free, albeit relatively impoverished, lives in the urban environment that is now the norm for the majority of people. They are leaving a place where there is a new story around every corner and a new winding road through every day just meters from any guest house. They are leaving a place where a hundred different facets of the real Nepal can be seen, heard and experienced every minute.

What they get instead is a carefully and covertly orchestrated theatrical picture of ‘life’ in Nepal or wherever they may be. Here the brash, dull familiarities of modernity and urban poverty which are the realities of life for most people are swept away and replaced by Sherpas, Gurkhas and Buddhist monks, but only the ones that fit the image, only ones that mesh with the brand. In their urge to seek out the exotic truths that lie at the perceived heart of a country, people are all too eager to forget that it’s often the everyday things that make up the real country, not just the exotic, exquisite experiences that are labelled as traditional, cultural or anything else which will help draw a few more tourist dollars. In thinking like this, people who are looking to “discover the true Nepal” often end up falling for glittery fallacy even more than the non-truth seekers from whom they so often separate themselves, spending a great deal of money in the process.

I’ve particularly noticed this in Nepal where tourism is carefully regulated to protect tourists and the Himalayan environment from each other, as well as from crime and over-development.

I don’t want to tell anyone how to do anything, just to say that a focus on the little moments can mean a lot.

Kathmandu(de)

We made the mistake of blinking again, and time has quickly passed us by leaving us on day three of our time in Nepal. 

It’s lovely and sunny and a pleasant 24 degrees and we’re currently in the Garden of Dreams, which is as lovely as it sounds with beautiful flowers, ornate ponds and decadent architecture decorating the surroundings. It’s a relaxing albeit much smaller then expected haven from the chaos that is Kathmandu. 

Thamel, the area in which we are staying is however as fabulous as it is chaotic. The streets are lined with shops selling the most beautiful things. Bright colours and eccentric clothing, trinkets, furniture, you name it it’s there and it just feels so alive with the hussle and bussle of everyone going about their day. It’s  hard to describe and do it justice. 

A trip to the famous Durbur Square is equally as vibrant. Home to an abundance of temples, palaces and statues it’s almost hard to know where to look first for fear of missing something. We decided to get a monthly pass (costs no extra, just needed a passport photo, and they need to see your passport, both of which we had on us) so we can come back here so I guess we need not worry.

Its fair to say that since arriving it’s been a mostly subdued time – taking a slow pace at sight seeing and indulging in seemingly endless hours reading. Less subdued has been a small serving of stress courtesy of Halifax who seem to have blocked my credit card, which of course instantly pricked both our fears of possible dodgy activity on the account leaving us penniless and stranded (not that either of is melodramatic of course). After unsuccessfully trying to get cash from 5 different cash machines followed the farce of trying to contact Halifax, first by our first hotel’s phone – which wouldn’t connect, then indirectly via Jamie’s mum to ask them to call us (they refused) and eventually via skype once we managed to find a card we could use to pay for credit. I’m even more annoyed though that even Halifax don’t understand what the problem is so we’re no further along. 

Argh! Anyway, rant over and back to day three. I do believe there is a gallery within these gardens that awaits us.

   

       

Leaving Sri Lanka

The day we’re leaving Sri Lanka is a clear, warm and cloudless one, as if some sadistic power up above wants to remind us what we are leaving behind. To make it worse we have a lovely breakfast at one of Kandy’s finest bakeries, where some of the town’s freakishly large number of pastry lovers tuck in to the doughy delights while we opt for simple but tasty fried eggs, sausages, toast, jam and tea. Service is less simple with more of a tendency to stick in the throat, but this is one of those things that we’ve noticed throughout Sri Lanka.

Another thing we have noticed is the beauty of the island’s nature and, just like the weather, we have this rubbed in our faces when we make our way to Udawattekele Sanctuary, a sort of national park on a hill above the Temple of the Tooth. The sanctuary costs 650 rupees per person (around £3.25) to enter, but the exotic and peaceful portion of wilderness is easily worth it. Wild boar and barking deer can be seen, but the highlight of my day was catching a long bright green snake on film at close quarters (eat that Attenborough). I don’t want to give away too much but let’s just say I’ve exchanged phone numbers with creatures after less proximity to them.

Snake affairs aside (oooh err!) the sanctuary is an adventure densely populated with all sorts of creepers, massive trees and bamboo as well as a plant called Giant liana, with branches like drill bits that can, and have, grown to take up two hectares.  As you can imagine, things like this make the walks that circulate the sanctuary more like something out of a Roald Dahl book or a Steven Spielberg  movie than anything else, there’s even a giant, Jurassic Park like gate at the entrance that had us singing the theme tune. This is something we’ve been doing a lot lately as the lush hillsides of Sri Lanka bring back memories of the famous opening credit sequence. A great end to a great few days which have included Sigiriya Rock and the Temple of the Tooth.

Mahlah covered the rock with panache in her blog but the Temple of the Tooth deserves something so I will oblige. This is beginning to drag on a bit I understand, so if you want to go get a coffee, tea or Pot Noodle I wont be offended (other weirdly addictive pots full of cardboard and E-numbers are available)

If the mythology is to be believed,  the Temple of the Tooth contains a tooth taken from the ashes of Buddha’s cremation and preserved to this day in spite of attempts to grind it to dust, smash it with a hammer and even blow it up as recently as 1998. The temple, which is something of a cross between colonial mansion and Buddhist stupa, costs 1000 rupees, or £5 each to enter, with access to most of the museums on the site included. 
The reason for the building’s style is that it was built by us Brits for the Buddhists to house the holy relic on its return to Kandy after a long absence. I felt that this fact made me responsible for preventing a group of moronic Russians from taking photos of themselves stood in front of the reliquary and the sign that said no photos. To the security guard I say sorry for whacking you in my fervour, I was trying to do you a favour and to the Russians I say I really did you a favour too as your makeup made you look like you may have been slightly cremated yourselves.

The temple is a truly inspiring place even when fellow tourists are sacrilegiously making me ashamed to be one of them. It is a place of teaching as well as religion, this much is made obvious by the groups of school kids and trainee monks walking around the museum. I couldn’t help but ponder how a religion that focuses on ignoring material possessions could a) have so many wars over who owns a tooth and b) accept all the gifts we saw in the museum when many of its followers are destitute, but the place has a sense of teaching and hope and who am I to judge?

Maybe I will learn more in Nepal, another fervently Buddhist country with beautiful scenery and a great depth of culture.

Kandy (crush) and Sigiriya Rocks!

04:00 ish. Both fast asleep. Jamie grabs my arm…
“What about us?” He says?
I reply slightly confused but realising what’s going on as this has happened several times before.
“Whats the matter darling, are you asleep?”
He replies in a tone to suggest it would be ridiculous to think he is asleep (which incidently, he always does. His subconscious appears easily offended)
“Noooo. (Brief dramatic pause before a concerned tone of voice) What about the flaneddy flannedy flo’s? What about the videos?”
Jamie then returns to a state of restful sleep blissfully unaware of this exchange…this is how our day begins in Kandy.

The city is a far cry from the picturesque beaches, or the sublime countryside of Ella, but nevertheless full of character and charm in its own right and we spend our first full day exploring the city, getting our bearings and planning our last few days in Sri Lanka (sob). My advice to anyone doing similar, the staff at the tourist information office (in the centre of town near the lake and just round the corner to the left of the Tooth Temple) are fantastic. They gave us a free map of Kandy and helped up with planning a day trip to Sigiriya Rock and the Dambulla caves (though we didn’t visit the latter in the end) as well as details of the local buses to get there so as to save a hefty chunk of money on not shelling out for a taxi/ tour. From Kandy you jump on the 41 bus and head for Dambulla bus stand. When you get there, head to the bottom and you’ll see it Clearly signposted where to catch the bus to Sigiriya and the ticket man will tell you when to get off. In total, our bus cost 520 rupees which is £2.60. The Kandy to Dambulla bus took about 2 hours, and the Dambulla to Sigiriya bus about 30 minutes. For anyone wanting to visit the Dambulla Caves, once at the Dambulla bus stand, find the bus to Matale and again the ticket man should tell you when to get off, alternatively, a rickshaw should cost about 100 rupees as long as you’re ready to barter.

So, loaded with this information we set off the next day on our adventures. We were excited, and we were right to be as it was quite frankly incredible.

Sigiriya Rock (Lion Rock), a former palace, fort and Buddhist monastery dating back 1000s of years, is a world wonder steeped in history and has maintained its beauty and character. The rock itself is over 200 metres tall, so like all Sri Lankan places of interest seemingly, there’s a generous helping of stairs after a lovely walk through the ancient gardens to get there. Its as ever a hot day so you can imagine we’re sweating as we reach almost the top of this monument. The weather however (almost freakishly) changes and suddenly strong winds start blowing and as we glace to our left we see a rapidly approaching storm, in itself an epic sight. Determined not to have climbed all this way for nothing we continue to he top at which point ordinarily we would probably take in he breath taking views,  however instead we tried to find shelter from the rain which didn’t just rain, it poured! And so me, Jamie and shortly after a random stray dog who joined us were huddled close together (the dog tried to get under us but instead settled with its head on my lap) until it passed. 15 minutes later and two loose fitting outfits have become clingier then lycra as we’re both saturated. We take in the views and make our return for ground level. Clearly, walking wasn’t however fast enough for the dare devil adventurer that I am, and so instead i travelled the length of one of the shorter metal fire escape esque stair cases on my derrière  (yes, ouch!). A Sri Lankan Lady turns around, at which point im thinking please dont make a fuss, and clearly she read my mind and instead tutted at me.

We make our return for the bus, and the sun has returned so by the time we get back to Kandy a few hours later, we are mostly dry again.

We were warned about locals who might try and “help” either by grabbing you by the arm to assist you up the monuments steps (regardless of if you want this or not) and then insist on payment. One girl claimed in a blog post that after shaking off a helper, he grabbed her water bottle, carried it up for her and instead tried to charge for this. We didn’t have any trouble, nor did we notice anyone else though it was quiet when we there (probably because unlike us, others checked the weather forecast first) but I’d say its something to be mindful of for anyone paying a visit.

The next day, we visit the famous Temple of the Tooth, home to the sacred tooth stolen from his mouth after death, of Lord Buddha. Like all Buddhist temples, it is beautiful and definitely worth seeing. The tickets include entry to 4 museams on site so you can easily spend quite a few hours here, especially as it’s so peaceful.

This sadly brings us to today, our last day in Sri Lanka. Excited about our onward travels, but sad to see this destination go, thank you Sri Lanka, you’ve been a blast.             

Enchanting Ella

Arriving inland after a 6 hour bus journey through the winding roads of the Sri Lankan mountains and despite the stomach doing a few casual somersaults, already we cant help but be in awe of this place’s beauty.  As more of a countryside lover than beach babe I’m in my element as everything in sight is beautiful.

We quickly find accommodation and head straight out to explore, finding ourselves halfway up a mountain amongst a tea plantation. Making the most of the next days as our time in Ella was short and sweet, we made our way to the Rawana waterfall – a quick trip on a local bus for about 30p for us both. Jamie saves an elderly damsel in disress whilst there, who obviously had a sense of adventure climbing up this massive rock on the edge of a sheer drop into the waterfall itself, but leaving herself unable to get down. Sadly Martin, her ineffective husband, responded by giving unhelpful advice which only served to fluster the lady who was already quite close to hysteria. Eventually, as she refuses to let Jamie lift her (which was clearly the easiest option) she instead steps down onto his hand whilst he lowers her foot to the floor. All is well until Martin chips in at which point she panics and starts squirming mid air, wailing “I’m going to fall”. We of course didnt drop a lady off a sheer drop, and instead i grabbed her arm pulled her forwards and said very matter of factly, “no you’re not, as were not going to let you” which probably translates as a slightly impatient “man up”

After a clear act of heroism mainly on Jamies part, we then venture by foot to the Ella Cave and Rawana temple, taking it for granted that the map we had would be to some kind of scale. 8 kilometres later in midday heat along a windy upward sloping road, we arrive. Initially elation almost sets in until we discover a very steep climb up a sloping road on the edge of  the mountains is required just to get to the gate for the cave (what kind of cave has a gate???) and then we have yet more climbing, this time up steep steps til we reach the cave. At the very top the steps appear to have collaped so instead we used the rocks to climb up and inside. Its fairly impressive and we enjoy a rest in the cave as its nice and cool in the shade.  Jamie, being curious decides to look round and notices a hole “I wonder whats in here” he remarks before shining a torch inside. He remarks there appears to be something resembling a giant adder’s head so we decide its time to start leaving. We climb part way down only to realise we are he wrong side and need to climb back into the cave which ordinarily wouldn’t be too big a problem, however it would appear what Jamie actually found was a bat nest, and the cave starts filling with them and they start to swoop closer and closer towards our heads. All I can say is whilst I was hesitant and slow climbing into the cave, this wasn’t so much the case on exiting. Climbing down my legs start to shake from all the walking but we still Drag ourselves to the temple as its included in the cave ticket. I can’t say it was spectacular but seemed silly not to go. Food and an earlyish night then follow before getting up early to walk to “Little Adam’s Peak”, a mountain top with stunning panoramic views of the surrounding mountains waterfalls and countryside for miles and miles. You literally walk through yet another of the many tea plantations to get there and cant help but feel like you’re on a mini pilgrimage. We also got to see sunrise there which was beautiful.

An early bon voyage then takes us to the train station to ride first class (ooh la la) to Kandy (£12.50 for us both). 6 hours of famously beautiful scenery ensues, with the distraction of bollywood movies and naps to pass the time as well as a random selection of snacks in the form of whatever we could buy from the food sellers who quickly jump onto the train when reaching the station before we depart again; samosas and pinapple being today’s selection.

We’re in Kandy now, which we’ll talk about more later but for now just a massive thank you again to everyone reading this blog. We cant believe how many views we’ve had and hope you continue enjoying catching up with our adventures.

Also, eveything went really well with certain things at home, and ever I’m sending lots of love in that direction.