Varanasi and first few days in Nepal

Hi everyone from Pokhara in Nepal!

We've been busy since our last post. On Tuesday 16th we took our first overnight train from Jalgaon to Varanasi. We were in AC2 class which was the highest available on the train. It was totally different to Sleeper, we met some nice people from Mumbai who we quickly made friends with, over sharing of food and advice for travelling India. 

We arrived in Varanasi on Wednesday 17th in the afternoon 21 hours after leaving Jalgaon. Talk about a shock, it was very full on after the nice train ride. We quickly got a rickshaw to the old city where we planned to stay near the Ganges. After about 1/2 an hour of wandering the tiny lanes of the old city a bit lost, we found the hotel we had planned to stay at. Unfortunately it was full, but they quickly took us off to another. Had a quick look at some rooms and negotiated a better price. We were just happy to have somewhere to sit down. That night we watched a Hindu ceremony called Ganga Aarti down by one of the Ghats (steps down to the river) and ate dinner in a rooftop restaurant by the Ganges.

Thursday 18th we woke before sunrise to make our way down to the ghats to do a boatride along the Ganges to watch puja (bathing/morning prayer). After 45 minutes of negotiating at a variety of ghats, we bumped into 4 Irish girls whom we teamed up with to negotiate a group price. Ryan eventually got the price down from 600 to 120 rupees each (£1.60). Saw loads of Ghats, each with different purposes. We enjoyed the trip, even though it was monsoon season and the inevitable downpour arrived just as we hoped in the boat. The rest of the day we spent exploring by foot the Ghats north of us. We stopped at Manikarnika Ghat and watched a Hindu burning ceremony as it's the most auspicious place for a Hindu to be cremated due to the religious significance of the Ganges. We finished up at Schindia Ghat (the largest ghat) where we dipped our feet in the Ganges and watched some pilgrims perform Puja. That evening we went to a restaurant where we saw live Indian music. On our way home we saw some demonstrations supporting Anna Cazare in his hunger strike over Indian government corruption.

Friday 19th we took an hour Tabla lesson by the Ganges. We got taught some basic patterns or tala. We both enjoyed it, Sam especially. We then got our backpacks and headed back to the train station to make our way up to Nepal via Gorakhpur. We arrived in Gorakhpur late and quickly looked for a hotel to rest for a few hours before getting the bus up to the border. Looking for a hotel was problematic as the standard was poor for what they were effectively trying to charge for a 5 hour stay. In the end we stayed in a room that was the worst of the trip so far and after about 2 hours of restless tv watching and bug avoidance we decided to check out and get a bus to the border. 

Saturday 20th We jumped on a bus at 4am that stayed around till it was full. So about 5am we set off to Sunauli. We arrived at around 7.30am and Sam was surprised how easy it was to get out tourist visas for Nepal. We quickly went to the bus station and got on a bus towards Sauraha in the Royal Chitwan National Park. We arrived in Sauraha that afternoon and after quickly getting food settled down for an early night after long journey up for India.

Sunday 21st we woke early and although Sam wasn't feeling too well (think it was the heat), we went to bathe and swim with the elephants in the river. Ryan bought a banana to feed the elephants after it all. In the afternoon we booked to go elephant trekking. Just as we arrived in the national park, the monsoon hit and got soaked as we set off. Saw loads of deer, wild boar, birds and much more. Had a great time, enjoyed the trek. Sauraha was lovely, so quiet and peaceful, such a change from the hustle and bustle of India.

Monday 22nd we got the bus up to Pokhara and after a quick bit of negotiating checked into a nice hotel on the lakeside. The evening and Tuesday 23rd was spent chilling out in the peaceful atmosphere that is Pokhara and Nepal. We plan to do a few day walks up to Sarangot and surrounds before we had back
down to Agra in India to see the Taj on the weekend. Sorry no photos yet, will try to put some up soon......