The Orphanage to Nepal

4^th - 11^th November (Days 85 – 91)

We are up at 4:30am on the 4^th ready for our transfer to the airport at 5:30am. We would have left earlier for our 6:50am flight to Bangalore but the hotel assures us that we will have plenty of time. They prove to be wrong (it being Diwali) and as we arrive we are met by huge queues. In the end the airline have to rush us through, along with quite a few other travellers. Once on the flight our journey is trouble free as we catch a connecting flight from Bangalore to Vijayawada where we are met by Samuel the founder of REACH and the Little Lights Orphanage, the institution that we have come to visit.

Samuel started the orphanage in 1992 and since that time it has grown to such an extent that it now provides accommodation, care and education for 3000 young people across the whole of the school range age group.

We first met Samuel at the orphanage two and a half years ago when we were invited to travel with some good friends who have supported REACH for many years and we were hugely impressed with what we saw. The children were happy, well looked after and were shown a great deal of love. That said, the orphanage was struggling to cope not only with the large number of children in its care but also with the constant demand to take on more young people.

When we returned home after our visit we resolved to try and help the work of the orphanage. We raised funds and enlisted sponsors for individual children. Our chief reason for returning was to monitor how the funds we and our friends had raised had been used.

The orphanage is situated on three sites: a college that offers post 16 courses leading all the way to degree level; the girls high school which also houses the girl’s dormitories and the boys high school and elementary school site which also house the elementary and high school boy’s dormitories.

Samuel and his wife Mercy generously put us up in their own home which is located amongst the boys dormitories. We spend almost all of the week at Samuels house, Vijayawada is off the tourist routes and Samuel feels that it would not be sensible for us to venture into the town alone.

On the 5^th we are taken to the elementary school dormitories. As we remember, conditions for the children are not easy. The children sleep in open sided buildings on mats on the floor. The elementary school classrooms do not have desks or benches (although, unlike on our first visit, benches have now been provided for the high school children).  We are, however, once again struck by how happy and well cared for the children appear. We are also delighted to see new water containers in all of the dormitories/bedrooms. These containers are filled with water from a water purification system that we organised the funding for and has now been operational for 18 months. Since its introduction water born diseases have been eradicated from the orphanage and the children enjoy much improved health. It really is pleasing to see that funds and resources gathered to help the students all go directly to that task.

Samuel explains the water purification system to Vince

So now all classrooms/dormitories have fresh water

Visits to the girls site and the college confirm our impression that the orphanage is a hugely worthwhile cause and that resources generated to help the orphanage are channelled directly to that end. The global recession has severely dented the orphanages support and their need, if they are to continue the work that they perform, is obvious. We do not have to spend long with the staff and young people there to resolve to continue with, and increase, our efforts to help. In addition to gathering further sponsors, priorities are the purchase of benches (£35 for a bench to seat 5 pupils) and water buffalo (£500 each) to provide milk for the pupils.

In addition to our visit to the different college sites Vince is surprised when Samuel invites him to speak to the staff (for about 45 minutes) on the subject of education in the UK. Michele is polite and claims Vince’s talk was fine. Isaac is more honest when he says he didn’t listen to any of it!

The children are happy and well cared for at REACH

If you would like to know more about the orphanage you could email Samuel direct at reachpastorsamuel@gmail.com

We are very well looked after by Samuel and Mercy during our stay, especially by Mercy who keeps us very well fed and makes an extra effort to cook food Isaac enjoys, even providing him with chips and tomato ketchup on several occasions!

The week at Samuel’s with internet access provides the opportunity to plan more of the trip and before we leave we have booked our remaining itinerary in India and Nepal.

During the week we also decide that after China we will cut Vietnam and Cambodia from our schedule and head straight  to Australia.

12^th, 13^th  & 14^th November (Day 92, 93 & 94)

At just gone midnight on the 12^th we leave Samuel and Mercy's home for the train station in Vijayawada. We have booked a 25Hr train journey to take us to Agra where we plan to see the Taj Mahal. Even at 1am the train station is incredibly busy with passengers waiting for trains, but also people sleeping in apparently wherever they can find a space to lie down. Indian train travel appears to be what we expected, in non a/c second class the carriages are packed, the words standing room only are not applicable as there is no standing room left. We have booked to travel 2^nd class a/c which means that we have reserved places. These places turn out to be bench style beds. Vince and Isaac occupy the upper ‘beds’ of a shared  cabin of four with two very nice Indian gentlemen whilst Michele is across the aisle in the upper ‘bed’ of two.

Isaac manages to get some sleep on the 25hr journey.

We all manage to sleep reasonably well and during the day we get very good views of the Indian countryside which is green and lush. We are, however, once again struck by the poverty in which so many Indians live.

We arrive in Agra station at 3am and find it to be very similar to Vijayawada in that it is very crowded with people sleeping (and obviously living) everywhere. Our driver Vejay meets us outside and takes us to the Taj Plaza hotel. Our first impressions are not good, the room is basic and not too clean. To add to this Michele is feeling increasingly unwell. We try to get some sleep but Michele gets worse with increasing stomach problems. By about 9am she is feeling so unwell that she decides that she needs a doctor. The hotel organises a car to the local public hospital. The doctor at the hospital takes about 3 minutes to decide that Michele is so dehydrated that she needs to be admitted straight away. She is given a room off the main ward and placed on a drip and prescribed a number of drugs. She is also given a number of health tests. The tests show that she has a severe case of dysentery but fortunately the tests for dengue fever (a major concern) come back negative.  

The hospital is very different from what we would recognise in the UK. There are no restrictions on visiting as family are expected to look after their relatives. Michele is prescribed a course of drugs but they would not have been administered until Vince has gone out to buy them, similarly with food, family members are expected to provide any food and drink the patient needs. As a result the hospital is a very busy place 24 hours a day (with people again taking the opportunity to cook and sleep in any available space). Isaac and Vince sleep in the hospital top to tail on a very small couch.
Isaac is delighted to find a MacDonald’s not far up the road. Walking near the hospital is interesting, particularly the modes of transport used. In their first trip to MacDonald’s, Vince and Isaac see people in cars; on motorcycles; on bicycles; donkeys; elephants and camels (the latter two of which are generally brightly painted in a range of weird and wonderful designs). The local area seems safe if somewhat dirty and very busy, but this is brought into question when Vince heads out in search of an ATM in order to obtain money to pay for another batch of drugs and further night’s accommodation. Unable to find a machine Vince asks in a hotel. The hotel staff are shocked that he is on foot and insist on organising a taxi to take him to an ATM and back to the hospital.

Michele is kept in hospital for both the 13^th and 14^th. An additional problem for Michele is that her condition means that she has to spend a large amount of time in the toilet. Getting back and forth is a problem as she has to take her drip with her. This problem is compounded by the fact that the toilet is open to the outside and as a result her body (particularly her rear end!!!) comes to look like a pin cushion as she receives about 70-80 mosquito bites.

15^th November (Day 95)

By the morning of the 15^th we are desperate to get out. Michele is off the drip and has successfully eaten (and kept down) some fruit. Staff say that she will be discharged but it doesn’t appear that anything is going to happen quickly. Vince’s attempts to speed up the process are very unsuccessful but a phone call to Vejay sorts the situation. 10 minutes after receiving a call from Vince Vejay arrives at the hospital. Once he arrives he moves at speed, chasing the doctors, organising prescriptions and discharge documentation.  By 11am (within an hour of Vejay’s arrival) we are sitting in his car being taken back to our hotel. We are due to leave Agra the next day and Michele, despite still feeling weak, is keen to see some of the sights so we arrange that Vejay will pick us up mid-afternoon to take us to the Agra Fort.

It is great to get back to the hotel, sit on the roof terrace and get some fresh air whilst we can enjoy views of the Taj Mahal which is visible through the haze in the distance.

First sight of the Taj Mahal - better view than what I've seen of Agra so far!

Before visiting Agra we were aware of the Taj Mahal, but not of the other sights. The Agra Fort, however, proves to be very impressive.  The fort was the seat of power for the Mughal empire. Akbar moved the Mughal capital to Agra and laid the foundations for the fort, but it was his grandson Shah Jahan (the builder of the Taj Mahal) who had the principle buildings of the fort erected. The high red sandstone ramparts of the fort are hugely impressive as one approaches and the fort is certainly a huge structure (with only a small percentage open to the public). Unfortunately, it is not possible to stand at the front of the fort and take in the impressive view. This is because as soon as we are out of the car we are inundated with hawkers, guides and beggars who surround us pushing for our attention as we force our way to the entrance. The inside of the fort demonstrates the power of the Mughal empire, it also shows a move from initial construction using sandstone  to the use of the marble as later used for the Taj Mahal.

On leaving the fort we once again have to force our way through the overly pushy locals. We force our way to the car and then Vejay drives us to Sikandra (Akbar’s mausoleum). On the drive we witness what are becoming familiar sights in India, incredibly crowded streets with people living in great poverty with partially constructed dwellings (often made out of advertising billboards) with a whole range of animals wandering freely around the streets. The mausoleum is again a mixture of sandstone and marble architecture and is often called the mini Taj, but after a quick look round we are happy to head back to our hotel. Unfortunately, on the way we are forced to sit through what will become a familiar aspect of our sightseeing in India, a visit to a craft centre where we are given the hard sell for some local handicrafts!

Back at the hotel it is hard to build up enthusiasm for food. After the stomach problems that we have all experienced (particularly Michele) we realise that we are now eating to survive rather than with any sense of enjoyment. We decide to become vegetarian and order rice and a dahl.

16^th November (Day 96)

An early start as we head for the Taj Mahal at 6:30am. The Taj is, apparently, often incredibly crowded, but early on a November morning we are delighted to find it relatively deserted. As we enter through the gateway we see the Taj at the end of the huge charbagh (an entrance dissected into four quadrants by waterways). Everybody has seen pictures of this fabulous building but we are still overwhelmed seeing it first hand and few words can do it justice. Shah Jahan built the mausoleum to enshrine the body of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal who died shortly after giving birth to her 14^th child!!!  The emperor was devastated by her death and set out to create an unsurpassed monument to her memory. 20,000 men took over 20 years to complete construction. The marble which was brought from Rajastan is inlaid with semiprecious stones for decoration that were gathered from Persia, Russia, Afghanistan, Tibet, China as well as India.

The Taj is fantastic but we did not know that the plans of Shah Jahan were not completed. He planned to build an exact copy on the other side of the river built in black marble as a mausoleum for himself. Before his plans could be finished he was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb who imprisoned him and, after his death, interred him alongside his wife in the Taj.

By 9:30 we leave the Taj  and after breakfast (toast and jam: safe!!) we meet Vejay ready for our journey to the wild life reserve of Ranthambore.

On the way we visit Fatehpur Sikri (the former imperial capital of the Mughal empire). Like the Agra Fort the royal palace covers a large area with an array of impressive buildings and courtyards. We have an interesting tour but are excited as we leave and head for Ranthanbore National Park where we arrive as dusk falls.

17^th November (Day97)

Another early start as we meet at 6:45am for a Canter (open top single storey bus) safari. Along with numerous other Canters we head off for the park. Everybody’s aim is to see tigers, but we realise that our chances are not great. After about a 30 minute ride we enter the park and the Canters split up taking different routes around the park. We see monkeys, deer and a whole variety of birds. After about an hour and a half we sense that the guides are excited. Our guide tells us that a female tiger has been sighted. It is easy to tell as we approach the location of the sighting as different groups are approaching from all directions. We come to a stop and it is not long before we see the tiger padding out of the trees. She is a beautiful animal, apparently not phased in the slightest by our presence. She passes very close to us and disappears into the trees. Most of the other groups move off after the tiger, but our guide decides that we should stay put, reasoning that you will often find that a male follows in the path of a female. Sure enough after a couple of minutes the small number of groups who have stayed put are rewarded with the sight of a male tiger following in the path of the female. The sight is awe inspiring, the male looks a lot bigger and more powerful than the female. Again he seems completely un-phased by our presence and he stops within about 10 meters from us for about 4 to 5 minutes. After he leaves we have to make a mad dash for the park exit as the guide tells us he can be heavily fined if we overstay our allotted time.

After lunch at the hotel we set out on a second safari. This time we drive a lot further to a different park entrance. This takes us through a local town. More and more as we travel through India we are struck by the living conditions of the locals. The streets are filthy, not helped by the large variety and number of animals who roam freely around the town and who certainly do nothing to improve the sanitary conditions. Much of the building work is once again makeshift and toilet facilities appear to located anywhere out of site. Some of the toilets that do exist are simply sections of buildings that reach out over the local rivers with a hole in the floor. We realise more and more that conditions in the orphanage, whilst basic, are far better than a large number of Indians experience, orphans or not.  

As we enter the park it begins to rain. At first we are delighted as this is the first rain we have seen since leaving Cardiff. Vince and Isaac, who have rain coats, are so delighted at feeling wet they happily offer their coats to fellow travellers. After about an hour as the rain has become torrential they are beginning to regret their initial generosity. It becomes clear that the animals are not as stupid as Vince and Isaac and that they have taken cover from the rain leaving no possibility of sightings. Our guide, however, seems intent on completing the safari. Two hours in, the clients are beginning to complain and these complaints gradually rise until the guide sees the sense in heading home. Whilst on the safari we are convinced of the sense of hiring the driver, Vejay, for the Indian trip as several of our fellow passengers tell stories of how the trains have been so heavily booked that they had become stranded in several locations.

18^th & 19^th Nov (Days 98 & 99)

Although distances are not huge, the state of the roads mean that travel times are surprisingly large. We, therefore, spend about 5 hours driving from Ranthambore to Jaipur which is only a distance of about 145kms. We arrive at the Mosaic hotel at about 3pm and are delighted, it is clean and has free wi-fi in the rooms.

We eat in the restaurant and then retire to our rooms where we have the opportunity to catch up on our e-mails.
Vejay picks us up on the 19^th and takes us first 11km outside the city to Amber Palace. The palace is perched high on a narrow rocky ridge above the surrounding countryside.

It was the ancient capital of Jaipur state. We climb to the palace on elephants and then undertake a tour of the palace.

Once again the palace is impressive with a range of palace buildings and court yards. The building that is the most ‘different’ from those that we have seen previously is the Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory) which is noted for its inlaid panels and multi-mirrored ceiling which at night, under candle light, glitters like the stars. Having left the palace we head for the Old City (the Pink City) which is almost entirely encircled by a crenallated wall and known for its buildings which are of a uniformly pink colour. At the centre is the City Palace which occupies a large area consisting of courtyards, gardens and buildings. It is still the home of the Maharaja and there is an interesting museum chronicling   the lives of the different maharajahs. One remarkable exhibit is Sawai Madho Sinh 1^st clothing which was made for this 2m tall 1.2m wide and 250kg figure (the fact that he was a man who enjoyed excess is perhaps reflected in the fact that he had 108 wives).  

Our favourite site in Jaipur is the Jantar Mantar an observatory that was built in 1728. It is like walking into a garden from Alice Through the Looking Glass, however, as one examines further it becomes apparent that the large structures contained in the garden are amazingly precise astronomical instruments that record, monitor and predict time, seasons and eclipses. It is an incredibly impressive feat of engineering for the time and 1 of 5 similar observatories built at this time.

The day has been long and hot but we all raise a smile on our way back to the hotel as Isaac says 'so where is this Pink City then'? When we point out that we have been driving around it for most of the day he claims the walls appear peach rather than pink! As we drive around the city we can say it is pretty but once again we are struck by the crowds, the poverty and the dirt. We return to our hotel and are happy to eat a very tasty curry in the restaurant and then retire ready for another early start when we head for Delhi in the morning.

20^th Nov (Day 100)

Another day of travel, as we move from Jaipur to Delhi. We are staying in the centre of Delhi and, therefore, plan to do a little shopping upon arrival as we intend to leave sightseeing for a day.

Upon arrival in mid-afternoon we realise that we have again been very naive, Delhi is incredibly busy. We try a small walk but it is pointless. The pavements are packed with stalls, parked cars, bikes, rubbish as well as the usual array of animals and the roads are almost completely gridlocked with a mixture of cars, rickshaws, bikes, pedestrians and animals trying to make some progress. We chicken out, order room service and have an early night in the very smart Florence hotel.

21^st Nov (Day 101)

We have a guide for today, his motto appears to be less is more, as he wanders around with us saying virtually nothing. He first takes us to a car park outside The Red Fort, it looks impressive but we can only guess as we do not go in!! Our next stop is more impressive, the Raj Ghat. It is more of a park than a ghat and it was the site of Gandhi’s cremation in 1948. There is a black marble plinth inscribed with Gandhi’s last words Hai Ram (Oh God) and unlike so much we have seen in India it is a picturesque tranquil spot visited by a steady stream of quietly reverential visitors.

From the Ghat we head for ‘Humayan’s Tomb’. This is the first Mughal tomb built in India and is recognisable as a prototype for the Taj Mahal.

Our guide then takes us to a temple dedicated to Krishna and we presume that we are going into the temple itself but our guide, more animated than he has been all day, persuades us it is better to see an animated ahow on the life of Krishna. There's robots and everything apparently!!! We go with his suggestion and wander wide eyed round the different rooms where mannequins occasionally move slightly!!! We do learn a lot about his life though!

Having then visited the Bahai Temple, a beautiful modern marble structure built in the shape of 27 giant white petals of an unfolding lotus, we stop for lunch the highlight of which is the snake charmer sitting outside on the pavement.

We finish what has proved to be a whistle stop drive around the Indian capital by driving to the Rashtrapati Bhaven and Rajpath (the centre of government) and suddenly it is like we are in the centre of London and as we drive from India Gate past the government buildings it is very reminiscent of the Mall.

Delhi has proved to be an interesting mix. It certainly has the commotion, noise, pollution and poverty of other Indian cities, but it also has quieter, greener and more tranquil areas than we have come across in India previously.

After a brief rest we head for the main train station to take a 12 hour ride to Varanasi. Our last long train ride ended up with Michele spending three days in hospital and we are not looking forward to the journey, but having spent an hour and a half waiting for the train with the sights and sounds associated with an Indian station battering our senses we are glad to board. Our seating is identical to our first train journey, although this time we have 3 of the 4 berths in the one compartment. We share the compartment with a young man who is ‘throwing a sicky’ so that he can make a round trip to see his girlfriend and so he is keen to get his ‘beauty sleep’ and he does not really disturb us.

22^nd November (Day 102)

We arrive in Varanasi at about 8am and are met by a driver who takes us to our Hotel. Varanasi stretches along the crescent of the River Ganges, its waterfront dominated by long flights of stone ghats where thousands of pilgrims come to wash in the holy waters of the river. It stands at the centre of the Hindu universe and has done since the sixth century BC. Anyone who dies in Varansi attains instant moksha or entitlement and so widows and the elderly come here to live out their final days. We are keen to visit the ghats and the old city, but we are tired and decide to rest at our hotel before taking a boat evening ride to observe the ghats in the sunset and see the nightly light ceremony on the Dashaswamedh Ghat.

The tour company through which we have organised our Varanasi sightseeing do not make a good start as they pick us up 40 minutes late for the boat ride and we then have a mad dash so as not to miss the light festival. Rushing through the old city to the waterfront is not easy, the streets are incredibly narrow, poorly lit and as crowded as anything we have come across in India. An additional problem is keeping ones footing as the floor appears to have a complete covering of animal excrement!! We are also informed that we have to change hotel for our second night in Varanasi.

We are surprised by our guide as we arrive at the water’s edge when he moves slightly away from us to relieve himself against the closest wall. Our boat is a narrow rowing boa, and before taking us to the Dashaswamedh Ghat  our boatman rows us down the river to see some of the other Ghats. Without doubt, the most startling sight is that of the Manikarnika Ghat (the main cremation ground in the city) which is considered by Hindus to be the most important cremation ground in the universe. The Ghat had several cremations under way and seeing bodies being burned so publically was very disconcerting. You feel as though you are intruding upon something very moving and personal. As we moved along the river it was obvious that despite the people bathing in and drinking the water of the river it is far from clean, a point emphasised when we saw a dead cow float past (apparently cows being sacred are not cremated but merely thrown into the river).  The light ceremony had a huge audience and consisted of pandas (priests) on a very brightly candle lit stage in synch swinging various lighted objects around themselves.

  

After the ceremony we made our way back to the hotel for an early night as we planned to be at the river early the next morning to watch the sunrise.

23^rd November (Day 103)

Our early night works and we are up and ready to go by 5am, unfortunately, and true to form, our tour company have failed to show up. We try phoning but with little luck. A helpful taxi driver outside the hotel has better luck phoning and he is asked by the company to take us to the river. We finally leave at 6am but we are in time to see the sun rise.

We take a boat and a young guide tells us about the different Ghats.  There are plenty of pilgrims washing and drinking from the river, but not all of the ghats are bathing ghats, for example, we pass a laundry ghat. We also pass Harishchandra Ghat which is the other ‘burning’ ghat in the town. It is at this ghat that diseased bodies are cremated (the only bodies not cremated in Varanasi are those who have suffered from leprosy and infants). The burning ghats are operated by Doms (untouchables) and they build the funeral pyres, supervise the burning and dispose of the ashes in the river. We are quite shocked to see the Doms sifting through the ashes in the river looking for jewellery that has not burnt in the cremation!!

We  leave the river next to the Manikarnika Ghat where even at such an early hour a number of cremations are under way. It is at this point that we see perhaps the saddest sight of our entire trip so far as a man holding what is obviously a deceased baby wrapped in a sheet hires a boat ready to ‘bury’ the child in the river (as I have said infants are not cremated). The body is weighed and then weighted down with stones. We do not want to intrude and so we quickly and quietly move away from the river into the old town.
The town is a maze of incredibly narrow streets which, as well as homes and shops, contain numerous shrines and monasteries. As usual there are also a huge number of animals wandering round and as we move around we have to squeeze past a number of cows and goats.

Arriving back at our hotel at about 9:30 we have a quick breakfast before packing our bags and then heading for Sarnath which is 10km from Varanasi. Sarnath is where, in 530BC, Buddha gave his first sermon which according to the Buddhist faith set in motion the Dharmachakra (‘Wheel of Law’) a new cycle of rebirths and reincarnations leading to ultimate enlightenment for everybody. The site consists of a cluster of ruins and temples set in some picturesque parkland which, particularly after the madness of Varanasi, is a relaxing and tranquil place. We spend several hours wandering around the ruins, visiting the museum and Sarnaths Bodhi tree grown from an offshoot of the tree under which Buddha found enlightenment.

Upon returning to Varanasi we go to our new hotel, it is obviously gearing up for a big wedding later in the evening. As well as all the rooms being booked, it appears that a good number of people will be bedding down in the function rooms as blankets are laid out everywhere. The restaurant is closed but we order a pizza and decide to retire early. We are on the third floor, one up from the wedding, but we are not disturbed by the celebrations, that is until the teenagers from the party move upstairs to our floor. At about midnight we hear some knocking at our door, it appears that some of the youngsters have confused our room for one of their friends. Having made this mistake, however, they invent  a new game called ‘annoy the hell out of the British by knocking on their door every 10 to 20 minutes’.  By 3am we are forced to phone reception but they only manage to stop the disturbances for about 40 minutes.

24^th November (Day104)

Vince’s birthday has not started well and he and Michele all very tired as we head down for breakfast at about 7ish. Isaac luckily slept through all of the night's events. The hotel looks like a bomb has hit it with food and other debris everywhere.  It is also a little reminiscent of an Indian train station as people are asleep all over the place.

It takes a while, but we finally find some people to give us breakfast. We are leaving India for Nepal today, and, having read a number of horror stories on the net, we have organised a car, via the Varanasi tour company, to drive us to our first stop in Nepal, Lumbini. True to form the car is late and when it turns up it appears that a couple of other passengers are taking advantage of our booking and joining us on the trip as they have business in Kathmandu. This does not lead to a good start to the journey and after a few sharp words we spend the first few hours of the journey travelling in an uncomfortable silence. The journey to the boarder at Sonauli takes about 10 hours and in this time tensions thaw. India has been fascinating, but it is not an easy or comfortable country to travel in and we are all looking forward to moving on, although we expect Nepal to be quite similar.

Gaining entry to Nepal is quite simple. As we drive into Sonauli somebody who spots westerners in the car taps on the roof and then  directs us to the immigration officers on the Indian side of the border. These officers would not have been easy to find as they operate from a makeshift shack among a row of shops at the side of the road about 100m short of the border.

At the Nepal immigration office we pay US$25 each for our visa and we leave India and enter another new country. Although  it is dark when we cross the border, as we expected Nepal looks very similar to India.

It is already dark but we still have an hour’s drive to Lumbini and we finally pull up at our guest house ‘The Lumbini Buddha Garden’ at about 8pm. Dinash who runs the guest house rushes out to meet us with some bad news, there has been a festival in the town and the hotel is overbooked, consequently we do not have a room. The problem is compounded by the fact that nearly all of the accommodation in the town is full, but Dinash has managed to find us a room in a nearby guesthouse.  When we arrive at the alternative accommodation it instantly becomes clear why, when the majority of the town’s accommodation is fully booked, there are vacancies at this establishment. The room is small, damp and dirty as are the beds. We decide that there is no way that we can stay there. Dinash is embarrassed and obviously understands and so he takes us to another hotel. We insist on the way that we stop at a decent hotel but as Dinash has said it is fully booked. The next hotel is not really much better  than the first but there seems little point in continuing to search for something better. We end up in a larger room but it is also damp with  bare wires from the electrics hanging out of holes in the wall. The plumbing is not any better, the toilet flushed with no problem, unfortunately the water flushes onto the floor as opposed to into the toilet bowl. Vince’s mood is not improved when he is stung on the finger by a large bee. We do not unpack, so by about 9:30pm we make our way up to the open restaurant and share fried rice and noodles (Michele and Vince also have a bottle of Everest Beer!!) whilst Vince reflects on what has not been his best birthday ever.

25^th November (Day 105)

Dinash arrives early, but we have been up for some time, he tells us that there is now room in the Buddha Garden and that he will act as a tour guide for us for the day to make up for the problems of the night before.

We drop our bags off and although our room cannot be described as luxurious it is a vast improvement on the night before. It is actually a chalet which is one of about 10 spaced out in a very pleasant if somewhat overgrown garden.  

Lumbini is the birthplace of Buddha and consequently of huge importance to the world’s one billion Buddhists. With Nepal closed off from the rest of the world for so long Lumbini was not accessible to pilgrims for many years, but in the 1970’s the government authorized an ambitious Master Plan for a religious park consisting of monasteries, cultural facilities, gardens and fountains and it is this that Dinash takes us to visit. After the problems of the night before Dinash proves to be a courteous and knowledgeable guide  as well as an extremely nice man. We first visit Buddha’s birth place and then a number of monasteries the most impressive of which was built by a rich German philanthropist and whose impressive art work depicts many significant stories from the life of Buddha and make them accessible even to us.
Dinash himself is a Buddhist and rightly very proud of the as yet unfinished master plan, he is also keen to make amends for our lack of accommodation. Part of the special treatment that he gives us is to visit his guru, a Buddhist monk, at one of the temples. The monk decides to sing some prayers to us in the monastery. We have become a little cynical on this trip but despite this we do find the experience to be very relaxing and a little moving. The guru also gives a very succinct and surprisingly humanist and scientific answer to Isaac's question 'What is the meaning of life?' His answer obviously relates to faith and he talks about the need to help our fellow inhabitants of the planet but also that we should be continually questioning how the physical world operates.

The building housing what is believed to be the actual birth place of Buddha - the ruins inside may be seen below  which house the 'marker stone' Ashoka is reputed to have placed at the precise location of the Buddha's birth in around 543BC

After an enjoyable day we return to our room where we meet Surya who will drive us to our next stop in Nepal. Isaac is delighted that we need torches to find the restaurant and also with the big lit fire that is burning just outside. We have a later night than planned as after eating Isaac sets about burning everything that he can lay his hands on and we sit around the huge bonfire.

Isaac enjoys the fire with Danesh at the Lumbini Buddha Garden

26^th November (Day 106)

We have now booked three days of activities at the Chitwan National Park. The package is not wildly expensive, but includes all meals and various activities including a canoe ride, a jeep safari, an elephant safari and a visit to an elephant breeding centre.

The road system is not well developed in Nepal and the drive to Chitwan, though only a couple of hundred kilometres, takes about 5 Hrs. When we arrive we are very pleasantly surprised at our accommodation in 'The Jungle Safari Resort' which consists of a large house at one end, a restaurant at the other and two lines of very well maintained chalets at the edge of the garden between them.  We are becoming aware that despite similarities Nepal is more different to India than we expected. Despite the obvious poverty (in 2008 Nepal ranked 145^th out of 153 countries in the UN’s Human Development Index) Nepal seems ‘better cared for’ than India by its locals.  Problems are, however, obvious most notably perhaps in the daily (and sometimes several daily) power cuts that occur everywhere.

When we arrive we are the only guests and we are informed that we have the opportunity to take a cultural walk early evening when we can visit the local village before we return for a meal.

We take the opportunity and spend an interesting hour looking at the lay out of the local village and the construction of the mud houses occupied by the locals. The highlight, however, comes at the back of the village when we enter a compound where some elephants are kept.

Beyond the compound is a thickly grassed area leading to the river and as we look beyond the elephants we see a rhino in the distance. We move out of the compound towards the rhino skirting round the edge of the grassed area. We do not get too close but we do see that the rhino is accompanied by a baby.  The sighting certainly wets our appetite for the safari to come.

When we return to our resort it is packed with local Nepalese guests who are apparently staying courtesy of their company and their enthusiastic presence makes the local cultural dance show even more enjoyable than it might have been on our own. It is a very impressive performance. The Nepalese guests are extremely friendly and all of them are keen to speak to us. We soon realise, however that this is because they are trying to sell a new wonder food that will apparently cure all ills from depression to cancer and they see us as potential customers. We resist the temptation to buy but do finish the evening with some free samples in the form of tea.

27^th November (Day 107)

With all of the guests breakfast is a scrum but bright and early we set off for the river to take a boat ride. In order to reach the river we walk through the more ‘commercial’ section of the local village  which seems very pleasant with a nice range of small cafes and bars as well as several hotels that look very similar to our own.

We share the boat, which is a simple long boat with one oarsman, with 4 other people and it is very tranquil floating down the river with a guide pointing out the different birds that we can see along the route. Things do ‘hot up’ a little, however, when we look about 4 yards to our left and see the two eyes of a crocodile looking back at us. At first the boatman moves us towards the croc but then as the croc submerges there is obviously concern and we move to the other side of the river as soon as possible. Our guide later explains that the croc was large and when they submerge it can be an indication that they are about to attack.  

After about an hour we are dropped off on the opposite bank of the river to the village. It is on this side that most of the animals in the park are found and the times at which people can visit it are restricted. We take a couple of hours to walk back through the grassland but are only lucky enough to see several deer. We later find out that as we have pushed through the undergrowth on the way back Isaac’s side has become lunch for a leech (we have trouble in stopping the wound from bleeding for the next couple of days). On arriving back we return to our accommodation for lunch, but we are back crossing the river in the early afternoon ready for a jeep safari. Our jeep is quite full, and Isaac is delighted that he gets to stand on the tail gate next to our guide. We see a whole range of animals including another rhino and some crocodiles basking on the banks of the river. We also visit a crocodile farm that is helping to replenish numbers in the area. Conservation in the area has been a major driving force since it was made the countries first National Park in the 70’s. Prior to this numbers, particularly of rhinos and tigers had fallen to dangerously low numbers largely as a result of over hunting. The British had some responsibility here, King George V during an 11 day visit in 1911 actually killed 39 tigers and 18 rhinos!!!!

As evening falls we take a boat back to the ‘beach’ area of the village and enjoy a beer watching the sun set before heading back to our accommodation.
We are pretty much forced to have an early night as there is a power cut lasting until well after we fall asleep trying to read by inadequate candle light.

28^th November (Day 108)

Again we start early, heading to an elephant breeding centre. The elephants are magnificent, though noticeably smaller than their African cousins. The elephants at the centre are largely female and they are allowed into the national park during the day where they may meet interested bull elephants before they return to be chained up at night. The programme works as can be seen by the number who are looking after infants. Very unusually one of the females has twins and it is moving to watch the pair playing and mock fighting.

On leaving the breeding centre we visit the local museum, which actually is a rural village where the locals are happy for small numbers of visitors to visit and walk around. The locals are obviously poor but they work hard and as a community and they seem to produce ample food to live off. Again we are struck by the difference to Indian villages, the Nepal village is very well maintained without piles of rubbish and excrement everywhere.

When we leave the village it is still early and we use our jeep to drop quite a few children off at school.  On the way back to our hotel the guide asks if we fancy a walk at the edge of the village. We agree and as we pull up we see three ladies sitting on the grass in front of us looking a little frustrated. The reason for their frustration soon becomes clear, they had set off to collect wood  from the other side of the river but, unfortunately for them, sitting on the opposite bank relaxing in the sun are two rhinos.  Whilst staying on the opposite bank we manage to get quite close to these magnificent animals without disturbing them.

After about 20 minutes we move off and are then met with another magical site, that of elephants washing and being washed in the river. One older elephant is on its own, having finished its working life it apparently lives a relaxing life bathing and eating.

Other elephants visit the river with their handlers and it is quite remarkable to see them washing and instructing the elephants to roll round whilst they stand on various parts of the animals remaining dry. We do head off to see some more elephant bathing, but we do not make it as we have to cross a small tributary to the river and as Isaac, who is in the lead, enthusiastically runs ready to jump he slips down the muddy bank becoming ¾ submerged in the murky water. He confesses later that the look of horror on his face was not because he was in the water but because he knew that crocodiles lived along the river (and who can blame him?)

After giving Isaac a hot shower, hand washing his clothes and boots and having something to eat we head off for our last excursion and one we have all been looking forward to - an elephant safari. 
The elephants have seats that can take up to 4 people behind the ‘driver’ and we set off in a convoy of about 20 elephants. 
Once across the river however we split into smaller groups. Our elephant often takes the lead, tearing down branches to eat as we go and knocking down any obstacles in our path at the command of the 'driver'. It is a wonderful experience but after an hour or so we are resigned to not seeing any more rhinos. The driver, however, is persistent and takes us into a part of the park they are not officially allowed in at the moment and as we emerge from the undergrowth a rhino is only yards ahead of us! We are truly lucky and none of the other elephants get as close and we can only gaze in awe from on top of the elephant at another magnificent creature.

We watch for a short time before we have to head back to the river to cross over, being as quiet as an elephant can considering we are not meant to be in this area.

We are all excited as we get back into the jeep and once again we go for an Everest beer by the lake before heading back to the hotel for dinner and another early night due to the power cuts.