But for posterity's sake, I do want to wrap up our trip. So here's what happened when we left Bhaktapur...
I continued to take pictures of dogs. This should be noted before even getting into other details. I just wanted to take them all home! And then I thought of how many poop bags that would require. Archie already poops five times each walk, so I decided that might not be the wisest choice...
On our last morning in Bhaktapur, we took to the trail. We knew one of the country's oldest temples was uphill from us. Where exactly was uncertain. But we had learned by then that if you just keep asking locals as you walk up the roads, they'll direct you. It was a rural dirt road that took us past farms and goats (and people out walking their goats -- see below) and Hindu cows.
We asked this little girl on the way how to get to the temple, and as she was pointing us in one direction, a group of guys sitting nearby directed us on another path. After walking with sheep up the back of a mountainside, we realized we had been duped by the guys, and should have listened to the child. Always listen to the child! Eventually however, after a muddy detour, we reached the Changu Narayan temple.
Legend says that this temple existed as early as 325 A.D. It's a Hindu temple dedicated to the Lord Visnu.
After we toured the temple
for awhile, we traveled back to our hotel and prepared for the ride of a life time -- a 90 minute treacherous public Nepali bus ride
up the side of a mountain to our next destination: Nagarkot. I would like
the world to know, however, that this death-defying experience could have been
avoided. I kindly suggested we take a taxi for the hour long trip. It would
have cost about $30.00. I had caught glimpses of bus life in Nepal, and not
only was I concerned for our safety, but also for my future fellow passengers,
on whom I could very well shower with the lentils I had eaten for lunch earlier
that day. But Tyler countered - it would only be $0.90 for both of us on the
bus. And so I consented. If I hadn't been focusing extremely hard on keeping my
food inside my body, I would have taken a picture. Because it was an
other-worldy ride. The bus was packed beyond capacity. We had to stand, smashed
up against other passengers like Nepali sardines. With the windows to the bus
closed to keep out the dust from the dirt road, the air was thick and stale
with body odor and spices undoubtedly used in food cooked earlier in the day.
And the things people brought on board! We saw huge cooking pots loaded on and
set in the aisle. Farming equipment. Big bags of grain. You name it, it hitched
a ride. The bus zig zagged up a narrow road, higher and higher into the
mountains, nearly missing deathly drop-offs and other buses coming straight for
us.
By the time I started seeing signs for Nagarkot, I was so sick, I didn't care how far we had to walk to our hotel. We got off at the first sign of civilization -- at which point a torrential downpour and hailstorm began...
After a long hike, we had finally made it to the place
I had reserved at home before coming to Nepal. This particlar place had been
recommended on Trip Advisor for it's top floor room with amazing views of the
Himalayas. That is, after all, why one goes to Nagarkot. They say on a clear
day you can even see Everest. But when we were taken to our room, it was not
what we had reserved. We told the manager that we had gotten the suite, to
which he replied, "We have multiple suites!" Having researched
the hotel, I knew this wasn't true, and we showed him our reservation printed
out (that's me -- always prepared!). His response? "Well you're going to
have to talk to the people in that room, because they're in there all
week." We were stunned. Tyler told him that the fact that they rented out
our room was not the people's problem, but was the hotel's! The lies only
continued, and we just had a horrible feeling about staying at this place. And
so Tyler went out in search of another hotel, given the fact that the only
reason we had picked this hotel was for that top floor suite. I waited in
the room, almost in tears, because I was still so sick and tired. In writing
this, I know I sound like a spoiled little American. But honestly, when you
feel like you're going to puke your guts out, I think you're given a free pass
for anything.
Well, Tyler came back having run up the mountain in the
pouring down rain to make reservations at another place. After the day we had
had so far, he splurged and got one of the nicer hotels in the area, rumored to
have some of the best views of the mountains. After he argued a refund from the
manager, we made our way to our first warm shower of the trip. I could have
kissed the ground when we arrived...
The following morning, the reason we came to Nagarkot was
stretched before us at sunrise. We went up to the rooftop of our hotel and were
met with spectacular views of the Himalayas. It took our breath away.
We could have stayed on that rooftop forever. And we probably would have had Tyler not remembered the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet in the lobby...
Nepal -- we love you.
