June 05, 2011
Today with the departure from Gangtok we start moving out of North East India and complete one phase of our Mission Extreme.
We left Gangtok at about 08:00 hrs with the odometer reading 7824 kms. The weather was clear. It was going to be a long drive today into Nepal. We reached Siliguri at about 12:30 hrs. From Siliguri one road goes to Darjeeling and one to Bagdogra. We took the road to Bagdogra where we reached at about 13:00 hrs. In about another half an hour we reached Naxlabari. This is the historic place from where the Naxalite Movement began in the year 1967.
In a few minutes we reached Panitanki, the last village on the Indian side of the Indo – Nepal border. There is one bridge over a river and then there is the Nepal side border at the first village of Nepal, Kakarbhitta. At the point of entry in to Nepal we were stopped by the ‘Prahari’ which is what the police are called in Nepal. They wanted to check our vehicle and the baggage which we offered for examination. But instead they preferred / offered to let us go without any checking for a ‘fee’. This was just the taste of things to come! We then completed the entry formalities. We observed a free movement of people, cycle rickshaws across the border. As a matter of fact the international border between the two countries was almost like some interstate border within the country. We just had to produce an identity proof only of the driver, which was me and the car’s registration card, fill up a form, pay a regular fee at a cash counter and that’s it! At a short distance from here we were again stopped at the traffic police post where we were issued a temporary number for our car, which was in Nepali language, which I am trying to reproduce in English – Me. Aa. Je. 7196. The number plates on all the vehicles in Nepal are in Devnagari script and the numbers are in Nepali language. The mobile phone network here is of NCELL.
We had lunch at Kakarbhitta and from here we contacted Mr. Agarwal in Kathmandu whose reference was given to us by Dr. Chitale in Mumbai. Mr. Manoj Agarwal was of great help and support. He put us on to his brother Mr. Rakesh Agarwal, who runs a travel company in Nepal apart from his other activities. He too was very warm and welcoming. Over the phone itself he said that we should stay at Chitwan for the night, take the jungle safari the next morning and then reach Kathmandu where he would meet us. He immediately made arrangements for our stay at Chitwan. This gave us all tremendous relief and a sense of security. He told us that it would take us 8 to 9 hrs from Kakarbitta to Chitwan. It was already 14:30 / 15:00 hrs by the time we left Kakarbhitta!
The road was excellent. We were again stopped by traffic police and they wanted to see our road permit. We were never asked to take any permit at the border. As a matter of fact there are no clear cut instructions given at the border about the formalities to be completed while entering Nepal. Since we did not have the permit we had to pay a fine for which we were issued a receipt.
The road being good we were covering distance at a fairly good pace. At Bhadrapur we completed 8000 km of journey from base. At one point at about 18:30 hrs the greenery around us turned into sandy region. It was almost like a desert! The flood brought along with it massive amounts of sand from the mountains and washed had away that part of the road. We crossed the Koshi barrage which is about 1149 m long and has 58 sluice gates.
Beyond this point again the road was very good. It had started getting dark by now and we still had a long distance to cover, how much we were not sure again because there were no clear mile stones which showed distance to Chitwan.
At 21:00 hrs we took dinner break where I had tea and biscuits while the others had dinner. We again contacted Mr. Rakesh Agarwal and told him that we would be quite late to reach the resort at Chitwan. He reassured us that there would be no problem with regard to the accommodation at whatever time we may reach. This was great relief. He also gave us the telephone number of Mr. Arun, the owner of the resort.
As time wore on the traffic reduced considerably. There was hardly anyone on the road with whom we could make enquiries about directions. We contacted Mr. Arun at about 23:00 hrs and gave him our approximate location. He too was very warm and reassured us. He told us that it would take us another 3 hrs to reach the resort which was few kilometers off the main highway on which we were traveling. He said that he would wait for us at Ratna Nagar Nagar Palika on the highway and take us to the resort. It was so very kind of him to do this since we would be reaching this location at about 01:00 hrs and he was going to be waiting for us on the highway at that hour!
Mr. Arun met us Ratna Nagar Nagar Palika as decided over the phone and led the way to the resort on his motorcycle.
It was past 02:00 hrs by the time we could sleep. The weather was very warm and very humid. The air conditioner in our room was not working. But we were so tired after a long drive of about 16 hrs that only sleep was on our minds.
Tomorrow morning we would be taking the elephant safari in to the Chitwan NP at 07:00 hrs.
Good night and see you again at the same place tomorrow.
June 06, 2011
All of us woke up at 06:00 hrs and reached the point where we were to start the elephant ride into the jungle at 07:00 hrs. This place was a short walk from our resort.
Here there are proper platforms from which one can mount the elephants. Four people are taken on one elephant.
We went in to the jungle riding on the Elephant, Rajlakshmi, and the mahaut was Ahmed. Ahmed was from UP and was doing this job for the past 36 years. He knew the jungle like the back of his palm. The ride took about an hour and a half. We saw single horned rhino, deer, wild boar, peacocks, and ‘ghorpad’ (Marathi word) and then returned to the resort. I really did not find the ride exciting. We had some good breakfast of stuffed parathas and tea. Arun also joined us.
While the others went to the rooms to get ready I got talking to Mr. Arun. What I gathered was that there is really no governance in the country. People are fed-up of the rampant corruption. There is scant attention being given by the Government in power, which keeps changing frequently, to any sort of real development. There is acute power shortage. There are very few industries. There is extreme infrastructure deficit. The constitution of the country is still not ready to be adopted.
We left the resort for our onward journey to Kathmandu at about 11:00 hrs. We had not reconciled to the idea that we were in a different country. So whenever we had to do any money transaction we had to be careful! The Nepali currency is also Rupee, but 1INR = 1.6 NR! So whenever we purchased anything we always had to ask if the price quoted was in IC (Indian currency) or NC (Nepali Currency).
At 13:30 hrs we reached Manokamana Temple Complex. The temple is on a hill at an altitude of over 4000 ft above MSL. There is a cable car to go up to the temple from the base. The net height of the temple from the base is about 1000 feet. The entire complex is excellently done and maintained. One would have a feeling that one was in Switzerland sans the snow. The entire cable ride is a beautiful experience. This was much better than the cable car ride I had taken in Austria! The cable car was supplied, installed and commissioned by Donmeyr of Switzerland on 24/11/1998. I have a feeling that the entire complex is developed by this company.
We went up to the temple, which is about 250 / 300 years old, but did not go to the sanctum sanctorum since there was a big queue. We prayed from outside and came away. Goats and hens are sacrificed at the temple.
We left from here at about 16:30 hrs. We were stopped at various points on the way for making entry at the check posts, some real and some I really don’t know. At one point 22 km from Kathmandu, the capital city of the country, on the main highway, we were stopped and asked to pay Rs. 500 (IC) towards some Maoist organization or some such thing, ‘Mao wadion ke liye’, as we were told, for which no receipt was issued.
Mr. Rakesh Agarwal had made our booking at Hotel Thamel in Kathmandu. We reached the hotel at about 20:00 hrs. Rakesh came to meet us at the Hotel. We decided tomorrow’s plan of action and he left.
Tomorrow will be Kathmandu sight-seeing and free time towards the evening.
See you tomorrow at the same place. Bye for now.
June 07, 2011
We had asked for a taxi to do the local site seeing.
Today we first went to the Pashupatinath temple. Mr. Manoj Agarwal, the elder brother of Mr. Rakesh Agarwal who was doing our packages in Nepal, has a shop near the temple where we kept all our belongings made of leather, our shoes etc.. Here we met Mr. Mahesh who was to be our guide for our trip around the Pashupatinath mandir.
To start with we prayed at the Ganesh temple just outside the main temple complex and then proceeded to the main Pashupatinath temple. People from faiths other than Hindu, and foreigners are not allowed to enter the temple. Photography is strictly prohibited. Just as one enters the complex, there is a temple with idols of Shankaracharya. Here we met Sanyasies from Kolhapur, Maharashtra one of whom was a priest here. He said if I were to offer Rs. 100 in Indian Currency at the temple, he would give me a garland of Rudraksha beads. Being fond of Rudrakshas, I did this and got the Rudraksha Mala.
By the time I came out of here, Mahesh had got hold of a priest. He offered me a bouquet of Poojas starting from Rs. 21000/-. I selected one from this which I thought was reasonable. After performing the Pooja, when I got another set of Rudraksha beads which I was told was first offered to the main deity and then given to me as Prasaad. We were then escorted to the main temple for darshan of Lord Pashupatinath. After praying I asked the priest for a rudraksha mala after first offering it to the Shivalinga of Pashupatinath. He said that I will have to pay Rs. 100/- IC. I gave him Rs. 100/- and he put the Rudraksha Mala around my neck after offering it to Pashupatinath, as prasadam.
There are many other temples in the complex like that of Budhalikanta (Boodha Neelkanth?!), Wasukinath, Krishna,Changu Narayan, Hanuman, Ganesha and Unmatta Bhairav. The idol of Unmatta Bhairav is really impressive. The idol stands on a horizontal idol of Daksha Prajapati under its feet. This Daksha Prajapati is same as the one referred to in Assam in the context of Kamakhya temple! The legend goes that if a lady who is not conceiving a child touches the genitals of the idol of Unmatta Bhairav, she will be blessed with one.
The entire temple complex is on the banks of Baghmati River. The river is very dirty and polluted. Just behind the temple along the flow of the river Baghmati, proper ‘ghaat’ is built. Here there is a Shivling and just bellow this there is a stone slab sloping downwards from the Shivling up to the stream of river Bagmati. Near the temple there is a ward where terminally ill patients are admitted. When the last moments of a patient arrive, the patient is kept on this slab. The flow of the abhisheka done on Lord Pashupati enters the stream of river Baghmati just under the slab. This water is put in the mouth of such patient who is passing away at the final moments. After the patient passes away, the body is cremated at the crematorium on the bank of Baghmati, almost adjacent to this place where the patient passes away. It is said that if a person passes away in this fashion then he attains freedom from the cycle of life and death!
The story of Pashupatinath Temple goes as follows:
Once, a cowherd noticed that one of his cows was not giving adequate quantity of milk. So he kept a watch on the cow and he noticed that the cow would come to a particular place and release her milk there. On excavating the place where the cow used to release her milk, the idol / ling of Lord Pashupati was found but all those who did the excavation died. It is believed that the cow was actually Kamadhenu, the cow of lord Indra, the king of gods. The Shivling was established in the temple by King Jaisingh Dev in the year 1271.
The Shivalingam has five faces – one facing the east is Parabramha – Indra. that facing the West is Satwajaata, the one on North is Wamadeva - one who gives, and that facing the South is Aghor – Yama. The top face of the Lingam is Ishan. The four faces are said to show the directions of Jagannath, Dwarka, Badrinath, and Rameshwaram. The Lingam is said to be kept up on a flame which never dies out and the temperature of the Lingam is kept same as that of the temperature of human body! The temple was renovated / refurbished by Shankaracharya. The priests here are from Andhra Pradesh. It is said that the Chaar Dham yaatra is incomplete till you visit Pashupatinath.
After Pashupatinath Temple we went to Bauddhanath Stupa. There is nothing much to say about this place.
Then we went to Budhalikantha or Boodha Neelakanth as it is called. Though called Neelakanth, it is not Lord Shiva as one would expect but it is a huge idol of Lord Vishnu lying down on his bed of Shesh Naaga. The idol is in a pool of water and it is said that the entire stone idol is floating!?!? Normally a Vishnu idol has Shankha, Chakra, Gada and Padma in each of the four hands, but here the Padma (lotus) is missing. So I asked the priest (a young boy) about this and he said that the idol here has Bhasma instead of Padma.
From here we went to Swayambhu. Nothing much to say about this place either other than that one gets a panoramic view of the city of Kathmandu.
We then went to meet Mr. Manoj Agarwaal at his shop at Bishaal Bazar. He deals in Rudrrkshas, precious and semi precious stones etc. He has six shops here. He told us about the various types of Rudrakshas and gave us lot of information on the subject. The beads sold here are absolutely genuine. He said that that the one faced rudraksha (Ek Mukhi) is not found in Nepal but is found in Indonesia. The round one faced ones are almost impossible to get. He also said that one will seldom find duplicate rudrakshas in Nepal. I bought two pieces from him – Savaar and Gaurishankar.
We were now very hungry. We went to a restaurant called Aangan. Excellent place to go to – clean, good ambiance, and excellent food. We then walked back to our hotel through the market where Raka and Raju did some shopping. Raka was looking for some trousers and shirts of specific make for his out-door activities. He found some shirts of North Face which he bought.
Back to hotel, had dinner and now time to retire.
See you here again tomorrow.
June 08, 2011
I too bought a shirt and a trouser like the one Raka bought yesterday this morning. I got a good deal here.
Today we first went to a place called Sanga. Here there a 143 feet tall Shiva statue, the tallest in the world.
From here we left for Pokhra. Actually we were quite late to start our journey today.
On the way at about 19:30 we got stuck in a traffic jam. It was dark all around us. We learnt that there was a fight between a driver of a bus and some locals. I was a little tense. We were in a third country which is still unstable. I was just hoping that things don’t flare up. In about an hour’s time things were settled after the intervention of the police and we moved on.
Reached Pokhra, Hotel Tulsi, at about 01:00 hrs.
June 09, 2011
Our vehicle for Pokhra sight-seeing was already organized by Mr. Agarwal. The taxi was to come at 05:00 hrs to take us to see the Sun rise and the Annapurna Range at Sunrise. So though we were ready at this time, the vehicle did not come.
Actually it was very cloudy in the morning and we in any case would not have been able to see the sunrise.
Our vehicle arrived at about 11:00 hrs. Raka decided to stay back at the hotel and the rest of us set out on the sightseeing tour.
We first went to Vindhyawasini temple. I was seeing a Vindhyawasini temple for the second time, the first being at Chiplun, Maharashtra. The construction of this temple is like those in Maharashtra but, the construction of the other temples in the complex is like the pagoda. The idol of the deity is said to have brought from Vindhyachal about 350 years ago by the then king. The idol has eight hands that is, Ashtabhuja.
From here we went to the sunrise point where we were supposed to go in the morning to try and see if we get a glimpse of the Annapurna Range. But no such luck. The range was covered with clouds.
We then went to what is known as city gorge. Here one can see water flowing from the ground level coming from the mountains around and flowing in a deep gorge.
We then went to Guptasthal Shivamandir. This is a cave about 140 meters long. At a 40 meters level there is a Shivaling. Beyond this one goes further down and at the end of the cave one can get to see the fall end of Devis Fall, a water fall located nearby.
Pokhra is the second biggest city of Nepal after Kathmandu with a population of about four lacs. The first Sanskrit school in Nepal was stated here. Also the first Ayurvedic Pharmacy in Nepal was established here. It’s a lovely place to stay at and has a feel of a small European town. I liked it better than Kathmandu.
We were back at the hotel by evening and spent time relaxing.
Bye for now and see you at the same place tomorrow.
June 10, 2011
At 08:30 hrs we left Hotel Tulsi at Pokhra for Lumbini and reached Lumbini, the birth place of Gautama Buddha, at about 15:30 hrs..
The main place to visit here is the Maya Devi Mandir. This is a huge complex of several acres with gardens and a small forest. In the complex are located temples built by twenty two different countries like Sri Lanka, India, Cambodia, Germany, France, Japan etc. The main temple is the Maya Devi temple which is the exact birth place of Buddha.
In the year 1896 this place was first discovered by Mr. Khadga Shamsher, the governer of Palpa, and Aloy Feurer, an archeologist. They first discovered the Ashoka Piller here. In the year 1899 Mr. P. C. Mukharji led the further excavation of the archeologically important place.
It was about 17:30 hours by the time we came out of the place. There was no point in proceeding further from here. So we decided to stay here for the night and checked in to Hotel Bamboo.
There is nothing more to write about from here.
Bye for now.
June 11, 2011
Today the one week entry permit given to us at Kakarbhitta expires and so we have to get back into India by evening.
We checked out of the Hotel at 08:30 hrs and reached Mahendranagar and thereafter the Nepal India border at 17:30 hrs. After crossing several barricades and check post. The soldiers on the Indian side of the border checked our baggage thoroughly unlike the Nepal Prahari at kakarbhitta. We then crossed the Indian customs. After this there is the barrage over the river Savitri which we crossed.
We took a halt for tea and made some enquiries. Actually I need to plan the further journey and the route keeping in mind the distance and regions to be covered and the time. I think we will have to drop the Pithoragarh, Munsyari Circuit and proceed instead to Jim Corbett NP.
It was quite late in the evening. Phadke Ajoba made a call and arranged for accommodation at a company guest house at Rudrapur. We had a good meal today.
After looking at the map I have more or less made up my mind to drop the Pithoragarh, Munsiyari circuit. Tomorrow we intend to move to Jim Corbett NP, then to Badrinath, Kedarnath and so on.
The day was quite uneventful actually. It is almost 03:00 hrs of June 12 and must now go to bed.
Good night.
Cheers!
