In Singapore, I took a walk around the city and looked at the sights. I went to the National Museum and learned a little bit about the history of the City/State. I also went to the Chinese Gardens, but they were not very impressive.
On Saturday, I went to dinner at Joanne and Ho's house. They are a Singaporean couple who came on one of my Trek America trips last year. They cooked a very nice meal for me at their place and then we went to Little India. It was the Hindu new year, so we checked out a temple and wandered with the crowds.
The next day I flew to India. On the plane, almost every man had a beard, and for a change, mine was the shortest. I had my choice of twenty movies and some computer games on my personal entertainment center. After the flight, I went to a dormitory near the airport. A bed cost a little over a dollar. I got my first four bed bug bites of the trip.
On Monday, I flew into Nepal. I met Gary at the airport and the two of us found a very nice room in Kathmandu for six dollars per day. Gary is a pretty interesting person. He rode his bike to India from London last year.
We have spent the last few days seeing the sights. The first day we went up to the Monkey Temple and had our first taste of Nepalese culture. Two days ago, we found my friends from Australia. With Michael and Rachael, we watched a few cremations on the open funeral pyres by the river. Then we went to a Tibetan temple and walked around it with the monks. I also had my picture taken with a big snake around my neck.
Yesterday, the four of us took a local bus out to a nearby town. It cost about five cents each and lasted an hour. In Bhaktapur we wandered around the narrow, winding streets and looked at temples. We also watched the women winnowing the rice. The bus ride back to Khatmandu was very exciting. The bus was jam packed and when we got to the end of the line about fifty people were waiting for us to get off so they could get on. A women handed me her three kids through the bus window so they could save a seat for her. Then we tried to get off. The ticket taker was checking tickets as we got off and he was also keeping the crowd from rushing onto the bus before we all got off. Eventually, he blinked and the crowed rushed past him. The bus was filled to overflowing and half of the people were still trying to get off. We were swept deeper back into the bus and then had to plow our way back towards the door. We eventually squeezed out, but it sure was fun.
Mike and Rach went back to Oz today. I am going to use today to catch up on some paperwork and read a book in the center of town.
The last few days have been the festival of Depwali, the Hindu New Year. Every night the kids set off fireworks. It is a festival of lights. All of the buildings are draped in electric lights and the roads are lined with candles. It is very pretty, but loud. I think their firecrackers are more like dynamite than the stuff I play with in the States.
The roads are very crowded with people, cars, motorcycles and rickshaws. When a vehicle approaches pedestrians, it honks its horn. This happens about once every second. Nepalese drivers use their horns more than they blink. The streets are very noisy.
Thamal, the tourist area, is set up very well for us. On a typical block there are a few hotels, a few Internet places, a few trinket shops, a few places to eat, a few camping supply shops and a few book stores.
I am spending nearly ten dollars a day on food and lodging, but I hope to bring that down once I leave the capital and start walking.
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