Katmandu Nepal

Well the train ride seemed easy compared to today's flight to Nepal. I feel more tired at the end of this day then I did after 2 days on a train. Funny, don't ya think?

Well a new country can be exhausting when you are traveling alone. Then you don't find the people you are going to meet. This is followed up by a nice Monsoon downpour. No lunch. Add in hours of waiting and unfruitful phone calls and you have it. A day fit to zap your energy resources. It's just that simple.

The end result is that at sundown I have found the place I am staying. So now I took a nice walk, checked my email and go to bed.

.....END connection

One more before…..Delhi.

Heading out seems like a simple thing to do until you remember all the stuff that you have to wrap up before going. So there was no a lot sleeping last night just trying to get things done. I received information to update the Bodhi Center’s website but it was done in MS works. And there was no quick fix with the tools I had on had. So I had to do just some minor changes instead of the major update to the website, which I was planning on doing. Then there is many things that need doing for the DRELOMA publication. Mostly busy work but I have run out of time. I had thought of lugging the laptop on the train but that didn’t pan out. Plus I wanted to travel light. In the end the light packing seems heavy to me. It is not the 75 kg I came with but it is more then I care to haul around for extended periods of time.

So it seems I lucked out with my traveling companion Geshe Dakpa Jampa. We can communicate he has lots of experience with the run from Hubli to Delhi. Since this is only my second time on this run, almost everyone has more experience then me. The first time was so exhausting for me that I have not been to Delhi since February 2004. Therefore I am hopping that since I have been in India longer that I can roll with the punches better.

Heading off with out a computer to download to will be interesting. I have taken almost a Gigabyte in memory sticks. I will have to revert back to a limited film style of picture taking. I was enjoying playing the odds. If you take 1000 photos then one of them is bound to be pretty good. Now I will have to use some skill instead of dumb luck.

So at this point I have tickets that will get me to Katmandu, Nepal. Now if I can only get some for a return journey. There nothing like the feeling of having a one-way ticket to a semi-stable country.

It is time to get a bite to eat and then head to the train station.


UPDATE:
Well it has been raining here non-stop for 2 days, so the reason that the train is 3 hours late could be due to flooding of the tracks between Hubli and Goa, where the train originates from. I knew you needed to know this.

This could be a glass half full kind of time. B+

Free Time in Hubli

A new day a new plan. It has been a pretty good day. The ATM machines decided to be helpful for once after their long hiatus from customer service. So yes an entire day used just on one thing. A whole day.

The one up side is I get to see all the posters for the Thai movie “Ong Bak” but the title here in India is “Enter the NEW Dragon”. The posters boast about how there are no stunt doubles, wires or other special effects for the action in this movie. They also comment that it took seven years to make this movie. That fact that the movie is just being released here in 2005 amuses me since I saw the movie back in the summer of 2003. The only advantage of seeing it here is that it would be in English. I have only seen the original Thai version.

So now things are coming together. A train ticket, money for food, and now I just have to pack a few things and get on the never-ending train ride.

I mentioned before that I have been taking photos for some of the events at and around the monastery. Well one of them was at the school. Since everyone was together for this 10 year building anniversary they asked if we could do a group photo. After I got back and looked at the photos on my computer I was a little embarrassed that the photo didn’t come out as clear as I would have hoped. So I reluctantly showed the photos to the people at the school. It turns out they liked it. Enough that fifteen 8x12 glossy photos have been printed so far with a new list of students wanting more. Since I am here as a volunteer I don’t make any profit off this. Everything for this is done even-Steven, I make no money but I don’t wish to lose any either so everything is at cost. Therefore the number of prints they want doesn’t matter to me. I am just surprised how many copies they are getting. If there was some special guest or dignitary visiting then I could understand the need for so many copies. Another angle would be that some how this photo is as good or some how better then what they have had locally. This is possible but I think is would be sad if it is true.

I should be able to try another blog from Delhi…..see ya then.

Update Thursday

There seems like so much to do and so little time. This is a true and false statement. There is enough time to do everything but things take more time then they should from all participants that it feels like it can't be done in time. I do mean that yes I am included.

There is a magazine to complete, files to work thought, computers/websites which need attention, photos that people want taken and I am yet to find a "happy" ATM in the past 3 months which will actually dispense money. Not that heading off to Nepal with less then $20 USD in my pocket worries me. I also have a train ticket to Delhi so by that time I won't have to worry about money. There may be none left after the 38 hour train ride. Nothing left then nothing to worry about RIGHT?

So yeah I get to go see Nepal since it is close and cheap. I will even stay at some factory for housing just to keep the costs low. Then there is the traveling alone. That is the only major drag. I can live with an unstable political environment but if there is no one to share the experience then what fun is it? Its all about the people that you are with not the location or the other tangible things.

The solution is the "get to know me" style of travel. Where every one will want to meet me and they really don't know why. It works with a lot of proper body language, positive upbeat way of speaking, and reminding everyone you interact with that there is some good in them.

That is all for me. I need to get back to the wheel which grinds.