Tuesday 13th December 2005 - ( Martines Birthday )
We fly Royal Nepal Airlines overnight on Monday 12th December leaving Kathmandu at 11.45pm, we are upgraded to first class on a 15 year old Boeing 757 and flew towards Singapore via a stop in Kuala Lumpar or KL as its known locally. We land at 6.30am local time ( Martines Birthday ) at KL for a crew change and an opportunity to stretch our legs in the transit lounge, the stop over is scheduled for 45 mins then we are due back on board for the final leg to Singapore. Time passes 1 hour then 2, we look out of the airport lounge window to see a swarm of engineers, plus the pilot discussing the port side engine which by now has its outer casing removed and its guts exposed !! This plane is going nowhere, we are tranferred to Maylasian airlines for the final leg to Singapore. Kuala Lumpar airport is a refreshing change from the airports of Delhi and Kathmandu. A modern complex with all the amenities of Heathrow. We consume a Burger King compliments of Royal Nepal Airlines for the delay. Singapore International Airport is even more high tec than KL with free internet services in the arrivals hall. The imigration officer wishes Martine a happy Birthday as he notices the date on her passport. We take the high tec MRT metro train to our Hotel destination. Singapore being just off the Equator is hot with a constant climate in the late 20's all year. It's also one of the easiest places in the world to navigate as everything is clearly marked and a superb model of how transport in a city should planned and developed. Some say its sterile, we disagree its a fabulous place and well worth visiting. Birthday greetings come in from the Hotel staff as we check in. The heat is a warm welcome from the cold snap of Nepal. We celebrate Martines Birthday by visiting Raffles Hotel for the famous Singapore slinger, then onto a seafood centre by the waterfront for chilli crab while sitting in the warm evening heat overlooking the straights of Singapore towards Indonesia. It is refreshing to have such a selection of culinary delights on offer in Singapore which has a huge mix of Indian, Chinese, Thai, and Malaysian foods to experience. We visit Orchard Road Singapore answer to OXford Street in London, we are amazed at the fabulous street decorations celebrating Christmas for the christian sector of the population. The air con department stores and shops are full of christmas shoppers and the sounds of christmas carols ringing out over the PA systems, its a sure reminder of the UK. We visit the night Safari located north of Singapore city taking a silent train through the jungle to see the wildlife, Tigers, Rhinos, Elephants , huge Bats, and an assortment of animals never seen by us outside a textbook or London Zoo, the whole experience is like visiting Jurassic Park albeit with today's creatures. Next stop China town for an open air Christmas concert in a prk alongside the famous China town district. A very enthusiastic group of christian Chinese/Singapore singing Silent night and O come all ye faithful ! very bizarre, onto a small theatre for an introduction into the art of Chinese opera with an explanation of what the performance means, we see actors and actresses in full costume with make up, which apparently takes 2 hours to apply. Finally a meal at one of the many hawker stalls in the street outside the theatre. We only intended to stay in Singapore for 2 days, but liked it so much we are stayed 4, we both agree its a fabulous city and well worth a visit in the future.
Saturday 17th December. On an express coach out of Singapore heading for Maylasia and a town called Melacca.
Kathmandu Nepal - Saturday 26th November 2005We meet our fellow travellers for the next leg of our adventure in Nepal. Joyce from Canada and Maki from Japan inc ourselves and that's 4 in total. With a smaller group than in India we feel as if we are on a private tour. Ashok our tour guide takes around Kathmandu to see the sights.Kathmandu is bigger than we imagined and lies in a valley next to the foothills of the Himalayas, it feels like the treking and mountainering capital of the world with numerous shops selling everything you need to walk or climb the surrounding countryside.We visit Bhudda temples and the famous Durbar square, home to the palace of Kumari devi, considered to be a living goddess. leaving Kathmandu we make our way towards Nargarkot a small village perched on a ridge overlooking the Kathmandu valley. Our Hotel room has the most spectacular views of the Himalayan mountain range and we set our alarm clocks for 6.30am next morning. Straight out of bed and onto the balcony to watch the sun creep up over the eastern end of the himalayas and cast its yellow light as it rises onto mountain after mountain in front of us. We see Mount Everest for the first time, towering in the distance between the other mountains. Slowly the whole panorama of the Himalayas unfolds before us as the sun rises. Down below the Kathmandu valley is shrouded in the early morning mist. The rest of the day is spent on a 6 hour trek along pathways and hillsides as we pass village after village to finally catch the local bus to our next destination. On route we meet numerous children on their way to school along the same hillside paths, they say hello and ask our names ( in perfect english ) and the biggest surprise of all they also ask for our autographs. !!! Whenever we take digital photos the children gather round to see the instant result of themselves on screen. We are lucky with the local bus service and the first bus to arrive has room for us to squeeze into the back seats alongside about 15 sacks of potatoes on route to the local market. The bus lurches from side to side and up and down as it tries to negotiate the humps and bumps of the unmade dirt track road. Wednesday 30th November.Bhaktapur our next stop is a medeival town full of narrow streets and squares with pagoda style temples. Cold at night, misty in the morning and warm sunshine in the afternoon. After 2 days visiting various temples and local sights and craft shops ( ideal for Christmas shopping !!!! ) we pack bags and head south by local bus for our second visit to the Chitwan national park and the village of Sauraha. We stay at the Royal Park Hotel which is situated in tree clad grounds with chalet style acccommodation amongst. We are surrounded by by Banana and Papaya trees and other sub tropical flowers and fauna. The jungle and wildlife is just 15 minutes away across the river. We have called our second visit the Elephant experience. We take bikes and cycle to the Elephant breeding grounds where we see an exhibition explaining everything about the Nepal Elephant, it's history, it's breeding conditions and lots we didn't know about Elephants, the highlight is seeing baby Elephants from 1 to 5 years old roaming free and wandering up to us with trunk extended inquisitivly investigating to see if we have anything to offer, which we don't, as visitors are not allowed to feed the animals. they are fascinating to watch as they slowly and gracefully play in front of us, then without notice start to run !! - a sure sign for us to move out of the way as 100 kilos heads straight towards us !!! Next day its Elephant washing time as we walk to the river and help the Elephant shepherd clean a 35 year old as it obeys his voice commands and rolls over in the shallow river water. We take a large stone from the shore and rub the thick dark grey, leather skin, of the huge Elephants back, then nearly get soaked as it cannons a fountain of water from its trunk in playful mood. We all enjoy Elephant and man at play. Joyce and Maki arrive a few minutes later and are completely doused in water as they try to climb the Elephants back receiving the maximum force of water from its trunk !! Final day at Chitwan was another Elephant highlight, a 4 hour safari style ride deep into the jungle sitting on a chair high up on the Elephants back. We look from side to side for wildlife over the 2 metre high Elephant grass and the bush beyond. What a fantastic experience as our Elephant bull dozes its way with apparent ease through the undergrowth, suddenly we stop in total silence as we come upon a wild Rhino taking a mud bath in a small watering hole. I nearly drop the camera as I rush to take photos before the Rhino hears us and decides to disappear into the bush.Sunday 4th December.We take the bus to Bandipur a small village high up in the hills along a mountain trek. On route we meet a couple of local women who with help in translating from Ashok our guide try to swop husbands with mike. A close shave as he nearly becomes a nepalise hill farmer for the rest of his life. !Our accommodation is a restored village house where the food and location ( views of the annapurna mountain range ) are superb. It is apparent that Ashok has spent most of his training as a guide in the countryside around the Himalayas as he takes us on a days walking in the local hills, we puff and pant our way up and down countless hills and valleys while the walk for him is like a stroll in the park ! We arrive back exhausted, hungry, and ready for dinner, he could have done it all again without breaking sweat.Tuesday 6th December We arrive in Pokhara a small town situated around a lake with views of the Aannapura mountains towering overhead. A few days to visit a temple on a hillside on the other sidfe of the lake and a bike ride to some local caves to do some potholing. Friday 9th December Final days journey back to Kathmandu and make our preparations for our departure to Singapore.How much are Bananas in Europe ? We pay 1p per Banana in Nepal. Just bought 10 for the equivalent of 10p sterling from a street vendor. Last, but not least we must mention the Nepales spit, starting with a loud throty noise they then bring up whatever and spit it out wherever they are. We are practising this local art and hope to have perfected the style before we we return to UK.
