Nepal
From 10 buildings burning bodies to playing a real-life computer game
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Johan Kruseman
Updated on 30 July 2024
Updated on 30 July 2024
Wow, my first week in Nepal has been a blast! I couldn‘t have asked for a better start to this vacation. So, first things first, let me tell you about my little adventure at London Heathrow. I had to convince them that my tube of toothpaste, deodorant, contact lens solution, and sunscreen weren‘t terrorist weapons. Apparently, these extremely dangerous items had to go in the checked luggage. Then, I hopped on a budget airline with three stopovers (seeing the world, you know) to get to Muscat. That‘s where I met a girl from Groningen, and together, we continued our journey to Nepal. She was getting picked up by a guy named Jos who‘s been living in Nepal for 50 years, so that made things easy for me. Unfortunately, our driver had only had his driver‘s license for two weeks and wasn‘t quite sure what a red round sign with a white horizontal bar meant. We merrily cruised through the tiniest one-way streets. Everyone was flashing their lights at us (what a warm welcome), and our driver had his high beams on the whole time.
The next day, I met Bernd (also from Groningen), and he showed me around the whole city (he‘s been in Nepal for three months already). Having a Dutch guide is pretty handy and super fun. We went to a temple complex where they cremate the deceased. There are 10 platforms along the river, each with someone wrapped in an orange cloth. They set them on fire right in front of everyone, and there‘s a burning pyre for about 4 hours. After that, they sweep the ashes into the sacred river, where kids swim. It‘s a really unique way of doing a funeral, especially with everyday life going on around it.
The next two days, Bernd and I rented mountain bikes and pedaled our way up to a viewpoint (a seriously tough climb) to catch a glimpse of Mount Everest. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so we didn‘t see a thing. 😞 The following day, we went downhill, and when we returned to Kathmandu, we zoomed through the insanely busy Nepalese traffic at breakneck speeds. Seriously, video games are a piece of cake compared to this, and there‘s no “game over“ here. With images of those cremation pyres in my mind, we weaved through buses, trucks, cyclists, dogs, pedestrians, and motorcycles. Bicycles are definitely the fastest way to get around because you can squeeze through all the other modes of transport
Today‘s my chill day. I had a good laugh haggling. I needed an alarm clock, and I finally found one for 250 rupees. Not a bad price, so I said I‘d take it for 200. He thought for a bit and said, “Okay, 150.”
Tomorrow, I think I‘m going to trek through the Himalayas for about two weeks. It‘s like a hut-to-hut kind of thing. So, I won‘t have internet for the next couple of weeks, giving you plenty of time to read this message.
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Traveled route: Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Pokhara, Annapurna circuit, Udipur Valley, Manang, Thorong La Pass, Jomsom
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Well, folks, my last day in Nepal has arrived, and I‘ve experienced way too many bizarre things once again. There were so many of them that I had to make a choice between organizing them chronologically or alphabetically, but in the end, I opted fo
Nepal
Did this story inspire you to go to Nepal? Read more on what Nepal has to offer, what the best months are for visiting and check the handy links for backpacking there.
