Near Godavari

Yesterday's adventures took us out of the city - all six of us went out on motorcycles for the day! Here's a picture of me hiding in the trees on our hike. Not showing are Rajiv (OMG crazy driver!), Emily, Allan and Manju. Motorcycles are the main way to travel here, cheaper on petrol, easy to get around the cars and buses, and you can conveniently fit up to 3 or 4 adults and two children on one, plus groceries. The most I've seen yet is 5 people, and I haven't seen anyone try to fit a goat on one....however, I'm still only a month into my trip! I did see two goats tied to the top of a bus on Friday on my way home from Bhaktapur to Kathmandu....which kept me laughing all the way home! They looked particularly terrified, perched atop the bus, legs just sprawled apart, holding on for dear life as the bus careened toward the city, screeching to a halt every 40 feet to jam in more passengers. I really wish I'd been there to see just how they struggled to get them there in the first place! But I digress.

So yesterday, we went deep into the Kathmandu Valley, along twisty, curvy roads, up, up into the hills to a gorgeous park, the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was a gorgeous sunny and crisp winter day here, until the moment you entered the park, where it was like entering a tropical rainforest. Huge tropical plants, ferns, babbling streams, and amazingly little garbage (this was unusual as there is garbage EVERYWHERE in Nepal, you just burn it, or let the cows, goats and dogs eat it). Back to the park...you could walk for ages here and not run into a soul. Yet despite the remote location, there was still someone around who found us and was ready to serve chiya (masala tea) for 25 rupees (40 cents). This liquid is heaven in a glass, I have to say, hot, sweet, and spicy milk tea, and just exactly when we needed it. Post-tea, we wove back down the narrow passages toward the city, and the temperature plummeted to a just about freezing with no sun. To warm ourselves up, we piled into a restaurant in Thamel, and by candlelight (no power) stuffed ourselves with tasty delights like butter naan, hot soup, chicken masala curry, and rice. Then it was back home for the rest of the evening, ready to recharge for the next day's adventures. Ah, I love Nepal.