Fuels rush in

Back to the old school (walking and biking)
Kathmandu

Thank all the 300,000 gods and demons of the Kathmandu Valley that the human "rights" activitists haven't been able to eliminate the pedal rickshaws here, yet. Pretty soon they're going to be the only way to get to the airport and get out of this country. (Seriously - during strikes people are known to take cycle rickshaws all the way to the airport.)

Why not go by land, you ask? Read the news items. The Tarai is constantly under strikes, road blockages and so on. The petrol tankers can't get through; the few that do manage to make it through must be escorted by Nepal Army personnel, and there just aren't enough of them. (You should see the rifles they hold - like something from a US Civil War museum.)

Taking a commuter bus through the Tarai across the border would probably be okay, really. Probably. If I weren't on the verge of vomiting all the time, I would consider it.

When (or if) I finally get well - the migraines are dwindling, but the hacking respiratory infection is still there and I feel like there's a ton of handmade Bhaktapur bricks on my chest - I will rent a bicycle. Getting around the city otherwise has just become unfeasible.


Nepal capital set to run out of fuel
AFP via Yahoo! News Fri, 15 Feb 2008 0:46 AM PST
Nepal's capital is set to run out of fuel this weekend as ethnic unrest in the south has stopped supply from neighbouring India to the landlocked country, oil officials said Friday.

Nepal strike hits petrol supplies
BBC News Fri, 15 Feb 2008 4:45 AM PST
Nepal is hit by a huge fuel shortage, largely caused by protesters blockading key roads in the south.

Dealing With Delhi

A Capitol Idea
New Delhi

I finally pulled myself away from Bodh Gaya. I checked out of the International Meditation Centre and my clean, quiet, cheap room where everything worked (24 hour hot water - 125Rs donation per day). Sadly, I turned in my trusty blue Avon bicycle, delivered a few books for resell to Kundan Bazar, and took a night taxi to the Gaya train station (the train for Delhi was at 11.30pm, and autorickshaws aren't safe on that route at night). It was really nice staying in a community in which so much of the activity is oriented around meditation, monasticism and spirituality. Not to mention, a sort of living zoo. Each morning as I pedaled down the dirt road toward the main road, I was confronted by snuffling black hogs, scratching chickens, moseying cows, waddling ducks, strutting long-legged water birds in the mosquito swamp next door, and tail-wagging street dogs.

Sigh, back into the noise, sophistication and rush of big city life.

I'm en route to McLeod Ganj and the Dalai Lama's annual teachings. The tiny hill station of McLeod will be positively swamped because of this. I still haven't managed to book a room via phone. Hopefully things will improve when I "land" from the overnight stomach-churning bus. Everyone I have gotten to know over the past 2 months in Bodh Gaya and Sarnath will also be there. By now I feel like they are some kind of family, which I suppose is true. Anna, the wonderful Croatian journalist who sat next to me the first time I shook the Dalai Lama's hand. Lilian and Simon, two dedicated volunteers who are travelling and teaching about global warming in Indian schools. Schahel (spelling?), the Israeli Buddhist with whom I shared the taxi from the Varanasi airport, the very first day. And Ina, the Russian Buddhist who was my next-door-neighbor in Kathmandu in 2005!

It's still quite decent in mornings and evenings here, weather-wise, but the mid-day is already getting too hot for me. The semi-annual (twice yearly) planetary conjunction of Mercury Retrograde is underway, with all its attendant confusion, miscommunications, goof-ups and misconnections. Laugh if you will, but I just about went under during the last two. It will all be over on 7 March, but that's two more weeks of confusion away.

I don't see why people grouse so much about Delhi, but then, I have never had to live, commute and work here. As a stopover it is really quite civilized.

No need to mess with the many touts and hawkers at the railway station. I just head directly for the Pre-Paid Autorickshaw stand, where a trusty uncle behind the desk asks my destination and determines the "karrekta" fare. I pay him, and he writes my destination and name on a slip. At the end of the drive, I hand the slip to the driver. No muss, no fuss, and no argument over price. If I stay in Tibet Colony (Majnu ka tilla), the ride is about 60Rs from New Delhi and less from Old Delhi station. There, I can get a swell, clean room for about 300Rs (seven dollars) a night or less, depending on availability. However, it is far from any offices or errand-running places. So, I take a cycle rickshaw to the spanking new Delhi Metro - Vidhan Sabha station. That costs 10rs (about twenty cents).

The Metro is a great example of what modern India can do when it puts its considerable brains to work. It's spotless, safe, cool and well lit, and the trains run on time so as to put Switzerland to shame. A ride from Vidhan Sabha to Rajiv Chowk (a central stop) is 11Rs. Damn, the New York subway never looked so good! Amazing. You are not allowed to eat or drink on this metro - that helps, a lot. I pity the NYC cop who would try to part a Manhattanite from his morning bagel.

Rajiv Chowk is essentially the centre of Connaught Place (they still haven't successfully given this a patriotic renaming). I find "CP," essentially three concentric circles connected by covered arcade walkways, to be very easily traversed and the covered arcades make a welcome respite from sun or rain. And compared to other places, it's so clean!

I can't afford to buy a darn thing, but if I could, I would head directly to the State Emporia complex on Connaught Place. Here, all the best of Indian fabrics, clothing, handicrafts and such are laid out in orderly, browsable fashion. No digging through piles of fabric or dusty stacks of prints in a crowded, badly-lit shop. Glorious silk sarees of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, each with their distinctive weave patterns, shimmer in the shop windows.

And, my favourite orange ice-cicles are on sale on every corner. Five rupees each.

Travelers complain about central Delhi, I think, because they arrive here first and have yet to see the rest of India. So they think Delhi is nasty. They have no idea how bad it's going to get elsewhere!

Go Gaya

Travel tips for the "land of enlightenment"
Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India

A., an Indian viewer in Singapore, writes:

I would love to see the Bodh Gaya temple, marking the spot where the Buddha achieved enlightenment 2550 years ago. But it's in Bihar, the most lawless state of India. Is it safe, and is it worth risking Bihar for?

Yes, Bihar can be like the Wild Wild West without the cowboy hats. But you are among thousands of pilgrims and tourists each and every week, so you will not be alone. There are hassles, but most arrive and depart Bodh Gaya in complete safety.

The main pain-in-the-asana is the fact that the train does not go directly to Bodh Gaya itself - only to the sort-of nearby town of Gaya. Other than the train, there is virtually nothing in Gaya to keep you and everyone wants to get out ASAP. The local transport barons know this and capitalize on it.

In my case, literally about 200 western Buddhists, Tibetans and monks from all countries had been in UP for the Dalai Lama. En masse, we took a train from Varanasi to Gaya. The train was meant to depart VNS at 5.15 and arrive around 11am. Thanks to fog conditions, we ended up leaving VNS at 11.30 and arriving in afternoon!

Needless to say, after six hours we really got to know our fellow travellers on the platform.

At Gaya station, we descended on the auto-vultures who immediately tried to overwhelm us with exorbitant demands - taking advantage of the coming darkness. You should never travel from Gaya to Bodh Gaya after dark! even with other people).

Fortunately the Tibetan monks go all the time and knew the score. So I took a share auto with a bunch of monks who got the correct price. (They all speak Hindi and Tibetans do not bargain. Even the drivers are respectful to them.)

How much safer could a woman be?

We managed to get to Bodh Gaya by 4.30pm. Whew!

Once in Bodh Gaya you are home-free - it is quite the oasis, with lots of clean guest houses, good vegetarian restaurants and holy people from all traditions swanning round in their robes.

Sure, there is dust, some dirt and beggars. But it's a town quite well adjusted to travellers and foreigners. Women can move about freely there, but most stuff shuts at 9-10pm. My guesthouse gate shuts at 10pm. There is even an all-night cyber cafe with excellent speed - the Solar Cyber, next to the OM Restaurant on the main drag. Ask for Venu.

The BodhGaya temple is amazingly clean and peaceful, even while being continually used for worship. And - no entry fee for anyone! Open from 5am till 9pm every night.

The many international monasteries have cheap clean guesthouses - Burmese, Bhutanese, Thai, Bangladeshi, Japanese, Chinese and so on.

Enlightened eateries
Best eating bets: the aforementioned OM Restaurant is always uncomfortably crowded, but the food is unfailingly clean, excellent and cheap - and they are open late (10pm).

The (confusingly named) Tibet OM Restaurant, in the back of the Gelugpa "white monastery" near Kalachakra Maidan, has everything in terms of peace and quiet that the original OM does not. It's run by "Mama," the wonderful Tibetan woman and her son and daughter. Everything is made with lots of love, and you can chill out there in peace.

In early March, Mama packs up and heads north to see the Dalai Lama's teachings in Himachal. In fact, many of the Bodh Gaya activities and places are seasonal this way.

Kalyan Restaurant, entrance directly opposite the main temple and back down a lane, has excellent and clean food, including South Indian, and one of the only peaceful outdoor terraces in town.

Mohammad's on "Restaurant Row" near Kalakchakra Maidan has great food and is extremely popular, but I found it to suffer in atmosphere.

"Restaurant Row" is a bunch of half-tent, half-bricks and mud "buildings" that look temporary but in fact have been there for years. I think they were set up hastily for the 2003 Kalachakra and never dismantled. The Thai restaurant has been recommended.

Check out what I call the "Korean Embassy" in the group of shops just inside the temple gates. It's a mini Korean temple that offers traditional Korean yoga classes every morning at 8.30 for donation only! Leah, the Israeli girl who lives there, will serve you herbal tea.

Safety First
Bodh Gaya is a real haven and worth going through Bihar for; just take a few precautions.

--don't travel outside of Bodh Gaya, or between Bodh Gaya and Gaya, at night.

--Neighboring sites and villages such as Sujata, Dungeshawari Caves, Nalanda, Rajgir and NayaTaredhi are fine for day trips but get home before dark.

--I was advised by resident Tibetans not to even take the auto between Bodh Gaya and Gaya alone in the daytime - there are too many staged "accidents" and robberies.

--Take the plentiful and cheap cycle rickshaws round town. The autos (motorized, noisy rickshaws) tend to be more expensive and run by antisocial elements (advice from a local Indian).

--Shared autos (aka "Tempos") between Bodh Gaya and Gaya - safer because of the crowd - are 80Rs for the entire car, though the auto-sharks will always ask for much more. Pay no more than 20Rs per person.

--The best public toilet in town is the Reception Center just inside the temple gates. It's clean and always empty!

--Flat, highway-less Bodh Gaya is perfect for a bicycle. Rent one for 25Rs (about 50 cents) a day at Kundan Bazar, next door to the Hotel Embassy on the main drag. Kundan and his European wife Beatrix are a great source of local information and advice. The bike rental is just one of their many services, including new/used books (and book rental!), many foreign language books, a CD copying service, taxi booking, and cotton clothing. "The Kundans" also contribute to a number of local charities, such as a winter project to collect blankets for local street people - see more on their website here.

--After March, the weather becomes unbearably hot. Unless sweating is your sadhana, try to go in the winter time.

--Don't forget to check your shoes at the Shoe House by the gates - it's only 50paise (less than 2 cents). And, circle the Temple in the traditional clockwise direction - otherwise, you will be going against the current of dozens of pilgrims making the rounds!

--And last but not least, check the ground under the tree for fallen Bodhi leaves. They make a great free souvenir.

OmniBus

Thoughtful fan mail
Kathmandu, Nepal

A very thoughtful and newswatching Tom in Iowa writes:

Hi SirensongsIndia,

If you respond to this that means you were not on the bus that plunged over backwards down a 1000 ft ravine in Nepal.

Crowded bus plunges off Nepal road, killing 42: An overcrowded bus plunged off a mountain road in western Nepal on Saturday, leaving at least 42 people dead and 45 injured, police said. Police were investigating the cause, but an initial probe indicated the driver may have lost control of the vehicle because it was overloaded with passengers. (source: USA Today)

Overloaded or overcrowded? an Asian vehicle? Imagine that. Check this out (these photos are really nothing extreme) and welcome to my world!

--Nope, I wasn't on that or any other bus; I was safe several hundred miles away filling out papers in triplicate in an immigration office, on an otherwise bee yoo ti full fall day. Sorry for the brevity, just wanted everyone to know I am safe, if preoccupied. Thanks for your concern!

The snowcapped Himalayas are now visible even from the mundane valley streets. I yearn to be among them!

photo source: "Lords of the Logistic" from Aistigave, Belgium