Beyond limits

Traveling is not always joyful; sometimes it really pushes your limits. The way to Kathmandu (Nepal) was definitely the worst experience we had over the past 3 months.
We started off by train from Kolkata after a whole day of sightseeing in extreme heat and dust. We were already dirty and smelly when we got on the train at 8:30pm. We traveled all night until we reached Patna at 7 in the morning. From there we took a bus somewhere close to the Nepali border. The closer we got to Nepal the worse the roads were getting. Lonely Planet did say that there were dirt roads, but I did not think they would be quite that bad.



After that bus we took a local bus for about an hour. For that whole hour everyone on the bus was facing us and staring as if we were aliens. Some of the local people even dared to touch us.
We crossed the border on a cycle rickshaw then we got on another bus and another last one which took us all the way to Kathmandu in only 11 hours, but by the time we got on this bus, it was already 6pm. We were tired, hungry, smelly and extremely dirty. We could feel the dust grains crush between our teeth, our lungs were getting muddy. I wasn't able to brush my teeth since the day before. I was irritated and I was fed up with the overcrowded bus. The first 2 hours of the bus ride I spent with my legs hanging out the window from knees down. Sleeping on the bus was impossible of course. Top the Mysure experience with serpentine next to huge frightening gorges and imagine it for 11 hours.



Just when I thought this could not possibly get worse, the passenger in front of me, pulled the window open next to his seat, pulled his trousers off, stuck his bum out the window and shat out of the bus on the go.
I was so confused with emotions, I did not know whether to cry or throw up. In the end I just laughed in desperation. "This can NOT be!!!" Thank God, I no longer had my legs dangling from the window...

The bus was moving but the dials of my watch did not seem to move accordingly. I thought we would never ever get to Kathmandu. It seemed never ending, but guess what!? We did get there at 5 am. The city was gray, dead and dusty. What would you expect a city to be like at 5 in the morning? All we cared about was to get horizontal on a still surface as soon as possible.
After a few hours of sleep, we left our hotel for a walk and stepped onto a wonderful, lively street full of little colorful shops, selling intricate Buddhist goods and trekking gear. Suddenly the torture we went through in the previous 33 hours seemed worth it.
:D

Parachute Man - Little Andaman

My travel companion, Zoli is an extremely friendly guy. He made friends with the hotel manager straight away on Little Andaman. Zoli is also a multitalanted guy, so the hotel manager was delighted to find out that Zoli had some engineering background.
"There is a scientist on the island! He could do with your help, I'm sure. Can I tell him, you are here?"
"Yes, of course!" - answered Zoli.

A few hours later the scientist was knocking on our door, holding a piece of paper and a pen. Rather shy, he started to explain that, since the age of 15 (now 45), his dream has been to fly like a bird! "I will success!" - he kept saying, with his broken English, "but why does my parachute spin?"

"Oh, dear!" - Zoli held his head, not even knowing where to begin tackling the problem.
Parachute Man had a 35 m2 rectangular piece of windproof material with strings tied to each corner. The strings he tied to his shoulders and wanted to catch wind while running.
"I can't run! Why??"
"Your parachute is too large!"
"I even tried using a propeller secured onto my back and riding a motorbike to help me take off, but my parachute just keeps spinning! WHY?"
"The strings must be of exact same length and there must be more than just four of them and the parachute has to have a different cut..."

Little Andaman's scientist was all ears, he was very excited to have found someone who knew so much about flying. He learned about different currents and about air pressure at different heights. He learned about the difference between parachutes / para glides and the way their size should be worked out for each individual. Zoli made someone extremely happy and lead him closer to success. There was so much energy and determination in our scientist, we grew fond of him in no time at all. He didn't know the impossible!

Next day we were invited for breakfast at Parachute Man's house. There further enlightenment had taken place, but most importantly Zoli made a strap, which would be much more comfortable to fly with. Due to the lack of materials to choose from, Zoli decided to make the strap out of kitchen towels. Luckily there was a sewing machine in the house, so the mission was completed pretty fast.

Parachute Man sat in his new strap, his face was glowing with joy, when he was pretending to fly while secured to the bars outside his window.



The next and very important lesson to learn was how to land. Zoli showed him what the right way of reaching the ground was and as a good student Parachute Man was practicing, practicing, practicing, not even taking notice of the neighbors gathering in front of his house. In his garden, from a pile of bricks he kept jumping obsessively because Zoli (the clever white man) told him how very important this was.

This was an extremely special experience for all of us. We've all learned something from each other to take away with us. We are all driven by our dreams and by accomplishing them, we move forward. That's the only way of moving forward, so accomplish your dreams, they are possible! Fight for your dreams, your day will come too. "I will success!"

He will success! Zoli will send him a second hand para glide. :)

Andaman Island

We spent 3 weeks on Andaman and Nicobar Islands = PARADISE!
First, we visited Havelock Island and stayed there for over a week. Hired a small motorbike and rode around the small island visiting the gorgeous beaches. Imagine narrow shady roads winding through the jungle… trees so tall that your eyes get tired by the time they reach the top… green everywhere you look and the sound of birds and insects until you reach the beach: turquoise blue ocean licking the glowing white sand. Crabs running around… sweltering heat and the warm ocean, so clean that you can see 3 meters deep easily. Just float in the salty water, be carried away by the waves. You know what I mean when I say paradise?
We went snorkeling (Elephant beach)and seen a whole new world. I was awestruck. I wanted to touch everything. With the corals I had no problem, because they stayed there for me to touch, but the fish!!!! Oh, they are really good swimmers you know. LOL! I didn't get to touch any. :( I could have held a jelly fish, but that one I decided to give a miss to.



Also went to Neil Island where we stayed 3 or 4 nights. This Island was only 7 km long, so we bicycled it around. There I really wanted to have a look at the famous sea cow who comes to a certain spot near the beach every day between 7 and 9, but it stood me up. Pity! Apparently there are only 5 sea cows left.

Our last place to visit was Little Andaman. This Island was opened to tourists only 2 years ago. The most wonderful thing about it is the people. OK, the Island itself is gorgeous as well, but the people are absolutely amazing. They are pure in their hearts. They love tourists for what they are. We were invited into their houses and was given food and delicious chai. Unlike in India, these people don't look at tourist as if they were walking wallets. There were tears in their eyes when we left the Island.
Last night we came back to Port Blair (the capital, where we take our flight to Kolkata) dolphins were swimming in front of our boat for a few minutes. Klara was very happy to see those creatures.

Our next destination is Nepal maybe with a stop in Varanasi.