Avoid NHYOKHA street...

The Durbar square was busy, but nice, it charged a friendly 300rs for tourists. I showed my youth travel card determined not to miss a discount and was asked by the ticketeer, "You work for UNESCO?"

If I lie will I get in for free?


I said, "no" and paid up. Honesty is one of my big downfalls, I could have lied easy as pie, but then one of the most irritating of the little voices in my head would have ferociously piped up and spun me some line about dishonesty and karma, that voice has probably cost me many things.

The Durbar square is full of ornate stupas and buildings.

Spectacular!

We also saw lots of pigeons, a cow, some sparrows, some chickens, a crow and more Kites (may have confused others in the square by looking up to the sky for a long time). I am looking forwards to seeing a lot more animals and plants as we go...might look for an identification book...I would either like to be or be with Steve Backshall.

 Walking back from the square I remember my brain has one area of use, I am like a human sat. nav. I recently discovered this skill and am starting to hone it (not a bad super power really), the streets of Kathmandu will be no match for me!  So out of concern I make Alicia lead, I am worried about her lack of internal mapping in the event of separation...she chose the wrong way...we will work on this.

The journey lead us down, Nhyokha street (I think) and as we were passing a shop a waterbomb hit me, on our way back one hit us both, a nepali girl smiled in a way as if to say 'sorry', but also 'hahahahaha losers'. AVOID NHYOKHA. Most likely they are opportunists preparing for Holi. Other annoyances we have discovered are: everyone charges more to tourists, young men pretend they are going to drive into you on their bikes then swerve away shouting and laughing, there is a man on the corner who has offered me the same peacock featherd fan every time I walk past even though every time I clearly say "NO". It's a lovely fan but peacock feathers are considered unlucky in England and I choose not to mess with powers beyond my control.

Walking through Thamel, Alicia stopped to look at a restaurant. Oblivious and about ten yard ahead a shop man stopped me, even though I had just walked past saying 'No' because I thought he was trying to make a sale, he said, "Don't lose friend", pointing back at Alicia. What a lovely man. Next time we walked past he shouted, "Hold on to her!" and then later he said, "Don't lose friend!" laughing. I am happy to see even on different continents people have taken note that we are a bit of a joke.

We had our dinner at Yak restaurant, it was ok, not as nice as the food from Annapurna guesthouse. We paid about 490rs for the two of us. The prices here make me want to gorge on food.

The Feast

Pulpy

This morning we attempted to find the bus station to get tickets to Dumre, after checking the tourist greenline bus price of 18USD (a complete rip) we began trundling towards the main bus park...we couldn't remember the way without checking the map and didn't want to wack it out and attract unwanted attention so went back to hotel and thought we may as well, for convenience, get it there. It cost 10USD each which is definitely pricey for Nepal but still cheaper than a return to Lincoln from Sleaford and a hell of a lot easier than battling to the bus station. We leave at 6.30am tomorrow, five hours, and then we hopefully land in Dumre to set forth on a three hour hike to Bandipur. I am immensely looking forwards to getting out of the city, I'm hoping Elvis isn't too heavy and that we don't vomit on the bus.
Much love xxxxx

"Eeerm, where's Elvis?"

Finally my backpack has a name: Elvis.
Together we are Giselvis.

We board our plane from Heathrow terminal 4, without a hitch. Both Elvis and the other backpack wieghed in exactly the same so we can not argue over weight. I will now gladly recommend Jet Airways because they were brilliant and even had two handsome air hosts. Bonus eye-candy is never lost on me. On the plane we were given hot face clothes, I was entertained to see a woman in next isle unashamedly cleaning her armpits with it, I check no one is watching and give mine a secret little wipe.  We meet her again later. It is time to sit back and relax. Prior to your flight one thing they refrain from making clear is that you should sleep loads before you fly so that you can stay awake and watch all the films (its also pretty difficult to get a decent stretch of sleep in through the night), we watched the Kings Speech, wonderful!

After a brief stop in Delhi, where I managed to spend 700rs (approx £9) on a bottle of water and a Limca , we hopped onto our flight to Kathmandu. We were tired, Alicia was irritated by my incompetence, but we still managed to have a beer and admire the mountains closing in.

First sight of Nepal

The dread happened when at Kathmandu luggage collection Elvis did not appear!!!! My mind kept reminding me of a story I'd heard about a girl who lost hers and apparently had the 'best time she'd ever had' without it. It did not console me. I frantically wondered around the small luggage belt, praying, as you do in such situations regardless of religious inclination. Thankfully, without having to ask for help (we dont want help as it most likely comes with a price) we found Elvis, he was a lying a little ruffled under a pile of luggage that someone had obviously not wanted on the conveyerbelt. Elvis I love you.

Our taxi provided by Annapurna guesthouse (in Thamel), which is where we are staying, was prompt and when we got in, who should be sat next to us but armpit cleaning lady! It turns out she is a Professor Shirly Hodgson, doing some medical lectures out here. I assume they are focussed on hygiene, hence the body cleaning demonstration. An interesting and nice lady.

Arriving in Thamel, Kathmandu after only a few hours sleep is probably one of the worst ways to introduce yourself to Asia. As expected it is unlike anywhere I have ever been. Describing it for those who have not stepped into the insanity of an Asian City, is to imagine the hustle bustle of a festival environment then cram it into spaces that feel a bit like the underground at rush hour with no roof, fill it with people and signs not in your mother tongue and then throw in loads of cars and motorbikes, some men on rickshaws (bicycle drawn chariots), a few dogs, a few chickens, cows, a dead rat, horrendous overhead wiring then cover it with dust and anything else you can find and fancy throwing in to the mix.

Traffic rules in abundance.

Wonderful wiring.

Between Thamel and the Durbar square.

 Today it seems exciting. Last night I got into the guesthouse room (which isn't too bad at all)  and felt more than a little bit confused by life. I reminded myself of a guy we met on the plane who looked terrified and was going to Delhi on his own with no plan, the thought of how he might be feeling made me feel better. Sorry to the dude for letting your misery bring me a little bit of happiness. At this point I believe Alicia was thinking something along the lines of, 'Why do I ever listen to or participate in Giselle's stupid ideas!' Thankfully we decided  to go up to the roof terrace, here, relief from that Oh Shit feeling came, we stood and saw the sun peering over the mountains and the most beautiful Kite (bird of prey) gliding above us...my secret love as many people know is bird watching, I should maybe have considered ornothology as a career. Feeling Alicia's excitement rekindle a little and, breathing a sigh of relief, we watched the sun silhouette the mountains, setting over the  rooftops of Kathmandu.

The first of many sunsets

I am totally glad I'm here.

Back in the guesthouse we met a curious Dutch man, who apparently is stuck here because he hurt his ankle trekking up some old route he used 20yrs ago. He is very angry about the road they are currently building and many other things. He told us it is heaven here compared to India and that India was heaven compared to Pakistan. Interesting, almost advice. He is one of many people so far who have asked us if we are going trekking and said that we can trust no one because everything is for money. We have also been asked why we are not going to Shri Lanka or Australia. If I had more than an Indian Budget, I'd be going everywhere. 

For our first day we are heading to the Kathmandu's Durbar Square, aiming to walk so lets hope we don't get lost!

Thankyous again,
Kev  - Thankyou sooooo much for sponsoring me you are amazing!
Dude going straight to Delhi on his own...I hope you are now having an wonderful time!

"No dad, thats the railway museum!!" and, friends are awesome.

Alicia and Me

 Success, we are out the door and on the road, the world is our oyster, start as you mean to go on...

Our trip began with a pleasant good bye and chocolate cakes from mummy Silvester, YUM. Our little brother has requested that we email every day, this may or may not happen.

In the car, half way to the train station we realise we are possibly, no definitely running late. At a roundabout entering Peterborough, our dad spots a sign with a picture of a train on and enquires,

"Is that the train station?"
Our response is in the title.

We arrive at the train station at approx 13.57.45 our train leaves at 13.58.00, all I can say at this point is thank god for late trains.

Somewhere in the commotion Lis asks, "Where's my phone?"
 Oh dear, I am a failure.
I respond, whilst laughing, "I left it in the car."
"Yeah right" Alicia says disbelievingly.
Still in fits of unapologetic giggles "No, really." Oops. 


I think Alicia now secretly has it in for me because I have rendered her phoneless. Laughter is the best way I have found to cope with the misfortune I impale myself with at every opportunity and will, I hope, be a saving grace for every mistake I make on the trip...

Arriving in London, I drops many tickets all over platform. Alicia looks at me with disappointment as a woman stops me to hand them back. Many thanks and obviously, laughter ensued. The reason for this mishap was due to the fact I was trying to express my love for Steve Backshall, the children's wildlife show presenter, to Alicia and not concentrating on the flailing of my arms or anything else. We are about two hours into the next two months together and I'm pretty sure she already wants to kill me.

After a short trip on the tube, we alight in Loughton where we are excited to see the last guaranteed friendly faces of journey. It only takes a few minutes before I blunder once again. In Sainsburies buying some dinner, I manage to block my credit card, today is a particularly good day.

Despite my idiocy we had the best time because good friends are amazing. Anna cooked us up a dream veggie spaghetti  bolognese and with a swift trip to the bank I sorted out my credit card.
The best bit of this leg of the journey was a surprise visit from my handsome friend Jim...he got me flowers. I cannot think of a better beginning for this adventurous mission. XXX

Smile

Today requires a few thankyous:
Mum for the scrummy cakes.
Dad for the lift to the train station.
Britsh rail for being in sync with my families appalling time keeping.
Nice lady for picking up my train tickets.
Anna, Roisin and Chris for hosting us for the night.
Jim, because you are a sweetheart.

We Have Lift Off

In 15 minutes the years adventures will be kicking off!!! We (my sister and I) are currently, trying to simultaneously enter the first blog, grab lunch, scan passports into multiple computer folders and upload music onto our mp3 player, decide what book to read and REMEMBER EVERYTHING....a few hours ago I was pretty casual.

The plan is to use this blog as a little record of the completion of my new years resolution (to have more adventures) and also for my mum to keep her updated on my wellbeing. So far the the adventures I have lined up are:
- to travel with my sister adventurous-times.blogspot.com from Kathmandu, Nepal to Goa, India.
- to Skydive for charity http://www.justgiving.com/giselle-Silvester any sponsorship would be much appreciated!
- to have a brilliant Summer of festivals.

This is it for the confirmed plans, though many more are sprouting through the mud!
I was going to put a picture of us about to set off but time is of the essence and I have to go....

Massive love
Giselle

p.s. When I grow up, I want to retire to a little spice shop with a room upstairs for me to paint in.

REFRESHED

fresh and more consistent blog starting soon :)