Kathmandu - the last days

And so I've ended up thinking that Kathmandu is a nice place after all :) I've located Matilde and had some fun with her, though we're staying in different places, but tonight we're gonna go out together and dine with Kamal. He wants to show us this nice restaurant and I'm sure we're going to have fun! I also found Krishna and at last - always nice to see him again :)
I've been strolling around in Thamel thinking about hot chocolate, books and christmas gifts. I found a good bookstore and bought (another) Murakami book - he is a genius writer! I've also located the only place in Nepal where you can get something that looks like a burgerking burger, a sad need I've had since the daal bhaat in Kantipur ;)
I'm going out to find Manoj today and say hello and goodbye to him and maybe take a walk to one of the temples in the city before I leave monday. The ticket home is (almost) confirmed, but the truth is that I never really want to leave (though I miss my family) and I believe that I now am what you call addicted to travel - and loving it ! All in all not bad at all :)

On my last day I managed to go with Kamal to the Shiva Temple which is the place where the Hindus burn their dead relatives. It is something special to see dead people being carried to the water, washed, blessed and then set on fire! I haven't really seen any dead people in Denmark (they are mostly enclosed in a coffin) and it is kind of strange to be confronted with dead in this most physical way. We also found a holy stone which protects against skin deceases (so now I can go into the sun without any block on ;) ) and some funny deers and a badminton court in the middle of the temple!! Nice :D I love driving around Kathmandu on a motorcycle (a dangerous adventure) and seeing the city, all the women wearing saris, kutas and western clothes - a nice mix! The small shops along the road and the many insane drivers.
I found a new friend Kishan, who took me to the palacegarden and made me laugh my head off - he's even more crazy than me, believe it or not! He took me to a nice reggae club in the evening though they played more rock than reggae... but nice people and nice environment :) A nice surprise exposed itself in the afternoon; Bijay came from Pokhara to say goodbye :D Really nice, so we spend the evening together with Kishan and other weird people - it is so much fun to meet new friends !
Now Delhi, London and Billund are waiting for me, I'm taking the flight in three hours and hope to be home soon; my headphones are gone, so it's kind of boring with so much time on your hands, though I've got a good book...
Goodbye to Kathmandu, Nepal and the best experience in my life - so far :)

Kayaking

Back in the capital and . . . NOT enjoying it! The city is just not for me - I miss Pokhara and true nature in remote areas, too many cars and people and trouble - I'm beginning to look forward to getting home :)

The kayak trip down the Seti has been a great experience! In the end I got really good at forcing my way through the rapids though I had to swim a little to get to it - it's much easier to make the eskimo roll in calm water than on the river with a stone in your shoulder! But I made it though without any real damage done (if we forget that I burned my hand in the campfire and now have huge blisters on my fingers) and can now call myself experienced in the real kayaking adventure! The trip has been a real beauty through wild rapids and enormous valleys made by the ever falling rain during the monsoon time. I have fallen down through rocks and butterflywaves made by the river and collected driftwood in a big sandalgraveyard by the shore, been drinking roksi (still don't like it) with the local people and made myself friends with the guides in the rafting company. It's been wonderful and I see it as the perfect way of saying goodbye to Nepal - the wild way :)

Eskimo Roll

First day of the kayak school and we took it slow on the Phewa Lake, no currents, rapids or dangerous sharks ;) I'm on the trip with three Swedish guys, who all seem very nice though they've, surprisingly, never been in a kayak before! The kayaks for the wild rivers are much different from the Danish ones I'm used to - much smaller and easily affected though also very easy to navigate - perfect for the adventure I'm going on! We started learning a little about how to row and steer and then spend the day in the lake trying to the eskimo roll! A very wet, cold and fun day!! In the end I learned how to make the eskimo roll, eventhough I'm cheating a little and holding the paddle easier - but I'll learn. I'm really proud of myself, because I never thought I would succeed, but I did - because of my iron will (thanks Emil). Tomorrow we hit the Seti River and will spend some days there forcing our way through the rapids.

The two extra days I got gave me the time to go the Peace Pagoda again and take a little boat out onto the lake having a little lunch and swim with myself - the water is surprisingly hot here - IN DECEMBER! I hope everbody in icy Denmark is jealous of my swim in the lovely lake and sunshine :) I had a sleep over day and now feel ready to take on the next adventure before heading for Kathmandu and Europe.

WTF?

When I went to start the kayak tour today it turned out that my instructor is sick, so the whole thing is postpones two days! Interesting... Now I have time to relax even more! Wow I'm gonna have fun :)

The Day Night Cafe

Since Matilde left for her meditation I have been wandering around Pokhara doing sight seeing and buying myself hot chocolate and goood food :) Bijay from the Day Night Cafe has taken me to see different things, so now I've been to the local market, into the Bat Cave (which was much smaller than I thought), the Mahendra Cave where I got a tika and a blessing from and old hindu and to Devi's Fall, a huge waterfall (though only during the monsoon) which we saw from inside a dangerous and exciting cave made by the water. I've enjoyed myself looking over the Phewa Tal and I have made myself known and friends with all the people who work in the Day Night Cafe, my favorite place here - I eat there at least once every day :) Tonight they're having a jazz-jam party, so I'm going to embarrass myself by singing something I don't really know - I'm looking very much forward to it :)
I've been enjoying myself, relaxing, talking to weird, interesting and funny people all day long and experienced what it is like to be locked out of the lodge because I came home too late - don't worry I didn't sleep on the street! I've been having fun and laughing my head off with all these nice people :)

NO!!!

The worst thing ever has happened! (Okay not the worst, but still...) ALL my videos from the two months in Kantipur is gone!! I had a man make a back-up on a dvd for me, and then yesterday I deleted everything, thinking I had it on the dvd... but the stupid man made a mistake!!! There's only the pictures - no videos! I cried myself to sleep last night, those videos were the best ever made and their like does not exist :(

BUT! Today I had a great day, so I don't mind :) Matilde left at 5.30 in the morning and I have spent the day with Bijay my new friend and musician from a nice little cafe here... We went to the local market to see real Nepalese people and then went walking in the streets. I've booked a kayak school from saturday (four days on a wild river) and bought myself a nice cup of hot chocolate - a very nice day indeed :)
AND it is also the first of december today - christmas is coming! Even though you can't tell in this part of the world ...