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March 25, 2006

Next Phase

I take back everything I said about the road to Beni being the worst. Or maybe I just need to start different categories...say, "Rough Roads" and "Windy Roads". Yesterday we took a minivan for 12 hours from Pokhara to Nepalgung in West Nepal and I managed to have a couple fairly large vomiting sessions on the side of the highway despite my best efforts to take enough Gravol to ward off the effects of turning viciously sharp corners for hours on end. We also had to take quite a detour that involved driving along a dry riverbed and actually crossing a river at one point to avoid a Maoist road blockade. But hey, we're here and safe in Nepalgung where we hope to spend several days helping in an orphanage. It does seem that things are getting more intense between the Maoists and government troops over the last few days so it is good to be where we are - the Indian border is only 7km away so we can get away in a hurry if need be. All the same, we would appreciate your prayers for safety.

When we're done here we'll head down to India and Agra (Taj Mahal), Delhi, and Goa (beaches)...possibly with a stop in Mumbai to be extras in a Bollywood film.

oh yeah...

something weird here worth mentioning. If you kill a cow on the highway, you get a 5 year jail sentence. If you kill a man or woman you have to pay the family a settlement amount (more for the man...somewhere in the neighbourhood of $300C). If you happen to injure or maim someone you have to pay their medical bills and care for them for life. As such...it is better to hit a person than a cow and buses will actually back over someone if they happen to hit them in order to make sure they're dead as that's the cheapest way...yikes.

Posted by David at March 25, 2006 5:36 PM

Comments

I hope you aren't planning on walking along the side of the roads anywhere. Becoming a speed bump would not be cool! How many kids are in the orphanage you are at?
Your trek sounded like an incredible journey. Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Shannon

Posted by: Shannon [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 26, 2006 12:40 AM