Nepal: a relief from India

Pokhara. Aug 1 2009. Wow. August already. Seems like ages since I been traveling. I am quite exhausted. The greatest thing is being in Kathmandu and walking the streets and not having locals bug the shit out of me. Sound familiar? India. Yeah. Wooh. A real nice change. I lose track of time. I was in Varanasi where I saw lots of cows and stepped on lots of cow shit, India and then Kathmandu. India is a blur now...until I get back to Mumbai, but first Darjeeling... Nepalese are cleaner. The trash is still around but generally is cleaner. This will be short entry. Except for the rain this is the wrong time to be in Nepal. Was recently at the Chitwan National Park. Saw the black rhino and different deer. But no Bengal Tiger. At Chitwan Elephant breeing farm I got attacked by big black flies with blue backs. They followed me around from outside to inside the museum where I was trying to pull the sticky grass stuck to my pants. I think I had a breakdown in hysterics with this other American girl who was also trying to pick the damn grass off her pants, but... the flies left her alone. I must emit some insect-come-get-me pheromone. Mosquitoes bite me, flies follow me around while everyone else is left alone. Patted baby elephants at the Chitwan elephant breeding farm and played with the resident 9 month old elephant at the hotel where I stayed. Yeah. July is NOT a good time to visit Nepal. It is rain rain rain and frequent power outages. But it is a beautiful country. Will have to return to do a trek another time when my ankle is ok. Can you believe it it is week 5 and it is still swollen. Something is going on in there. Visiting Chitwan was a muddy affair. MUDDY. And I mean MUDDY. All my pants are full of mud. Rode an elephant with its keeper from the hotel when he took her out for her morning stroll and to have her grass munching breakfast. There are many Chinese tourist Chinese backpackers in Nepal. Lots in Pokhara. You know, it makes no difference. Their conversation volume is still resembles a bartering market. In the hotel in Kathmandu I wandered into the hotel lobby thinking there was an argument around 6pm. LOL. It was 4 Chinese guests having a conversation. I had to go down 3 flights of steps. To give you an idea how noisy they are. The hotel front desk also told me they wandered into the hotel private kitchen to boil water. On the bus from Chitwan to Pokhara, there another traveling Chinese market onboard. Many conversations went on, but theirs by far had the record breaking decibel. You know, they are rude too. Just in passing, they are rude and noisy. Like the Israelis. LOL. Chinese, Indian and Israeli travelers. I have heard hotel staff complain about all 3 nationalities, including hotels in India. LOL. I am getting excited as my days get less to the day I leave for Tibet. Kathmandu you can get a lot of American branded trekking and outdoor clothing (especially North Face and Mountain Hardwear). They are originals and made in Nepal or China. A good place to replace gear for one quarter or more off the regular US retail outlets. Guess what I have been doing. My pack is now back at 20kg+. Can't do much with the ankle. And the rain. The humidity in Nepal and India is driving me crazy. I really miss the dry sunny Arizona weather.