I’m going to start from 3 days ago when I left Boudha for my warm up trek in Kathmandu valley. This is a moderate 3 day trek in Shipuri Nagarjun National Park hiking through high jungle, rice fields, villages, and reaching Chisopani with 180 degree views of the peaks of the Himalayas.
Grover and I head in the direction of the main bus stop. For the full Nepali experience and to keep the cost of transit to a minimum I decide to take public transit as much as possible. The problem is most Nepalese that work the public transit speak very little English and my pronunciation of my destination is unrecognizable to them. It is unrecognizable to me.
On a dusty getting hot main street with Grover on back I ask as each bus pulls up. Sandarijal? No. Sandarijal? No. There is no organization of where the bus stops and while running to catch the bus it may take off before you even get there. So, here is this tourist running back and forth with a large mammal on back losing her peace and starting to get frustrated. A half hour in and I am questioning what I am doing. Should I give up and pay big money for a taxi?
Just as my thoughts are turning to defeat a man taps me on the shoulder and points to a larger bus pulling up and tells my with his hands to run. I jump on the bus not knowing for sure if this is the right bus. I just need to put Grover down and take a break. This was a lot for 7 AM.
The bus is packed with people standing and I have to make it to the back so that people can get on and off the bus. The people of Nepal are small and the bus seats and aisles are cramped for even them. In the process of me jostling people and pushing them into the the people seated and poking people in the eye with my trekking polls I make it to the back. I sit in a seat with Grover in my lap my face pressed into the back of my pack so that I can’t see over. One of those I don’t give a shit moments, again, and am so happy to be seated and going somewhere. I think “I don’t give a shit moments” are going to be a thing.
Sweating, hungry, thirsty and pinned by Grover so I can do nothing about these things I start listening to the sounds around me and taking deep breaths and saying OM MANI PAHDME HUM in my head. It works, I start to appreciate the exact experience I have been looking for.
About a half hour in and I am able to sit Grover next to me, take off my jacket, drink some water and grab my phone to make sure I am going in the right direction. We are. I look up with new eyes and see all the colorful Saris and dark arms with layers of golden bengals hanging onto the seats in front so not to be bucked out into the aisles. Children flying up in the air landing in the persons lap next to them. Nepalese music blasting from blown out speakers and colorful tassels swaying back and forth from the front of the bus.
Most of us are wearing dust masks as common, it is a dust bowl. The smell of body odor wafts by as the breeze shifts but it is mixed with the smell of jasmine oil and cooking spices. We are driving through the inner workings of Nepal dropping and picking people up as the bus attendant hangs out the door yelling who knows what swinging people onto the bus as the bus never brakes to a full stop.
Once I get into the flow we come to the end of the line and it is time to get off, I am at my destination, the start of a 6 hour trek. After reorganizing my pack, purchasing water and adjusting my trekking polls I head into the direction of what I think is the beginning of my trek.
I start lunging straight up right away; steps that are about 16 inches tall weaving their way through a village clinging to the mountain side sitting above a beautiful river carving its way down. I stop about every 30 feet to stop the burning in my ass and catch my breath. 20 minutes in I reach a leveled off area with seating inside a cool cave and take grover off to reassess what I have got myself into… again.
Namaste “I bow to the divine in you”
