I have spent a lot of the trip dreading this particular section from Kathmandu to Kolkatta , to the point where I seriously considered jumping on a plane from Kathmandu to Bangkok. However, I would have been very sorry to have missed the stunning mountain scenery from Kathmandu to Hatauda. Yes, the driving is tough, as the road condition is so poor and we bump and swerve from pothole to pothole but this side of India is very different to the Punjab and Rajastan. The tea plantations are arranged in neat trim rows, like privet in an English country garden. The towns and villages are much more compact and better organised. We even come across traffic lights from time to time, though I'm still not sure they aren't there more for decoration than traffic management. The roads are quieter with less traffic, people and more importantly, fewer horns.
Large crowds still gather around us whenever we stop, but the shy smiles are genuine and we are not pressed to make purchases or cash donations.
Still, we do not have time to make new friends and it is already dark when we pull in to our hotel.
The lobby is alive with mosquitoes and bugs. On the ground, in the air, crawling on the bench seating around and crawling up our legs and on our arms. It's not a good omen. We are exhausted and hungry, even if we did sleep on the bus, and it is difficult for us all to maintain good humour. I have a room to myself and am grateful for it. Dumping my bags, I dive into the hotel restaurant for some food. The menu is somewhat restricted, to say the least and each item requested appears to be 'off'. Or is it? Is the waiter shaking his head or is it the Indian head waggle to signify that I have been heard (but not necessarily understood)? As previously, there are more waiters than customers, and every one of them appears to have a specific job. However, it seems neither they nor we, are clear on the specific job description, except that it does not include taking a food order or delivering a meal or drink. Debbie tries to order 2 small bottles of soda water. Helen has already tried and failed, demonstrated by the large bottle of still water in front of her. We wait with baited breath. Magically, 2 small bottles of soda water appear. Weyhey. Now for the difficult bit. Can we replace Helen's large bottle of still water with another bottle of soda? We try a demonstration but it's all tooo confusing for the waiter. He tries to take away 1 of Debbie's bottles. No. No. No. We grab it back just in time. Phew. Then he takes the large bottle away. There is an exchange of conversation between 2 waiters and lots of pointing. We are momentarily hopeful. Then another waiter brings the same bottle back. Aaargh. But we are not going to give up and half an hour later, after lots of gesticulation, involving lots of waiters, Helen has her bottle of soda. Now we're going for gold and David wants the bottle of beer he had been told was not available earlier... Sometimes the big achievements are in the small challenges of life.
Large crowds still gather around us whenever we stop, but the shy smiles are genuine and we are not pressed to make purchases or cash donations.
Still, we do not have time to make new friends and it is already dark when we pull in to our hotel.
The lobby is alive with mosquitoes and bugs. On the ground, in the air, crawling on the bench seating around and crawling up our legs and on our arms. It's not a good omen. We are exhausted and hungry, even if we did sleep on the bus, and it is difficult for us all to maintain good humour. I have a room to myself and am grateful for it. Dumping my bags, I dive into the hotel restaurant for some food. The menu is somewhat restricted, to say the least and each item requested appears to be 'off'. Or is it? Is the waiter shaking his head or is it the Indian head waggle to signify that I have been heard (but not necessarily understood)? As previously, there are more waiters than customers, and every one of them appears to have a specific job. However, it seems neither they nor we, are clear on the specific job description, except that it does not include taking a food order or delivering a meal or drink. Debbie tries to order 2 small bottles of soda water. Helen has already tried and failed, demonstrated by the large bottle of still water in front of her. We wait with baited breath. Magically, 2 small bottles of soda water appear. Weyhey. Now for the difficult bit. Can we replace Helen's large bottle of still water with another bottle of soda? We try a demonstration but it's all tooo confusing for the waiter. He tries to take away 1 of Debbie's bottles. No. No. No. We grab it back just in time. Phew. Then he takes the large bottle away. There is an exchange of conversation between 2 waiters and lots of pointing. We are momentarily hopeful. Then another waiter brings the same bottle back. Aaargh. But we are not going to give up and half an hour later, after lots of gesticulation, involving lots of waiters, Helen has her bottle of soda. Now we're going for gold and David wants the bottle of beer he had been told was not available earlier... Sometimes the big achievements are in the small challenges of life.
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