Golden Triangle (Parts IV, V and VI)

Delhi, 5th May

How to explain such a long, wordless stay in Nepal?
So many of the small, sparkling details have escaped my memory, and an entire country seems now like a photo album of events and thoughts. I say an entire country, but this is highly inaccurate because we rarely strayed from the tourist circuit of Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. However, three and a half long weeks in Nepal haven been given the Delhi treatment: it all feels behind me.
Nevertheless, here I rant:

The four hour long bus journey to Pokhara took 12 hours. A strike held in a small village on the Pokhara root stopped us, stranded, with only 60km left of the journey. A road block had been made by the locals because (from what I could gather) a local had killed another, run away, and had yet to be found. Everyone in the town was determined to hunt down the killer, and I suspect to try attract the police's wandering eye, had stopped all traffic. So, at 11am I stepped off the bus to young men running down the road with large, wooden instruments of pain and fast faces. At 5pm I stepped back on the bus reflecting on what a nice bunch of people I'd met, and how cheerful the cafe owners were. 12 whole tourists buses stranded! If I were honest, I's say it was the best day of business they'd ever had. If I were cynical, I'd say no murder had ever taken place.
Now Pokhara is a very clean and beautiful city. It is also, if I'm talking of Lakeside, exceedingly expensive and stereotypical. The tourist end of Pokhara, named Lakeside, is one of those places which is made to include "everything a tourist needs". Like all of these places, it doesn't really convince. A bit like going to Atlantis and finding a shop full of swimming trunks. Perhaps Lakeside's translucency was due to brash lights, mini supermarkets, the various "blues bars" or the fact that there are Tibetan refugees selling craft outside Pashmina emporiums, cafe owners shooing children away from their white customers, or drug dealers pitching to women on package holidays. I think the main reason Lakeside was the area equivalent of a credit card (plastic, destructive to your bank balance) was because it was next to a just perfect lake.
Hari and I took quite a few rowing trips on the lake, and on one of these we rowed to the bottom of a of the steep walk up to the giant Buddhist Stipa. The walk, I confess, was grim. Not only had we chosen midday to 1 o'clock to climb, but I was wearing jeans, again. Sweat factor infinity. Also, halfway up we acquired half a dozen boys, whiskeyed up and crude all over. The top was worth it though, boasting a gorgeous monument and the best view of the lake and city in Pokhara. On the way down, I think when me and Hari were having some sort of pseudo argument about English language, I got far too cocky about the steep decline and fell over, spraining my ankle. Moaning all the way down like a pissy footballer, I limped my way back to our room. The next two days were quiet, as we pottered and waited for my ankle to heal.
When it was pretty much better we hired bikes and road around the surrounding countryside, which was my favourite thing we did there. It was easy to forget you were in Nepal, west coast Ireland felt more like it, if not for the odd reminder thanks to a bus with as many passengers on the roof as inside, or the odd flurry of children chasing a chicken. Oh yes, and I went paragliding. All I have to say that was it was surreal, and that my Bulgarian tandom pilot a very funny man. I don't really remember the views if I'm honest, I think I was wrapped up with how unnatural flying felt.
So Pokhara to Chitwan - more road diversions, more demonstrations, more Nepali citizens evicted from tourist buses. Chitwan, now that is a very hot place, ridiculous at points. We stayed in one of those hotels where you know the staff love your wallets, hate the sight of you and are uncomfortably attentive and inquisitive. We spent our time avoiding the heights of the heat and looking out for animals. I am now very used to the sight of elephants and rhinos. The highlight was the elephant breeding centre, home of month old twin-baby elephants, the only twins born in captivity. I can't recall much more, maybe it was the heat.
After completing the last line of the triangle we arrived back in Kathmandu to familiar surroundings. We stayed there for what seemed like a long time. The day before yesterday there were massive strikes in Kathmandu, marches bigger thank I've ever seen before. The Chief General of the Army has been ousted, the coalition government is collapsing. Indian newspapers told me this morning that Nepal are blaming India. Delhi's leg of the national elections is in two days. Hari is in Nepal and I am in India. I miss her very, very dearly.
I'm back in India.