Tribes and Tribulations

Seasons greetings

Its been so long now since I wrote a blog post im going to have to skim through quite a lot. I reckon it was Darjeeling which was over a month ago time is really flying by and soon it will be Christmas. Even out here I heard Slade for the first time yesterday made be a bit nostalgic. Sad to say I think it will be my first Christmas without Fairy Tale of New York gutted.

So I will get down to it I have now been to 4 of the 7 Tribal states and have one more to visit for which i don't need a special permit. I am currently staying with a family in Aizawl in Mizoram. He is the teacher of Ganesh a guy i met on the bus in Assam who invited me to come and visit. Unfortunately his family have literally no space in their house so i couldn't stay there instead he fixed me up with his teacher nearby. Its kind of been a recurring theme in Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya i have either lived with or been doted on by some family who takes me under their wing. Its really amazing such nice people.

After Darjeeling I had a brief sojourn into Sikkim did a bit of walking in the amazing countryside and had my first experience of Diwali in India although Sikkim has quite a large Buddhist population so it was not nearly as intense as other places. I pretty much blitzed through Sikkim which was a bit of a shame but it was unavoidable at the time as my plan was to make it to Kolkatta for the cricket which has obviously not happened now. From Sikkim it was 26 hours on a bus to Assam then another 12 hours the next day onto the island of Majuli which is the biggest river island in India. The place is a spiritual centre for Hindus as well as being the most laid back and chilled place I think I have visited. I had gone there for a festival but the dates I had been told were wrong so I stayed for four days taking leisurely cycle rides to different Satras and then just lying under the palm trees watching the sunrise and sunset. Awesome stuff. Unfortunately the boat ride out is slightly less relaxing. I had to take the ferry four times in the end as I left and then came back for the correct days of the festival. It involves the single most unstable and overloaded ferry I have ever seen which was a bit of a nightmare. Especially the first one as I sat on the roof and the slightest movement kept edging me towards a dip in the river. Its the first time I have seen the locals look worried!! I have some photos and when I get some faster internet I will upload them.

From Majuli I took another backbreaking twelve hour bus ride to Nagaland. This was the main purpose of me going to the north east as this year was the first year you could visit as a solo traveler and not as part of a tour group. I arrived in Mon which is like the biggest frontier town ever having watched everyone carrying guns, machetes and spears in all the villages we passed through. I had heard stories about the nagas being dangerous and to watch out, but as ever the hospitality shown to the random English guy rocking up with nowhere to stay was second to none. As its winter here it gets dark so early around 4 so I always seem to arrive in the dark which sucks as it makes things so much harder. In Nagaland it was pretty much a permanent black out of electricity as well which didn't help. Anyway i got fixed up with a naga family who looked after me and sent their son out to drive me around the tribal villages on his motor bike. The villages still stay pretty traditional and in some of them the older men had face tattoos which signifies they took part in head hunting raids back in the day. A couple of the villages had some skulls and various traditional artefacts so it was pretty interesting. Every village has a different language so even for my guide it was a bit of a problem communicating. Its a really crazy place, pretty much no one had a job and the son who took me around kept bringing me back to his other house (away from his parents) which was a massive drinking den for the local guys. Nagaland is a dry state due to it being overtly christian but everyone guys, girls everyone drinks like a fish. So rather than getting the tax revenue all the money goes to the smugglers. On the way in the police had searched my bags but they obviously do a lousy job or just get bribed. Having rum thrust in your face at 9am having a few glasses then being driven on twisty roads by a guy who is drunk and also huffing opium was a little bit nerve racking but i got to see everything and I am still in one piece. Not wanting to push my luck any further I had to say my goodbyes and again experience the torture of a packed jeep ride for fourteen hours. My record so far is twenty people in a jeep which was impressive considering there are only 8 seats. I really don't remember anything like this last time i went traveling literally every place I have been going to is 12-14 hours so it takes a day to get over it. Fortunately I have one more 16 hour night bus then the blessed relief of train journeys. Cant wait!!

But even if the travel is bad the destinations are worth it. Hornbill festival is  newish creation intent on preserving the rich heritage of a rapidly changing population. It is also the one time when all the Naga tribes come together and it is 7 days of dancing, singing, eating all dressed up in the traditional clothes. It is by far the most photogenic festival I have seen and the three days I was there flew by just being entranced by everything and making the most of the availability of beef. The nagas eat everything which meant I got to try larvae for the first time. Lovely stuff. The war dances and even the wrestling competition was spectacular. One American guy had a go and got completely hammered into the ground which kind of dissuaded me. The festival takes part in Kohima the capital of Nagaland and the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of WWII. It is as far west as Japan made it in the entire war and kind of marked a turning point like el-Alamein for the Germans. The famous phrase 'when you go home tell them of us, for your tomorrow we gave our today' was written in blood on a rock in the centre of town at Garrison hill and has since been re-engraved by the war cemetery. There is also a museum of the battle which was just incredible especially the photos there was nothing left when the siege had ended. Definitely worth some time of Wikipedia if you don't know much about it.

Kohima doesn't have many hotels and what little they do have gets booked by tour groups months in advance so I just decided to turn up without even trying to book. I had to see the festival so even if I slept in a park it had to be done. Again luckily and completely by chance I stumbled into a restaurant rather than a hotel whilst looking for rooms and one of the guys Robin ran a girls hostel for a college and being Christmas everyone was away so I stayed instead. I can add this to my collection of random accommodations. I also made friends with the people at the restaurant who made me dinner every day and I didn't have to eat rice either. It also turned out Robin knew pretty much everyone their was to know in Kohima so we had all sorts of interesting experiences like hanging out with one of Nagalands biggest bands, getting priority for the Hornbill rock concert which has loads of bands from around India, as well as the last night when we had to leave because he initially thought some of his friends had been taken by insurgents but it later transpired they had robbed a petrol station. Nagaland was strange like that they are completely different to Indians and I would go as far as to say they despise Indians which is why they are fighting for and want independence. Yet because they are a collection of tribes their loyalty always goes back to the villages so the independence movement has collapsed and has now been divided up into different factions that fight each other rather than as a united force. They have so much potential there but nobody wants to invest because of the security situation and numerous other reasons. I loved it and have been made to promise I will go back, so next year hopefully I can get the opportunity as long as the permit situation doesn't change.

And from Nagaland it was onto Shillong which is a dump, then to Nongrhiat an unexpected wonder of a place at the bottom of a secluded valley just a few kms from Cherrapunjee famous for being the official wettest place on earth. I had heard it was nice and worth seeing, lonely planet had said it was worth a day trip and nothing more (a piece of advice lonely planet India especially for the North East is the biggest waste of space ever) but I stayed one night and there were lots of people who had stayed for weeks. Nongrhiat has an infectious atmosphere of complete tranquility and is the site of living root bridges where villagers have used the roots of trees, twisted them together and formed living bridges across these stunning jungle covered gorges. It took two hours to hike down and it was so nice and peaceful such a contrast to the noise and stress of all the towns. There was also a river for swimming and chilling out two minutes from the guesthouse, managed to get in some cliff diving as well. As always happens the one time I book something I want to change my plans but unfortunately I could only do the one night as there were no more buses to Aizawl for a week. Before I had to leave I managed to hike up to a promontory overlooking the fourth highest waterfall in the world and ride in the back of a truck over the Meghalayan moors. Seriously it looks exactly like Scotland except with tribal people, really spectacular stuff.

And now I am in Aizawl catching up with some jobs and eating lots. I finally managed to post a parcel here after spending nearly two days and enlisting a string of helpers in Shillong. No idea why but they wanted the parcel wrapped in cloth, stitched up and sealed in medieval fashion with wax. Not entirely sure if it will make it home as it is a pair of Naga traditional machetes know as Daos but we will see.

Not entirely sure how long I will be here my friend wants it to be a month but I want to head down to Bangladesh by the middle of next week. Who knows.

Anyway have a Merry Christmas if I don't write again before the 25th. Have a good one

Time flies

I know its been quite a long time but I very rarely seem to have either the Internet or the time at the moment.

I left it last time in Kathmandu which seems a lifetime ago. Since then I went to Pokhara where despite my best intentions of going trekking I ended up largely sleeping, watching films and wandering round some of the hills that provide amazing views over the lake and the Annapurna mountain range. Three weeks doing the Everest trek pretty much knackered me out and it was nice to be able to catch up on some TV series and download some new ones. Plus the quiet of Pokhara meant I was actually able to sleep past 6am for the first time since Ive been here.

Well rested I headed off to Chitwan national park in the vain hope of seeing tigers but more realistically seeing the Rhinos for which chitwan is famous. Unfortunately the main trekking season of October and November is the worst time for Chitwan as the grass is ten feet tall and it nigh on impossible to see anything. Unfazed a group of six of us braved the barrage of safari shops and guides and booked one for the next morning. So we headed out early morning on a canoe ride to see the crocodiles and gharials (fish eating crocs) before trekking back three hours to the main town Sauraha. Turns out our luck was in straight after a somewhat disappointing canoe ride we nearly walked straight into a massive Asian rhino just in the bushes. The wind was blowing the wrong way and it legged it before we could get a photo but our spirits were raised. As it was that was the only thing we saw in three hour slogging through gigantic grass and we found ourselves back at the canoe launch point disappointed. Chitwans big attraction is the elephants which patrol up and down the main streets which takes some getting used to but it provides an opportunity to take part in the elephant bathing in the river. This pretty much involves sitting on the back of an elephant whilst it squirts you with water and then rolls over dumping you in the river. It was kind of nice and something to do before our elephant safari that night.

There is two bits to chitwan the main park then the 'community forest' which is basically some trees that have a whole load of deer and monkeys and pretty much jack of anything else. So you wander round on the back of an elephant for an hour with about twenty other elephants full of shouting indian and chinese tourists so anything that may have been close legs it. Its disappointing but I rode on an elephant so that's kind of cool.

Unfortunately the people I was with were pressed for time and left the next morning but I resolved to go into the park again and this time go for a day and a half so that I could get deep into the park. So for the next day and a half we walked and walked and walked through the park. As any time with safaris you cant guarantee anything so by four o'clock after walking for 9 hours I was gutted until round the next bend a mother and baby rhino. They were so close it was amazing and this time the wind was blowing towards us. We were there for at least half an hour before they left and it was great just watching these massive animals just twenty meters away. I was briefed by the guide before we went in about what to do should we see certain things and they come at you, for rhinos it was climb a tree which makes sense and tigers it was stare it out which I would have been interest to see put into practise. This all seems good advice until you look around and theres no trees within 300m not quite sure what plan B was. So we just sat still and watched and fortunately despite the fact they were no more than twenty meters away they didn't see us.

From then on it was a windfall we saw a bear really close as it barked a warning at us then ran, monkeys, wild pigs, deer, crocodiles, loads of birds and tiger tracks so it was well worth it in the end. In celebration me and my two guides got drunk on local wine watching the sunset and playing cards whilst listening to the jungle which was quality. Even had an early morning hungover encounter with a rhino that was sleeping at the stairs to the lodge.

After Chitwan I had pretty much done everything I wanted in Nepal and was ready for India. Unfortunately to pick up my Bangladesh visa it meant going back for two incredibly tedious days in Kathmandu faffing around before taking the 16 hour killer of a night bus to the border. Unfortunately I was at the front of the bus and it was tortuous hurtling along in the pitch black, overtaking on blind bends with Justin Bieber on repeat and the screeching of the brakes which is still ringing in my ears. Needless to stay I didn't get any sleep at all and was a mess when I rocked up in Kakharbitta the border town. As always happens it turns out alright in the end as i met Hari this local Nepalese guy who was returning home on the same bus after visiting England and he just said hey do you want to have breakfast and rest a bit in my house. Two days later I was still there, his family were so great feeding me up and showing me the local sights of their tea plantation and rural village. I was sad to leave as they were so generous and it was great chatting with them about local life in Nepal and going through their photos of London. I doubt on this trip but hopefully soon I can go back and stay for longer. But with a visa set to expire I made the hard choice of going for my first taste of India.

Not quite wanting to go to any cities yet I headed up into the hills to Darjeeling to sample the tea and make the most of the clear weather to see some more of the huge mountains of the Himalayas. Right on the doorstep is Kachenjunga which is the 3rd highest mountain which we got up early for this morning. Darjeeling is nothing like i imagined the town is picturesque from afar but the narrow streets are a mess of rubbish and traffic with incessant horns and exhaust fumes, I'm sure it was grand in its day but that day has definitely passed. A good thing though is they actually have food options Dominoes last night was a real treat  after fried rice twice a day and a fry up with proper bacon and eggs this morning. Other than that ive just been drinking large amounts of amazing tea.

My hotel is an absolute dump so cold and damp but at just over a quid a night i cant complain too much and I leave tomorrow. After picking up my special permit yesterday I head to the tiny mountain kingdom of Sikkim for ten days before heading off to the tribal states of the north east over the coming month. Not sure how far I can get as the permit situation seems a bit up in the air but if I can get to Nagaland i will be so happy. There is a massive tribal gathering in a couple of weeks and I would love to be there.

Im sure you will be chuffed to know its cold here probably worse than at home and only going to get colder in Sikkim so its not all sun, sea and sand.

Ill leave it there as I need some more tea and an episode of Dexter is waiting. Catch you later

Tucker

Namasde Nepal

So here we are three weeks in Nepal and i finally have both the time and energy now to write my first entry of this years blog. Quite a lot to cover as it has been pretty eventful with some good accomplishments thrown in.

Three weeks ago after finishing work on the Friday I flew out to Nepal via a very pleasant upgrade to first class for one leg and also the crushing reality of 8 hours on the floor of Delhi airport trying to sleep in freezing air con. This was nicely followed by 2 hours in the visa queue at Kathmandu airport and then the very in your face city itself. I had planned to come to Nepal first as a nice ease in for India in a months time but the city was not at all what i expected or had prepared for. Its just hot and dirty with the tourist part Thamel a hot mess of camping shops and other tourist crap. I don't think i have met anyone that likes Thamel yet. Anyway it served to make up my mind to get the hell on with the trekking and on the 5th i took the 10 hour bus to Jiri which is at the start of the Everest base camp trek. You can either walk the six days to the start of the trek proper or fly into the worlds most dangerous airport Lukla. The fact the weather had grounded all flights kind of helped the decision so instead I took what must have been close to the worlds most dangerous bus ride instead. The bus was mental ive seen some stuff is SE Asia but this took the biscuit as soon as you leave Kathmandu its tiny little mountain roads with massive drops on either side, blind overtaking, loads of backing up with someone making sure all four wheels stay on the ground plus the fact it was so overcrowded with people on the roof as well. All you can do is laugh really, I forgot to get at the front so was at the back bouncing around smelling the stench of everyone being sick in front. Happy memories.

Anyway made it to Jiri where I promptly hooked up with two other English trekkers doing the walk on their own without guides and porters and the like. Being poor/tight as many people seem to think I was also carrying all my own stuff. From there we set out on six eight hour walking days going up one sheer valley and down the next. Honestly the comradery of everyone was pretty much what kept us going as the scenery was ok but kind of lacked any spectacular views but the walk was hard core. After two days our group had swelled to 6 with another English pair Ian and Pippa as well as Jar this chinese guy who spoke no english and was my room buddy for a few nights. We soon realised how cold it was going to be as well as at night even at a few thousand meters it gets cold quick.

Seven days in we got to the start of the serious stuff climbing up from Namche Bazaar the Sherpa capital at 3400m, over the course of five days high altitude trekking we made it to Everest Base camp and the viewing point at Kala Pathar. At this point everyone struggles, as walking whilst carrying 14kg at 5000m is tough. We still managed to blitz all of the organised groups who carry nothing and have an endless stream of porters and yaks carrying all the 'essentials to the top.' By this point I had realised I had packed too much stuff and had done a serious rethink leaving alot of things behind including deoderant, washing powder, and a change of clothes. Above Namche for eight days no-one had a shower as it was too expensive, changed clothes because we had nothing but thermals in the bag or ate anything but rice and lentils. It was not pleasant and I pitty the poor sod who gets my washing but everyone's in the same boat. I lucked out walking with Ian and Pippa as well as another Andrew who were all a good laugh, keeping ourselves entertained with endless card games and banter before bed time at 6.30pm. Your body clock just changes so much when your walking getting up at 5.30am at first light for breakfast and to be first on the trail then going to bed as soon as it gets dark. The lodges were properly cold as its just a stone building divided up with some ply wood so its great just to get into your sleeping bag and warm up.

From Namche the path lead us through Tengboche, Dingboche, Lobuche and finally to Gorek Shep, now forever known as the place where people go to die. Gorek Shep is at 5200m and is the base for the walk to base camp and Kala Pathar (from where you see everest). Most of the towns are pretty grim just bleak settlements on the high mountain plains but the Shep is so bad. It was the one night we didn't get a room as well and had to sleep on just a plank of wood in a corridor with everyone huddled together. It was a comedy of errors from the start, we all felt pretty bad and most of us had colds by this point as well as coughs and god knows what else. Then part way through the night the owner robs all our blankets leaving us so cold, and just listening to people hawk their guts up with a kind of surround sound effect. At dinner lots of people looked ill and for whatever reason hadnt gone back down to get rid of the altitude sickness. Three people died when we were up there and some of the people shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a trek in their lives, vetting process required I think. On the way down we were playing the will they/wont they make it game and wondering if they new what they were letting themselves in for.

All in all we had a great time i finally got the monkey off my back and made it to base camp after last times saga in Tibet and the views and weather were incredible. We have some great photos which I will put up next opportunity i get. So thats pretty much up to date, apart from the fun and games at Lukla airport. Seriously ive never seen anything like it we spent all day trying to find out what the hell was going on and just get any flight as we kept being bumped by tour groups. Fortunately our hotel owner came through and pulled a few strings with his mate on the airline and we did some bumping of our own and managed to get down in time for our celebratory Pizza night with so much beer. After three weeks of tea and rice it was immense.

Anyways im off to the festival now, get myself some face paint and see what goes down. Then on to Pokhara for some more trekking then an elephant safari in Chitwan national park to hopefully see some rhinos and maybe a tiger if im lucky :)

Hope everyones great!!

Tucker