She travels Overland

  Last days in a place you love are always eventful.  So after saying goodbye to Sivananda friends in Varkala, I stayed on a few more days, until I braved the sunrise train to Coimbatore.  8 hours in the First class aircon.  what could go wrong?  Nothing as it happened. At Coimbatore railway station I hired an  air-con  taxi entailed to take me the 16km to Isha, Sadh Guru's now-famous ashram. I was welcomed at the Welcome desk, but not having a confirmed booking they put me in touch with the kindly desk, who suggested I call the overseas helpdesk to create an International profile.  However, the young man on this helpdesk, said that I need a confirmed booking to make a profile.  I politely said my "Ohm Namah Shivaya " and took a waiting autorickshaw back to Coimbatore, booking myself into the IBIS French hotel chain.   I slept at ten and got up for breakfast of Idli and strong black coffee.  I hailed an autorickshaw myself and made the short journey to the railway station

OhmOm Namah Shivaya!  After an overnight stay, well from midnight to 4qm, I board a bus at 5 am towards Pondicherry.  It's a sleeper bus, with full reclining beds and white cotton sheets.  When I wake up at 7:30 we're in Tamil Nadu, it's hot, it's tropical after 9 weeks in the Himalayas.  in Pondicherry my Autorickshaw driver takes me to the OYO Hotel I have booked.  Sadly they can't check me in, as they're only set up for Indian s tourists.  I go round the corner to MiCasa hostels, a modern Spanish chain, and they check me right away to a quiet, cool dorm.  I explore Pondi a bit, it is lovely laid out and has a tree-lined grid system.  Very cool model for future cities.  The next day I get an autorickshaw to Greens guesthouse outside Aurobindo Mataharant temple.  I check in to my treehouse room (My son would love this!) and walk out to go into Sri Aurobindo for the first time to view the Matrimandir.  It's awesome, it's beautiful, and I sit down to sket

 I have deliberated , procrastinated about writing this blog.  This is what I've got up to in my extra enforced month in Kathmandu.   I get a taxi back  from Nepali immigration to the Bodhi guesthouse, and immediately get my old room back.  It's huge, it has  red/orange painted walls, an attached bathroom, and three huge windows over looking Boudha.  All for $13 per night.  I'm grateful to the lovely staff: Robin, Rameshwar and the lovely Didi, who makes breakfast, cleans our rooms, and  does our laundry.   I email the Lischa German NGO with my English teaching certificates, and offer to travel to Chapang to teach for free for Board and lodging.  Danni emails back several days later saying the school is closed, due to a two-week COVID lockdown throughout Nepal.    Staying at Bodhi guesthouse are Sarah, a Buddhist nun form UK, now with American citizenship.  Sarah zooms around Kathmandu on an electric moped.  She agonises over the cost of this purchase for herself, but as th

On my last night in Kathmandu, I get to meet Rajan my trekking guide for the next ten days. H e is the man that is going push, cajole, motivate me to get around the Gorkha region,  and a 5 day trek in the Mardi Himal region of Nepal, under the auspices of the two Annapurna mountains: North and South. Here he is wondering what he has let himself in for:  I have spent the last afternoon in Kathmandu doing import stiff like drinking coffee, eating cake, and getting my hair blow dried. I go to bed at 8pm.   Day 1:  Gorkha Tour  My alarm goes off gently at 6 am on Thursday morning. I get last flask of hot water, from Koran, on the roof terrace cafe.  I lug my two "trekking" rucksacks to reception, one is more like a handbag with sketching gear, the larger day pack contains clothing essentials , such as two towels. I haven't showered for a week in cold water in Restup. Rajann goes up to my room, and carries my 15kg back down, and puts it in the backroom, behind reception. I hop