Oh, Matero

When my time was up in Cairo, Egypt, I had a Turkish Airlines flight to heading back to the US with a stop in Istanbul, Turkey. It was going to be another all night ordeal. I left for the airport around 8:00PM. My first flight left at 3:00AM to Istanbul, so I spent most of my time sitting on the cold floor. My flight was from the new Terminal 3 which just opened earlier in 2009.

Upon arrival in Istanbul, I noticed I couldn’t just follow the crowd into the airport. But since my next flight was going to a certain security paranoid country, I had to get an extra interview and security check. I think in total, there were three places where I was questioned about my travels before going to the US.

Turkish Airlines was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised when there was a power outlet at my seat. Although this was not the last leg of my trip. This airplane was going to Chicago, not Detroit. In my attempt to save some money I found it was cheaper to fly to Chicago and then take a train back home.

I couldn’t just walk through customs and enter the country when I arrived in Chicago. Instead, I was treated like a terrorist and got a search of my bags and was questioned again! I was also questioned about everything I was bringing into the country and they wanted to see it. I only bought a camera lens, a hard drive case, and some clothes for my whole time, but apparently that makes me suspicious with a one-way ticket. However, a few days later, a real terrorist did fly to Detroit with a one-way ticket as well. But I still don’t think it is any excuse for the one country that treats me the worst in the world is my home country.

I rushed out of the airport to get on the subway to make it to the train station. Just about everyone is able to get a seat in the subway, something I wasn’t used to. Then I had to walk outside in the freezing air without proper clothes for a couple blocks to get to the train station.

I got on the Amtrak train from Chicago to Pontiac, Michigan. After pulling out of the station, we stopped. For nearly an hour just waited. I wasn’t too surprised because I’ve taken this train before. The six hour ride turned into about eight hours. At least I had my PC and an electrical outlet. But I was sure getting tired, being this the second night with little to no sleep.

It was end of the line, Pontiac, Michigan at around 3:00AM. I was the only passenger to get off at this stop. There is no train station here, just a parking lot. I had no winter coat and it was windy and below freezing temperatures and my ride home was no where to be found. There was another car in the parking lot, I asked if I could borrow their phone, but they said no.

After about 15 minutes, I think I saw my uncle’s truck drive by. But it seemed he missed the parking lot and it was so dark he didn’t see me by the road. He looped around and finally arrived. For a while there I thought I would have to wonder the streets of Pontiac in the middle of the night looking for help.

I finally made it home around 3:30 in the morning and found it not much warmer inside my house. I had to adjust all the furnace vents and turn up the temperature to make it bearable. At least I was home after five months around the world.

Foreigners are not allowed to buy train tickets at the ticket counter for some reason. I don’t know why, it is the only place in the world I can think of that has this rule. An alternative is to just board the train and buy the ticket on board, so that’s what I tried. The downside is you aren’t guaranteed a seat but I didn’t have much choice. The train got pretty crowed and I was kicked out of any seat I found soon after. I found behind the last row of seats was a little bit of room. There was a steel pipe that came out of the floor and ran horizontal and I could sit on that. Later more people squeezed onto my non-seat. I spent the time alternating between standing and squatting down on this pipe, one of the most terrible experiences I’ve had on a train.

After this 10 hours of torture, I exited the Cairo Station and made my way to a hotel. The buildings were about 80 years old, an elevator with no inside door which was a little scary, and the ceilings of the rooms were very tall. But overall, not too bad. I got a private room, free wi-fi, and free breakfast.

I visited the Egyptian Museum (no photos allowed) which was huge and tiring. Another day I made the trip to the Giza Plateau. It actually took two days. The first day I couldn’t find the bus, so I gave up. You had to stand in the correct spot in the middle of a highway and wave the bus down. In addition, you have to read the Arabic numbers on all the buses. I did write them down on a piece of paper so I could figure it out.

At the Giza Plateau I realized I forgot my water bottle. I also didn’t have enough cash to buy water plus take the bus back, so I had to skip water this day in the desert. I walked and walked until I found the entrance and behind the wall I could see the Great Sphinx and behind that I could see the three most famous Pyramids in the world.

I spent a few hours walking around the Sphinx and Pyramids, dodging requests for camel rides. Turning around you can see all of Cairo and behind the pyramids there was sand as far as you can see. After a few hours I had the chance to go inside the Great Pyramid. They only let a few hundred people inside each day, so I thought there would be a long line. But there wasn’t much of a line for tickets. I’ve read about the inside of this pyramid a long time ago and it was good to finally experience it for myself. (photos)

I arrived in Egypt after 3:00 in the morning. I was the only westerner on the flight. I was hoping I could share a taxi at least, but I wasn’t that lucky. Everyone else was going to private cars and taxis outside the airport. I was considering walking the 6km to town, but I wasn’t so sure that was a good idea. I finally had to agree to some taxi driver but he dropped me off at the edge of town for the price I paid (while picking up another passenger for free). I had to spend the next couple hours walking through the city of Luxor trying to find a room.

I had some maps on my computer and a street name of where I could find a guest house, but the maps weren’t totally accurate. I did finally find it by just walking down every street in the area and then sat outside and ate some of the donuts I bought in Dubai while I waited for someone to wake up inside.

Luckily, they did have a room available (I don’t think it was exactly clean though). On the board in the lobby I saw they will help you get a Student ID Card because that will cut the admission prices in half. I thought this would be my best chance to get one ever since my wallet was stolen a couple years ago. They took me to an agency and I paid for one but they said I would have to wait a day to get it. In the mean time, I purchased a tour to the Valley of the Kings and some other sites on the west bank of the Nile.

The following day I took the tour which was OK, but still no Student ID. After another day, I went to the Temple of Karnak. No student ID again. They said it would take another week, so they gave me my money back and I planned to get on the train to Cairo.

(photos)

I had a 31 hour layover in Dubai on the way from India to Egypt. Even I arrived, the sun was setting. I decided ahead of time I’d spend the night in the Dubai airport, but I didn’t arrive at this airport. After many hours of research, I figured out how to take the bus from the small Sharjah airport to Dubai. I found something to eat on the way, a shawarma, which is a chicken sandwich. I headed to the newest airport terminal that opened in 2008 and found out they had free wireless internet there. Pretty nice. According to Wikipedia, Terminal 3 has the largest floor space of any building in the world. So I sat on a chair all night long and didn’t really sleep.

In the morning time, I took the new metro system that opened in September 2009. The stations were some of the nicest looking I’ve seen in the world. I had to wait all day for my plane, so I went to the Dubai City Centre mall. I tried to find a place to leave my bag, but they wouldn’t let me, so I left. Back on the metro, I went to the Mall of the Emirates. On the way, the metro passed Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. At the mall, I was able to drop off my bag at Carrefour supermarket and buy some donuts and bread there. This mall is famous for having an indoor ski slope. After a few hours, I went on the metro again to the end of the line, past Internet City, and past all of the new construction, which rivals the construction boom in China.

Before going to the airport, I had a hamburger since those were not easy to find in the past month. It has been a nice change using some transportation here that doesn’t break your back or allows you to breathe.

The sun was setting again, so I made it back to the Sharjah airport, which was must more crowded. I sat on the floor and waited for my flight. Unfortunately, it was delayed to the early morning hours. It looked like I would have another night without a bed. (photos)

The Puri Express train was pretty good. It had some electricity near my berth so I could use my computer. Puri is a small town near the ocean and it was a little quieter and relaxed than some of the other places I’ve been to. I could only stay one night since I had another train ticket for the following day. There was one place I wanted to visit: The Sun Temple in Konark. It was an impressive sight. I talked to one family who was also visited. The father said he worked in Texas before but now he works in India. He says the company he works for does the billing software for AT&T landline customers. I didn’t know all of that was done in India! (photos)

It was back to Puri to walk around a bit until my train had to leave. I tried an Internet Cafe here, but they kept quoting a different price before and after I use the service. I didn’t pay the higher price, but these things get on my nerves and they happen often.

It was a long train ride (20 hours) to Nagpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh, but again not so bad because there was electricity on board. I could tell Nagpur was a little more modern because they had a road bridge that went over the railroad tracks. It was a little tricky to find the hotel I was looking for since Google Maps was giving me the wrong information and my guidebook and no map at all. But I found it anyway without any help. I just had to spend one night here and then get my fight out of India. The next day I had to take my last autorickshaw, thankfully, to the airport to leave. The customs officials at the airport gave me a hard time and asked me tons of questions because they never heard of the border city I arrived at from Nepal. They didn’t trust the stamp that said “India” on it in my passport. I did finally make it out of India on Air Arabia destined for the UAE.

The next day I wanted to visit the ancient university of Nalanda. It was a long walk to the bus station in Gaya, but I got an early start. I crossed over a dry river bed (it is the dry season) and I was surprised to see a few people trying to wash clothes in the few puddles of water left.

It was a couple hours by bus to get to Nalanda. Next, it was another long walk to get to the actual site. There were horse carts, but my patience was wearing thin trying to share one. It was a few km away, so I walked past the farms until the brick ruins of the over 1000 year old university that held over 10,000 students. I also visited the archeological museum and the Xuan Zang Memorial Hall, which fitting to come to the final destination of this ancient Chinese traveler and his 17 year trip to get to India and back. (photos)

The way back to Gaya was not so easy. I was able to share a horse cart this time for the first leg, then I had to get a local bus to the next biggest town of Rajgir, then I had to wait an hour or so for a bus that passes by. There was one bus, but a lot of yelling and pushing and fighting for people to get on. I kept my distance and waited for the next one. This one wasn’t much better, but I got on and and to stand for most of the two hour trip. There was one good news, one local person helped me share an autorickshaw back to the area near my hotel. It would have been impossible to share and pay the local price without his help.

The day after, I visited Bodhgaya by autorickshaw. I paid the foreigner price to go all the way there, but of course it wasn’t a simple direct ride there. There was a change of driver halfway through and he couldn’t just take me, but had to wait around and fill up the whole thing.

Bodhgaya was filled with people from around the world. I saw Japanese, Chinese, Westerners, Thai, and Tibetans. The Tibetans move in to the town for a few months and I had a chance to eat at a seasonal Tibetan restaurant. On the way back to Gaya, I was able to share an autorickshaw for a good price.  (photos)

I spent an extra day waiting for my train in Gaya. This time a AC Sleeper bound for Puri, Orissa.

I was on the Nepal side of the border when I woke early in the morning. It was maybe an hour walk to get to the border, so I woke up the hotel staff, checked out, and they unlocked the door for me. I knew it was going to be another long day for me.

I got my passport stamped then walked across the border and looked around to see what to do next. I didn’t see any immigration office because it was closed. I had to wait around for someone to show up. After the officer stamped my passport, he asked for a gift or bribe. I didn’t give him anything, but it was a hint of what was to come in the poorest state of India.

My goal for today was to get to the city of Patna. I walked to try to find a bus. One man tried to get me to buy a bus ticket, but I said no. People said there was a 6:30AM bus and it was almost that time. Some men brought me to a an agency and said I could buy a ticket here and get picked up. They said it was a nice bus, direct, not too many hours, air conditioning, sleeper bus, which were all lies, of course. I really wanted to walk to the bus station, but the bus showed up and I had no choice but to buy the ticket and get on the bus. He didn’t have the change, so I demanded it before I sat down in the seat.

I had a window seat until a man with with a couple kids kicked me out and I had sit on the edge of the seat in the aisle for a couple hours. I’m liking kids less and less during this trip. The narrow roads were pretty rough, but as the bus got closer and closer to the big city they got bigger. I searched for a long time to see if travel by train was possible, but there was no direct train so I had to take the bus. But of course, everyone got kicked out of the bus and was forced to go into another one half way.

Eight hours later, the bus crossed the Ganges river which is very wide at this point and I made it to the long distance bus station of Patna. I decided to walk the rest of the way into the city but a autorickshaw stopped with one woman passenger already. It seemed they wanted to share. My defenses are so high now, I refused to get in without an agreed price in writing. However, this state has the highest illiteracy rate in the country, I’m not sure that would work. After getting a few people involved, the price was agreed at 5 rupees, as was written down on the paper. When I got off,  I didn’t have exact change so I had to go to a store and buy something. The other woman paid 5 rupees and then when I paid he said no. I took out the paper and pencil, and he writes a “0” next to my “5.” I’m thinking you can’t do that! 5 is now 50? I just paid 5 Rupees, walked away, and it was a good thing he didn’t give me a lot of trouble.

Next I had to find a room. After a long walk I found the street with all the cheap places to stay. Most said they don’t take foreigners. The others said they were full. After a couple hours, things were not looking good. The only thing I wanted to see was the Patna Museum, and it was going to close soon so I thought now or never. After walking all the way there, all the gates were closed and it looked like the museum has been closed for a while. No signs or explanations. So much for learning about this 2500 year old city.

I had planned to spend one night and then get on the train in the morning. I had already bought my ticket. Now I decided to leave the city and go to another city tonight. I had to fight the crowds at the train station to try to figure out how to get a ticket. There were two other cities I could go to: Raigir and Gaya. The problem was both trains leave at the same time, so I would have liked to get on the train that was less crowded. I decided on Gaya, bought a ticket that no one checks for anyway. On the low class trains, I don’t understand why they don’t check for tickets. Maybe because they are so crowded it is too hard to enforce.

Waiting for the train wasn’t too comfortable since the platforms were filled with smoke from burning garbage next to the station. The the train arrived, people were throwing items through the windows onto the seats. Apparently, this is the only accepted rule in India. If your item lands there, you get to sit there. Then there was all the pushing to get a seat and luckily some people made some room for me. It got so crowded, one man climbed up to the luggage racks next to the ceiling and laid down there. I’ve never seen that before anywhere.

On trains, in stations, on the street, many Indian men like asking me questions. Things like what am I doing in India, am I here all alone, what do I think about India, do I like India. For the last question, in my mind I want to say I wish nuclear holocaust on this land, but I couldn’t say that. So I say there are good things and bad things. At least I cannot speak Hindi or ten times as many people would bother me constantly.

When I arrived at Gaya station I was shocked by the number of people sleeping on the floor. I could barely walk out of the station. I was scared, if there were this many people sleeping inside the station, there is probably  no chance of getting a room to myself outside 9:00 at night. But I tired and I was surprised there were rooms available and for an acceptable price too. I was happy to just have a bed with a blanket.

I did my research ahead of time and was able to find a hotel with Wi-Fi in Kathmandu for $5/night. In the middle of the world famous Thamel backpackers area, it was quite a relief after the previous places I’ve stayed. The only downsides were daily brown outs and no heat.

The Thamel area had a lot of restaurants and shops in addition to the guest houses. It seems the popular foods here are Thukpa (noodle soup) and Momos (dumplings; buffalo is the most common filling). I ended up staying 5 nights in Kathmandu.

As for sightseeing, I visited the crowded Durbar Square. It is strange here, you pay for admission, but all the local people can drive their cars and motorcycles through the square for free. Kind of crowded and chaotic. (photos)

After Durbar Square, I climbed the hill up to Swayambhunath, an important stupa. (photos)

A couple days later, I made a trip out to the old town of Bhaktapur. (photos)

Then I made a stop a Bodnath. If I ever come back to Kathmandu, I think this would be a good area to find a guest house. (photos)

Nepal to India

Leaving the city was not so easy. I wanted to get back to the Indian boarder, so I needed a bus to Bhairawa. I asked at some of the travel agencies, and they said there were night buses and day buses. I wanted a day bus and I bought one ticket for a 6:30AM bus. I went to the biggest, most professional looking office. The travel agent said there are big slow buses and fast mini buses. This ticket is for the fast one.

The next day, I checked out at 5:30AM, took a taxi (used the meter), and got to the dark long distance bus station. I was going to walk but I wasn’t confident enough to walk that many kilometers down some dark unknown streets. After a while the electricity turned on at the bus station, but it was cold since everything was outdoors. There were some people huddled around a fire inside a barrel. My receipt said to go to ticket window number 24, but no one was there. I waited until the departure time of the bus, still no one was there. I wait an hour more, and still no one to help me. Finally, another bus company talks to me and makes a call and says get on a different bus. When I see the bus, it looks like one of the big slow ones. It finally leaves at about 9:30AM. I think I remember saying I’d never use a travel agency again after going to Vietnam, but I did again here and it seemed I got ripped off.

According to the map, it doesn’t look like it is too far to the border. But the bus doesn’t go this way. It makes a loop around half the country first. And of course there is a lot of waiting. About three-quarters of the way through the trip, everyone was kicked off the bus and forced into another bus like a herd of cattle. So much for even a slow direct bus. I got stuck next to a woman and her two children. All three of them were in one seat. And I was squeezed between them and another westerner for a couple hours. I was thinking this is a nightmare, it is bad enough in a crowded bus, but kids bothering me too. In total, it was about 11 or 12 hours on both buses.

After this experience, I think I’d have to say Nepal has the worst bus system in the world. Even most parts of India is better because they have a state run systems. It is always trouble when you’re forced to choose between a few private bus companies that are all trying to rip you off and treat you like animals.

At the border town, the other westerners on the bus headed for the Indian boarder. I decided to stay on the Nepal side and wait for the morning.

Crossing the boarder

After a half day on the bus from Gorakhpur, the bus stopped near the border. I needed to pay for a Nepalese visa and I was concerned that I didn’t have exact change in US Dollars. There were some money changers at the border, but the rates were horrible. I decided to take my chances and walked across the border. It was probably the easiest border crossing in my life. No security, no one asked for my passport. It seemed open for everyone. I didn’t want to risk going around without a visa, so went in a building to get that. They took Indian rupees as payment (although I had to pay more). I needed some Nepalese money and I didn’t want to use any money changers. I tried one ATM, but it took Visa only. I had Mastercard. Luckily I had enough money to get in a shared jeep to the next largest town. But after this I only had a few cents left. Cutting things a little close. I did find an ATM that worked and had my first meal in Nepal.

Lumbini

I talked to a couple westerners on the way and asked me if I had a reservation in Lumbini. I said no. They said there is a big festival starting today and there are no rooms left. I got on a bus and took my chances. I did find one room, but it was expensive. I didn’t have a choice, unless I wanted to sleep in a tent with the Tibetan pilgrims who flooded the area. I was planning on spending a few relaxing days here, but because of this fesitval, I could only afford to spend one night. I rented a bike with a broken seat and tried to see as much as I could before sunset. The Nepalese people here seemed friendly. (photos)

The following morning, I bought a small package of crackers and got on the 7:00 direct bus to Kathmandu. I asked the ticket seller how long it takes and I think she said about 8 hours. Twelve Hours later, I arrived in Kathmandu. Most of the time just waiting around for more possible passengers.

Note about Time Zones

Most countries have a nice round time zone, such as +5:00GMT or -7:00GMT. India makes it a little more complicated, the whole country is +5:30GMT. Nepal is even more unusual with +5:45GMT. I’m not sure if this extra 15 or 30 minutes is worth the trouble.

Kushinagar Express

This train was my first chance at spending the night in Sleeper class in India. This means you get no pillows, no sheets, no blankets, no air-conditioning, no privacy curtains, and you get to share your space with people on the waiting list.

When I first boarded the train, it was packed. I could barely find a place to sit. The floors were covered with peanut shells and other garbage. It was hot inside with so many people and I couldn’t imagine how it would feel in the summer time. After a while, I climbed up to my bed and used my backpack as a pillow. One man was walking through the car pounding on each bed and yelling about something. I had no idea what he was saying.

As the hours past, it got colder and colder since it was the end of November. The doors and some of the windows were open the entire time. By about 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, it was too cold to sleep. Looking around the car, I could see I was the only one who had a bed to himself. Everywhere else I could see two men sleeping in one narrow bed. I guess I was lucky. I can also see why I don’t see women in Sleeper class. Too bad the Kushinagar Express doesn’t actually go all the way to Kushinagar, but to Gorakhpur, a loud, dirty city.

Gorakhpur & Kushinagar

The train arrived at 7:00 in the morning and I walked across the street to the guesthouses to find a room. Most were full since people were not checking out yet, but I did find one room that was right next to the noisy road and was not cleaned. I didn’t mind too much to sleep in a dirty bed, I’ve slept in worse places (for example, just the previous night).

In the morning, I decided to go to Kushinagar by bus. I found the bus station and noticed the first bus that direction was full so I decided to wait for the next one. When the next arrived, it was a battle filled with yelling and pushing to get on board. I think this was my first bus for this visit to India, and first in Northern India. I did have some help from a university professor who saved me a seat. It was about two hours of a really bumpy road and the bus was so crowded people were standing too. It was terrible, but I could always find something worse. This was the university professor’s daily commute.

I did make it to Kushinagar to see some of the interesting sights there. A lot of local Indian students talked to me and took pictures of me. Some asked why I came to India. I thought, I was myself that same question everyday. After walking for hours, I had to get back to Gorakhpur. It seemed like there were little to no buses. I talked to a local person and he said the buses don’t stop here because so many students try to get on board without paying. However, there was another option, a shared jeep. Unfortunately,  this was so crowded it was painful. The driver of the car would refuse to go unless everyone was very uncomfortable. It was about an hour and a half ride, but there was not any other choice besides walking. Probably the worst trip I’ve taken in India. (photos)

Back in Gorakhpur, I just had to spend the night and then leave on a bus to Nepal in the morning. I had read in my guidebook that the mosquitoes were bad in this city. Luckily, I found a mosquito coil a few days earlier. You light it with a match and it fills your room with smoke and the mosquitoes do not bite you. The only downside is you’re breathing smoke all night.