The recent trip to India and Nepal will remain in the hearts and minds of 21 people forever. We were fortunate to have been able to share almost 4 weeks of the most memorable sights, foods, senses and experiences available to FF travellers.

Unlike an journey (alias exchange), our meetings with local people were in our hotels and at dinner in their homes. Because there is only one club in India (and that is in the south) this is one way of experiencing Indian culture first hand. Each of us reported quite different circumstances after our home visits, although most hosts were from the business sector and lived most comfortably. In our own experience, the hostess performed a small religious ceremony, blessing the food before we ate it, in honour of the birth of a grandson that very day. She belonged to the Sikh religion, while her husband was a Hindu – they had an agreement that the household was vegetarian but that they would go out regularly so that she could eat meat. Abstinence from meat, though, certainly didn't mean that there was no alcohol!

The tour leader terms himself 'Mr. Friendship Force' in Delhi and has developed this program to suit our needs. He made sure that we saw everything possible within the 13 days we were in his care. We stayed in luxurious hotels, travelled in a comfortable, air-conditioned bus and ate only the best food. We were treated to numerous cultural discourses by our guides and have come away with a comprehensively improved understanding of life in India.

Obviously the 'piece de resistance' for all of us was the visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra but it must be said that each and every day brought a new surprise and we learned much about the history and culture in the other major cities we were privileged to visit. Agra is a city with at least 3 World Heritage sites, including the famous Red Fort and the most beautiful Fatepur Sikri, a Mughal capital from the 16th century.

One highlight was the riding of elephants up to the Amber Fort in Jaipur, the wonderful pink city – but Jaipur itself was a magical place, teeming with people and blazing with colour at every turn. Rob Harris suggested we also visited the Jaigarh Fort above the Amber Fort, which some believe is the better. We could have done with having more than only two days in Jaipur.

Khajuraho is off the beaten track for many tourists but we were taken there to see the amazing temples – 89 if I remember correctly – which were constructed over many years, beginning in the 10th century. Here we were "treated" to the carvings from the Karma Sutra amidst plenty of embarrassed giggles and some ribald comments. Several of our number visited the local school where the students sat on a dirt floor, doing their work on slates! Our hearts were touched to think of these children who considered themselves privileged to be able to receive an education and yet were working with no educational materials – one of those times it becomes so blatantly obvious how much we have in comparison to them.

Last newsletter contained a report written "on the road" which was full of our visit to Varanasi. That city remains the most indelibly emblazoned in our minds, where we were onlookers to both the dawn and sunset ceremonies of the Hindu people, at the ghats on the holy Ganges River. It's not possible to satisfactorily describe the crowds, the colour, the people bathing in the seemingly putrid waters, the cows, the dogs, the alleys, the funeral pyres – did I mention the crowds? – our 6 kilometre ride in rickshaws, a true thrill ride, the bazaars, the traffic and the quite electric atmosphere. We were there on the first day after Ramadan, which only added to the crowds on the streets and there were preparations being made for an upcoming festival with parked rickshaws supporting ladders onto which intrepid "electricians" climbed to string lights across the street! Factor this into the traffic which can only be imagined – no rules whatsoever, streets jammed with all sorts of vehicles, cows, dogs and people, only someone with a suicide wish would mount a ladder in these conditions. Truly, Varanasi was the highlight.

Most of us flew from Varanasi to Kathmandu to begin our 10 day visit to Nepal. That flight, or at least the check-in for it, deserves special mention. There are only 4 flights per week to Kathmandu from this airport and the next would not be for 2 days – it was vital that we caught that plane. It turned out that the flight was fully booked and there were some people prepared to offer bribes to obtain a seat. Obviously we had to keep the group together so it was necessary to pay counter-bribes to retain our reservations. Robin conducted the check-in procedure, disappearing numerous times, as we waited in fairly basic facilities. The procedure seemed to be interminable in very warm conditions. Finally all was completed and we were free to go through security – women in one line and men in the other (this is standard in India, both at airports and national monuments, since everybody is subject to a comprehensive body frisking) and we were allowed through to the gate waiting area. Robin was called away, yet again, as one traveller's luggage was being re-investigated. When he returned to the group he was able to report that he had needed to grease the palms of officials at each point of the check-in process – it had been 3 times but when the luggage had been taken out for a second check, another bribe was necessary! We are so lucky that corruption is not a factor in the Australian way of life.

Flying into Kathmandu we saw beautiful green mountains surrounding what looked to be a well laid out city, fresh and beautiful. When we landed it was to find Nepal to be every bit as hot and steamy as India had been and the city preparing for the main holy festival of the year. We were touched by the number of people leading goats along the street – what wonderful people they must be to take such care of their goats as to walk them! Most of us were horrified to find that, in fact, these goats had just been purchased and were being led home in readiness for their sacrifice several days later!

Our first day of sightseeing was a walking tour of Kathmandu – the absolutely unique Durbar Square which, while initially appearing to be quite decrepit, gradually "grew on us" and assumed an unexpected beauty and fascination. We entered the temple, where our guide called out for the resident Kumari – living goddess – to come and greet us. This 4 year old goddess, chosen for her purity and courage, lives in the temple from infancy till menstruation and is worshipped as a goddess during that time. Once she sheds blood (even if it might be as result of an injury which causes bleeding) she leaves the temple and a new Kumari is installed. The superstition and primitive belief system was quite a revelation to most of us.

Then we were off to Pokhara, at the foot of the Annapurnas, in readiness for our two-day mountain trek. Remember I said it was at the beginning of their major festival? Imagine a big proportion of the 26 million population leaving town to visit family members – the road we were to travel was the road to India so there were trucks galore along with buses filled to the gunwales with people, the excess of which sat atop the bus, along with some of those unfortunate goats destined for sacrifice. Add to this innumerable motorcycles (the transport of choice in Nepal) and sundry other motor vehicles. Gridlock! We had a 190 km journey ahead of us and the estimated duration was 6 hours. In fact, we drew into Pokhara 9 hours later! Interestingly no-one went to sleep – how could you, every moment being of interest, on the road itself and alongside the road as we passed through hamlet after hamlet on the way. Our hotel was exquisite, on an island (once the holiday home of the King of Nepal) in the middle of a lake, reached by way of a hand pulled punt.

Early the next morning we set off for a ride up the mountain to begin our "trek", minus Pat Ellis who chose the swimming pool instead. In a mountain village we alighted the bus and set off on a gentle climb, all happily talking and enjoying the surroundings. As often happens, the group soon separated into the hares and the tortoises, some intent on being at the top first while others stopped to take photos and investigate the local flora. Soon we encountered some steps – the first of what must have been tens of thousands, maybe even millions! The terrain became much more challenging and then they threw in another factor – leeches! It was steamy and the track wound ever upward, cunningly appearing to be the top of something, but each 'top' turned out to be a corner and the beginning of another endless climb. We trekked across streams and along leafy paths, each walker vested with the responsibility of watching the feet of the walker in front to alert them of any leeches which might have attached themselves and be climbing down into their sneakers. We all quickly became adept at flicking these beggars away but some were very swift and cunning and had already managed to 'bite/suck' a number of us. Amazing how quickly we all adapted a very blasé approach to blood spots on our persons.

We had all been very dismissive of the need for porters at the beginning of this 'trek' but now some of our number had very gladly accepted the help and support of these very nimble young people who carried backpacks and offered arms whenever a walker began to flag.

After what seemed to be an eon (in fact it was about 4 hours) we reached the lunch spot and all slumped into a seat ready for sustenance. Our afternoon walk was really very short as we were actually quite close to our overnight accommodation. Lucky! Not long after we resumed walking the rain began and we were all very, very pleased to reach the top of the mountain where stood the quirky "Australian Camp" built some years before by a group of Australians who accidentally came across this wonderful plateau, the beauty of which we would remain unaware till morning.

The rain came down heavier and heavier until it seemed to be in sheets, accompanied by the odd flash of lightning just to add to the atmosphere. Our rooms were basic – very basic – but we all fell in love with the place. Food was excellent and the beer plentiful. The guide sent us off to bed with the promise that he would wake us at sunrise if the mountains were showing through the clouds.

Early, very early, came the call to come and look. The sky was blue and the snow-capped Annapurnas were lined up right before our eyes! We were all open-mouthed at the sight and cameras clicked without pause. Whatever the effort had been to climb this mountain, it was promptly forgotten in the pleasure of this view.

After breakfast it was time to set off downhill. We passed through village after village along the way, pausing for a drink or to observe some of the activities, one or two which would have been better unseen, including the hoisting of a severed goat's head and the butchering of a cow. We passed through rice paddies enjoying a gloriously sunny day and then, suddenly, the path grew steeper and the rate of progress slowed. The last couple of hours on that downward trek were very challenging for some, interestingly more so for some who had led on the upward journey. All were very happy to reach the bottom and, looking upward from the bottom, found it difficult to believe that we had managed the descent.

We moved on to Chitwan National Park the next day where we enjoyed some very special encounters with elephants, both with a two hour safari and a an educational session. The highlight of the latter being Terri Gaite's attempt to mount the elephant – see picture!

Elephant education – how to mount an elephant and riding her down to the river to bathe.

We visited the local village where some of the braver men (and Pat Ellis) tried the home-made 'hooch' and we were invited to enter the houses for a look at their way of life. One thing which had captured the imagination of us all was that each and every village had constructed an enormous swing, a truly enormous one, from bamboos. Obviously they were somehow connected to the festival which was still in full-swing (no pun intended) but we needed to know why. It turns out that it is a religious requirement that everyone, young and old alike, must leave the ground at this time and a swing is a great way to achieve that. Some of us had great fun helping the local lads to make the rope which was tightly twisted local reedy grass.

Returning to Kathmandu, we were all ready for our flight over Mt Everest. Early in the morning we were out at the airport where it was obvious that big business is conducted with numerous flights, on several airlines, going out in quick succession. It was an excellent flight, beautiful clear sky and magical mountains the whole way out to Everest. Those seated on the wrong side of the aircraft on the way out were invited, one by one, into the cockpit, from whence an excellent approach view could be captured. The airline company handled the flight in a very fair and even fashion. The mountain range was exceptionally beautiful and we discovered peaks even more spectacular than Everest, although lower, especially one which is considered to be holy to the Nepalese and which is not permitted to be climbed.

 

 

Our last day in Kathmandu was a flurry of shopping in the morning, at the tourist sector of Thamel and where many a bargain was to be sourced. In the afternoon our group split in two, the first to go to the Sunrise Children's Village orphanage and the second with the president of the FF in Kathmandu, to inspect the very special humanitarian projects which he has instituted.

Those who went to the orphanage took along the gifts we had all brought for the children and came back full of praise for the great organisation they had seen, beautiful children and a well run institution, founded by an Adelaide girl, Emma Taylor, and to which the FF of Adelaide had donated the $1100 raised at a sausage sizzle during the year.

Those of us who went with Shiva Shrestha to inspect his humanitarian works were gob-smacked by the fact that this youthful, eternally smiling, man had given up his day-job to concentrate on improving the lot of the poverty-stricken local people. We visited one of 11 mother and child health centres that Shiva has constructed in suburban Kathmandu – with donated funds and using volunteer labour. Much of this work is supported by the FF club there and the members who are mostly business people supply moral support too. It was touching to see this ultra basic building, rudely furnished, which offers free medical treatment by volunteer doctors, to local women and their children. Only the ground floor is complete and an unfinished stairway leads to a partially completed second floor and a non-existent third floor. Shiva has made a connection in Japan and the volunteer builders all come from there. They "camp" on the premises and work for two weeks at a time when donated funds allow for the purchase of materials. We came away fervently wanting to help in some way – maybe we can arrange an all-Australian journey (alias exchange) to Kathmandu, one sector of which might be working in one of these projects. I, for one, would dearly love to be able to contribute to the furnishing and decoration of these centres and I'm sure that there are many talented handymen and women who would revel in the opportunity to help. Upon leaving the health centre, we were taken on a tour of the local community, guided by the Mayor.

The area was old and historic, the people came out of their homes to greet us and were happy for us to peek in at their doors and to observe their activities. We were treated to a very special commentary and felt very warmly welcomed in a most unexpected way, as we walked around these very old streets. Barbara Mercorella made a very pertinent observation in that visiting neighbourhoods with FF people is totally different from being a tourist. She was so right! In a recent communication from Shiva, he had just returned from 2 weeks building a road in a village community, money for which he had raised in his own community. This man is Friendship Force personified and should be recognised for what he is.

This was an exceptionally special trip to two most interesting countries, offering sights and experiences which can be truly termed exotic and not to be found anywhere else in the world.

Thank you Friendship Force!