The journey continues across the border in Nepal. If you are also traveling in Nepal or would like to know what it's like here, feel free to chime in.
Note the little sign that says "Immigration Office". You walk into a pleasant little office with a green front yard, hand over a fifty dollar bill, and get your thirty-day visa sticker. While leaving India I crossed paths with a German backpacker hippie bum in a sleeveless shirt and a do-rag. Why do whites dress worse than a street wino when they go to foreign countries? The first step for the crossing was to ride the passenger train one stop from Tanakpur to Banbasa. Then I walked 4 km through squalid Banbasa village and its surrounding forests to the "barrage", a dam bridge basically. The border doesn't quite follow the river, so after you go across the bridge, you're still in India. Lots and lots of people hit me up offering a ride along the whole way, which was lined with market vendors selling backpacks as low as $2.50, among many other things.However, I had spent the last of my Indian rupees on breakfast, so I had zero cash on hand and couldn't pay for anything. I got stamped out, then passed through two cordons of tough-looking police on either side of the border. A young Nepalese guy on a bicycle started harassing me as I began the 6 km walk into town from the border area. He kept saying he wanted to buy a dollar bill, but when I agreed to sell him one, his demands quickly escalated. Now he was no longer interested in a dollar; he wanted ten dollars. I told him I'd sell him a dollar bill for 150 Nepalese rupees, but he wasn't going to "see" any larger bill. He kept making rude remarks under his breath before trying some other tactic of demanding my attention. At last he settled with pretending like he was going to buy the dollar, then refusing to hand over the Nepalese currency as we agreed to, instead demanding that I show him ten dollars. That didn't go over well. I started trying to grab the payment from his hand, at which he handed me the dollar back and I snatched it up while calling him a robber. Thereafter he returned to his village.
Later on I'll post a pic or two of the streets here in Mahendra Nagar. They are so much neater, wider and more orderly than the streets of India. Even the main road had a gravelled shoulder suitable for walking alongside. Construction projects are actually cleaned up here; the rubble and debris isn't strewn everywhere without a care like it is in India. Bureaucracy in general also seems less onerous. It took me barely three minutes to get a cell phone SIM and plan going. Hotel check-in was a breeze as well. The German was also trying to buy a cell plan, but it was taking him a lot longer for some reason. He was also lathered in sweat and appeared to be stroogling, while I had already pulled cash from an ATM, found a semi-upscale A/C room, showered, changed into fresh clothes and eaten a filling lunch. Due to having no money I refused most people's offers of a ride, but an old man came by and gave me a lift the last 2 km into town without expecting any money.The afternoon has turned warm and muggy now that the sun has burned away the thick haze. Still not quite hot, only 33 C or so. I picked a random ATM and paid a 500 rupee access fee to pull twenty 1000 rupee notes (the fee is refunded by Schwab). Then I went to a different bank and broke four of the big bills for small purchases. Chinese food was a bad choice here; the flavors were very disappointing, and the 200 mL Mountain Dew bottle cost about $0.45 USD, which is double what they typically cost in India. Maybe soft drinks are more expensive in Nepal...my room is hardly a good deal either at 2500 NPR ($16.50 USD), but it has a modern A/C unit, good seating area and it's quiet inside. You can get rooms for much cheaper here; I just went for the first nice hotel I saw.Some online sources said that printed passport-size photos were necessary for the Nepal visa, but the officials took a digital photo and did not ask for any printed photos.
>>2881439>Later on I'll post a pic or two of the streets here in Mahendra Nagar.Take some creep shots of the women and do some cold approaches bro. I only met a few Nepalese so never got a good gauge on them
>>2881442So far I haven't seen young women loitering around in public here. Of course it is May in the flatlands, hot and sunny with an average high of 39 C. Who in their right mind would be standing around on the street (apart from the buxom ice cream vending ladies).There's a lot of ethnic diversity here, but that's no different from India. It's hard to say what the typical Nepalese looks like - some are almost black, while others could pass for Aryan. Once you go up into the mountains, the phenotypes change radically as certain tribes strongly prefer to live at altitude. There's a national park near here, Sukhlaplanta, but admission for foreigners is $10 USD. Not counting the taxi costs of getting to/from the park either...and then what? You go walking through the forest in the sweltering heat, or else pay even more for a tour of the park. Currently waiting on laundry, so I've gotta stay in this city one more night before boarding a bus to some other place, hopefully cooler and more mountainous. This room has useless WiFi and no hot water, despite costing $16.50 USD. I've been dissatisfied with the value of Nepal so far, though the people are quite friendly.
1600 rupees for this A/C budget room with thin hard beds. 1000 for non A/C. That's $10.75 USD and $6.50 USD respectively. The A/C makes an awful squeaking noise, but at least it works. There's always something wrong with these budget rooms, but most of the time you can't figure out what it is until you've already paid and checked in. By then it's too late.
I don't see what you get out of this lifestyle. If I go somewhere its to do something, not wander around shitholes and back alleys having petty disputes with locals. Probably some sex or drug thing you aren't telling us about.
>>2881598>>2881602It sounds like everything is a gouge there and India is better. Don't you have to pay $125 for the 90 day visa too
>>2881608The population density is lower and pace of life is much slower here, which is probably its biggest appeal compared to India's relentless traffic congestion. It's remarkable how few cars there are on the roads of this city (9th largest in Nepal BTW). Traffic is nearly all motorbikes and electric tuktuks. People are graceful and don't have that brusque indifferent manner when doing business that they have in Indian cities. Most Nepalese restaurants are grimy and traditional. No menu cards, no food photos, no branding. You eat what they serve and pay whatever price they tell you. Commonly they serve kanna sets, which are basically rice plates with dal, chicken/veg sabji, and an assortment of sides. Chapati are less common than in India. Typical non-veg price is 200-250 ($1.30-1.60 USD). I went to a nicer hotel restaurant and paid 350 for the chicken kanna set in picrel. A little overpriced; flavor was okay.Another thing worth noting, alcohol is sold literally everywhere here in Nepal. Local restaurants have liquor in display cabinets, and there seems to be a liquor store on every block. Across from my hotel is a dance club, kek. I guess people here like to drink and have a good time. >>2881604To you, "going somewhere" is setting out from your home on a journey. That's why you need a list of goals to structure your limited time away from home. My travel life OTOH is nomadpilled:>find a hospitable place to stay using public transport>acquire essentials: shelter, food, waterBecause most Third World destinations are shitty when you're living in a budget, I grow tired of them quickly. The constant change of setting is the principal mental appeal of the travel life, and public transport makes it very easy to move to the next town. If I stayed in one place for a long time, the lack of external stimulation would basically shut down my brain. I've always loved the idea of needing only a passport and a wad of cash to live free of others' expectations.
>>2881642Youre not living though. Youre just existing in a state of transit. You make no long term friends, have no accomplishments, you dont really do much of anything except go from point a to b over and over.Its truly hellish. Transit is always the worst part of visiting backwaters in the third world but its what you seek exclusively.No, there is another explanation for this fixation of yours.
ATM fees are quite high in Nepal. One ATM demanded 500, the next 850, and the next 750 (about $5 USD). I withdrew a big wad of cash in anticipation of tomorrow's trip into the mountains; you never know when local ATMs are not going to work. $100 in local currency sounds like a lot, but it's only five days' worth of expenses.As for a phone plan, 40 GB of data with 30 day validity cost me 600 NPR ($4 USD). The SIM card cost 100 NPR.There are many buses going to Budar, a small village at 1250 meters elevation about four hours' ride from here. Might as well stop there for a night. For now I'm drinking some Gorkha premium Nepali beer in my room, because it's still hot and humid outside at 5 PM. The beer cost 275 NPR or $1.81 USD per 500 mL can. English proficiency is limited here, but eventually your point gets across. They never have the beer selection or prices on display in these shops, so if you're not familiar with what they offer, you have to ask a bunch of questions. But this is South Asia, not Poland. Nobody's going to get annoyed with you for asking fifty questions about beer offerings & prices like you've never bought a can before.BTW I set out from Pune on April 3rd with the intention of flying out of Kathmandu on June 8th. You'd think that would be way too much time to cover this distance, but I've felt consistently pressured to keep moving forward since then. People think the world is small and easy to explore, but this is only true if you fly from one city to another. On ground level, the world remains vast and arduous to traverse. My Nepal visa is valid until June 10th, so I lost a couple days with a late arrival. No biggie; 28 days to get to Kathmandu allows for plenty of rest along the way. The flight to Bangkok was pricier than I wanted to pay. $239 for 2210 km is a ripoff in terms of cost per km, but there is no other option for leaving Nepal. The entire country has only one international airport.
>>2881651Imagine flying across the world with a pocket full of simpbux just to simp for some brownie hole that might offer you a higher probability of hole access than the pink holes back home. LOL, couldn't be me. There is literally no elaborate explanation. I got tired of living in a minivan that was on the verge of breaking down and decided to travel overseas instead so I could NEET it up in a real building with toilet and shower, and ride public transport to get to someplace new instead of driving. This isn't rocket science, unless you've been mindbroken into submission to your boomer parents and can't imagine a life without depending on them. LOL, couldn't be me.Despite still having plenty of money, I have a plane ticket back to America coming up in July. So I'll have to go back and try my luck in some shithole like Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Life is a perpetual stroogle, so you might as well accept it.
>>2881651It's a misdirection. He's doing this to post on facebook and have an alibi for his family/friends back home. He's flying to Bangkok in June and that's where the real fuckery beginsHe's going to all of these random outcrops in India and Nepal just so when he goes home he can memory his degenerate romp in Thailand where he banged/gets banged by ladyboys continually for a fortnight straight.
Is Mt Everest base camp worth visiting if I don't plan to actually climb the whole mountain, just see it up close? Like is there anything to do in the actual town nearby?
Why are there so many Nepalese criminals? When they get caught they pretend to be Tibetan.
>>2881436What is the Public Toilet Situation in nepal?
>>2881657>Like is there anything to do in the actual town nearby?>Town*VillageThis ain't a town, bro. Does it look like there's anything to do here?The trip to base camp is something you do for the sake of the trip to base camp and to see the mountains on the way. I had a great time but if you're not someone who enjoys hiking through mountains then I dunno what you're doing in Nepal.>>2881642Lowland Nepal is the worst part of the country imo. Beeline to the Himalayas and enjoy the mountains.
>>2881805Nepal is a lot duller and more uniform than India. English proficiency is limited in the countryside, and the people aren't very smart or literate either, so they struggle to understand the most basic ideas like "I would like to get a room". The food at the local dining shacks is pretty awful. They sure as hell don't know how to cook with spices like Indians do. Ingredients never seem to be fresh either, with customer volume as low as it is. Poor digestion is inevitable. Fuck, it's been six weeks since I last felt healthy and full of energy, ready to go climbing mountains every day. Eventually you forget what it's like not to be tired and out of sorts all the damn time. Rooms are very cheap in these dull mountain villages. 1000 rupees per night seems standard for a room with attached bathroom. But this village Budar isn't worth a stay. There's nothing to explore in the vicinity for a foot traveler, nothing to photograph. Hazy hills covered in pine forest or hideous village shacks along the roadside, that's about it. No wonder everyone says "go to Pokhara".>>2881716Awful dirty shitshacks near restaurants where buses and vans stop for rest breaks. Public transport is very disorganized here. Bus parks are a free-for-all of drivers and vehicles, all going wherever they please. Getting information is a real pain; you have to state your destination to somebody random and then he asks somebody else, etc etc until word gets around to the right driver, and then they direct you to the vehicle which is going where you want to go. With the curvy mountain roads, vomiting is very common among the passengers.Interestingly, electric vans are the norm here, even in the mountains. Every village has several fast charging stations.>>2881662South Asians are opportunists. Cash drawers are never left unlocked for a second here, because nobody trusts their neighbors. I don't trust anyone in this part of the world either, and the locals can definitely sense my wariness.
>>2881805I like hiking, I'm just not in a position to climb the whole mountain. I'd do a basic hike though
Now I have a gigantic wounded spider hiding in my room; somehow I lost track of it when it was running away, and now it's out of sight. Will it seek revenge for my attempt to kill it once the lights go out? Man do these villagers love to talk. Nothing else to do here, it seems. There's been non-stop chatter all afternoon and all evening outside my window, along with cooking fumes (that don't smell appetizing at all, despite my hunger).
