an example

 

Things are getting better for the agriculture nowadays since exists people like Dr Muhamad Yunus ( awarded with Nobel Prize for Peace in 2006) the owner of Grameen Bank, an example in micro-credit. They offer micro credits to groups af small families to start a small business. Grameencredit is based on the premise that the poor have skills which remain unutilised or under-utilised. It is definitely not the lack of skills which make poor people poor. Grameen believes that the poverty is not created by the poor, it is created by the institutions and policies which surround them. Grameen brought credit to the poor, women, the illiterate, the people who pleaded that they did not know how to invest money and earn an income. Grameen created a methodology and an institution around the financial needs of the poor, and created access to credit on reasonable term enabling the poor to build on their existing skill to earn a better income in each cycle of loans. Over 70 milions people are beneficiary of this. That’s an incredible number! So, ones the poorest country in the world gives an example of credit. Let’s not forget that also Amartya Sen, the famous economist, also awarded with a Nobel for economy was also born here. He is based in Calcutta.

the north east

It was quite a break after the Indian way of life to get to this Himalayans places all of sudden. Almost 2 month passed, and it was time to go southern ways again. The north eastern part of the India: Northeast region of India is a pristine territory, completely unexplored. The valley is adorned with lush green vegetation, majestic mountains and untamed rivers. It is also abode of exquisite range of flora and fauna and the magnificent tribal life. A varied number of tribes and tribal groups each with its own distinct culture inhabit the region of northeast India. Many tribal languages are spoken throughout these seven states. The northeastern states have the highest percentage of Christians. The region also has its state importance as it is bordering the territories of China, Tibet, Bhutan, Myanmar andBangladesh.

I 

I was about to get through troubledAssam state, through the rainy Meghalaya (abode of clouds), finally reach to the (uninspired) Tripura. The north eastern states of India are worlds apart. I did not have the time, organization to visit the remoted ones: Arunachal, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland: all very exotic with oriental cultures, tribalism being their way of life. Assam I passed in hurry is actually what’s left of the British Assam (which had all the north eastern states include). Assam is the producer of 60% of the tea in India, and is home to Kaziranga National Park which harbours 1/3 of the world’s population of one-horned rhinos.

Shilong was my stop in Meghalaya. It was the former capital of British Assam. Just near here, 1 hour drive is the officially wettest point on earth. While the whole world knows of Cherrapunjee as the wettest place on earth, very little is known of Meghalaya the state it is in. Back to Shilong you step back (again) in time walking through all this great bungalow areas built by British. At one point this place was called the
Scotland of the East, the British ruled from here the entire north east.  A long 20something hour bus ride in a military convoy brought me to Tripura, the southern state bordering Bangladesh which was my aim destination. I was back to the hot-humid weather after a long pleasant roaming around Himalayan freshy environment. It was time to forget the chowmein and momos diet. No more Buddhist chanting kissing my ears. Welcome to humid atmosphere of the Bay of Bengal.

the land of the thunder dragon

 

Most people agree that Bhutan (The land of the thunder dragon ) is no ordinary place. Somehow, it has maintained the traditional culture and also adapted the new technology as a way of modern living.The land of Bhutan is stupendous: rolling hills, deep valleys-all very inviting. It’s the country which due to the little deforestation can be very natural and create a great balance between nature and the inhabitants. As many places with the alpine look and medium size, Bhutan was also compared with Switzerland: same scenario- green hills, chalets and white peaks on the dramatic backgrounds. There are no 8000 meters peaks here, but the mountains tend to be rugged and beautiful and still largely unexplored. There is still to these days confusion and controversy over the name, height and even location  of many peaks; Khar Puensum(7451) remains the highest unclimbed peak in the world. The mountains, weather and snow conditions are fierce. World class climbers of high-altitudes failed to climb, even Reinhold Messner, The Reinhold Messner, failed to climb anything in Bhutan saying that “the prevailing snow conditions would have been  suicidal”. At one point the govt. decided to prohibit climbing, after villagers living near the peaks asked it to, for religious reasons. It’s still like a forbidden land to many: it has a small population of (officially 700.000-UN stretched this to more than 1 million) of which: 42% are under 15 yeas old. Being a rural country, 80% of the population lived more than an hour’s walk from a main road and as much as 50% lives more than one day of walking from a motorable road.Until the King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk’s modernization most non-Indians travelers were explorers. Few foreigners were allowed inside even during the 60’s; only the royal family had the authority to invite foreigners so all of the visitors were their guests. In ’61 Desmond Doig, a friend the royal family was the first to trek on National Geographic assignment. Also in the 60’s some geologists made some field trips. In time, after ’74 small groups were allowed to travel. The first paying groups came organized also n the 70’s by Lars Lindblad, known in the world of tourism as a pioneer. He also encouraged the government to charge high fees and limit the number of the incoming tourists. Soon after was established a quota of 200 tourists/year and the cost was at 130$/day/pers(large amount in that time). In ’83 the national airport was constructed at Paro and so the new formed Druk Air( still the only airline flying into Bhutan). In the same time was formed the Bhutan Department of tourism which was the administrators of the travel industry. It became private in ’91. The rules were and are to these days very simple, yet very carefully thought out and strictly enforced. The basic policy is that foreign tourists pay 200$ for each night spent in Bhutan. This is not a visa fee! It’s an all-inclusive rate that covers all the food, accommodation, transport and guide services. 35% out of this currently goes to government as a tourist tax, the rest to the tour operators. And believe me, it all makes sense, and the rates are not absurd, so are not the percentages used by the govt. It’s a particular case, and I had course on that when I was student of tourism in Greece. That was in ’97 and was a turning point for their industry I realize just now. So, if you are not a project volunteer or some NGO shit, an Indian national or a friend of the royal family ( which me and my dear friend Hana try to be-or at least we think of that- She suggested we should put a spell on the heirs), you have to probably accept the Bhutanese way of travel.

glimpse of Bhutan

 

 gate to Bhutan from Indian side and from Bhutan side

In 2002 Phuensholyng the border city of Bhutan with
India was made a free zone, and foreigners were allowed to visit it as a day trip. Not anymore. I new that. You need a valid visa for that. And for the moment I had no pockets from which I could fork the 200$/day. Even the 4 days trip, would have been 800$. I thought of it. Too much for the current budget. And 4 days. What’s that? I decided anyway to travel till there and see how the situation is. In the evening  I was roaming around, and with guts I just walked through the border officers like I owned the place. They said some Hello , but I didn’t bother to look back. I avoided the eye contact. My steps hurried and no hesitation…few more metres and I was in
Bhutan. Just as you do when you want to get pass an idiot bouncer in a
London club. Phuentsholyng is not much anyway, it’s a small place, but there you fell the difference: of sudden the cacophony of the roads of
India is left behind, fresh clean streets and sidewalks appear. It’s relaxed. People are smiling, they do not mind you at all. The women rush , and proud male wearing their Ghos (tipically Bhutanese robe) many with a dagger attached roam the side walks. It was evening and the electricity was gone soon after. I roamed the streets for a while glad to make it. I went for dinner in a small restaurant, dined on pork dishes and good mushrooms and drank Druk11000 the local beer. Did I mention that they don’t pay taxes here, so booze is cheap. My next stop was the tailor shop to acquire a Ghos for myself. I chose a striped one and the guy told me to come the next morning. I walked easily back and nobody minded about me. I thought that is all ok, and the next morning I was heading again to my tailor appointment. But this time some officers asked me to produce a visa for them. Errr…Visa, Why? I played dumb? One soldier came and told them I was also yesterday. I said, yes of course. After a 2 minutes small discussions they told me that the fine is 10000Rupees if I get caught, so I should consider lucky I made it the evening before. I agree on that and I returned back. Later I found a way over a small rivulet where I jumped over, and made it to my tailor, got my nice Ghos and sneaked out at the speed light.

my name is Panda. Red Panda

The Red Panda, or “firefox,” is often referred to as the “lesser panda” in deference to the better-known giant panda. Is the national animal of Sikkim but very hard to find. Few people outside its native habitat have even heard of the red panda, let alone seen one. Unique in their behavior and specialized in their habitat requirements, they have no close living relatives.  It’s found in Nepal, northeastern India (West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh), Bhutan, and part of China. I remember I saw them while in China in summer 2003. It was in a zoo(of course) in Chengdu. Or Xi’an? Vali, help me!

 If you like them, you can adopt one here: http://www.redpandaproject.org/getinvolved/adopt.php

Sikkim mosaic

Sikkim

My journey around the Himalayans kingdoms continues, and after a long ride I’m back in India. In Darjeeling I took my permit for Sikkim (very easy), which is only few hours ride with a jeep towards north. The road is good and everything is wrapped in mists and clouds.
Sikkim is a garden state with an incredible variety of orchids, rhododendrons, gladioli and a host of other flowers; tumbling streams and torrents; mountain monasteries and quaint shopping chowks. The land of the mighty Khangchendzonga. This is the second smallest state of India, Sikkim, nestled in the heart of the Himalayas.

 

“Small but beautiful” it’s the tourist bureau logo. Somehow true. Spread below Mount Khangchendzonga (8534 mts.), the third highest mountain in the world (the same I refered earlier as Kanchenjunga-different spell by the Indians), which is revered by the Sikkimese as their protective deity, Sikkim shares her borders with Tibet in the North, Bhutan in the East, Nepal in the West and the Indian state of West Bengal in the South..

 

Mt.Khangchendzonga is an indisputable part of the consciousness of the Sikkimese people, so too are the rivers Tista and Rangit with deep ravines and valleys that allow the monsoons to penetrate and nourish this garden state. Other than Mount Khangchendzonga, the best known peaks are Pauhunri (7125m), Pandim (6691m), Talung (6147m), Tent Peak (7365m), Jongsang (7459m), Rathong (6679m), Koktang (6147m) and Sinioulchu (6887m), regarded by mountaineers as the most beautiful peak in the world.

Sikkim offers a spectacular and unique experience. Alike Nepal, within a matter of hours one can move from the sub-tropical heat of the lower valleys to the cold of the rugged mountain slopes that reach up to the areas of perpetual snow.

Like in all the other Himalayan settlements, people of Sikkim: Lepchas, Nepalese and Bhutias, are warm, simple and friendly. It’s a hassle free place, and you can enjoy the nature at its best. The festivals here are amazing displays of costumes and performances normally inside the inner yards of the gompas. I didn’t see any, but I made my way around and could see the wardrobes.

 

 

 Near Gangtok, at Deorali, there is  a unique Institute of  Tibetology, and is one one of the most prestigious depository of Tibetan literature, rare manuscripts, paintings, thangkas, statues and religious objects and other works of art and history: 30 thousand volumes, mostly xylographs, translations of the original teachings of the Lord Buddha, and treatises by distinguished Buddhist scholars from different parts of the world. It’s a must for the people in search of original Tibetan stuff.

Nepal mosaic

Nepal reloaded

The long way across the Tibetan plateau is starting to descent slowly and we reach Kodari-the funky town border with Nepal. The vegetation starts to appear, the narrow gorge road is dramatic, and suddenly to our delight the smells of the subcontinent are heavy in the air. A nice ride passes the valley and we’re back to Kathmandu again. We base again at the southern part of Thamel. Thamel is the tourist area of Kathmandu, is where almost all the travelers base. This time of the year is quite good for trekking, so they is a fair amount of tourists on the crammed streets of Thamel. They move around purchasing Gore Tex stuff and preparing to go for trekking., hiking , climbing, white water rafting, whatever. It’s true after all; Nepal is sort of a paradise for adventure travel. First thing we do is to head straight to Everest Steak House to feast our palate with a juicy bloody huge steak. I choose the simple one, Vali goes for the ginger flavored one. Johnnie smiles from a plastic bottle on the corner of my part of the table. It’s good to be back and enjoy a great meal after the austere fat only yak butter everything form Tibet. I was ok with their food because I like noodles, but for some reason Vali had some movements around his middle part of the body.

As I said Nepal is sort of a Mecca for adventure tourism, and the facts are in their advantage. Somehow, all this kind of development I dunnot enjoy it. It seems that all the places for a reason become the same. So I tried to spend my time in Nepal away a bit from the GoreTex crowd. For this reason I chose to go to places not very crowded and enjoy the locals, which are kind and sincere. Mountain people. Begnas and Rupa Tal, Ghorka, Bandipur were some of my destinations, few people and great weather. Pokhara, where is the starting point for majority of the treks, was very crowded, I did not enjoy it very much. I chose to do some treks on my own and not to go on the Annapurna circuit or whatever.

 

Many travelers they rush t go on a trek, and they don’t explore the Kathmandu Valley, which is very nice. Some places are hard to access, In Nepal roads are something new(in the last 50 years). I’m in a mellow mood and do not feel writing more

faces of Nepal