FIVE MONTHS
I find myself back at my desk, in my room in Kathmandu, taking stock of the last five months that has seen me cross half the globe and return. The common misconception is that my 'travels' are during my time in Asia, when in fact, I have travelled more in those five months than I did in the previous seven - most of which found me sitting at this very desk.
Places to go, people to see, things to do - that is what travelling is about for me and in some ways, it doesn't matter what part of the world you do that, it is how you do it. The people you meet on the journey is what makes life interesting. I feel incredibly fortunate that this time in my life I am able to move around the world as I do. It is not as difficult as people think but simply a delicate balance of random pieces of paid work (often remote), no overheads, couch surfing, a little savings and spending as little money as possible other than on flights.
My time in California was spent either working on the project, primarily preparing for the screening event that we held in Santa Monica in September (check the Shakti blog for a more detailed update) or various freelance jobs to collect a few pennies to help me along the way. It was busy - I seemed to be jumping from place to place spending only a few nights in any one spot - but ultimately productive. I did manage to squeeze in a few camping trips - desert and mountains, soaking up the majesty of the west coast of America. Suffice to say, I enjoyed my time - work and play.
TEN DAYS: EASTBOUND (WITH DETOUR)
The last ten days has seen me hopscotch from LA to San Francisco to New York to New Delhi and finally landing in Kathmandu. The SF leg of that journey a last minute addition to secure my Indian visa for my transit through Delhi.
INDIAN VISA NOTE:
If anyone is intending to get an Indian visa in the States, beware of a few idiosyncrasies of the Travisa system (outsourced by the Indian government). Firstly, you MUST go through the office of your jurisdiction (which is why I could not get my visa in New York), even though that is not made clear on the website. Secondly, even though the online application allows you to apply for a transit visa through the SF office, when you arrive at the appointed time with a printout of your transit visa application and the SF office address, you will be informed that they do NOT issue transit visas there. So I had to get a tourist visa and opted for the 10 year, which fortuitously enough, I was granted!
Visa in hand, my day in the Bay paid off and I got to squeeze in a meal with one of my best friends and a few celebratory visa drinks with another, so all in all, well worth the detour. Then back to the airport for the red-eye to NY. Sixty fun-filled (alcohol-fuelled) hours in New York saying hello and farewell to an assortment of friends there, then half a day on a plane to Delhi. I think exhaustion outweighed the jet-lag.
My timing coincided with my friend Amit's birthday. He is the spice man I met on my first visit back to Delhi in 2010 and we've kept in touch since. He celebrated his birthday with a sumptuous meal on a rooftop overlooking the city with an interesting assortment of locals and foreigners - Russian, French, Chinese. After the meal, a handful of us went to a club in Gurgaon - my first nightclub experience in India. Gurgaon is south of Delhi and is actually in a different state so has different licensing regulations. It is also a very modern suburb and houses a lot of the international corporations and modern shiny malls. The club we went to, Empire, was in one such mall and I was surprised to find they had a fingerprinting system at the door.
The ratio of men to women was probably about 20 to 1, so unsurprisingly, I got more attention than I have ever had in a nightclub - sometimes to the point that I had to kick someone in the shin - and Amit actually kneed someone in the balls on my behalf. It was a bit like swatting flies whilst dancing but I didn't take it too seriously. Understandably, the other girl in our party, Maria (Amit's Russian friend who speaks better Hindi than he) found it rather unpleasant. We were able to take refuge in the VIP area and before too long we were back in Amit's car speeding north through the quiet streets. In spite of the hassle, I have to admit to having had a good time - sometimes a little boogie shakes off the cobwebs of hours on a plane.
The next day was my flight back to Kathmandu and I was much dismayed to be charged excess baggage for the first time in all these travels. As I paid with a card, I suddenly realised I didn't have enough cash for my Nepali visa. What to do? I guess figure it out when I get there. I was further inconvenienced at security when I was made to remove all 8 of my external hard drives in addition to my computer to send my bag through the machine again. Delhi airport did redeem itself though with it's relatively pleasant, albeit caged, outdoor smoking area.
I was quite intrigued by the cigarette lighter they provided.
And soon enough I was on the plane back to Nepal. It's a short flight and as we headed east towards Kathmandu, the Himalayas, poking through the clouds, were illuminated pink by the setting sun. My heart smiled. But I smiled even more when I found myself outside the airport at the ATM having not yet gone through customs or immigration because the ATM machine in the immigration hall was broken so I had to leave the airport to collect cash and then go backwards back up to the immigration hall to then exchange rupees into dollars (they don't accept visa payment in their own currency for some reason) to pay for my visa. They did hold my passport while I was gone, but still... Definitely back in Nepal!
I find myself back at my desk, in my room in Kathmandu, taking stock of the last five months that has seen me cross half the globe and return. The common misconception is that my 'travels' are during my time in Asia, when in fact, I have travelled more in those five months than I did in the previous seven - most of which found me sitting at this very desk.
Places to go, people to see, things to do - that is what travelling is about for me and in some ways, it doesn't matter what part of the world you do that, it is how you do it. The people you meet on the journey is what makes life interesting. I feel incredibly fortunate that this time in my life I am able to move around the world as I do. It is not as difficult as people think but simply a delicate balance of random pieces of paid work (often remote), no overheads, couch surfing, a little savings and spending as little money as possible other than on flights.
My time in California was spent either working on the project, primarily preparing for the screening event that we held in Santa Monica in September (check the Shakti blog for a more detailed update) or various freelance jobs to collect a few pennies to help me along the way. It was busy - I seemed to be jumping from place to place spending only a few nights in any one spot - but ultimately productive. I did manage to squeeze in a few camping trips - desert and mountains, soaking up the majesty of the west coast of America. Suffice to say, I enjoyed my time - work and play.
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| Newport Harbor, CA |
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| Toketee Hot Springs, OR |
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| El Mirage Lake Bed, CA |
TEN DAYS: EASTBOUND (WITH DETOUR)
The last ten days has seen me hopscotch from LA to San Francisco to New York to New Delhi and finally landing in Kathmandu. The SF leg of that journey a last minute addition to secure my Indian visa for my transit through Delhi.
INDIAN VISA NOTE:
If anyone is intending to get an Indian visa in the States, beware of a few idiosyncrasies of the Travisa system (outsourced by the Indian government). Firstly, you MUST go through the office of your jurisdiction (which is why I could not get my visa in New York), even though that is not made clear on the website. Secondly, even though the online application allows you to apply for a transit visa through the SF office, when you arrive at the appointed time with a printout of your transit visa application and the SF office address, you will be informed that they do NOT issue transit visas there. So I had to get a tourist visa and opted for the 10 year, which fortuitously enough, I was granted!
Visa in hand, my day in the Bay paid off and I got to squeeze in a meal with one of my best friends and a few celebratory visa drinks with another, so all in all, well worth the detour. Then back to the airport for the red-eye to NY. Sixty fun-filled (alcohol-fuelled) hours in New York saying hello and farewell to an assortment of friends there, then half a day on a plane to Delhi. I think exhaustion outweighed the jet-lag.
My timing coincided with my friend Amit's birthday. He is the spice man I met on my first visit back to Delhi in 2010 and we've kept in touch since. He celebrated his birthday with a sumptuous meal on a rooftop overlooking the city with an interesting assortment of locals and foreigners - Russian, French, Chinese. After the meal, a handful of us went to a club in Gurgaon - my first nightclub experience in India. Gurgaon is south of Delhi and is actually in a different state so has different licensing regulations. It is also a very modern suburb and houses a lot of the international corporations and modern shiny malls. The club we went to, Empire, was in one such mall and I was surprised to find they had a fingerprinting system at the door.
The ratio of men to women was probably about 20 to 1, so unsurprisingly, I got more attention than I have ever had in a nightclub - sometimes to the point that I had to kick someone in the shin - and Amit actually kneed someone in the balls on my behalf. It was a bit like swatting flies whilst dancing but I didn't take it too seriously. Understandably, the other girl in our party, Maria (Amit's Russian friend who speaks better Hindi than he) found it rather unpleasant. We were able to take refuge in the VIP area and before too long we were back in Amit's car speeding north through the quiet streets. In spite of the hassle, I have to admit to having had a good time - sometimes a little boogie shakes off the cobwebs of hours on a plane.
The next day was my flight back to Kathmandu and I was much dismayed to be charged excess baggage for the first time in all these travels. As I paid with a card, I suddenly realised I didn't have enough cash for my Nepali visa. What to do? I guess figure it out when I get there. I was further inconvenienced at security when I was made to remove all 8 of my external hard drives in addition to my computer to send my bag through the machine again. Delhi airport did redeem itself though with it's relatively pleasant, albeit caged, outdoor smoking area.
I was quite intrigued by the cigarette lighter they provided.
