Life on a Bus

After many, many bus rides here in Nepal, I think I am finally able to block everything out and ignore the chaos that is ALWAYS happening.  And what does that include you might be asking?  Well, here is what some of the bus rides here have entailed.   

Overbooked buses, which require me to sit up front with the bus driver and all the locals.  Which is fine, until the small children begin puking and then proceed to toss their puke bags out the window.  Just because it’s raining doesn’t mean the windshield wipers need to be turned on.  Stopping alongside the highway (more like cliff side) to have a bathroom break.  Listening to the sound of the horn throughout the ENTIRE journey.  Praying with closed eyes just because it’s necessary.  And of course the boxes of live chickens who wouldn’t stop chirping for the life of them.  I eventually learned that the reasons for taking Dramamine are two-fold.  One, I don’t get sick.  And two, it completely knocks me out and I actually have a chance of sleeping for oh….about 7 minutes before I either hear another horn or find out we’re stopped on the middle of a high mountain road bcuz the cows have decided they don’t want to move. 

Up front w/the locals and one other foreigner who wasn't happy

Cliff-side driving

I dont think there is a "right" side of the road to be on

 

 After finally making it to my destination of Lumbini, I somehow ended up staying at Korean Monastery for a few nights.  I honestly don’t even know how this happened, but it was pretty rad.  For $3/day, that got me a bed…or maybe it would be more accurate to say a pad on the floor with a net over it, a bucket shower, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Granted it was the exact same food for every meal, which of course meant rice and vegetable curry for breakfast….but it somehow still tasted amazing. 

Korean ceremony in my home for a few days :)

our nets :)

 Lumbini, which is the birthplace of Buddha, was a pretty peaceful place.  There were a whole lot of monks, Buddhist temples from a bunch of different countries, and quotes from Buddha scattered all along the gardens.  Oh and prayer flags galore.  Definitely was a cool little place and worth the 16.5 hour roundtrip bus ride that wuz a journey in itself.