To the Lodge!

Everyone drinks….Thank God!

Turns out the lodge owner is a super cool guy. He is an amazing naturalist. Really knows the animals and wildlife here. Also great host! After about an hour into the drive…..he says “Hey…lets stop...for beer?” Heck yeh! First Nepali beer! Awesome! We go on further…and well of course we need to pee. We pull over at another little store front and he says “Well…since we have stopped…should we have some rum?” Yes! That is another great idea! I love Nepal!

First Nepali Beer! Happiness! (Photo: JLewis)

You may have noticed above I mentioned a bathroom break. And then you might remember how this is somewhat troubling and dare I say…traumatic for me ….so far. Well. We are in the rural countryside at some little home with a storefront. And how much you wanna bet there are no such things as western toilets here either? Yeh..no. Now is way worse because….Asian beers you should know…are HUGE! No wussy American size baby bottles. Which is great! Except…this means fuller bladder. Oh dear. So How did I get through?…………Don’t judge me! Same tactic. Don’t worry! I eventually get with the program and ….well…figure it all out…But…my first two go down as cheats.

First indication this is not Kansas

Driving here is …umm…..hazardous….but worse if you are on foot or bike according to the driver. IN fact….we come across a recently hit couple during this trek. The driver stops to check them out. “They are bloody” he says…”but probably nothing broken” and “Hey!”….he mentions…”They are alive!”  Which …it  seems….is very rare and worth celebrating about if you are hit.

Many people walk or bike…..pretty much the most dangerous way to travel (Photo: JLewis)

So what is it like so far? Being it is night….I can see very little. The Festival of lights just ended and everyone has Christmas lights strung on their homes. All just hanging straight down from their roofs. This is pretty much the only light source I see as we move along.

There is a heavy smell of smoke in the air. These are from trash fires that are at every home or business. There is no regular trash pick up here. Or anywhere in Asia that I visited.

As we get close to the lodge we have to cross a river…….in the river……there is no bridge. I ask what they do in storms. He says ………they wait.