Nainital prep for Corbett National Park
we've done our epic train journey, survived another round in Delhi, and a night train and jeep ride to Nainital. it is pretty here, but not a lot for us to do... it is a mainly-Indian tourist attraction -- not oriented to foreign guests. we've played miniature golf [twice], took an arial tram, plan to have a paddle-boat race tomorrow, perhaps visit a cave
we are preparing for a visit to Corbett National Park, and scrambling for other activities to fill our days... it's not a comfortable place for any of us to be in. can't canoe, rafting not available in this area, a few short treks available but we don't seem to be energetic enough to actually schedule them -- people want to sell us bus tours and we look at them and realize we aren't up for that either....... petulant bunch I guess!
news from Nepal is still rough, although for that country perhaps this is a crisis that will result in long-term peace and prosperity -- I certainly hope so. For us, it looks less and less likely that we will be able to visit on this trip -- the US asked everyone to leave as soon as possible; the last time the UK issued a travel warning they waited 10 days after the violence subsided before lifting the warning........... many people who are already IN Nepal are dealing with day-time curfews, food shortages, and violence towards demonstrators as well as those who violate curfew... if we think we are bored now, just what would we be like with DAYS of being sequestered in a hotel room??????
we like each other, and still have lots of good memories of our time together; we are starting to worry that if we continue to "piss about" we will seriously get on each other's nerves... many of the adventurous things we planned to do are just not available here or would require us to travel extensively between each event.
this morning we asked our group leader if the VentureCo company would buy us off and conclude the trip at the first of May if we can't get into Nepal. They gave some members a very generous settlement in Darjeeling, there are some rumors that it was too generous [a miscalculation on their part] -- it would be unfortunate if there was no buy-out option for us, or if they were not equally generous with us............. but we remain in the wait-and-see mode until we have a solid answer from them.
what does this mean for me? we go from here to Corbett, and then back to Delhi around the 29th. once we are in Delhi, what my next steps will be determined by how much funds I have available... there are a couple of things I might do before I leave -- I can hang w/ a subset of people who are planning to stay if they can afford it... or I could change my flights and come home early.
not sure I am able to process the emotional side of this. it feels good to have the conversation out in the open rather than having thoughts and not sharing them. because I like these people, I don't want to end the trip overshadowing some of the great memories we've already made together.
it seems sad and disquieting... the most pervasive feeling is that we are tired. tired of India perhaps, especially since we were pumped to go to Nepal... but even as I write, I realize I'm in limbo -- hadn't planned to be in Utah, so there is just as much reason for me to stay here as to go... guess that I'm a leaf in the breeze, will have to see how the winds blow.
my next post I should have a bit more information about what I will be doing personally [should be around 1st May]
can't access e-mail from this computer, so don't be surprised if I haven't responded to your personal messages; I'll try from a cyber cafe on the other end of town tomorrow.
regards, b
we are preparing for a visit to Corbett National Park, and scrambling for other activities to fill our days... it's not a comfortable place for any of us to be in. can't canoe, rafting not available in this area, a few short treks available but we don't seem to be energetic enough to actually schedule them -- people want to sell us bus tours and we look at them and realize we aren't up for that either....... petulant bunch I guess!
news from Nepal is still rough, although for that country perhaps this is a crisis that will result in long-term peace and prosperity -- I certainly hope so. For us, it looks less and less likely that we will be able to visit on this trip -- the US asked everyone to leave as soon as possible; the last time the UK issued a travel warning they waited 10 days after the violence subsided before lifting the warning........... many people who are already IN Nepal are dealing with day-time curfews, food shortages, and violence towards demonstrators as well as those who violate curfew... if we think we are bored now, just what would we be like with DAYS of being sequestered in a hotel room??????
we like each other, and still have lots of good memories of our time together; we are starting to worry that if we continue to "piss about" we will seriously get on each other's nerves... many of the adventurous things we planned to do are just not available here or would require us to travel extensively between each event.
this morning we asked our group leader if the VentureCo company would buy us off and conclude the trip at the first of May if we can't get into Nepal. They gave some members a very generous settlement in Darjeeling, there are some rumors that it was too generous [a miscalculation on their part] -- it would be unfortunate if there was no buy-out option for us, or if they were not equally generous with us............. but we remain in the wait-and-see mode until we have a solid answer from them.
what does this mean for me? we go from here to Corbett, and then back to Delhi around the 29th. once we are in Delhi, what my next steps will be determined by how much funds I have available... there are a couple of things I might do before I leave -- I can hang w/ a subset of people who are planning to stay if they can afford it... or I could change my flights and come home early.
not sure I am able to process the emotional side of this. it feels good to have the conversation out in the open rather than having thoughts and not sharing them. because I like these people, I don't want to end the trip overshadowing some of the great memories we've already made together.
it seems sad and disquieting... the most pervasive feeling is that we are tired. tired of India perhaps, especially since we were pumped to go to Nepal... but even as I write, I realize I'm in limbo -- hadn't planned to be in Utah, so there is just as much reason for me to stay here as to go... guess that I'm a leaf in the breeze, will have to see how the winds blow.
my next post I should have a bit more information about what I will be doing personally [should be around 1st May]
can't access e-mail from this computer, so don't be surprised if I haven't responded to your personal messages; I'll try from a cyber cafe on the other end of town tomorrow.
regards, b
posted by Travelin' Bea | Tuesday, April 25, 2006
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