With the wedding behind us, Hare was off to visit other family members while 
Rich and I hopped a train with plans to meet up later in Bhubaneshwar. Another cousin accompanied us. The First Class car was full so we packed into a crowded car. Here we met three young American girls in dire straights, plagued with dysentery. This was not the best place to be stricken as the facilities were deplorable. We gave them our meds and sympathy then bedded down in an overhead rack holding onto our luggage for the overnight journey. Just before dawn, the train stopped in the middle of nowhere. Rumor had it that a failed switch caused us to be on a collision course with another train. The engine reversed and all were wondering what next. A very abrupt stop as the car behind use fouled and derailed on the broken switch. It was obvious this train was doomed. Though cleared from any oncoming train, we had no intention of waiting for the repair crew. With luggage in hand, we sweated our way to an intersection some two kilometers back. The word was out so some three-wheeled motorized rickshaws were waiting for passengers. Three grown men with bags in a seat for two made for a painful fifteen-kilometer ride into town.
We played tourists at the Sun Temple of Konarak and the Temple at Puri for a long day. Calcutta was next. The drive brought us by a dump of unspeakable stench with numerous people picking through it for substance. In the crowded city, we went to the National Museum but the treasures were overshadowed by filth and every corner was purple from the people spitting their beetle juice cud.
At this point, it was time to change plans and punt this town for something better. Kathmandu was mentioned and we headed for the airport. We left Hare behind with plans to link up in Varanasi after our three days in Shangri-La. We booked into a great Japanese owned hotel for indulgence and excess of thick steaks of beef, hot water, wine, soft beds with fluffy pillows, and laundry service. We rented a car with the intention of seeing the Himalayas.
The skies were overcast but the countryside was amazing. After enjoying a medium-rare filet mignon that evening at the hotel we were told of excursion flights for seeing Everest. The next morning we were told the flights were full. Now judging this part of the world we knew there should be another way. 
At the airport ticket counter, he was about to give the same story when I flashed a US twenty dollar bill – well, there may be seats in first class. First Class it was in a new 737 we were invited into the cockpit and had a panoramic view of the spectacular mountains. This was just the departure necessary to cleanse our systems and return to India.
Rich and I hopped a train with plans to meet up later in Bhubaneshwar. Another cousin accompanied us. The First Class car was full so we packed into a crowded car. Here we met three young American girls in dire straights, plagued with dysentery. This was not the best place to be stricken as the facilities were deplorable. We gave them our meds and sympathy then bedded down in an overhead rack holding onto our luggage for the overnight journey. Just before dawn, the train stopped in the middle of nowhere. Rumor had it that a failed switch caused us to be on a collision course with another train. The engine reversed and all were wondering what next. A very abrupt stop as the car behind use fouled and derailed on the broken switch. It was obvious this train was doomed. Though cleared from any oncoming train, we had no intention of waiting for the repair crew. With luggage in hand, we sweated our way to an intersection some two kilometers back. The word was out so some three-wheeled motorized rickshaws were waiting for passengers. Three grown men with bags in a seat for two made for a painful fifteen-kilometer ride into town.
We played tourists at the Sun Temple of Konarak and the Temple at Puri for a long day. Calcutta was next. The drive brought us by a dump of unspeakable stench with numerous people picking through it for substance. In the crowded city, we went to the National Museum but the treasures were overshadowed by filth and every corner was purple from the people spitting their beetle juice cud.At this point, it was time to change plans and punt this town for something better. Kathmandu was mentioned and we headed for the airport. We left Hare behind with plans to link up in Varanasi after our three days in Shangri-La. We booked into a great Japanese owned hotel for indulgence and excess of thick steaks of beef, hot water, wine, soft beds with fluffy pillows, and laundry service. We rented a car with the intention of seeing the Himalayas.
The skies were overcast but the countryside was amazing. After enjoying a medium-rare filet mignon that evening at the hotel we were told of excursion flights for seeing Everest. The next morning we were told the flights were full. Now judging this part of the world we knew there should be another way. 
At the airport ticket counter, he was about to give the same story when I flashed a US twenty dollar bill – well, there may be seats in first class. First Class it was in a new 737 we were invited into the cockpit and had a panoramic view of the spectacular mountains. This was just the departure necessary to cleanse our systems and return to India.
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