The last few days in Kathmandu, I just strolled around the touristy area with good Western food. As my last stop in Nepal I went to Hetauda. There I stayed with Sudeep and his family. I had met him at the Vipassana meditation course. He took me around on his motorcycle and showed me the area. We visited a few temples, went through forests, passed rivers and walked through the city market. This still gave us enough time to relax on the terrace at Sudeep's home and enjoy the delicious dal with rice.
Then I crossed the Indian border. This had to be done on a horse carriage, of course. In Raxaul I immediately felt the Indian chaos which I love so much. I went to all the street stands having some food, ice cream, fruit, fruit juices and lassi. I managed to complete my main task for Raxaul of getting a train ticket to Kolkata.
In Kolkata I found a beautiful park around a lake. It was a great place to just relax, have some fresh mango and read a book. I spent one more day going to every street stand I saw. Consequently, I got my stomach problems back again and only went to cafes the next day. Then my time in India was already up. It was time to say goodbye to the country I got to like so much. It can become stressful and tiring, but I just love the vibe. I must admit that at this point I am happy to leave this country. It will definitely be back sometime though.
My next country was Myanmar. I arrived in Yangon. It immediately felt very different to India and Nepal. I took a wild bus ride into the centre. It was a different kind of wild from what I am used to by now. However, after having taken other buses in Yangon, I know that this crazy acceleration and hard braking is not the general driving style. I came past many fantastic looking pagodas​ and later got to visit them. The most famous one, the Shwedagon pagoda, was particularly impressive. It covered a huge area, had loads of pretty shrines and an enormous 76 carat diamond on top of the main stupa.
Otherwise I liked exploring the local markets and observing city life. Coming from India I was staggered by how much meat suddenly is being offered and consumed. Most meals consist of rice or noodles with some meat. I am happy about this change of taste.
