Review of Nepal and India Trip

Having done the full 8week, India and Nepal programme, i overall really enjoyed it and think it was a great experience. I was the only one in the group not going to university (everyone was my age however - 18-19).

The Nepal part of my trip I throughly enjoyed, Chitwan and Pokhara were beautiful, I loved the trek and Katmandu was good fun.
A few changes/ recommendations I would make are:
- An extra day in Chitwan would have been great (and one less in Katmandu at the end)
-For the volunteering in Pokhara- the farm project was really great and I felt like I was making a big impact but the time in the orphanage coincided with a holiday so it didn’t feel as tho we were being much help! All the less was eye opening to see how excellently the children were looked after etc
- for the trek Yaks where used, I found it very hard to exploit an innocent animal for my own selfish ease and would highly recommend to anyone who is conscious of animal rights to request in advance not to use yaks and carry your own bags, this is a big regret of mine I have carried with me, I would also suggest to gapforce to consider to stop using yaks for future expeditions.
-On the trek , we ended up doing an extra 2 days walk to the road to get back- that walk was so cool and so much less touristy I would even recommend including it anyway- it may even save some money?
- I would also recommend buying lots of snacks before the Everest trek and planning them out day by day (I didn’t do this and ended up spending lots of money on snacks and as a vegan was left with a very slim snack option up at the top - understandably)

India overall was also good. It went so fast, it felt like we were flying from place to place, however very culturally and spiritually amazing. My highlights where Dharamsala (McleodGangi) I got to meet the Dalai Lama not once but twice and gave him a personal letter which he has responded to by sending me to some books. (For someone who practices Buddhism this was life changing). Another highlight was sleeping under the stars in Jaisalmer.

Some changes/ recommendations I would make would be:
- I am training to be a yoga teacher and came to India to explore more deeply the heartland for yoga- I think as we visited Rajasthan the home of yoga a yoga class or talk maybe should have been included (I’m not saying this as a yogi I’m saying it as I think it is a fundamental part of Indian culture overlooked on the trip)
-luckily due to our trek overrunning our time in Delhi was cut short- i think the 2 days in Delhi is plenty and would rather if it was me the extra days from that somewhere else like Udaipur
-In Jaisalmer, I think it was extremely irresponsible of gapforce to include camel riding, camel riding is nothing like horse riding now and in 10years time will hopefully have the coverage that elephant riding has - I saw a camel jumping trying to move with its legs tied up, and they have scars from beating all over there bodies, it was very disturbing. I rode in the jeep and still sleeping in the desert is incredible- no need for animal cruelty to do so. (Photos of camel abuse attached This first picture depicts the camels legs tied up. The second the piercing through which they tie its reigns. The third scars on its neck from sores from the reigns. The fourth a camels whose nose has been split open where the piercing was. The last branding marked on the camels. )
-spending money in the cities like mumbai , and Amritsar for food didn’t go very far- so expect to spend more money

Besides the trip itself I would advise anyone from the north of England, with more left wing views to be warned that on this trip me and my friend I came with from home were the only northerners and there was no other left wing people. This caused tension in the group and made me imparticular feel abit of an outsider. There were also no ethnic minorties or people not going to university. (It was a very white middle class type of person gapforce attracts, and despite everyone being lovely and I made some very good friends I would just be warned of this before booking.)
I would also say £50 a week is not enough spending money to bring. I would say £75. In Nepal I didn’t need to spend very much money until the trek but in India there was lots more free time which meant if you wanted to do additional activities abit more than £50 a week is a good idea.

If your deciding on wether to travel with a group or on your own I would say, with everything included I think it worked well for me to come with gap-force to India and Nepal- we got to stay in lovely pre booked hostels, and travelled on air conditioned buses and trains, once we got to places iternarys where sorted which took lots of the stress out of everything and I felt safe at all times in such a big group. Due to feeling quite disliked by the group for being more left wing and socialist I did think at many times I would rather have travelled alone however I can’t fault the amazing experience I had. I think if I was to go any older or if you want a more authentic and affordable experience i would recommend going on your own and having a more down to earth traveller experience. I

Our main leader Colin Lovel was lovely and very reasonable and went above and beyond to help me in many situations. He had a good understanding of the culture of India and Nepal and knew what was appropriate etc at all times. Fergus who we had in Nepal who unfortunately had to leave was also amazing and we were all gutted when he left us. Jade the guide who joined us for the trek was very knowledgable and helpful.

An experience of a lifetime and I would recommend:)