When “Chockey’s” pawrents shifted to Kathmandu from Hyderabad, we had to find a way to take him there. Nepal is our neighbour but if we take a pet by flight, it gets treated like any other foreign country and involves paperwork and high freight costs. So, we had to work around it. With help from our past client Anu Singh we figured the best and least expensive route. We flew till Varanasi, India and then hit the road. Well, who can imagine going to Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Sarnath Budha Temple and Lumbini (The birth place of Gautam Buddha) with a pet? We do not know if he was destined to visit these pilgrimage places or us?
But the real adventure was the road from Varanasi to Kathmandu. Post the recent earthquake, the roads were non-existent. We started at 5am and reached at 2am the next day. Can’t say if it was fun. But we did pass some beautiful and equally dangerous sights. It could not have been done without Chockey’s understanding and calm nature. He never fought with any local dogs, slept as much as possible (on our laps) and took short breaks.
The journey did break our backs but not the spirits. When we handed Chockey to his pawpa, at 2am, did we relax. How did we reduce the cost? We crossed the border on foot 😀. Local dogs are allowed to cross over, just like indians by showing only their identity and medical records. We wish we could write all about the soup and Omlettes that Chockey slurped and territories he marked.
Photo: Chockey and us at a roadside restaurant. Yes he is smiling and yes that is our youngest relocator “Karma, 4yrs”.