Kathmandu - Nepal

Wednesday 8^th April 2015

We got woken up this morning by a dude in the bathroom next-door hacking up his lungs and snoting into the sink it was rather unpleasant and went on long enough to disrupt sleep permanently.

We got up and chucked clothes on and made it across the road where we had huge breakfasts and abused the Wi-Fi for several hours of chill time. I had woken up feeling as though I had been hit by a truck so the inactivity made for a beautiful morning.

When we finally got moving we walked through Durbar Square to a shop so Mark could get a part for the bike and then headed to the Dharahara Tower originally built in 1825 but destroyed by an earthquake in 1934 and rebuilt in 1936 the tower has 213 steps and a viewing platform allowing 360 degree views of the city.

Durbar Square

We paid for our tickets and headed in there is no sort of control or regulation for how many people are in the tower at once or any sort of curtesy walking up or down instead everyone just sort of pushes in a mad scramble in either direction.

We walked right up to the top where there is a Siva Lingam we had a brief look before heading back to the platform and making a circuit of it and taking a few pictures along the way. The way down was as much of a squeeze as coming up and it was a relief to be back out on the street in the fresh air.

View from the tower

We walked to Thamel and got falafel wraps for lunch and then checked out a few stores as I wanted some new trousers but didn’t find any that really called my name. We walked back to the guesthouse where I read my book while Mark worked on the bike.

In the evening we walked back to Thamel to a vegetarian restaurant for dinner. All the tables were low so we sat on the floor. The food was pretty spectacular but the whole meal I was struggling to stay awake as lack of sleep caught up with me.

Thursday 9^th April 2015

Today was a pretty blah day. Mark went off early to drop his passport off at the Indian immigration office while I continued to sleep. We had planned a few things but after breakfast and then a coffee we stopped back at the guesthouse for a bit and I never left.

We came back to put some books on my e-reader and by the time it was done I was ready to take a nap and not do anything for the rest of the day as I felt all tired and grumpy.

In the evening we went to a place down the road and had burgers for dinner before spending the evening watching movies.

Friday 10^th April 2015

Today was another lazy-ish day we had a late breakfast and then dropped off our laundry (as its only 50 NPR per kg it made way more sense to just get it all done rather than toil about washing it in a bucket) with the washing sorted we walked to Thamel and got new trousers, we had already looked at some the other day and so just went back and got them.

We then walked a little bit further to the Garden of dreams. We had to pay 200 NPR to get in but it was worth it for the peace and quiet of the gardens. Built way back in the 1920s the garden was originally a private garden for Field Marshal Kaiser Sumsher Rana sadly in when he died in 1960 the garden fell into ruin until recently when I was restored to its former glory and restored to its glory it has been, although it is now only half of its original size.

The gardens are small but feature several ponds, fountains, decorative garden furniture, and verandas and pergolas. We headed down some stairs to a terraced grassy slope where there were plenty of mats and cushions to lounge on. The sun was shining and so we retired under a tree and spent the afternoon contently reading (and trying to avoid being pooped on by the crows that insisted in perching in the tree above us)

A few pics of people lounging in the Garden of Dreams

Unfortunately in the late afternoon we had to leave to head to the visa office for Mark to pick up his passport. Along the way we stopped off at the supermarket and got a snack then continued on to the passport office where we waited outside until they opened the gate then headed in once inside the process went quickly and we were soon on our way out.

We went and got a coffee to kill time and ended up staying in the café for dinner just getting a few things we could munch on while chatting and reading.

Saturday 11^th April 2015

After a long breakfast this morning we were going to head climbing but realised we didn’t really have enough time as we needed to pick up our washing at 2pm and couldn’t miss them as the shops closed on Sundays and we planned to leave then. This meant we had a couple of hours that we needed to kill so we headed back to the room and packed up a bit and then I sat about reading my book while Mark entertained himself with various activities.

Eventually it was 2pm and with the washing collected we headed to the Nayayanhiti Palace Museum. We ended up walking right past It and had to double back on ourselves we made it back just in time for the last ticket sales of the day.

The construction of the palace was completed in 1969 and in its heyday I’m sure it was a marvel of modern architecture but now it just looked tired and a bit tacky. (Although extremely interesting) I was expecting it to be reminiscent of an old English manor house but instead was like walking through somebodies tasteless grandma’s house. The palace had 52 rooms of which 19 are open to the public. It makes for some fascinating viewing to see all the old photos on the walls and the old artwork on the walls.

The royal family lived in the palace up until they were massacred by the crown prince (for not approving his marriage choice…ummm spoilt much?) after they were all murdered (and he then topped himself in 2001) the crown fell to some other dude but the Nepali people spoke and they were done with royalty and so after a vote in 2008 the new king was given 15 days to vacate the palace and become a commoner. The palace opened as a museum in 2009.

Unfortunately photography in the palace is strictly prohibited because the whole place is great full of old tacky dusty furniture, old portraits of royals, photographs of dignitaries, outdated TV’s, radios and telephones and a whole zoo of stuffed animals including at least six tigers, various leopards a polar bear, an alligator and several stools and umbrella stands made from elephant and rhino feet as well as all sorts of heads mounted on the wall.

Behind the palace is the ruins of a smaller building in which the royal massacre took place after which it was torn down. It’s also where the gardens are which are overgrown with weeds and unruly plants growing all over empty fountains and crumbling lawn furniture and a children’s play set.

The whole place while hugely fascinating feels stagnant and full of the many deaths that took place there and I was quite glad to be back out in the sunshine and on our way.

We stopped and had lunch in a trendy café before having a mammoth walk across the city to see a Stupa. We never made it to the famous one we set out to see instead settling on one we stumbled across. The courtyard was full of a mix of people praying, kids playing and young guys just hanging out. The mood was happy and the prayer flags that were fluttering in the wind were bright and cheerful. We walked clock wise around the stupa and then headed back into the city as the sun went down.

Hazy sunset in Kathmandu

We ate at the local Indian place and then got an early night before our road trip to Pokhara.

Sunday 12^th April 2015

Today we drove from Kathmandu to Pokhara. As is often the case everyone told us how nice the road was and that it would only take about six hours to get there. For once they were correct. Most of the way the road was in excellent condition with just a few potholes and bumps here and there.

We got up planning to leave round 8.30am but true to our normal fashion of not being able to get going it was 9.30am before we were on the road. We got up went and had breakfast and then packed up the remainder of our things. Once we had everything ready to go it didn’t take long to load up the bike and hit the road.

Even though it was a Sunday morning traffic in the city was heavy and it was a bit stop start until we reached the city limits and even then we constantly got stuck behind trucks or buses but about an hour or so into the journey the road opened up a bit and we started making decent progress.

The drive was beautiful as we went through small villages and towns all perched up on the side of the mountain. For the most past we followed a river which was beautiful although very polluted looking. In stretches the water was a thick brown colour (it was in one of these brown patches that we saw a bunch of people rafting and I hoped for their sakes they didn’t fall out)

We stopped a few times to stretch our legs but these breaks were also a hazard as the road was very populated and as soon as we stopped a dozen trucks belching out black smoke would careen by choking us where we stood.

The last 15km or so began to feel a bit endless as the road was boring and straight but lined with traffic eventually we reached the turn off for the lake and stopped at the first restaurant we came to for some veg chow mein.

Feeling fuelled up we went in search of a guesthouse, as its Nepali new year all the places in town are a bit more expensive than normal but we managed to find a place right opposite the lake that seemed pretty decent.

We dumped our gear and went in search of a cup of tea. We found a nice restaurant and chilled there until it was an appropriate dinner time then had a long drawn out meal as the rain poured down outside. When finally we were ready to leave it had calmed down enough that we didn’t get too drenched on the short walk back.

Thankfully there was hot water and after a nice warm bucket shower the world looked a better place.

Border Running

Tuesday 7^th April 2015

Today we were up early at 6.40am as we had to do a round trip to the boarder to get some new tax for the bike. By the time we set off it was close to 7.30am all we had with us was a few things in case it got dark and we had to spend the night somewhere. We cruised through the empty streets which were awash with police in riot gear. I’m not sure exactly what was going on but it seemed there was a nationwide strike and everything seemed to be shut most worrying was that the petrol stations were closed and armed by policemen in full riot regalia.

We drove through town for a bit and found a petrol station where the gate was open we drove in and pleaded with the young guy there that we needed to get to the boarder he kindly filled up the tank for us and wished us well.

There are two roads to the boarder one is 70km and the other 120km both over the mountains. Mark had been chatting to some people who said the 70km road was good (he had come in on the 120km road so knew it was good) we trusted what they said and headed for the shorter road. It soon became clear that it was more of a hiking trail than a road, it wasn’t paved (except for a short section about four metres long) and in patches was bogged down with slippery mud, the incline was ridiculous and more than once the bike got stuck on rocks where I had to jump off.

We hadn’t gone far when it became evident the road wasn’t going to improve and so we sacked off that idea and turned around. If I thought going up was scary going down was a whole new nightmare along with the terrifying incline the road was riddled with hairpin bends and we were already pretty high up to begin with.

Back on the main road we headed towards the 120km road but had wasted precious daylight by the time we turned off onto the mountain pass it was already 9.30am. The drive was absolutely stunning we were soon on level with the clouds looking down over terraced fields, houses and lush greenery. For a while the road wound round and round the mountain before finally starting to go up higher and higher in a series of hairpin bends.

Thankfully (probably due to the strike) the roads were empty and all day the only traffic we encountered was one truck and a few motorbikes. We seemed to climb upwards forever before dropping down for a short while before going up again. On the top we passed a viewpoint where in the distance we could see the snowy peaks of Mount Everest.

Despite being beautiful the road was scary as we were so high up but it was in pretty good condition with only a few pot holes here and there. The only other thing we had to worry about was the freaky mountain dogs who chased the bike in packs a few times I thought we were sure to hit one as they snapped at the wheels and our legs.

The way down was much longer as the border sits at a lower altitude than Kathmandu. At one point we whipped around a corner and were nearly decapitated by a wire strung across the road it looked as though a power line or something had fallen. Thankfully it had been moved by the time we headed back.

Around 12.30pm we stopped in Hetauda a town about an hour away from the border like Kathmandu everything appeared closed but we found a little restaurant and got veg curry and roti for the bargain price of 125 rupees for both of us (less than NZD $2)

We continued on to Birgunj which is where the border is it took about an hour and we were able to get some speed up since we were out of the mountains and it was a relatively straight (if not bumpy) road. We pulled up to the customs house where we pulled a bit of a swifty pretending the bike had just been dropped at the border and that we needed to tax it. The customs agent made a song and dance about it all the while filling in the form he knew it was a lie we knew he knew it was a lie but really he was always going to give us the paperwork so he could receive his commission.

At one stage a very official looking man started to ask me questions but I pretended I didn’t speak English and when his phone rang I walked away and hid.

Once the bit of paper was in our hands we got out of there as quickly as possible before anyone could change their minds. It was time to start the long journey back over the mountain to Kathmandu all the while chasing daylight.

It had taken us three hours to get over the mountain and a further hour to get to the boarder we figured going back would take longer as we had come down pretty quickly but there was no way we would be able to drive up at that speed.

On the way back our arses were beginning to get quite sore and my thigh was already bruised as every time we hit a bump I came down on the luggage rack. With so many corners to contend with I was forced to hold on for once which merely stopped me from falling off I was still thrown around a fair bit and more than once my foot dragged along the ground as we rounded a steep hairpin bend.

We stopped for a break just after we started making the decent on the far side of the mountain feeling like we were making good time but from there downwards the road started to feel never ending. We hit a plateau and drove on reasonably flat ground for a while and then we started down again but again it seemed to plateau and we were just going round and round the mountain without really seeming to be going down.

By this stage my butt was well and truly over the day and it was starting to get dark. Add to this that the strike seemed to be over as for the first time all day the road started to fill up with trucks and it was all becoming a bit of a nightmare. There were three guys all on a motorbike with no helmets wearing jandals who seemed to be intent on killing themselves or others weaving in and out of trucks and pulling some dick moves but luckily we lost them along the way.

We reached the main road just as darkness was really falling which was a relief as it was a much wider smoother road but the drop was still terrifying and it was hugely busy with trucks and buses in both directions from here it was about 20km until we reached the city and just when I had given up hope of ever getting there we rounded a corner and could see the lights of the city spread out before us.

We made it back to the guesthouse where I could barely get off the bike my hips were absolutely ruined from trying to hold on all day coupled with all the bruises and the general arse ache I could hardly make it up the stairs to our room.

We washed away he grime of the day (which was much less than usual thanks to the helmet and my buff which covered most of my face) and headed out for food we perked up a bit after eating but still crashed out petty early.

Although it was a nightmare that we wasted two hours and scared ourselves shitless on the first crappy road I defiantly think everything happens for a reason and that we had to go that way in order for us to reach the boarder to be served by the customs agent who cared more about his commission than really following the rules. Had we gone on the smooth road first I think we would have encountered a stickler for the rules and been sent back with no tax. So although it was an annoyance I’m thankful for it.

My magic eight ball helmet