Nepal
One last photo of India, shot on the way to the Nepalese border, to show that even cows dont escape Holi, the Festival of Colours.
We had an easy border crossing from India into Nepal - no baksheesh and $30US each for a 60 day visa. Although we loved travelling in India for the sheer diversity of its people and sights, we were pleased to be leaving behind the heat, the dirt, the craziness and the intensity and arriving in Nepal was like a breath of fresh air. We took the road that winds up through the hills from Sonauli to Pokhara - enough bends to keep Rich happy but as we are nursing the rear tyre along, not fast enough that I had to wear my motion sickness wrist bands. The road surface on this road is pretty good, the seal only washed away by landslips in 6 or 7 small places.
Before leaving India we posted our tent to Darwin as we havent camped since Iran and wont need to camp again till Oz, so thats 4.5kg gone from the boot which should help the tyre. (more space for shopping she says).
Friendly waving Nepalese calling hello, namaste, how are you? without hoping to sell a thing; woman in Nepalese and Tibetan traditional dress; cool temperatures and even rain (wed almost forgotten what it was); no hassling; respect for others personal space not to mention the relative cleanliness, far less spitting, farting and belching - all these contrast with India.
The fantastic 400gm steaks at the Everest Steak House and the availability of good beer have kept Rich pretty happy since we arrived.
We gave B.O.B.s front fairing to a Thanka artist named Buddha Lama for a couple of days to paint something a little like the beautiful Buddhist artwork weve been admiring in this region. We think the result is great and we shouldnt have any problem picking the bike out from the crowd or frightening little girls as we ride past.
click here to see artist at work
We visited the Pema Tsal Sakya Monastic Institute on the outskirts of Pokhara, a 6 year old monastery with 20 super friendly monks ranging in age from 8 to 20 years. All of the monks took an avid interest in our motorcycle instead of studying for their upcoming math and English exams.
click here to see monks learning m/c mechanics
We rode down to Chitwan National Park for a few days where we saw full bellied crocs camouflaged on logs in the river during a canoe trip and rhinos as big and as dangerous as tanks but far more agile and fortunately we were safely perched on elephant back.
click here to see beauty the baby rhino
At the elephant breeding center we played with the adorable baby elephants, young enough to want to play but big enough that we were constantly wary of them.
click here to see baby elephants at play
The road from Pokhara to Kathmandu is in really good condition with beautiful vibrant green rice fields flecking the dry, brown terraced hillsides that rise high above the Trisuli and Seti rivers which the road follows.
Turning off it at Mugling to go down to Sauraha for Chitwan brought us a different road. The Maoists had called a 10 day strike in this area meaning everything must grind to a halt - they want no shops open, no public transport to run and even private vehicles are not allowed on the roads or the Maoists might blow up the road or bomb the vehicle.
Everyone was disobeying the Maoists strike under the control of the army but we had to wait 2 hours in Mugling for an army convoy to form. Everyone was supposed to keep behind the front bus which was full of plain clothed, heavily armed, Army guys. Well this was OK for the first couple of kilometres but then the local, lightweight, 125cc motorbikes overtook and then all the other vehicles reverted to the usual horn blasting, high speed, maniacal driving.
click here to see another image
This shouldnt have been a problem for us except the road was completely unsealed, potholed and dusty for about 30km and we were having carburation problems. We were enveloped in thick dust for about an hour where we really couldnt see any more than 10 meters in front of us and there was a big drop to the river 150 meters or so below.
We stalled at one point and under pressure from all horns behind us blasting us to get going, Rich managed to get a flat battery trying to restart the bike. Off I got and pushed it to the side of the road where we sat until the convoy completely passed us. We had a few tries at pushing it up the hill then me giving a push start - hot work in 30 degree heat in bike clothes. No luck with that but there was one bus still nearby, perhaps plain clothed army waiting to ensure all vehicles got off the road and we finally convinced them, begrudgingly, to give us a push start. What a relief as we were in the middle of nowhere and we didnt wish for any problem with the Maoists.
We rode up through the thickening smog and choking pollution into the grey Kathmandu Valley. Fortunately Rich knows Kathmandu well enough that we didnt have to worry about maps or asking directions to get to our desired hotel so we only had to stress over the all too frequent problem we have when coming into cities.
The bike often starts running badly and Rich struggles to keep it going, revving it ridiculously high to try to get the motor running cleanly whilst being forced to a snails pace through the one laned streets of cars, cycle rickshaws, cows, small children, chickens etc, etc. Rich is looking forward to getting the bike to Bangkok where a decent mechanic and a new ignition coil awaits us.
We arrived at destination Thamel, center of the tourist district with lots of tourists turning around to look at this noisy, filthy bike being revved and running like crap. We stall in the middle of the road and Im ordered off the back to push it to the side of the road - the indignity of some jobs.
Well thats it; London to Kathmandu, the classic overland adventure .. Not a destination wed thought of previously as being worthy of mention as its only half way through our trip but now that weve done it I think its worth a thought. Seven and a half months, lots of fun, some hard work but yeah pretty cool looking back on it all, although I think weve done it twice as quick as it should have been as there are so many places we just didnt have time to visit properly.
We met Heidi and Bernd, a German couple on KTMs (www.welt-tour.com) after we found their bikes in a hotel courtyard. Theyve been following us on their world tour since Turkey, just a couple of days behind almost the whole way without us knowing, so its great to finally meet. Vincent Dana was also in Kathmandu and we are all flying our bikes to Bangkok within a week of each other.
We went trekking in the Langtang region, just 5 days walking, in the hills north of Kathmandu. Going up 1000 meters each day has made us realise how unfit weve become sitting on a bike watching the world go by, so it was wonderful to have a leg stretch.
We loved climbing up through the rhododendron and pine forests, following the wild raging river up above the trees to reach the snow line with 7000 meter peaks all around. As we got higher the villages took on more of a Tibetan influence and we passed many prayer flags, mani walls and domesticated yaks.
click here to see intrepid trekkers
A hell return bus trip to Kathmandu for my birthday, only 130 km but the road is so bad it took 11 hours, not helped by the constant army checkpoints where the Nepalese men have to disembark and walk about 100 metres through a search point. The buses are packed full to the gunnels, a smelly experience with your nose far too close to the armpits of those standing and children placed in our laps when mothers cannot hold them without falling. We eventually sought refuge on the roof, perched precariously on top of luggage but able to enjoy the fantastic views of the terraced hills we passed through.
click here to see view from the roof
We also managed to go white water rafting for the day on the grade 4, adrenaline raising Bhote Khosi river which was loads of fun and gave us little time to rest.
Its taken ages organising flying the bike to Bangkok which has meant weve not done the sightseeing in the Kathmandu Valley we planned to which is a shame as theres so much to see. Instead weve supplemented the time with great Kathmandu shopping (Rich says Ho Hum).
Its really all happening too quick. If anyone out there is reading this who is planning an adventure of this nature take your time. The world and your friends and family and your career and your mortgage will wait, monsoons unfortunately wont so we are leaving Nepal sooner than we would choose to as we need to get through Cambodia before the rains hit and the tracks turn to goo.
Were looking forward to the South East Asian adventure to come.