Jiri to Kathmandu.
Monday 9 April.
We were up at 4:30 am and packed ready at 5 am. The hotel owner didn't get up as promised to take us to the bus, we staggered there over bumps and potholes in the dark with Brin. I was sure that something would still go wrong but when we got to the bus we were installed in seats and weren't going to move. Brin got the tickets, Rs 1500, so we saved about Rs 750 by walking to Jiri. By the time the bus left, 10 minutes late, it was full with people standing all the way up the middle aisle. There were standing on top of sacks of meal or flour that a guy had loaded earlier. A lot of the ones standing were students going to a college not far from Jiri, so when they got off there was more room. It didn't last long and people kept getting on and off all the time. The worst was the people standing next to my seat, they kept pushing In and would have ended up sitting on my knee if I hadn't told them to politely to push off.
It was the same torturous journey as coming out, though this time we hadn't the ordeal of the rough mountain road to Shavalaya. It was chilly in the early morning when we started out but soon the sun was well up and it became stifling on board. We had the windows open as wide as possible to get a breath of cool air. At first the roads were quiet and he made good time, though not in any stretch of the imagination fast, on the single track twisting mountain roads. Later as it became busy with trucks and other buses there were the inevitable hold-ups as they manoeuvred to pass one another. Another bus going the same way, the Kathmandu Express, kept just in front of us the whole way, so it wasn't very express. It was loaded with people on the roof and they also hauled a couple of goats up on top as well.
It was difficult to tell where we were at any time. This is due to the difficulty finding out the name of the villages we pass through and only when reaching a major town do you get a clue what it was called and work out where we were from the description of the route in our guide book. The bus stopped at Lamosangu for lunch. It was where we stopped coming out and the food didn't look any more attractive. They were digging the rice and noodles out of the pots with their hands to dish on to the plates. Probably they do this all the time but in the lodges and restaurants we didn't have to witness it. Instead we bought a packet of crisps, some biscuits and cool drinks from a stall, it seemed safer.
When we got going again the road was much better, a double track, the Chinese road. The serious mountains were behind us and he was able to pick up a bit more speed. It had taken 6.5 hours to get to Lamosangu and I estimated that there was still 80 kms to go. With his improved speed I was hoping it would only take a couple of more hours but it ended up nearly 4 hours before we eventually arrived in Kathmandu. Coming into the city it looked like the rush hour and for some reason the driver decided he needed a rest and handed over the wheel to one of the guys who thump the side of the bus to tell if there is enough clearance when squeezing past another vehicle on the narrow stretches. He was very young and seemed like a learner, and drove like a learner. It was hair-raising in the congested city centre and a relief when we eventually got off.
We didn't go as far as the bus station, Brin had us off early near a taxi stance. We loaded into the taxi and it soon had us at the Tenki hotel in Thamel. Our booking there was in order and we collected our stored luggage. Before going to our room we gave Brin his tip, we had our differences but he did most of what we expected, carried our bag, arranged accommodation and dealt with permits etc. He wasn't much of a guide and his English was limited but he did all right. Once in our room the first thing was a shower and clean clothes, we now felt alive again after the ordeal of the bus ride.
We went out for dinner about 7 pm to the Northfield restaurant a short distance down the road. We both had garlic steak and chips, it came on a hot metal plate and was sizzling. It was a nice meal but they overdid the garlic a bit. The Internet in the Tenki wasn't as good as before but at the restaurant their signal was much better.
When we got back to the hotel it was straight to bed. We were both very tired after our early start and the tiring journey so got to bed right away. There was the usual noise of doors slamming and a pump or generator running in the middle of the night but we both managed a reasonable night's sleep.
As a postscript to the last couple of days of our expedition, the experiences we had walking around Jiri, the horrendous bus trip, and how people here live, I was reminded of the final paragraph in Andrew Marr's book, A History of Modern Britain :
In global terms, to be born British remains a wonderful stroke of luck.
Kathmandu
Tuesday 9 April.
Breakfast was included in the tariff for the room. We had fruit, cereal, eggs and toast washed down with nice coffee. Kathmandu still has power problems and the electricity was off most of the morning. I worked on updating my blog, getting it ready for posting now we have some sort of Internet connection. When power was restored Moira got on to the Internet using the hotel computers and looked into changing our flights and getting home earlier. It turned out to be either impossible or far too expensive. Instead we decided to go to the Chitwan National Park in the south of Nepal and went to see an agent to price a trip there. After one try and had an idea of the price, Moira went out on her own and got what appeared to be a better deal for 3 nights there. After that we planned to take the bus from Chitwan to Pokara and spend a few days there before returning to Kathmandu and the flight to Delhi.
While we were out we picked up a baguette at a bakery, cheese and some beer. Back at the hotel that was our lunch, it made a change from soup or Dahl Baht. In the afternoon I continued with my blog and managed to get it up to date ready for posting tomorrow. In the evening we went to a burger restaurant, Moira had a chicken type and I had the plain hamburger. Not the MacDonald's standard but tasty enough. On the way back we called at an artist's studio and bought a painting of yaks and trekkers crossing a bridge with Ama Dablam in the background. It will probably cost more to frame when we get home.
Back at the hotel we got to bed and read for a couple of hours before getting to sleep. There wasn't a lot of noise tonight and we both slept very well.
Kathmandu.
Wednesday 10 April.
After a good big breakfast I sat in the lounge and edited my blog for an hour. At 10 am we walked to the agency that Moira went to yesterday to book the trip to the Chitwan National Park. When we found the place the guy she had spoken to wasn't there, just a boy who was clueless and I wasn't too sure whether he actually worked there. We couldn't get any sense out of him about where the owner was or when he would return so we went to another agency that was close by. I think they are all much the same, offering the same services and activities in the Park. The only difference is the standard and cost of the hotel. We settled on the Eden Jungle Resort, a two night package with an extra night's stay before going on to Pokhara. We leave tomorrow morning at 7 am and the agent is going to pick us up at 6:15 am to take us to the bus. We are assured that this is a tourist bus, of a much higher class than the one we used to and from Jiri.
On the way back to the hotel we called at the trekking gear shop where I bought my small ruckpack that I used on our hike and Moira bought one the same. She had loaded mine last night with what we would carry for the Camino in the autumn and it held it comfortably, so she settled on getting one as well. At the supermarket we loaded it up with beer for our trip to the Park and got another baguette for lunch.
In the afternoon I tried to put photographs into my blog but the system has changed and I couldn't manage it. I also had trouble posting the blog, it kept coming up with an error warning. We thought the signal at the hotel was too weak so we went to the restaurant down the road with free WiFi. The error still came up even there but when I checked the actual blog it was all posted. While we were at the restaurant we had a cup of real coffee, it tasted much better than what we have been drinking lately.
Back at the hotel we relaxed with a beer until it was time to head out for dinner. Before leaving we settled the bill for our stay so that we would get away in the morning without any hassle or delays. The place where we went to for coffee this afternoon and a steak the other day was all right but the service was very slow. Instead we tried another one nearby that we had used the last time we were in Kathmandu. We had an ordinary chicken curry and a chicken tikka masala which we shared between us along with a portion of rice and naan bread. It was absolutely delicious, the best curries we have had in a long time. We wiped everything clean with the naan bread it was so good.
When we got to our room I tried the TV and found a sport's channel. It was cricket, the highlights of the test between Pakistan and SA. Pakistan were following on and SA bowled them out without having to bat again. Once it finished I turned out the light and we got to sleep. It is to be an early start in the morning.
To Chitwan National Park
Thursday 11 April.
We were ready and packed by 6 am and went down to put our bags in storage and then to the restaurant to see if we could get something for breakfast. The guy arrived as arranged at 6:15 am to take us to the bus. We managed some coffee and toast before leaving. I thought he was driving us to the bus station but we walked. It wasn't very far, just at the edge of Thamel, and we arrived in plenty of time. I don't know why we had to get there so early, there would have been lots of time to finish a good breakfast and still catch the bus.
The tourist bus was a vast improvement on the local type that we had from Jiri. There was lots of room, no people standing, no sacks of flour in the alley way and no goats. The only problem was that later in the morning it was stifling hot and we couldn't get the fans to work. Eventually the driver's assistant switched them on from the cabin and it was a bit more endurable. The initial route out of Kathmandu was a climb out of the valley and down the other side. The road was narrow and there was a lot of traffic in both directions, towards us trucks one after the other bringing imports from India. All it needed was an accident or a breakdown to cause a total grid lock. It did happen a few times with broken down trucks and we were held up waiting for a clearance before getting through.
Once we were over the other side of the hill the route followed the ??? Khola all the way to the National Park. As the river made its way through a gorge with the road running on the contour line on the hill side far above. It was a lovely drive and it was a lot better not having the bus packed and people leaning all over us. The section through the outskirts of Kathmandu again was strange, all the houses look like slums and there is no indication of where the middle classes or rich might live. The town and all the villages have rubbish and old building materials littering the sides of the streets, nobody seems to bother about living in this squaller. There was an amazing contrast when we got to the countryside. The farms using any available land to plant their crops were all very neat and well tended, there was no rubbish or old farming equipment lying about, that is at times evident even in the UK.
The bus took 6 hours exactly to reach Chitwan, even with a half hour stop for coffee and all the traffic hold ups. Our room there wasn't anything special, it had a toilet and shower, en suite, but not a great deal better than some of the places we stayed during the trek. They said that lunch would be ready right away and after dumping our bags we went to the dining room. The meal was a set meal with no choice. It started with a watery type of soup that we couldn't eat and I demanded the menu. I ordered veggie fried rice and Moira had spaghetti and tomato sauce. I don't know whether we have to pay extra but we are not eating the muck that they decide we should have.
About 2 pm it was arranged to go on the first activity of the package. We left in an open truck which drove us to a little village. The guide Laxman got a row for leaving a few of the guests stranded at the resort and we had to wait for them. The village termed as typical Nepali, wasn't a great deal different from the ones we encountered on our Everest trek and wasn't particularly interesting. After the others, who had been left behind, caught up we proceeded along the river bank. The guide pointed out holes in the walls of the bank that he said were the nests of kingfishers but we didn't see any of the birds. He kept asking if we had any questions and eventually I got fed up and asked when we would see the elephants that the trip was to be about. He didn't answer but took us on a rickety bridge across the river and at last got to the elephant breeding station.
There were lots of elephants there of all shapes and sizes, one little baby only one month old. No sooner had we got in there than the guide wanted us to leave to see the sunset from a view point. Everyone ignored him and we spent a long time viewing the big beasts. The little baby eventually got away from its mother and was running around the fence getting patted by everyone. It was very good and the highlight of the walk. When the truck took us back to the resort it was too late for the sunset, but we have seen plenty of these anyway, though its not every day that we see elephants.
As soo as we got back we were told to report for dinner right away, it was like being in school. When we did go over it was the same rubbish they served for lunch, we refused and had fried chicken and chips instead. It wasn't great but edible. We sat with an American couple from Boston who were good company, Paul and Deborah. It was off to bed at 8:30 pm and I was soon asleep but got wakened by people drinking and making a noise over at the dining area. I got up and complained but it didn't do any good and the talking and laughing continued until 1 am. I finally got to sleep again but was restless most of the night.
Eden Jungle Resort, Chitwan.
Friday 12 April.
We went for breakfast at 7 am and they tried to give us some prepared meal, instead I ordered porridge and eggs while Moira had toast. At least the coffee and tea are on a help yourself basis and they can't mess that up. After breakfast the truck drove us to the elephant ride centre. We spent about half an hour hanging about waiting for some reason, who guide doesn't bother to tell us what's happening. Eventually I got fed up and asked when we were getting on the elephant ride and suddenly things started to happen. Moira thought that after all the waiting it was only a 5 minute ride around the field but it was to be more than that. There was room for 4 of us and the driver on the elephant's back and it was a 90 minute ride along the river then through the jungle. It wasn't very comfortable but quite good fun. We saw a little crocodile by the river and some small deer in among the trees but not much more wildlife, except the rhino. It was one big rhinoceros but I think it is all prearranged and it is always there for the tourists to photograph.
After the ride we went down to the river to watch the elephants bathing. We could have paid Rs100 to ride on its back into the water and let it hose water over you with its trunk but we declined. Instead we stood on the bank and watched them spray water over their backs and wallow in the water to get clean. Some people did go in with them for the pleasure of getting soaked by water from the elephant's trunk. After that it was back to the resort for lunch.
On the way back we bought crisps at a stall and I had them for lunch with a beer. Moira ordered toast and spread banana on it for her lunch. In the afternoon we walked into the village and boarded a dugout canoe for a trip down the river. The guy stood at the back with a pole and pushed us down river, like riding a Venetian gondola. There wasn't much to see, the guide pointed out a couple of crocodiles and some birds but the place certainly isn't teaming with wildlife. When we left the canoe it was a walk all the way back through the jungle. When I say jungle it's not like in the Tarzan films, its just woodland much as we have walked through in he UK. Before starting the guide gave us instructions and warnings about what to do if we come across a tiger or rhino, but I thought that the chances of encountering any of these was next to nil. It was a pleasant walk and we saw a couple of deer and plenty of bird life. The guide is fairly knowledgable concerning birds and has a book to show pictures of the ones he points out in the trees. A couple of times we stopped and climbed into watch towers where we sat for 10 minutes, but it was a waste of time, you couldn't see anything among the thick bush below. When we got back to the village we were on the wrong side of the river and had to wait for a canoe to come over and collect us. When we landed the guide wanted us to hang about to watch the sunset, but looking at the sun there was still half an hour to go. Instead we left them and walked along the road to the resort.
At the corner there was a stall selling ice cold beer. We bought a couple and on the stoop outside our room sat and drank them, they went down very well. The guy from the restaurant has taken to coming over with the menu and asking what we want for dinner. Tonight we settled on chicken burgers and chips. They turned out to be very tasty. The rest of the people were going out after dinner to a cultural evening in the village but we decided to give it a miss. We were both tired after a sleepless night last night, and after reading for an hour got to bed. If there was any noise tonight I didn't hear it and had a good night's sleep.
Eden Jungle Resort, Chitwan.
Saturday 13 April.
It was the last of our activities at the park this morning and one of the best. It was an hour's bird watching before breakfast. The guide Laxman showed his good knowledge of the local birdlife again and was able to spot and point out the various types and varieties as we strolled through the woods. Before entering the trees we went through an encampment where they had working elephants and these all had long ivory tusks. Some the birds we saw included, the red whiskered bulbol, the hornbill, plenty of Indian mynas, wagtails, a black donga, lots of egrets, and a bright blue kingfisher sitting on a Old tree stump. When we reached the river he pointed out a crocodile on the bank. I viewed it trough the binoculars and thought it was only a big log, until it moved and slid into the water, it was huge.
When we got back it was time for breakfast and we said our goodbyes to the ones that were leaving today, Paul and Deborah, and Carlos from Cuba who had taken photographs when we were on the elephant's back. Once showered we sat on the stoop outside our room and read for a couple of hours. At 11 am we walked onto the village and found a restaurant beside the river that had nice comfortable loungers under a thatch covering for shade. We sat there all afternoon, had lunch there and read our books. There was a National scout jamboree taking part in the park and there were hundreds of scouts and guides wandering about along the riverside. It was extremely warm again and we had to keep moving our loungers around as the sun moved. It was a nice relaxing day for a change.
In the evening we went to a restaurant in the village that the Lonely Planet guide said was up-market. It did look a bit better than some of the places we have eaten recently but nothing special. Moira had roast chicken which they brought on a hot plate, the whole thing sizzling. It was far too hot to eat and she had to get another plate to transfer it to before she could eat any. I had a chicken tikka masala, it wasn't bad, a little bit on the sweet side. After our meal the sun had gone down, we missed the sunset again, but it was still light enough to find our way along the lane to our resort.
We read for an hour on the stoop before getting to bed. The site was very busy, we met Laxman when we came back and he said he had a party of 20 to take out this afternoon. Surprisingly it was quiet even with all these people and I had another good night's sleep.
Chitwan to Pokhara.
Sunday 14 April.
There was lots of Nepalis in the restaurant when we went for breakfast. It turned out to be the Nepali New Year and they must have been all having a holiday in the park for their celebrations. With the number of people dining they had a sort of buffet, I had a couple of eggs and toast but Moira just had toast. I thought we would have to pay extra because we didn't have the set meals and ordered from the menu but nobody was interested in charging us any more and the manager drove us to the tourist bus stance and got us seated in the bus in plenty of time. There were lots of buses there, going to Kathmandu and to Pokhara with people continuously arriving in trucks from the various resorts to get transport. We were happy having claimed our seats and we weren't moving for anyone. The bus wasnt as good as the one we came to the park in, but still much better then the local variety, again there was no standing, no goats or other animals and no bags of grain blocking the alleyway.
The route followed the way we had come out initially. Once on the main road it followed the river for the first half of the journey. This section was very busy with,trucks and other buses causing it to be slow going. At one point there was a traffic jam and we weren't moving for about 15 minutes, at first I thought we were going to be there all day. When we got moving and reached the cause of the hold-up it was two lorries that had collided head on coming round a bend. Luckily traffic doesn't go very fast here on the narrow twisting roads and there was no serious injuries, just a few bashes to the body work and a long tail back of vehicles.
After about 2.5 hours we reached the crossing across the river and there headed towards Pokhara rather than Kathmandu. The road seemed a bit wider or maybe it was just less traffic but the driver picked up speed and we were moving along quite nicely. After half an hour he stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant. We didn't want anything from the menu as we thought the bus would be ready to go before our meal arrived, knowing how long it usually took to serve. Instead we went to the stall and were going to get crisps and cool drink when we discovered that they were charging double the normal price. We had a Mars bar we had left in the daypack with some water, that would do until we reached Pokhara.
It didn't take long after the stop, about an hour to reach the outskirts of Pokhara. The road was good and for change the bus was moving along quickly. We didn't recognise this part of the city and it was another dirty place with rubble and litter all over the place. When we got to the bus terminus there were lots of touts waiting with supposedly the best offers of accommodation. We picked one, in Lakeside, and he said he would take us to his hotel, but it was a con as he just put us in a taxi that took us there and charged us Rs 200 for the pleasure. It turned out that the lodge was alright, Hotel Celesty, reasonable at $20 per night including breakfast. The mattress was nice and thick, the toilet shower was clean and nicely tiled. It was as good as and better than a lot of the lodges we have been in so settled there.
After relaxing for an hour we went out for a walk along the Main Street. It was a line of restaurants, money exchangers, travel and trekking agencies, clothing and equipment stores and souvenir shops. We found a nice restaurant and ordered two varieties of chicken curry, one mild and sweet, the other hot and spicy which we shared. It was another very nice meal and we mopped up the thick curry sauce with tasty naan bread. When we arrived it was very hazy and overcast with cloud, now when we came out of the restaurant it turned to rain. Luckily we weren't far from the hotel and got back without getting too wet.
We got to bed early and I was soon sleeping but got wakened an hour later by music and loud noises coming from the lake area. We assumed it was their New Year celebrations. Luckily it finished at about 10 pm and it was quiet after that. Unfortunately I couldn't get back to sleep, the pillow was too big and hard, my neck and head were aching. Moira got me a pain killer and I stuffed the pillow case with some cloths to make it lower and more comfortable. Eventually I managed to drop off to sleep.
Pokhara.
Monday 15 April.
The shower was piping hot but we had to have it in a bathroom with no electricity. Pokhara, like Kathmandu, is subject to power cuts every day. What we found surprising was a speech on TV by the Napali finance minister saying that they were continuing to export all their excess electrical power to India, how come the power cuts?
The breakfast we had sitting outside. It was pleasant in the early morning sunshine and the breakfast was very good. We spent an hour in our room reading afterwards before getting ready to go out for a walk. We walked through the town and over to the quieter part of Lakeside where we stayed last time we were here. On the way there was the barber who trimmed my beard and cut my hair six years ago, he was the one who continued with a head and body massage and wanted extra for it. I think he may have recognised me as he tried to usher us in when he saw my long beard. We found the lodge where we stayed last time and I went in to have a look and enquire about their prices. It was a nice place and they wanted Rs700 for a double room with shower. We are paying $20 per night where we are but it does include breakfast. Before leaving this morning I requested softer pillows, if we don't get them then we will move here. Our next stop was the Green Line tourist coach office and we bought tickets for our return to Kathmandu on Thursday.
We were now opposite the main gate into the park beside the lake. There was a nice path down passed a Buddhist temple to the lakeside. It carried on past the boating hire offices, which rented out canoes to paddle on the lake. When the path reached the wall surrounding the old Royal Palace we had to cut up to the road again to get round it. At the end of the wall the road lead down to the water's edge again and we bought some cool drinks at a stall. We sat on a bench and watched in the distance paragliders drifting down on the air currents from the top of a high hill above the bottom end of the lake. A guy sitting beside us said he was a pilot for the paragliders and told us a 4x4 took you up to the top of the high hill where you took off. It cost $20 for a half hour ride before descending to the edge of the lake. We planned to go up this hill, Sarangkot, tomorrow morning for hopefully a better view of the Annapurna range than we were getting from the lakeside, it was very hazy and misty again today. We will be able to watch the paragliders taking off as well.
We continued along the path after our break and spotted a nice looking restaurant with the tables and chairs placed among beautiful gardens. It was a spot to come to later. Further on there was netted areas in the lake which appeared to be fish farms, lots of the restaurants were advertising fish fresh from the lake, so it must be from here. What was a bit off-putting was the sewage works that was situated close by which discharged into the lake.The path eventually met the road at the far end of the town and we followed it back to our hotel. On the way we bought some rolls at a bakery and had them with cheese and beer in our room for lunch.
We spent most of the afternoon relaxing and reading in our room. Later, about 4 pm, we went out and headed along the lake path to the nice restaurant with the gardens we had noticed earlier. We sat with a beer and watched the sun go down over the lake. We didn't wait until sunset, the pace looked a lot better from a distance and was actually a bit shabby, we didn't fancy staying there for dinner. Instead we made our way to town and found a restaurant that had steaks at a very reasonable price. They turned out quite big as well and tasted very nice. It had started to rain again while we were in the restaurant and it was a dash back to the hotel just as it was getting heavy.
We order breakfast for 7 am, so that we could get an early start to climb Sarangkot. The manager of the hotel suggested another view point that was easier to reach, meaning he thought that Sarangkot might be too much for us oldies. Moira told him we had just been to EBC and this little hill was nothing to us. In our room we read for an hour before getting to sleep. This afternoon with a lot of effort and searching they did manage to find some smaller softer pillows so we slept a lot better tonight, also there wasn't any noise, New Year must be over.
Pokhara.
Tuesday 16 April.
We had our breakfast at 7 am as arranged and were on our way for our walk and climb half an hour later. We walked through the bottom and poorer part of the town and along the side of the lake to where the dirt road turned off to climb uphill to Sarangkot. It was well signposted and just before we turned into the forest trail it said 1.5 hours to the top. It was climbing all the way but we had the various bird sounds to distract us from the relentless ascent. I kept stopping to scanning the trees for the birds but I couldn't see anything and only the sounds indicating their presence. It was the usual sort of hill with lots of false summits but eventually we reached a road and could see the top still a fair climb away. There were a lot of people making there way up to the view point and temple at the top, they must have come up by taxi or bus, they certainly weren't on the trail we were on. Just before the final climb a truck came past us and deposited bags containing the paragliders on take-off site, but everyone just sat about and nothing was happening. We continued up the hill and stopped at a tea house, for refreshments. With a good view, we saw the people below were still sitting about and hadn't even unpacked their gear while on the other side of the hill they were taking off in their hundreds. The sky was full of different coloured parachutes and they hovered above us before dropping down to the valley and lakeside.
After about half an hour watching the aeronautical display we continued to the top. We had to pay Rs50 each to go to the top, there was a small temple and a lot of communications equipment at the summit and a view point. Unfortunately the haze was so bad we couldn't get much of a view of anything, certainly not the Annapurna mountains. By this time the launching of the paragliders had finished and we spoke to a guy who worked for one of the companies. He said that they flew three times a day, 9:30, 11:30 and 1:30. After each launch and landing at the lakeside, they then had to take the gear all the way up to Sarangkot again for the next group of fliers.we made our way down from the top to the launch site on the other side of the hill in time for them arriving with the people for the 11:30 am take off.
We spent about an hour watching as they jumped off and soared into the sky one after the other. The attendants would first of all lay out the parachute on the ground and make sure all the lines weren't tangled and in a knot. The pilot would at the same time rig out the nervous flier in safety helmet and harness, all the time giving instructions on take-off and landing. The next thing was to hook them both together and attach the lines from the chute to their harness. Once ready the lines were pulled taut, the parachute billowed out and lifted, a few running strides to the edge of the sharp drop in the hill and they were away. They immediately lifted on the current of air and were soon high overhead. Looking up the sky was now full of brightly coloured floating cresents of nylon with people dangling and waving happily, obviously their initial fear gone but probably to return prior to landing. What amazed us was that there wasn't any collisions with so many in the air at the same time and drifting so close to each other.
Soon it was time to begin heading down but first we found a little restaurant for some lunch. We both ordered the vegetable noodle soup. It was very spicy and Moira couldn't finish hers but I enjoyed it. We thought of going down by the road but it was around the hill to Pokhara that way, the hill path was more direct, so we kept to that. Although it had been very steep coming up it wasn't bad going down and we made good time. It would have helped if we had taken our hiking poles with us. The descent took less than an hour to get to the road and we took the lakeside path into the town rather than the busy road.
We bought a couple of beers and had them when we got to our room. We lay on our beds and relaxed for an hour or so and read. Later it was another restaurant for dinner. Tonight it was chicken curry again and a different flavour, not so hot but with a nice creamy sauce. This sauce was mopped up with thick hot naan bread. We are certainly enjoying the curries here. After dinner it was back to our hotel and an early night after reading for an hour.
Pokhara.
Wednesday 17 April.
I decided to go out for a walk early this morning hoping that it would be clear and I could get a view of the Annapurna range. Moira wanted a long lie in and I left her sleeping as I slipped out. The conditions hadn't improved even in the early morning air, it was still misty and hazy, but I had a walk anyway. I went down to the lakeside and walked all the way along to the old Royal Palace. Continuing round the walls I then headed back to the lakeside path and there all the way to the Buddhist temple and the large park. I cut up from there to the road and back through the town to the hotel. Moira was up, showered and feeling livelier than when I left. We headed down for breakfast at 7:30 am. I had asked them to boil my eggs a minute shorter this morning and they ended up too running, otherwise the breakfast was all right.
We spent an hour reading in our room and at 9 am went out to the International Mountain Museum. It was on the other side of the airport and about a two hour walk. We had a street map of Pokhara but it was difficult to follow at times as the street names were all in Napali script. I did ask a policeman the way to the museum and showed him the map, he looked at it mystified, he couldn't even indicate on the map where we were at that point in time. Fortunately when we walked on a bit we recognised the tourist bus station where we had arrived in Pokhara and after locating it on the map were able to navigate from there. The section of road before getting to the museum had first of all enclosed complexes of town houses and then further on very big expensive looking villas. We had at last discovered where the middle and upper classes of Nepali society live.
We recognised the museum as soon as we got there from our previous visit. There was nearly three hours glorious wandering about enthralled by the many displays and exhibits. The start concerned the different tribes and ethnic groups found in the various regions of Nepal. They had mannequins of the men and women in traditional dress and the implements for farming, hunting and cooking. But the part that interested us the most was the mountaineering section. The histories of the ascents of all the 8000 metres+ mountains was fascinating and some of the photographs outstanding. There were displays of all the equipment used over the years and how it had changed and improved. Finally there was the part on the flora and fauna of the region and we were able to put names to some of the flowers and birds we have seen over the last few weeks. It was a thoroughly enjoyable visit and one of the best exhibitions we have been to.
After a quick snack of a packet of crisps and a cool drink at the museum cafe, we headed now for the Peace Pagoda. This was on the top of the hill on the opposite side of the lake to the town and can be seen from our hotel sitting on the crest of the hill. We were fairly successful this time with the map and got to the start of the trail to the Pagoda in about an hour. There was a rickety bridge that took us over the river that feeds into the lake then a wide path that wound round the bottom of the hill. We weren't sure where we were going and asked a small boy the direction to the monument. He said we could continue along the path we were on but it was a long way, better to head straight up the hill and we would pick up a wide path in about 6 minutes, follow it to the top. His directions were very good and we found the wide track in about the advised time. It was still a long way as the path only climb gradually and there was no sign of the Pagoda. When we eventually came out of the trees the path turned sharply and I asked some people how far to go , 25 minutes. Fortunately they were wrong and we saw the Pagoda after a few minutes at the top of a long winding flight of strairs. It was a very magnificent building but you had to take your shoes off to walk round the gallery outside, we made do with walking around the perimeter path below. We also got some remarkable views of the lake far below and Pokhara, but still the haze prevented any sighting of Annapurna mountains.
There was a path that led down from the Pagoda to the lakeside and a signpost saying 25 minutes to the bottom and then to arrange for a boat to take you to town. We decided to take this path and it took us slightly over the recommended time to negotiate the steep descent. At the bottom there was a restaurant with lots of canoes outside. They arranged the transfer to the other side at Rs 370 for the trip. It was an experience and a sail on the lake. It took about 20 minutes to get to the other side.
Once in the town our first stop was a money changer, we had to get rupees to pay our hotel bill. The exchange rate had dropped from yesterday, now at Rs 83.72 to the US $, the lowest yet. When we got back to the hotel it was a hot shower, relax for an hour then go out for dinner. It was starting to rain when we went out so the restaurant on the corner was our choice. We had the fish tonight, Moira had hers grilled while I had the English fish 'n' chips variety. It was very good, I think the fish was plaice, a flat fish anyway. When we got back to the hotel we paid our bill so that there wouldn't be any delay in the morning when we have to catch the bus for Kathmandu. He tried to add on 10% to the $20 rate for the room, I told him the price agreed was $20 and that was all I was paying. His next trick was to use a rate of 88 to convert the $ to Rupees. I told him the rate was 83.72, that we got earlier. He tried to argue and show me the rate in the newspaper, I said to come with me and I would show him the rate that all the money men in town were giving. In the end I won and resulted in a saving of Rs 1000. I think we were probably still being overcharged as he gave in too easily.
During the night, at 1 am, we got wakened by someone banking continuously on a door. Moira thought it was somebody who had come back late and was locked out. It went on for about 15 minutes and eventually they were let in. In the morning we discovered that it was people who had gone on to the roof earlier in the evening and the door had got locked on the inside and they couldn't get down again to their room.
Pokhara to Kathmandu.
Thursday 18 April.
We had breakfast at 6:30 am and a taxi was all ready waiting to take us to the bus station when we finished. The weather was nice today and the haze had cleared. On the taxi ride we could now see the snow capped Annapurna range of mountains, this should have been the time to climb Sarangkot for the view. The panorama was even better as the bus took us out of Pokhara and it was as we remembered it all of six years ago. Our favourite mountain, Machhapuchhre or Fishtail, dominated the scene with its high pointed pinnacle of ice covered rock. Soon the haze and mist was starting to form again and these wonderful mountains faded from view.
The bus was very comfortable and left exactly on time. We are now getting familiar with the route and know roughly where we are on the journey and how much further to go. We had two stops on the way, the first after only 2 hours at a roadside restaurant. We didn't bother to have anything as we just had a big breakfast, but I had bought a couple of bottles of Fanta and some apples earlier that we had on the bus. The second stop was for lunch and this was included in the bus fare. It was a buffet, and we helped ourselves to rice, noodles, veggie curry and chicken curry. It was all right.
The highlight of the bus trip was the final climb over into the Kathmandu valley. This was the road going out where there was a traffic jam caused by a broken down truck. Going down we didn't realise how steep and winding the road was but now as we looked down from the top we could see traffic on the twisting track all the way down. It had been a 12 km ascent and I thought that it would be a nice tough hill to run up, if I was fit.
When we arrived in Kathmandu it wasn't where we caught the bus and we didn't know exactly where we were. The instruction we got was turn right at the end of the road and you are in Thamel. We were pleasantly surprised when we turned at the end of the rad to find the hotel Tenki just in front of us. The hotel was nearly full and our room this time was on the fourth floor and there are no lifts.
We have decided to forget about our trip to Shimla in India and stay here in Kathmandu. This requires changing our flight to Delhi from the 20th to the 24th of April. We got an email from the airline saying that we could change but we had to be quick as there weren't many seats left on the 24th. This involved finding the IndiGo offices on Durbur Marg. The guy in reception said it was 10 minutes away and gave us directions on a map. It was chaotic in the now Kathmandu rush hour but somehow we found it quite easily. Now we have the new flight we can relax here and enjoy Kathmandu.
On the way back to the hotel we noted a pizza restaurant that we were told was the best in Kathmandu. We had a look at the menu and decided to come back later for dinner. When we went there at 7 pm we were lucky to get a table, shortly after we started eating there was a queue waiting to get seated. So it was a popular place and justifiably so, the pizza was lovely. The most surprising thing was the speed we were served with our meal, about 5 minutes after ordering and the place was full. We have been in restaurants where we were the only customers and had to wait more than half an hour for them to prepare our order.
We got to bed as soon as we got back and I turned on the TV and checked out the sports channel. There was a cricket test match between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. It wasn't very exciting and I fell asleep while watching it.
