Nepal, with 8 of the worlds highest 14 montains.
View from the balcony of our room in Kathmandu
30th - 31st March
After an early morning taxi to Delhi airport to catch our plane, the flight was delayed due to bad weather in Kathmandu. We arrived after a bumpy flight, and another taxi ride to a room Lyn booked through Air bnb. The family was nice, their 2 dogs super friendly, the food was good, and the bed, like most in asia, was like a rock. From the balcony, you could look out over most of Kathmandu. We went for a walk around the area, which was on the outskirts of the city, and came back to a house with very few lights on. We didn't know it, but Nepal has constant power sharing, so everywhere is geared up with 12 volt batteries and inverters, for when the power goes off. The bigger hotels and businesses have generators, as the times seem random, you never know when you won't have power. Obviously the locals are used to it, and accept it as part of life. After looking around the shops and getting Lyn a new pair of shoes, lunch was at a local cafe, where I tried Buff Mo Mo's for lunch, awesome. They are like a dim sim, but with buffalo meat instead of vege's inside. We booked some time in Pokhara for the next few days. That night was my first steak for a long time, along with some red wine, happy birthday Curt. A good night.
After an early morning taxi to Delhi airport to catch our plane, the flight was delayed due to bad weather in Kathmandu. We arrived after a bumpy flight, and another taxi ride to a room Lyn booked through Air bnb. The family was nice, their 2 dogs super friendly, the food was good, and the bed, like most in asia, was like a rock. From the balcony, you could look out over most of Kathmandu. We went for a walk around the area, which was on the outskirts of the city, and came back to a house with very few lights on. We didn't know it, but Nepal has constant power sharing, so everywhere is geared up with 12 volt batteries and inverters, for when the power goes off. The bigger hotels and businesses have generators, as the times seem random, you never know when you won't have power. Obviously the locals are used to it, and accept it as part of life. After looking around the shops and getting Lyn a new pair of shoes, lunch was at a local cafe, where I tried Buff Mo Mo's for lunch, awesome. They are like a dim sim, but with buffalo meat instead of vege's inside. We booked some time in Pokhara for the next few days. That night was my first steak for a long time, along with some red wine, happy birthday Curt. A good night.
Terraces on the way to Pokhara
1st April
Up early to catch the bus to Pokhara, (taxi to bus stop left at 6.00am), then the busses leave at 7.00. There must have been at least 40 busses going, and they all leave at the same time. About 2 hours after we left Kathmandu, we got off for our white water rafting trip.
Good fun, but shit that water was cold!! The rapids were about grade 3, not too hard, but Lyn ended up out of the raft once. We met Alec and Elly from Singapore there as well, in the same raft as us. From
Up early to catch the bus to Pokhara, (taxi to bus stop left at 6.00am), then the busses leave at 7.00. There must have been at least 40 busses going, and they all leave at the same time. About 2 hours after we left Kathmandu, we got off for our white water rafting trip.
Good fun, but shit that water was cold!! The rapids were about grade 3, not too hard, but Lyn ended up out of the raft once. We met Alec and Elly from Singapore there as well, in the same raft as us. From
Lyn on a wire rope bridge after the rafting
there, we caught a local bus for the other 5 hours into Pokhara, that was an experience. It was full, so I stood up for a few hours, and Lyn sat on the engine cover with some other women. They still kept stopping and jamming more people on, at one stage the bus driver got handed a toddler to nurse as mum couldn't hold him any more! We got in around 7.00pm, and found our way to our hotel, it wasn't too bad. We were booked in that night, and on the 5th & 6th as well, as we had planned on a few days trekking in between.
Near Nayapul, start of the trek.
2nd
We met Dinesh, our trek guide at the hotel, and sorted a ride to Nayapul, where we would start our trek. We headed off to Ghandruk, the easy part of the trek, but after a few hours Lyn got a blister from her new shoes, and had to put thongs on. On reaching Ghandruk, we decided it wasn't worth continuing, so trekked back to Nayapul, where we met Brian and Eva, a Scottish / Dutch couple just coming back from the same trek. We shared a jeep with them back to Pokhara, and
We met Dinesh, our trek guide at the hotel, and sorted a ride to Nayapul, where we would start our trek. We headed off to Ghandruk, the easy part of the trek, but after a few hours Lyn got a blister from her new shoes, and had to put thongs on. On reaching Ghandruk, we decided it wasn't worth continuing, so trekked back to Nayapul, where we met Brian and Eva, a Scottish / Dutch couple just coming back from the same trek. We shared a jeep with them back to Pokhara, and
Ghandruk from the track
booked a room at their hotel, the Eden, only to find it was full that night. No problem says the owner, so he booked us all into another hotel round the corner, with strict instructions not to pay them, he will look after that, just pay him when we move back in the next day. Job done. The four of us went out for dinner that night, a great night with lots of laughs.
3rd-6th
Moved into the Eden hotel, and spent our time wandering around Pokhara's lake area. The main road
3rd-6th
Moved into the Eden hotel, and spent our time wandering around Pokhara's lake area. The main road
The start of 3,500 steps!
is full of shops selling trekking gear, clothes, souvenirs, and also restaurants and bars. A bit touristy, but not pushy, we really enjoyed it. From our room we could see the snow covered peaks of the mountains early in the mornings, before the clouds moved in and covered them. One afternoon there was a loud bang, and the hotel shook. Lots of raised voices, and people running out into the street. It was an earth tremor, fairly common here apparently. On the 5th we moved back into our original hotel, as it was paid for in our original deal, or we would have stayed where we were. The Eden has better wifi, (still really slow compared to european standards, and way too slow to do the blog on), but it didn't drop out as much, and they had a better generator for when the power went off. We hired a motor bike for a day, and rode up to Sarangkot to have a look at the Annapurna Range, the road up there is pretty ordinary, the bits that aren't bitumen up near the top are badly washed out by rain, and it is steep in places. Lyn had to get off and walk in one spot, the bike just wouldn't make it. The trip was well worth it, though, great views from the top. We also rode out to Devil's falls, and the Peace Pagoda for a look. Brian and Eva left on a bus on the morning of the 6th, we'll catch up with them later.
Us at Sarangkot, looking over the Annapurna Range
On the hire bike, coming down from Sarangkot
Our plane to Kathmandu
7th-8th April
We flew back to Kathmandu, after getting a tourist car to give us a lift to the airport, there is a general strike on, so most shops are closed, and no taxis running. All the busses back to Kathmandu are forming a convoy with all other vehicles going the same way, with police escorts front and rear, apparently there are some problems on the roads at the moment. Our flight was delayed from 10.00am to 1.00pm. The plane, a 19 seater, was needed somewhere else apparently..... We met 2 other aussies
We flew back to Kathmandu, after getting a tourist car to give us a lift to the airport, there is a general strike on, so most shops are closed, and no taxis running. All the busses back to Kathmandu are forming a convoy with all other vehicles going the same way, with police escorts front and rear, apparently there are some problems on the roads at the moment. Our flight was delayed from 10.00am to 1.00pm. The plane, a 19 seater, was needed somewhere else apparently..... We met 2 other aussies
Gas delivery, Nepalise style
on the flight, and shared a cab into Thamel with them. A quick walk around found us a good hotel at the right price, where they have a BBQ on the roof at night. We met some people from Iran there, and shared some drinks with them, turned out to be a good night. The next day was spent packing up for our flight back to Spain, and a bit of last minute shopping. We caught a cab to the airport for the Qatar flight to Doha, and then on to Barcelona. We won't miss having to haggle over the price of everything. Overall though, we enjoyed Nepal, more than both India and Sri Lanka, it felt more relaxed and friendly, and people were not always trying to scam something out of us all the time. We're glad we went there.
