Pokhara to Varanasi

After the nightmare journey from Tatopani to Pokhara we were a little apprehensive about what our final big overland journey through Nepal would bring us . . . nausea, nightmares, serious injury or death all appeared to be on the menu.

The first leg of the journey was a 9 hour stint on a bus to the town of Sunauli on the boarder with India. Once again we had the misfortune to have a lunatic driver who seemed to be a little lacking in the cranium. This particular fella liked to spend most of his time racing our 50 seat bus against the other traffic as if he were driving a maxed up Citroen Saxo through a Tamworth retail park. It wasn't quite as bad as the last journey but that's like saying having your foot cut off isn't as bad as having an arm removed - neither of them are particularly pleasant.

Because the traffic at the boarder is so bad the bus drops you off a couple of miles short of Sunauli. You then have to complete the remainder of the journey on a bicycle rickshaw. This was also a little nerve wracking as our wonky little bicycles didn't seem to offer much protection as we weaved in and out of the trucks.

We crossed over the boarder and struggled to find the Indian immigration office. Normally there's some sort of official looking building with flags and men in important looking uniforms. Here It turned out to be a small table at the side of the road staffed by a bloke in a grubby shirt.

Once over the boarder we then had a 3 hour taxi ride before we got to Gorakhpur where we were going to spend the night. At last it was a relief to finally have a sensible driver. Things went very well for the first hour until it got dark and we discovered that our taxi had no headlights. This made seeing the multitude of things that you find on the sides of an Indian road very difficult to spot, particularly when there's no street lighting and the traffic coming the other way is blinding you with their lights on full beam. This time we weren't as much worried for our own safety but more for the pedestrians, cyclists, rickshaw drivers, dogs and cows that wander aimlessly about. The last thing we want is to be lynched for knocking someone or their sacred cow over!

The fun continued when we eventually arrived at Hotel Bobina in Gorakhpur. It was more like Hotel Bobins. We only decided to stay there after the glowing review that it had in the India Lonely Planet guide book. It turned out to be the most awful place we've stayed in since the hovel of the Safari Inn at Dar es Salaam. Our room was terrible; dirty walls, filthy bathroom with no hot water and possibly the most evil looking toilet I've ever seen in a hotel.

We needed some dinner after being on the road since dawn but the only option was the hotel's own restaurant. We can't comment about how good or bad the food may have been because we couldn't get served. After being seated we waited 10 minutes for a menu but none came. By this time all the restaurant staff had disappeared so we asked at reception for some service. After another 5 minutes a waiter appeared so I again asked for a menu. The guy completely blanked me and walked past. We ended up buying dinner from the shop over the road and having a pick-nik in our filthy room instead!

Thank god when we eventually got on the train this morning. Hopefully the worst of the long distance, nightmare inducing road travel is behind us now that we are in India. One of the legacy's of the days of the British Empire is the extensive rail network that connects the country. Indian railways is the worlds second largest employer and has a staff of 1.6 million with a staggering 14 million passengers every day.

Pokhara part 2

We returned to Pokhara after our Himalaya trek and have spent a couple of days recovering from aching muscles and also the psychological damage from the jeep ride back. We're staying at a place called Hotel Sakura, where for the first time in over 2 months we have a TV in our room . . . oh the glory of the magic box! Best of all we have MTV and have been able to listen to some new music for the first time in 11 months (we're liking the new Muse and Calvin Harris stuff!).

We were able to finally tear ourselves away from the goggle box today to make a visit to the World Peace Pagoda which is situated on a hill overlooking the lake and the town.

On a clear day the views over the Himalaya are stunning and you can see Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Annapurna, the 7th, 8th and 10th highest mountains in the World.

Unfortunately that was a photo of a post card as we were instead treated to a blanket of cloud.

Here's another post card shot showing the stunning view at sunrise over the lake, which was also obscured by cloud during our time here.

Akthough we didn't get the killer view from the Peace Pagoda we did see some rather interesting insects, including this mutant grass hopper that was about 6 inches long and a rather dandy looking dragonfly

Tomorrow we leave Nepal and head over the boarder to India. We'll be really sad to leave as Nepal, as along with Laos and Egypt, it has probably been one of our favorite places so far. There has been lots of good stuff to see and do, everything is really cheap and the people are very friendly.

We're just off for dinner at the Everest Stake House to have our last big chunk of cow before we hit the beef free Hindu country of India.

Back to Pokhara

The best thing about Tatopani is the view you get of Machapuchare down the valley.

Tatopani in Nepali means hot water and the town gets its name from the hot springs that flow out at the valley floor. We thought it might be a nice place to sooth the aches and pains, but like the rest of Tatopani, the springs weren't very nice.

I had intended to leave Liz in Tatopani for for a couple of days whilst I completed an additional trek to make the 2km vertical climb up Poon Hill. However; Tatopani was too horrible a place to leave her stranded on her own so we instead decided to head back to Pokhara.

There are three ways out, a two/three day walk, 8 hours on a local bus or 5 hours in a jeep. We took the jeep option and made our way out in a mighty Mahindra 4x4.

We've had the misfortune to experience some incredibly bad driving since we started our trip; me on a moped in Laos, Vietnamese death wish bus drivers, the Thai taxi driver who thought he was in a video game, the senile Egyptian who nearly killed us in a head on collision and the lunatic Bedouin who drove us around Wadi Rum are just a handful of the many that spring to mind. However; they all pail into insignificance compared to the muppet who drove us back from our trek.

The road that leads from Tatopani, out of the Himalaya to the town of Beni would have my vote in the most dangerous roads in the world competition. It mainly consisted of a mud, rock and gravel pot holed track cut into the sides of the mountains that was barely wide enough for a vehicle. Along most of the route the side road was crumbling away into valley, covered with land slides or obstructed with boulders that had fallen from above.

As if the road wasn't bad enough we had to contend with a driver who appeared to have no concept of danger. We knew we where in trouble when within 2 minutes of setting off we skidded in some gravel and nearly went off the road into the river about 20 meters below. God knows how but we were only involved in 1 accident when we skidded into a motorbike coming the other way. Thankfully both the rider and passenger where ok. We nearly had several other incidents including hitting a herd of cows, hitting some women carrying children and a hitting a donkey.

Once we got back onto proper tarmac roads we thought things would improve but it just enabled our demented driver to go even faster. The only time he slowed down was when he stopped the car to have some sort mentalist seizure at the side of the road!!!

I have never been so terrified in all my life.

The Jomsom Trek - Day 3

We woke up in Kalopani and had some stunning views of the mountains when we had breakfast on the roof of our hotel.


We left the hotel at about 9am and immediately got stuck in a massive herd of mountain goat/sheep type beasties. It felt a little bit like we were about to be pushed into the knit-o-matic from Shaun the Sheep.

The scenery between Kalopani and Ghasa was spectacular and the highlight of the trek so far. The locals claim that this section of the trek is through the worlds deepest valley. Although the valley floor is at an altitude of about 2km, the mountains on either side (Dhaulagiri and Annapurna) are both over 8km high.

We had intended to stay the evening at Ghasa but arrived there a little early. Being as the going was good we decided to press on to Tatopani, which the guide we had downloaded from the internet told us was only another hour and a half away. It turned out to be more like 4 hours! By the time we reached Ghasa we had been walking for 8 hours solid and were more than a little sore.

The accommodation in Tatopani was pretty awful, not exactly the dreaded yak blanket on a dining room table, but not much better. The rooms at Trekker's Lodge had undecorated breeze block walls with a tin roof and leaky bathroom, it was a little like sleeping in a grotty shed.

Himalaya Porters

Until very recently there were no roads in this part of the Himalaya and therefore everything had to be transported via yak, donkey or man. The life of a Himalayan porter doesn't look particularly easy . . .

The Jomsom Trek - Day 2

For the second day of our trek the scenery changed from desert plains to pine forests as we descended further from Jomsom.

We didn't have quite so good views as yesterday as the cloud moved in later in the morning obscuring the higher peaks. We still got some good views of Nilgiri as we set out from Tukuche.

We covered another 12km but the route today proved a little more challenging than yesterday. We somehow found ourselves fording knee deep through several streams of Himalaya glacial melt water when we ended up a long way downstream of a bridge. Liz suggested that we just wade through them rather that back track to the bridge. It wasn't particularly easy wading across a rocky river bed with fast flowing water when you've got a 10kilo back pack on. It's normally me who comes up with the stupid ideas so I was pleased for it to be Liz for a change!

One of the stranger things we saw today was a man parading through the main street of the village of Kokhethanti with a freshly severed goats head with all sorts of entrails hanging out of it. I thought better than to take a picture for the blog! We also met a grubby child who we took pity on and gave some apples to. He looked thoroughly disappointed and demanded money or sweets instead. Cheeky little bleeder!

We ended the day in the tiny village of Kalopani where we stayed at the Kalopani Guest House. Once again it was a fantastic hotel for £4 without a yak blanket in sight. We also got visited by this little fellow, a hoopoe . . .

The reward that awaits after a hard days trek . . .

The Jomsom Trek - Day 1

The 20 minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom was probably the most thrilling plane ride we've ever taken. You fly up the Kali Gandaki river, skimming the valley floor and weaving beneath the peaks of the surrounding mountains.

The takeoff and landing were particularly hairy as both runways felt a little bit too short for comfort.

The Jomsom Trek follows one of the old trade routes between Nepal and Tibet. Because of this the route is peppered with lots of small villages that have lodges and shops. This means that you don't need to employ an army of porters to carry a tent, cooking gear and supplies for you.

After our early morning flight we walked out of Jomsom and headed 6km down the valley to Marpha to grab some brunch. The scenery en route was pretty stunning. We were hiking through high altitude desert with the snow capped 7km high peak of Tilicho looming overhead.

Marpha is the self proclaimed "delightful apple capital of Nepal".

It was a stunningly pretty little village that had the feel of one of those wonky old Cornish fishing villages.

From there it was another 6km to Tukuchi where we were planning to spend our first night. Having heard stories of having to sleep under a grubby yak blanket on a dining room table we weren't sure what the lodge accommodation would be like on route. However; we were pleasantly surprised by our first nights accommodation at the High Plains Inn at Tukuche. We had a lovely clean room, which was styled like a log cabin, en suite bathroom and a hot water shower for relieving those aching limbs. It was quite possibly the best hotel we've ever stayed in for £4 a night!

Pokhara part 1

Pokhara is the gateway town to the central region of the Nepali Himalaya. The town is situated along the side of the Phewa Tal lake and is really picturesque. The are supposed to be some stunning views of the Himalayas from around Pokhara but because we're here at the tail end of the monsoon we only get the odd tantalising glimpse.

In between sorting out the last of our trekking gear, arranging permits and booking flights we've sampled a few of Pokhara's tourist attractions.

For some inexplicable reason the International Mountain Museum is located in a new building 5km from town in the middle of no where, a bit like Millenium Point in Birmingham. It was an interesting museum to visit but the displays looked a little like something that the local primary school had thrown together. The yeti display was unbelievably crap.

The yeti is the one on the right!

We also had a go at rowing an unfeasibly large boat around Phewa Tal lake. This proved quite hard work in the 30 degree heat and 80% humidity, not one of our better ideas!


Tomorrow we fly to Jomsom, a small village in the central Himalaya. From there we will do the Jomsom Trek, a week long hike which will bring us through part of the Annapurna range back towards Pokhara. We'll be keeping 'em peeled for any yetis.

Snakes on a Plane (Part 2) - Goats on a bus!

In this part of the world you quite often see groups of people riding along on the tops of buses. Hanging on the roof bars as the buses pick their way through the city streets or hurtle along the dangerous mountain roads.

However we've still not got used to the fairly regular sight of half a flock of goats surfing on the roof of a speeding bus.

Kathmandu cough

We both really like Kathmandu, after the reserved atmosphere that you get in the Middle East it's great to be somewhere that is a little more lively. However there are a couple of things we're not so keen on when in the Nepali capital.

The first is the traffic. In most of Asia the traffic is pretty bad and crossing the road on foot is fairly challenging. Here it just seems downright dangerous.

Vietnam always felt a little risky as the traffic never seemed to stop. The guide books recommended that you just step confidently into the road and stride across at a constant, steady pace (whatever you do don't suddenly stop or run). If you do this the millions of mopeds that are hurtling past will just swerve and swarm around you.

The traffic never seems to stop in Kathmandu either. However; the Vietnamese (or any other) method of crossing the road doesn't work as no one seems to be fully in control of their vehicle. Even if you think that you're safely across the road and out of harms way, some bicycle, moped or taxi (usually all three) will make some improbable out of control maneuver and end up running over your feet or hitting you with a wing mirror. On the narrow, pavement-less streets around Thamel you need to have eyes in the back and sides of your head to avoid the constant threat of a mangling.

The other thing we're not too keen on is the pollution. Kathmandu is situated in a bowl shaped valley which traps the fumes from the vehicles and makes the air thick, gray and soupy. We're now both afflicted with deep, hacking, Kathmandu cough which would give a 60 a day smoker a run for their money.

We've not had any time for sightseeing since we returned to Kathmandu from the Chitwan. We've wasted yet more countless hours at the Indian embassy attempting to collect our visas. When we've not been slowly aging at the embassy we've been trying to get kitted out for a Himalaya trek. The streets around Thamel are great for getting knock off climbing gear. I managed to pick up a pair of Salomon climbing boots that cost £89 at home for the princely price of 1500 Nepali Rupes, about 12 quid!

After months of pestering and badgering I've finally managed to cajole Liz into a bit of mountain hiking. She still steadfastly refuses to discuss the 16 day climb to Everest Base Camp but has agreed to something a bit less strenuous.

Please remain seated . . .

Going wild in the Chitwan

We've just arrived back in Kathmandu after 4 days out of town at the Royal Chitwan National Park. The park is the former hunting reserve for the nobles of Nepal and sits in the South of the country on the border with India.

The journey to and from Chitwan was a bit of a pain as it involved spending far too much time on a clapped out old bus on dangerous twisting roads.

The journey is only about 150km but took 7 hours to get there. However, the journey back managed to take 9 hours when we got stuck in a jam in the mountains when a bus went off the road. Although the delay was more than a little annoying we were just thankful that it wasn't our bus that had gone AWOL.

Unfortunately we've had to back track to Kathmandu to pick up our Indian visas. It was either that or wait in town for another week until they were ready. We decided to press on anyway even though Pokhara, our next destination, is annoyingly back they way we've just come.

We stayed at great hotel in the Chitwan called Hotel Parkside which is located in the village of Sauraha right on the edge of the park. The staff were really friendly and also acted as our guides when we went out into the reserve.

Whilst we were there we visited the Elephant Breeding Centre where they breed and train Indian elephants for use in the tourist industry. Although the big adults are tethered, the babies are free roaming and came over to sniff everyone out for biscuits.

They were incredibly playful and once all the biscuits were gone proceeded to have an elephant style wrestling match, nearly squashing several people in the process!

Getting to the breeding centre was a bit of an adventure in itself. The centre is reached by taking an incredibly unstable dug out canoe across the Bhude Rapti River.

Back on the other side of the river we got to partake in the daily elephant wash where we got to play mahout and scrub 5 tons of pachyderm clean with stones out of the river.

In reality the elephants spent more time washing us as with a call of "chhop, chhop" from mahouts the elephants would fill their trunks with water and give anything in range a good soaking.

We had yet more elephant action when we took a safari on elephant back through the park.

The Chitwan is one of the few places on Earth where you can see the one-horned Indian rhino in the wild. The Indian rhino is highly endangered and 30% of the worlds remaining 2000 are found in the Chitwan.

After only seeing rhinos at a distance in Africa it was great to be able to get up closer to them, and somewhat surreal to do it whilst perched upon an elephant.

Although we were lucky enough to see a few rhinos, the other big draw of the Chitwan, the Royal Bengal Tiger, remained elusive.

It wasn't all elephant based action though. We also did a jeep safari to Bis Hajaar Tal, the so called 20,000 lakes. If there was ever a case of mis-advertising then the 20,000 lakes has to be it. Despite being there for over two hours we only saw one.

It wasn't quite the safari experience of the Serengeti but we still got to see a fair few beasties including more rhinos, snake eagles, spotted deer and the mash mugger, a sort of small crocodile.