Pokhara to Butwal -Day 5

 

Today was day 1 of our trek and our introduction to  the bikes and the Nepal traffic. We said our goodbyes to Sanjay and his staff at the Heritage hotel  and made our way to Hears and Tears to get our bikes and farewell Matt. Before long we were on our way and navigating the Nepali traffic.

Tip no 6 Indicators are not for indicating your intention to turn, They are to inform the person behind you it is safe to overtake.

Tip no 7 Beefing the horn is not a form of abuse here, It is letting the vehicle know in front of you that they are coming past.

Tip no 8  Flashing headlights means "I am bigger than you and I am not stopping so get out of the road.

Once we had all of that sorted navigating the traffic was relatively easy. Before long we were winding our way up the hills  and through some awesome twisties. We stopped about an hour in for a toilet stop and leg stretch and drink if anyone wanted one and then head off again. the road here is difficult to go any faster than 50 kph, mainly because of the bends but in part because of the condition of the road. We were becoming old hands at beeping and passing vehicles now and starting the feel the cold as we climbed higher and higher. Around 10 AM we stopped for a coffee break and met up with another bike group that came from Kathmandu. There were Aussies, Yanks, and a couple of poms in that group so we got chatting about rides etc. The owner of the coffee shop also fed a wild eagle as part of his tourism draw card. Having seen the hunting eagles in Kyrgyzstan, I am still amazed at how accurate these birds are when picking up prey, or in this case a bit of meat. Our ride leader only had a pair of light gloves on so we gave him a pair of Anns Gloves to keep his hands warm. My hand was to big and Anns glove fit perfectly. We werent sure if he had ladies hands or Ann has large hands for a woman. I think I might leave that there.

We let the big group go out first and then mounted up for another 1 hour ride. to a massive suspension bridge. We walked a little way out on the bridge but knowing we had to climb it back up decided not to go to far. Once again met up with the bigger ride group. Back on the bikes we rode for around 2 hours until our lunch stop. This was a traditional Nepali meal at a well kept meal stop/restaurant. The food was delicious and one of the pickles was very spicy. Ideal to get the metabolism going.

With lunch down we headed off again to our next stop after 2 hours and to top up our fuel. The road was starting to deteriorate now and patches were filled with rocks  or dug up and left for further work.  It was becoming difficult to keep the group together but somehow we made it work. Stopping for fuel and we got one bike 3/4 full before the power cut out. Power outages or load shedding are commonplace in Nepal. I suspect they learnt from our power companies in Australia how to annoy people. Eventually the power came on again and were fuelled and ready for the most difficult stage, the roadwork section!

Just before we go to the roadwork we stopped to pull our buffs up to stop us from breathing in the dust. The section of  road is about 20 km long and is being repaired in patches and ripped up in others. It brought back flashbacks of the road from Kathmandu. Just as well we were riding Royal Enfield Himalayans. For a small 410 cc single cylinder bike, they are more than capable of handling the Nepali roadworks. Unfortunately, the bumps were too much for one bike and the pillion seat dislodged and started to poke poor Ann in the back. What made matters worse, it happened where we were unable to actually stop and try and fix it, so Ann had to persevere until it was safe to stop. Eventually we got it back in place and continued on our ride to Butwal.

Coming into town, the first thing we noticed were all the bull just laying in the street. Cows are sacred in Hindu culture and more so the females. Unfortunately when a cow is young, and it is born male it is of no use so they turn them loose. In some areas, they dont have enough food and starve. It's a sad state of affairs really and being animal lovers you kind of wish you could do something for them. They can't be slaughtered so there are not many options to Hindi for them.

Finally we arrived at the Hotel Denovo in Butwal and made a beeline for the shower. After cleaning ourselves up we headed down for dinner and debrief on the day's ride. Also briefed on tomorrow's ride and ordered our early breakfast. Tomorrow is a big day so we need an early start. I don't think getting to sleep tonight will be a problem.

Day 6 - Butwal to Bardia National Park