SuzyBlue goes east 2019: Nepal part 2, with a Royal Enfield Himalaya exploring the countryside; 11.- 26.10.

After one week I change my location and stay for 2 nights at the "Elbrus Home", a hotel just some minutes away from Thamel. There had been many tourists around Bouddha Stupa as well. But Thamel is like another world: you find some hundreds of trekking-, shirt-, jewellery-, expedition- and souvernir-shops door-to-door. All famous outdoor brands are available.... I just hope that the tourists are aware that most of the products sold here are fakes. October and November are trekking-high-season months and therefor you see people from allover the world; mainly in the evening Thamel is really crowded. Not what I really like. I prefer to stroll around in the morning when it is still nice and relaxed.

 

On Saturday the other 5 bikers (4 men and 1 woman) I will spend the next to weeks with arrive from Germany. A funny group and we get along really good from the really beginning. During the first dinner Stephan, our tourguide, gives us instructions and tips how to drive here (honking, honking, honking!) and what to expect the next few days. We are quite excited the next morning being introduced to our bikes, Royal Enfield Himalayan's. After tightly packed our backroll on the bike we already start to our tour.... yeeeahaaaa

 

"Thanks" to the visit of the Chinese Prime minister the evening before, 3 of the 4 main roads leading out of Kathmandu are still blocked by militair and police and Stephan already has to change our route completely. But he's doing that for many years already and is able to adapt to any problems that might occur. On a main road - together with all the other vehicles driving out of Kathmandu - we ride down to Sauhara, a village in the Chitwan National park.
Wow, the traffic is really a challenge. I'm used to the crazy driving style from South America but the way they drive here is no picnic even for me: the roads - if tarmaced - full of sometimes huge potholes, overtaking motorcycles all the time - of coursing honking; the trucks and buses (most of them "Tata"s) drive like hell and take as much space as they need. If you don't get out of their way it is your problem, not theirs! The only possibility to survive is to be always very alert and try to adapt their driving style, of course far more defensive. And soon it's really fun riding with the bike here - at least for me; although I'm still quite often astonished of how risky they overtake. The crashed buses and cars lying some hundred meters down in the riverbed speak a clear language. Massive accidents are nothing uncommon here.

 

 

 

The next days we experience and ride through great landscapes, villages and cities like: 
Chitwan Nationalpark, Janakpur, Salleri, Balthali, Namo Buddha, Nagarkot and Bakthapur. Within 200km width Nepal offers dschungels at 150m up to the massive Himalaya range with 8848m. Incredible and absolutely impressing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stay alternating in great resorts, a sherpa-guesthouse and at the river in tiny tents. During the day we eat in street restaurants, at the campfire, at a farmer's home and enjoy the great local food.
The program gives us enough time to relax, be part of a dschungle walk or go on a hike trying to get a glimps of Mt. Everest. I'm not used to travel like that but it is a nice change not be responsible finding a place to sleep or think about where to ride next. And of course it is really great to share all the things and places we see and experience with other travelers.

 

                           

 

Riding-wise it is never boring; not a second! Meanwhile we are used to the left-side-driving and to the driving style of the Nepalis. But the roads are often quite challenging and it happens again and again that for example there is a bridge missing. That's exactly what I was looking for: steep gravel roads, water crossings and unforseen difficulties we had to solve together.

 

 

 

It's incredible how fast the time passes. Already 12 days after leaving Kathmandu we return sound and safe. Friday we use doing some more sightseeing and of course souvenir shopping and on Saturday the 5 Germans fly back home. We spent 2 great weeks together and got along really good - although being of quite different characters. We had lots of fun and encoured each other in tricky situations. Once more I got to know some nice travelers and I hope to keep in touch at least with some of them.

After another night at the "Elbrus Home" I change back to the ROKPA guesthouse. I have sort of a task to accomplish there before going on my trekking at the end of my time in Nepal

But again more of that in my next post "Nepal, part 3" .... stay tuned my friends ;-)

SuzyBlue goes east 2019: Nepal part 1, deeply touched and completely fascinated; 04.10.-15.11.

Although it is not the best idea to travel by plane right now I'm again flying.... this time to Kathmandu, Nepal. I'm extremly excited what to expect. I spent lots of time doing research about the country, its history, its problems right now and even more after the devastasting earthquake 2015.
But through my many experiences I also know meanwhile that never something written can give a proper image of the reality.
After an easy flight via Istanbul and Delhi (as mostly I spend the time to watch some blockbusters) the plane takes course over the hills of Kathmandu Valley and Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. The sky is quite clear and I can see the little villages, the uncountable small and curvy roads and even in the far the Himalayan mountain range. Wow..... this moment gives me defenitely the creeps. And I guess it will not be the last one ;-)
Once on the ground the typical chaos takes over: hundreds of people try to rush through the security check - and nobody takes any notice that the metal scan peeps all the time. Most grab a trolley for the luggage and bung the anyway tiny arrival area around the luggage belt. As the luggage of my flight is not unloaded yet I stand at the wall, right out of the way of all the rushing people and observe grinning the chaos. What is totally normal for the locals seems to upset some of the tourists quite a bit. Phhh... they can look forward to the rest of the trip when something harmless like that already makes them that nervous.

 

 

After a while the screen shows that the luggage of my flight has been unloaded and I try to find a place at the belt to look for my suitcase. There is almost nothing you cannot find on the belt: huge trekkers backpacks, suitcases in all possible sizes, big LCT-tv's..... the only thing not showing up is my own suitcase even after 1.5 hours of waiting. I report it at the "lost&found"-counter and am really happy that most of my personal things are in my little handbag as the suitcase is filled with clothes and laptops for the ROKPA children's home. Once again it is good to be able to travel with small luggage as in the end I'll have to wait 5 days (!!) until I get my suitcase. I leave the airport after changing some local currency and I'm happy that I'm informed about the proper price for the ride from the airport to my guesthouse. Some of the taxi drivers try to earn almost a monthly salary from the tourists. It is ok for me to pay more than the locals but there is still a reasonable limit.
With my motorcycle-trip coming the unknown left-side-traffic, the dusty and bumpy road, the chaotic and noisy driving style make me already a little bit nervous. I guess it will be quite a challenge to be part of the traffic on an own bike.
Meanwhile I'm quite tired and I'm really happy that arriving at the ROKPA's guesthouse I can go to my nice and cosy room immediately. I take a nap for some hours and try to adapt to the time change.

 

 

The guesthouse is situated just a couple of walking minutes away from the famous and really beautiful Bouddhanat Stupa - the biggest Stupa in the world - which I explore already on my first afternoon in Kathmandu.

 

 

        

I use the first week to explore the rest of Kathmandu, make even a excursion to the nearby king's village Bakthapur. Thanks to Hansueli - a Swiss biker who comes to Nepal for many years already - I get to know some Nepalis who show me around. Sharmila and her brother Sudan bring me to the most important sightseeings (Pashupatinath, Swayamabhunat, etc.), either on a scooter or on foot. It is very interesting and entertaining to be shown around by locals. I receive information and gain insights I would never have otherwise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         

                                                       

Sharmila und Sudan invite me as well to join their family. What a luck: during that week Nepal celebrates "Dashai", one of the most important festivals, mainly for families as most of the Nepalis return to their families even to the remote little villages. Kathmandu is far more quiet and relaxed than usual. I'm blessed with a so-called "Tika", a coloured sign on the forehead which should bring me luck and health. Some weeks later there is already another festival, the "Tihar" or festival of lights. The houses are decorated with chain of lights and in front of each house entrance the put a line of lights, gifts and decoration to show the way for the goddess "Lakshmi" who will bless the people living in this house. This festival is taking 5 days and each day has a certain background or is dedicated to an animal that is important to the humans: the crow (message of the death), dog, cow and ox. On the last day many music groups walk dancing and singing through the streets and welcome the Nepali New Year. Again I'm invited to spend the day with Sharmila's family: the mother with her 7 children and 10 grand children. A cheerful and noisy bunch of people and all of us in a little three-rooms apartement. A really memorable and impressing day I sure won't forget.

 

 

 

         

The city, the people, the poverty, the many impressings, noises and smells are sometimes almost overwhelming. It is wunderful, fascinating, touching and startling at the same time. But I wouldn't want to miss a second I'm able to spend here in Nepal.

It is time now to move somehow as the guided motorcycle-trip is pending. But more about that in my next post "Nepal part 2" .... stay tuned ;-)