Happy Dashain!
Trip Start
Aug 03, 2007
1
10
Trip End
Oct 18, 2007
Kathmandu,
Nepal
Sunday, October 14, 2007
After two weeks of being in Nangi, we were twitching to get back on the bikes. South from Pokhara up and over two large hill passes brought us into Butwal and the Teria planes. Lonely Planet said the planes were perfect for bicycling "pool table flat". Not sure what their pool tables are like, because it definitely was not flat. Compared to the Himalayan mountains I guess it would be, but compared to Nebraska, it was rolling hills. Quite pretty though to watch go by, especially on the down hill bits. The western half was also a lot more wooded then I would have though. Not much farming but lots of forest and monkeys! The eastern half of our road was more farming and much more populated. We got to experience a bit more of the crowd generation that us and the bikes attract when we stop for a snack. We haven't had this sort of attention since Malawi. Turning north in Hetauda we got to go up and over one more Himalayan pass, Daman Pass at 8200ft of which we got to grind up 6880ft. Not too bad considering what we did in India, but still makes you feel like you did something at the end of the day.
The city of Daman, where we spent that night, was quite basic which gives me pause to muse.
Nepalese countryside
Sometimes while bicycling through these poorer parts of the world it strikes me that we're a bit arrogant riding through these areas. Every day, they have to do their laundry at the village tap or well, wash their bodies and hair at those same taps (yes, in public, they wear a special bathing outfit), live in homes made of clay or mud with thatch roofs and cook over wood stoves. Even when we are staying in their villages for one night, our accommodations are always the best, by far, in the town. We have beds elevated off the floor and a tight roof. Plus, we also know that it's only a few short days till we bike into a bigger city and stay at a place with running hot water, in the room and fans to keep us cool. Those rooms in the city are $10 for us, but to them, that's a weeks paycheck, completely unrealistic. The contrast of us floating through their world on western bicycles on our way to western comfort hotels makes me feel bad.Regardless, we continue to enjoy traveling by bicycle because it does let us see people and their lifestyles that we never would otherwise. Kids going to school thrilled that there are two bicycles, with bells, on their street. (Everyone wants to ring the bell; we'll be in restaurants and the bell will be rung. Later that night, we're in the hotel room brushing our teeth and the bell would go off.) While bicycling, we get to see pink chicks, why are they painted pink? We get stopped in the middle of the road by a homemade sign with teenagers telling us that it's "a fund raiser for the football team going to India!" Hm, is that the home-team making it to nationals or the Maoists having fun with the tourists? Our guess is the Maoists, but with a clever way to confuse the tourists.
On our way to school
But, these guys would stop everyone, even the truckers who you think would complain. Actually, you think there would be a lot of things the truckers would be complaining about. For starters, two weird-o bicyclists hogging the shoulder of the road. Or other cars just stopping in the middle of the road, hopping out to go have lunch, leaving the car there like the highway was a parking lot. Or my favorite, the guy who dragged a very large branch half way across the road and just left it there wandering off to have a cigarette. All the cars come to a halt then try to weave themselves into the oncoming lane to get around. Jeepers!A few more days in Kathmandu let us do a bit more sightseeing and shopping for the next and final leg of our trip, Japan! We did a self guided walking tour of Durbar Square, south of the Themal area and were quite surprised how much more crowded and crazy those areas are. The architecture was quite cool though, all of the traditional buildings and wooden carvings.
So, now we're off to our last country and month of our little bicycle adventure. Japan, a nation know for being orderly and neat, that's going to be quite a change from around here!
