Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is cycle touring in Nepal on Monday, 8th-November-2016. Kathmandu. I Definitely had a case of culture shock today! But in reverse, I’ve been so used to not seeing any Westerners over the past month and being the only Westerner in a town. It came as a bit of a shock to suddenly be confronted by a load of Western tourists. Even though I know I’m one myself! I definitely preferred it when I was in more remote places!
The Pancha Mukhi Hanuman Temple
I went to Durbar Square this morning to have a look around the Unesco World Heritage Site, which sadly was quite badly damaged in the earthquake of 2015. Although there is still a lot of standing. And a lot that shouldn’t be standing but it is!
Nasal Chowk Nine Storied PalaceNasal Chowk Nine Storied Palace from behind the tops gone after the earthquake
Bloody Traders
I didn’t realise just how badly damaged it all was until I looked online and saw pictures of it before the earthquake. Most of the buildings are supported by wooden posts propping them up, but you can still see the intricate wood carvings on the buildings and apparently, they are going to rebuild it all again. Let’s hope so!
Wooden carvings on the buildings
It was all very stressful, and I was constantly hassled by street traders either wanting to sell me something or be my guide! Don’t know whether it’s because I’ve not been to any real tourist areas recently. But I found it really bad, even worse than Istanbul or Marrakesh. And those places are bad enough for being hassled!
The Deity ShivaShiva Parvati Temple
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Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 Nepal Monday 7th-November-2016. Chisapani to Kathmandu. 11 miles. Not really much to say today it was a very short ride into Kathmandu and I was in a hotel by 10.30.
The view I woke up to this morning
The ride itself wasn’t very pleasant at all. And I’m so glad I waited until this morning! The road surface had disappeared, or rather they were renewing it. There was so much traffic on it. Although not as much as last night. There was a steady stream of traffic all night on the road, I could hear it from my room, and if I looked down over the valley all I could see was one long snaking trail of lights on the road going up the valley!
The bad road on the ride into Kathmandu this morning
Once at the hotel, I gave all my clothes a good wash and updated the website. I also had to repair one of the rear panniers. I’m not too sure if I’d been hit or I’d caught it on something, but there was a tear in it. I did some maintenance on the bike and a de-stress for me. I felt pretty worn out after the past few days, and today wore me out mentally with all the traffic and bad road conditions!
Street in Kathmandu
Think I’ll play the tourist tomorrow before moving on on Wednesday, the hotel only has a room for two nights, and I’ll probably be bored by then anyway!
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Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 Nepal Sunday 6th-November-2016. Somewhere on the Tribhuwan highway to Chisapani. 42 miles. It’s been another ridiculously hard ride again today, and I’ve still not made it to Kathmandu!
Last night’s campsite
Last night wasn’t the best nights sleep I’ve ever had, I was continually being woken up. As I said last night, my campsite was on the side of the road, on the apex of a corner. I thought that after a few hours, the traffic would stop, but it continued all night. It wasn’t so much that the traffic woke me up, although it did, no it was more the fear of being hit by one of these vehicles! If the truck/car was going up the hill, I felt safe with those. But if it was something coming down the hill that I didn’t like!
I could hear them coming from a long way away, as the road continued to twist and turn up the mountain. I’d lay there listening to the trucks, which it usually was getting nearer and nearer. Then the sound would disappear when the road twisted in a different direction. That only made it worse, because the next time I would hear it, was as it came around the final corner, and the headlights would light up my tent! I would just lay, hoping the truck would make the corner, and not run over me! As soon as it started to get light, I was up and on the road, my nerves couldn’t take anymore!!
Snow capped mountains
Sound About Right!
It turned out I was only an hour away from several hotels last night! But that was an hour this morning on fresh legs and in the daylight! I think stopping when I did was the right decision! After all, there was no guarantee of any rooms being available, they may have even been closed by the time, I would have reached them, that’s if I would have reached them!
Sharing my breakfast with the girl from the cafe
I’ve had some spectacular views of the mountains today, especially as the landscape opened up at the Simbhanjyang Pass. Not too sure if I was looking at Everest as all the signs read “Everest view.” All I know is that whatever mountains they were, they were majestic, with their snow-capped peaks gleaming in the sun.
It’s a long way down! Thinking about it, it was a bloody long way up!
My main problem at the moment despite the normal ones! Is the daylight, it gets dark too early, and these roads are really not a nice place to be in the dark!
Some People Never Learn
You’d think that after all the travelling I’ve done, I would have learned not to listen to what the locals say when it comes to terrain and distances! The distances that I kept getting told yesterday were wildly different, varying from 50km to 5km! And today was no different I’d been told that it was downhill from Daman to Noubise then it was a gentle climb for the last 20 miles or so up to Kathmandu. Well, it wasn’t downhill, and it wasn’t a gentle climb!
I’d debated whether to stop at one of the hotels in Noubise or push on to Kathmandu. After all, it wasn’t late, and it was only twenty miles, with a gentle climb! So I decided to push on, big mistake! For a start, it wasn’t a gentle climb, and the road was mega busy!
Stunning views
It started to get dark, and once again, there was nowhere to camp or stay! So I pushed on in the hope that it was only 20 miles to Kathmandu! Then out of the blue, or rather dark, appeared a hotel. I’ve only got another 10 miles to Kathmandu, but it can wait until tomorrow, that road was far too busy to be cycling on in the dark!
Despite a tough few days, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself, although I wouldn’t want to go that way again!
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Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 Nepal Saturday 5th-November-2016. Hetauda to somewhere on the Tribhuvan Highway. 30 miles. Well, there was no putting it off. I had to leave the hotel and head up the Tribhuvan Highway. I found out last night that’s the name of the shorter route to Kathmandu. And despite all the dire warnings about the state of the road, I thought seventy miles has got to be better than two hundred.
After eating two omelettes for breakfast, I couldn’t put it off any longer and had to get moving! And left the hotel; as I left, the staff told me not to go that way, saying, “The road is non-existent, there are rocks and potholes everywhere, it’s too steep to cycle, you’ll have to carry your bike, it’s so bad! And with all these warnings ringing in my ears, I left. The uphill part I can cope with. It’s the off-road cycling I struggle with these days. It jars my back! And because my walking isn’t so good these days, I’m a bit more cautious! Whereas in the past, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought! I’d have just gone for it!
The ominous mountains in my way
I can’t deny that I was a little concerned as I cycled up the road and stopped at the junction where the road turned to the left, the longer route to Kathmandu. I wondered if maybe I should listen to what people were saying and take the longer route. The only thing that gave me a bit of hope was that small vehicles were coming down the Tribhuvan Highway. So it couldn’t be that bad, could it?
One of the many twisting roads
What a Relief
Anyway, my fears of a rough road proved totally unfounded. The surface was as good as any I’ve had over the past few weeks! But boy, it’s been hard work. I’ve been going uphill constantly right from the get-go this morning! As I started the day, the mountains dominated the skyline in front of me, but as the day went on, I was slowly but surely beginning to look down on them!
Meeting people on the Tribhuvan HighwayMore twisting roads that I’d come up
Not too sure where I am tonight. I just had to stop, as it was getting dark! For all I know, there might be a village just around the corner, but that corner is still going uphill. I think I saw a sign saying the next village was 6km away, but it’s just too far! If it were light, I would have carried on but not in the dark it’s too scary with the way they drive around here! I’d been looking for somewhere to stop for the past hour or two. But there’s nowhere to pitch a tent. On one side of the road, it’s a rock face. On the other, it’s a drop of several hundred feet! So when I turned the corner and came across this small flat piece of land on the apex of a corner, I just had to stop!
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