7-13 May
We were up on time and out to the bikes as quick as we could. The Varanasi alleyway where we had parked was narrow, so the panniers were put back on the bikes once we had moved them into the wider walkway. Even at 6 in the morning it was hot in just the bike trousers.
We were soon ready to roll and after a quick couple of photos to show you how the alleyways looked we were off (See previous post).
The town was already busy, nowhere as bad as we arrived but still requiring full concentration as the rickshaws were all over the road as usual. We managed to escape the town fairly easily but due to the lack of signs and local help we were on the slow road to Gorakhpur. We were moving all the time but we were just travelling at around an average of 20 mph and the traffic was constant.
We had a quick lunch on the road and continued. As were getting closer to Gorakhpur me saw more and more buses filled with soldiers. Not far from the outskirts whilst slowly passing a line of parked buses was a 4x4 parked in between them. We approached cautiously, tooting the horns, but as soon as Mike was almost parallel the guy in the 4x4 just pulled out and forced Mike and Sylvia onto the dirt on the side of the road. After catching him up and trying to remonstrate with the driver who just smiled, Mike forced him to a stop and shouted at him. The guy said he was signalling what was the problem! Mike went onto him about looking but he said he had signalled and in as many words so what! In the end Mike didn’t seemed to be getting through so he left it and we headed off again.
We got into Gorakhpur fairly easily but the number of troops was increasing including a pick-up 4x4 with a heavy duty machine gun mounted on the roll bar. Our rough guide had a couple of hotels it recommended, so after a quick drink on the outskirts we headed for the hotel getting directions every so often. The book was right, the hotel was good and we were set back a fair way from the road as well. After a chilling out with the air cons in the room we had our evening meal and headed off to bed.
The next morning we were up early again ready to head for the Nepalese border. Whilst checking out Mike was told that there were elections today and the border was closed until 5pm! We continued with breakfast and discussed about riding closer to the border and crossing early the next day. Mike went back to reception and met a guy there who recommended that we stay put. In the past there had been violence on elections with people trying to force people to vote a certain way (hence all the soldiers) and that there would be numerous checkpoints and diversions. He said we should be safe but wouldn’t recommend we travel. That sealed it for us and the fact all the shops were closed, there was no traffic on the roads and there was an armed soldier every 50m or so!
The bikes were unloaded again and we kicked back for the day as there was not a lot else to do.
Ghandi...
Shops selling guns in an area known for violence!
The main street that is usually totally congested...
The next morning we were finally off, after some dodgy directions we were soon heading for the border and after a couple of hours ride we were there.
With the closure from yesterday there was a huge tailback of trucks which took a while to filter through until we came to the worst town since Nogales, Mexico!
It was chaos with the trucks queuing and everyone else forcing there way around them. We decided to have a quick drink and to get our papers ready before heating immigration and customs. Once watered we forced our way through to immigration and after the obligatory forms we were clear for customs and the carnets were cleared fairly quickly and we headed off for Nepal.
Traffic at the border crossing...
The Nepalese immigration was easy with the visa and stamps cleared quickly and them thanking us for visiting there country which was a nice way to be welcomed. Whilst we were waiting for the forms to be processed we picked up a Nepalese helper who took us over to customs for the carnets to be stamped.
There was no problem but all three people to process the carnet were at lunch. The helper said no problem as he had asked the supervisor who said they only had a 30 minute lunch break! An hour later the first on turned up! The carnets were processed fairly quickly and we were off after thanking or helper with some money.
The first thing we noticed was the driving was much better and even the Indians coming over the border in the trucks were driving sensibly.
Our first stop was at an ATM to pick up some local currency before heading off. We had planned to stay at Butwal but our helper said it was much nicer and cooler in Tansen so as it was only 30 odd clicks north we decided to head there instead.
We had lunch in a nice restaurant in Butwal where Mike picked up a cockroach which he shortly found after leaving in his crash helmet!
The road was fairly good all the way with just a few sections short which were rock and gravel. The greatest change was the temperature was much cooler and bends again!
as we threaded our way up into the foothills just making it before the rain came down.
Arriving at the hotel we found that we could only stay the night as there was a large tour party coming in. We had hope to spend two nights here so we could plan our time in Nepal but we decided to take the night and see how we felt in the morning. So with a couple of beers
we kicked back for the evening.
After reading the guide book we decided to head off for Pokhara which was just over a 100 clicks away and is were a lot of mountain activities are based.
The road to Pokhara wasn’t too bad a quality and the Nepalese driving is so much better we were able to enjoy the driving more but the whole 100 clicks was bend after bend after bend. The longest straight stretch was no more than a few hundred meters at a time. And although a nice change it was hard work.
About 10 kms from the Pokhara the heavens opened and the road soon became a river in places. We found a somewhere to shelter to see the worst of the rain go by before donning the waterproof over suits for the first time since Kenya.
After a couple of hits we found our way to the Lake side of Pokhara where all the hotels are situated and found a reasonable hotel with lake view towards the end of the hotel strip.
The following two days were spent catching up on E-mails and deciding what to do next.
John
We were up on time and out to the bikes as quick as we could. The Varanasi alleyway where we had parked was narrow, so the panniers were put back on the bikes once we had moved them into the wider walkway. Even at 6 in the morning it was hot in just the bike trousers.
We were soon ready to roll and after a quick couple of photos to show you how the alleyways looked we were off (See previous post).
The town was already busy, nowhere as bad as we arrived but still requiring full concentration as the rickshaws were all over the road as usual. We managed to escape the town fairly easily but due to the lack of signs and local help we were on the slow road to Gorakhpur. We were moving all the time but we were just travelling at around an average of 20 mph and the traffic was constant.
We had a quick lunch on the road and continued. As were getting closer to Gorakhpur me saw more and more buses filled with soldiers. Not far from the outskirts whilst slowly passing a line of parked buses was a 4x4 parked in between them. We approached cautiously, tooting the horns, but as soon as Mike was almost parallel the guy in the 4x4 just pulled out and forced Mike and Sylvia onto the dirt on the side of the road. After catching him up and trying to remonstrate with the driver who just smiled, Mike forced him to a stop and shouted at him. The guy said he was signalling what was the problem! Mike went onto him about looking but he said he had signalled and in as many words so what! In the end Mike didn’t seemed to be getting through so he left it and we headed off again.
We got into Gorakhpur fairly easily but the number of troops was increasing including a pick-up 4x4 with a heavy duty machine gun mounted on the roll bar. Our rough guide had a couple of hotels it recommended, so after a quick drink on the outskirts we headed for the hotel getting directions every so often. The book was right, the hotel was good and we were set back a fair way from the road as well. After a chilling out with the air cons in the room we had our evening meal and headed off to bed.
The next morning we were up early again ready to head for the Nepalese border. Whilst checking out Mike was told that there were elections today and the border was closed until 5pm! We continued with breakfast and discussed about riding closer to the border and crossing early the next day. Mike went back to reception and met a guy there who recommended that we stay put. In the past there had been violence on elections with people trying to force people to vote a certain way (hence all the soldiers) and that there would be numerous checkpoints and diversions. He said we should be safe but wouldn’t recommend we travel. That sealed it for us and the fact all the shops were closed, there was no traffic on the roads and there was an armed soldier every 50m or so!
The bikes were unloaded again and we kicked back for the day as there was not a lot else to do.
Ghandi...
Shops selling guns in an area known for violence!
The main street that is usually totally congested...
The next morning we were finally off, after some dodgy directions we were soon heading for the border and after a couple of hours ride we were there.
With the closure from yesterday there was a huge tailback of trucks which took a while to filter through until we came to the worst town since Nogales, Mexico!
It was chaos with the trucks queuing and everyone else forcing there way around them. We decided to have a quick drink and to get our papers ready before heating immigration and customs. Once watered we forced our way through to immigration and after the obligatory forms we were clear for customs and the carnets were cleared fairly quickly and we headed off for Nepal.
Traffic at the border crossing...
The Nepalese immigration was easy with the visa and stamps cleared quickly and them thanking us for visiting there country which was a nice way to be welcomed. Whilst we were waiting for the forms to be processed we picked up a Nepalese helper who took us over to customs for the carnets to be stamped.
There was no problem but all three people to process the carnet were at lunch. The helper said no problem as he had asked the supervisor who said they only had a 30 minute lunch break! An hour later the first on turned up! The carnets were processed fairly quickly and we were off after thanking or helper with some money.
The first thing we noticed was the driving was much better and even the Indians coming over the border in the trucks were driving sensibly.
Our first stop was at an ATM to pick up some local currency before heading off. We had planned to stay at Butwal but our helper said it was much nicer and cooler in Tansen so as it was only 30 odd clicks north we decided to head there instead.
We had lunch in a nice restaurant in Butwal where Mike picked up a cockroach which he shortly found after leaving in his crash helmet!
The road was fairly good all the way with just a few sections short which were rock and gravel. The greatest change was the temperature was much cooler and bends again!
as we threaded our way up into the foothills just making it before the rain came down.Arriving at the hotel we found that we could only stay the night as there was a large tour party coming in. We had hope to spend two nights here so we could plan our time in Nepal but we decided to take the night and see how we felt in the morning. So with a couple of beers
we kicked back for the evening.After reading the guide book we decided to head off for Pokhara which was just over a 100 clicks away and is were a lot of mountain activities are based.
The road to Pokhara wasn’t too bad a quality and the Nepalese driving is so much better we were able to enjoy the driving more but the whole 100 clicks was bend after bend after bend. The longest straight stretch was no more than a few hundred meters at a time. And although a nice change it was hard work.
About 10 kms from the Pokhara the heavens opened and the road soon became a river in places. We found a somewhere to shelter to see the worst of the rain go by before donning the waterproof over suits for the first time since Kenya.
After a couple of hits we found our way to the Lake side of Pokhara where all the hotels are situated and found a reasonable hotel with lake view towards the end of the hotel strip.
The following two days were spent catching up on E-mails and deciding what to do next.
John
