January 31, Crossover into Nepal

We started off early morning from Basti in Uttar Pradesh anticipating a delay at the Indo-Nepal border while Nepalese officials checked our travel papers in this former Himalayan kingdom now coming to terms with democracy. The route from Basti to Sanauli took us through some of the remotest villages of India. Our first stop was at Bansi – small town, where a bridge built across a wide stream is damaged has not been repaired for the past two years. Luckily it has not quite collapsed and could take the load of our motorcycles. Buses and heavy vehicles have to negotiate the shallow waters of the stream.

Despite the arid remoteness of the region roads, though narrow, were of surprisingly good quality. Another paradox we witnessed was that the latest models of mobile phones had reached even these back-of-the-beyond villages of India’s most under-developed state. Though living in thatched, sometimes makeshift huts, wearing dirty and tattered clothes, the mobile phone seemed to be a ubiquitous accessory.

We reached Sanauli (India)-Bhairava (Nepal) border, one of the dozen legal road crossings between India and Nepal at 2.30 pm. Sited just a stone’s throw away from Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, Sanauli-Bhairava is a very busy border crossing, especially during summer when devout Buddhists from India arrive in droves. But despite being largely underdeveloped in terms of civic infrastructure, Sanauli has everything that a tourist could possibly need — money changers, travel agents, import-export agents, cyber café, hotels and multi cuisine restaurants. This single-road town was a riot of colours and cacophony of sound as men and women in traditional costumes milled around the border going in and out of either countries in a casual manner with minimal fuss and bother.

As we pulled up in front of the ramshackle looking, tin-roofed, customs and immigration office of the Nepal government to purchase permits to travel on our motorcycles in their country, we were surrounded by touts offering an array of services. We ignored them and walked into the customs and immigration office expecting the surly bureaucracy and red-tape, so typical of India. But to our surprise we were courteously facilitated by Nepalese officials, who helped us complete all procedural formalities. It took us about 30 minutes to move through four chambers, pay our motorcycle entry fees (NRs.860 for ten days) and collect our permits to ride into Nepal. Riding for the first time in a foreign country I experienced a particular thrill. I had realised the first part of my dream to circumnavigate the globe on two wheels.

Our first stop in the exotic mountain kingdom of Nepal was Lumbini, where Lord Buddha aka Siddhartha Gautama was born. The 24 km stretch from Bhairava-Sanauli border to Lumbini is a narrow bumpy ride, but riding in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas, negligible traffic, especially after the chaos and disorder of Uttar Pradesh, India was an exhilarating experience because apart from an occasional cyclist or a battered truck, we were kings of the road.

As we entered Lumbini, a great peace descended upon us in this birth place of one of the world’s greatest sages whose name is synonymous with calm and inner peace. We checked into Hotel Siddhartha (NRs.200 per night) which offered safe parking and clean rooms with running hot water.

February 1. Lumbini.

Inside this Buddhist mecca our first port of call was the globally renowned Lumbini Heritage Park, a vast 3.5 sq km green area being developed as a natural-cum-spiritual heritage space to boost pilgrimage tourism in Nepal. The highlights of this park include a vast water body in its epicenter, the Mayadevi temple, monasteries built by Buddhist communities around the world and a sprawling fenced-in forest area which houses the endangered Blue Bull. To all this add neat walking paths for visitors to enjoy greenery and absorb the serene environment which is easy given that only bicycles and cycle rickshaws are permitted in the park.

The highlight of the heritage park is the Mayadevi temple which enshrines painstakingly restored and devotedly protected archaeological remains associated with the birth of the Buddha. The Nativity Sculpture here depicts Maya Devi (Lord Buddha’s mother) holding a branch of the sal tree in her right with the newborn Gautama standing on a lotus petal, the traditional oval halo around his head. According to local guides this sculpture was installed by Malla Kings of the Naga dynasty who ruled this region in the 11-15th centuries. Contiguous to the temple is the pushkarini — a crystal clear water tank where the infant Buddha was bathed immediately after his birth. The sal tree under which Maya Devi, rested just before giving birth is sited on the tank. Another historical landmark here is the Emperor Ashoka’s edict which was installed when he visited Lumbini in 249 BC.

Lumbini has been visited by several notable names of yore. It is recorded that Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini in 249 BC and constructed four stupas and a stone pillar with a figure of a horse on top. Those were moving moments as I walked along the manicured lawns and the beautifully maintained flower gardens around the Mayadevi temple. I tried to imagine how it would have been over 2,000 years ago when Emperor Ashoka along with the royal entourage visited here and walked around. How the emperor would have felt, what had lured him here apart from devotion to the Buddha, was it the pristine nature that made him feel soothed and freed his mind off the mundane affairs of the kingdom. For me definitely this was one of the places which gave great peace and equilibrium to my mind.

It is recorded that though Lumbini was a revered spiritual center it fell into neglect and remained so for several centuries till 1895, when Feuhrer, a German archaeologist, discovered the Ashokan pillar and undertook further exploration and excavation of the surrounding area. These excavations revealed the remains of a brick temple and a sandstone nativity sculpture within the temple.

February 2. Lumbini-Butwal-Palpa Bazaar

It was chilly at 9 a.m when we set off from Lumbini towards Butwal the largest town before Pokhara. At Butwal we were pleasantly surprised to see a small TVS showroom. The proprietor Arun K.C. was thrilled to meet with and after we appraised him of our Equal Education for All mission he immediately arranged for us to visit the Glory Boarding School (GBS) and address the staff and students.

At GBS we were warmly welcomed by principal S.K. Tiwari, and his team of 36 teachers who deliver high quality holistic education to 700 students. Tiwari explained that every month the school conducts a cultural competition, excursions to a heritage spot, interactions with local dignitaries etc so that children derive more than mere textbook education. We suggested that they start a slum outreach programme to get students to interact with underprivileged children in slums and on streets.

Following a traditional Nepali meal comprising of rice, dal, roti and sweet kheer at Arun’s home in Butwal we were escorted through Butwal’s main roads by Arun and five of his biker friends to the outskirts of the town. It was 4.00 pm by the time we hit the highway snaking into the hills, past green mountainsides, gurgling streams, deep ravines as we meandered towards Palpa. Nepal’s undulating roads cut through high mountains and deep valleys make for thrilling road journeys. The highs and lows we experienced during the 90 km ride through the backroads of Nepal provided unforgettable an experience.

Even as our TVS Apache motorcycles negotiated the sharpest hair-pin bends without even twitching, another pleasurable memory is of the excellent road manners of drivers in Nepal. Smaller vehicles (especially motorcycles) are given priority by car and buses and on several occasions big powerful cars pulled over and let us pass them on narrow mountain roads. Considering that Nepal’s literacy and education system lags far behind compared with India and that several Nepali citizens come to India to study, work etc, it’s commendable they haven’t learnt the bad road manners of Indian drivers.

Although we sped towards Pokhara, we couldn’t help stopping at places offering breath-taking panoramas of Nepal’s lush green valleys and mountainscapes. But as night fell suddenly we shelved our initial plan of reaching Pokhara (120 km) and pitched beside a small stream in the middle of the forest, near Palpa Bazaar. As the night progressed the chill set in and even though we were well-equipped with alpine sleeping bags we felt the icy winds threatening our tent. Fortunately it held fast.

February 3. Palpa-Pokhara-Kushma

The sun shone bright and early next morning lifting our spirits as we dismantled our tent and headed for Pokhara. The road wound through rugged mountainsides providing stunningly beautiful vistas. En route we passed several villages and in almost every hamlet we noticed women cheerfully bathing in mountain streams in various stages of undress. They seemed least bothered about passing vehicles and were in their own world of bliss enjoying the water, often waving and flashing bright smiles as we rode past.

We reached Pokhara at 4.30 p.m with rain clouds gathering on the horizon. Not willing to lose an evening we headed to Baglung/ Beni, the starting point of the Annapurna circuit and Mukthinath trekking routes. We rode through the mountain trails before the rain caught up before the rain caught up just before we reached Kande (15 km). From there on it was slow progress to Kushma where we halted for the night.

February 4. Kushma-Pokhara

Rising late the next morning we explored the banks of the revered Kali Gandaki river, known for its fossil caches. As we trolled the river bank taking in scenic vistas and watching the river flow swiftly by, we collected a few souvenir fossils of our own. Further exploration took us to Gupteshwar Gupha (Gupteshwar Cave) a natural 1.5 km deep cave which hosts thousands of glistening stalactite formations.

Once again the rain caught up with us 12 km short of Pokhara. It was quite a challenge for us to negotiate the paddies and ponds of the Himalayan foothills. Finally we entered Pokhara town at 5.30 pm and booked into a quiet little hotel in the heart of Pokhara’s commercial hub, the lakeside. Our intent was to take a breather — late breakfasts, trivial jobs (sight seeing, diary updation, doing the laundary, and e-mailing friends), chatting up with locals, making new friends etc.

February 5-7 – Pokhara

Famously known as the base camp for wildlife, nature, tourism, trekking, mountaineering and adventure holidays in the mountain kingdom, Pokhara is sited in a picturesque, tranquil valley. As in subcontinental habitats Pokhara’s roads are potholed, dirty and crowded. Petrol is a scarce commodity in Nepal. But although it is imported from India, its priced at NRs. 71 (Rs.45) (cf. Rs.51 in Bangalore) petrol retails cheaper here. And as luck would have it we were stuck in Pokhara for lack of availability of petrol for three days due to civil disturbances on the Indo-Nepal border.

Popularly known as the lakeside, the Phewa Lake and its environs are the most vibrant part of this town. This is the hangout of western backpackers crowding the town’s ubiquitous bars, restaurants, discos, dance floors etc. The atmosphere is festive throughout the year. During winter Pokhara is quieter but nevertheless the celebrations go on.

An idiosyncrasy of this picturesque town is its weather, which turns from clear to cloudy in a matter of minutes followed by sudden showers. Often referred to as ‘Cherrapunji of Nepal’, Pokhara’s capricious climate can be quite frustrating. For three of our four-day stay in Pokhara the spectacular panorama of the Annapurna range comprising four peaks all taller than 8,000 meters was obscured by cloud cover. Luckily on the fourth day the clouds cleared, the sun shone and there was the Annapurna range in all its glory. In the afternoon we ambled down to the lakeside and lounging on the bank of the Phewa lake soaked in the magnificence of the snow-capped, needle-pointed, fish-tailed mountain — Machhapuchhre (6,977 m) from across the azure expanse of the lake.

Also recommended in Pokhara is a motorboat ride across the icy waters to the two-storied pagoda style Barahi Temple, sited on an island in Phewa Lake in honour of the boar manifestation of Ajima, the protectress deity. Our next stop was the other famous landmark of Pokhara, a beautiful waterfall christened, Devi's Fall or David’s fall. Locally known as the Patale Chhango (meaning Hell's Fall), this scenic waterfall is fed by the waters of the Phewa lake which converge into a narrow stream and plunge 100 ft into a deep gorge.

In fulfillment of our mission to propagate the importance of Equal Education for All, in Pokhara we visited several schools and had interesting interactions with their students and teachers. One of the schools we visited was the Education Center for Poor and Helpless (sic) Children (ECPHC), a free kg-class VI school with an aggregate enrollment of 350 children and promoted by travel entrepreneur Agni Prasad Shivakoti. According to Shivakoti the school hasn’t received any donations/ funding for the past three years and he was running the school out of his own savings. “Unfortunately I wont be able to continue running this school for long. I intend to manage until the end of this academic year and close down in April 2007,” he said. We decided to do something about this and convinced three local hoteliers and five adventure gear and booksellers to commit an annual donation for the maintenance of the school and place donation boxes in their establishments so that visitors could also do their bit to save the school.

February 8, Pokhara to Kathmandu.

The morning started off with light rain but by 11 a.m the weather cleared up and we filled up and made for Kathmandu. The 220-km ride on the busy, four laned and smooth surfaced highway through mountainous terrain took us about 8 hours to negotiate. It was cloudy and there was a slight drizzle upto Dhamouli (45 km). But after that the weather steadily improved. One of the most discomfitting practices in Nepal is the discrimination in pricing of services. For example internet access for locals is priced at NRs.20 per hour while foreigners (including Indians) are charged a hefty NRs.99 per hour. Ditto for food. Every restaurant has two menu cards, one for locals and another for foreigners in which prices could be 400-500 percent higher. In India too there is discrimination against foreign visitors who have to pay more to enter government maintained monuments, museums and parks. But it’s not as pervasive as retail discrimination in Nepal.

As we raced on the excellent wide and traffic-free road we noticed a local biker trying hard to overtake us on his Chinese-make motorcycle. But however hard he tried he couldn’t ride past us. About short of 80 km to Kathmandu when we stopped for a cup of tea the local biker also pulled over to make his acquaintance with us. “The way you were riding I thought you were Europeans or Americans,” said Arjun Gurung. “You ride well on these mountain roads”. When we told him about our mission to take the message of Equal Education for all across five countries, he was thrilled and insisted on paying for our tea and snacks. After rapping with him for an hour and regaling him with our on-the-road stories we hit the road for Kathmandu reaching at 8.00 p.m and checked into Aurobindo Ashram’s guesthouse (NRs.300 per night).

February 9. Kathmandu

Tired by our long ride of February 8, we woke late to explore the exotic capital of Nepal, famous for its Pasupathinath temple, Mt. Everest and mountaineering. Our first priority was to renew our motorcycle permits which were expiring the next day. At Kathmandu Airport we found it impossible to negotiate our way through the Indian-style bureaucracy to renew our permits. Finally we were obliged to engage the services of an agent (NRs.200) who took us through various offices in the sprawling cargo complex before we finally got the necessary papers to ride for a few more days in Nepal.

From the airport we raced towards the Pasupathinath temple, the most famous landmark of Kathmandu. Sited on the banks of the river Bhagmathi, the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is thronged by pilgrims from India throughout the year. Built of a mixture of stone, wood, metal sheets and bricks, it is a stunning work of art, embellished with a treasure trove of wooden sculptures and works of art.

Across the river is a wooded hillside which hosts a deer park and over 120 small conical temples built of stone, each enshrining a shiva linga. A unique feature of these shrines is their uniformity all of them are of the same size, style and sport the same design work on walls and roof panels. It took us a good three and half hours to explore the vast temple and sub-shrines. We retreated to our hotel at dusk and spent the rest of the evening watching television newscasts from India.