OzBus 14

Our bus journey for this morning was longer than our maiden voyage in the country, but nothing too far from what we were already used to.  The main difference between this bus journey and the rest so far is not the time or distance travelled.  It’s the altitude.  1000m above sea level.  For me, it was a very exciting and enticing place as the vast majority of high adrenaline activities on the trip revolved around this city (3rd largest in Nepal, in case you wanted to know).  Our leader informs us about the hotel we will be staying in, Hotel Lake View.  Walking distance from the lake, it was contending for best hotel on the trip.  Once we got there, we could see why.

The journey was winding and slow.  In spite of this, it was amazing.  Rice fields scattered on mountain sides, seemingly plateaued at a time long before we could envisage- the kind of period where the Empire was still around and everyone drank tea from fine china table sets.  Clear blue skies, mountain ranges, warm sunrays and the wind in your hair – the ultimate road journey.

As we pull into the city, we’re all giddy and excited like school children.  The lake, a dominating and daunting aspect of the part we were staying in, seemed to continue endlessly.  Hotel after hotel we passed, betting to see which once would be ours, all the while awestruck by how different it seemed from Chitwan.  Eventually we roll up to our hotel and, as stated on the tin, the lake was a stones throw away, literally only needing to cross the road to be at the waters edge (albeit elevated by about 10 metres).

Just like giddy school kids, we all cannot wait to go for a roam in our new home away from home.  First stop, food.  Now, the food on the trip so far has been amazingly diverse and culturally enlightening.  That heightened sense of culture and diversity suddenly went out of the oz bus window when I walked into a restaurant on the high street – they served bacon….  Bacon!  This giddy, excited school kid was now jacked up like he’d drunk a glass of triple chocolate milkshake, eaten three chocolate bars and was sucking on a lolly covered in candy floss.  The significance of this find?  Such meat hadn’t passed my eyes, let alone my taste buds, for over two months (most of which was on our trip).  Throw in a rum and coke, a balcony with table and parasol and a front row seat to a football game between some local groups and it’s an intoxicating cocktail of ecstasy.

Dinner was at the hotel and outdoors.  Like Chitwan, it was a buffet service.  And, like Chitwan, there was entertainment in the form of dance and song.  The night was capped off with a healthy dosage of drinking before retiring.  The morning sees the start to my action packed, adrenaline fueled, activity crammed morning.  Nepal was getting better by the minute.

Tags: 1, Travel

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