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.

Many of us were happy with what was to come today – our next country, Nepal. With a new country comes the dreaded border crossing. Seeing how the country has left us with an unorganised and hectic impression, we all knew that today was going to be tough. Despite this, our spirits were high and eager to take on the next country on our list. Little did we know how difficult –and painstakingly slow – it was going to be.

As we all load onto the coach, the tiredness as prominent as ever, we head towards the border. Once at the border, we’re faced with a very busy and crowded border control. Before we even get off the coach, our driver and guide tell us that they are unable to take us all the way to the border and that we must get rickshaws the rest of the distance. Our leader, Lana, thinks (as we all did) this was nonsense and a ploy for us to spend some more money. A few exchanges of words and the coach reluctantly took us the rest of the way. We haul our bags through the hustle to a hole in the wall known as the border control office. Here, things start to get a lot more interesting.

Upon leaving the coach, we had a guy come up to us and guide us to the office. No one really knew who he was, but he seemed willing and able to assist. Organising our exit visas took a while, and the staff didn’t seem to be in a rush. There were a few snags; I had misplaced all of my passport photos, which were needed in order to get the visa and Liam didn’t actually have a stamp for getting into the country, meaning he wasn’t allowed a stamp to get out of the country. The heat was uncomfortable and the pressure of the border crossing was adding more stress. I managed to take a photocopy of my passport for the photo, which seemed to be sufficient. Liam, on the advice of our mystery helper, had to “donate” towards the border control officers in order to get his stamp. Dodgy would be an understatement, but after all of the hassle we were allowed to leave India.

On contrast, once crossing the border, Nepal was as calm as a still lake; quiet, slow, hardly any security and sparsely populated. The border – simply a tall arch over the road – seemed to have no form of restriction, with only a simple pole stretched across the road. The border control office, despite its rundown and dark look, was a lot calmer and laid back compared to our previous stop, putting the group at ease.

Our bus for this stretch of the trip was exactly like the bus in Pakistan, bringing back positive memories for the entire group. Our hotel, called Yeti Hotel, was a short drive away. Daylight was fading fast, so after checking in and dropping off the bags, Liam and I go for a wander to see what the tiny town had to offer and to get some money. After walking for just under an hour, the light faded and we were forced to retreat back to the hotel. The hotel restaurant was our destination for dinner and the only place we could find to have a few drinks. Tomorrow is a nice short 3 hour drive to our next stop – Chitwan.

We have what is undoubtedly the tour's best breakfast before seeing another museum. 6 hour drive ahead of us would, to the normal pedestrian, sound like a long journey, but is somewhat of a norm for us ... [Continue reading this entry]