The border was a very fluid arrangement with offices on the roadside but no real physical stopping of the traffic so I guess there must be visa free local access between India and Nepal as there was a constant flow of traffic on both sides.
We called in at the immigration office passed a cow who was moooving to India to become sacred (see what I did there?)
A couple of forms to fill and we bought our visas, 15 days for the lads 30 for me and 15 minutes later we were through and headed up the main road to the border town of Bhairawa.
A quick left turn and we were in our guest house which was a nice oasis in its own grounds but on the way we spotted a nice looking bar up the road which we headed to and had an Everest Beer to celebrate our arrival in Nepal with our waiter who used to live in Bury. It's a small world!
So from here in at Bhairawa we were going to be heading north to Pokhara for a day off and then we would make the turn east towards Kathmandu where the lads would fly home from and I would carry on.
The next day Bri was still in a bad way in the morning and as we headed out of town with a 40 mile climb up to out next stop at Tansen.
He called in at a chemist we spotted on route who after extensive tests thought he had dysentery and gave him some drug accordingly.
He also gave him some tiger balm to rub on his privates which he said wouldn’t cure his condition but it might just take his mind off it!
As we progressed along the highway it was so relaxing compared with India and nice to have no salmoning and not so many traffic horns blasting away! As we rode on the foothills of the Himalayas could be seen looming in the distance which was a stark change to the last few days and the flatess of India.
Suddenly the scenery changed dramatically and we were in the hills and climbing.
The road when down to a single carriageway and deteriorated rapidly to some rough sections which were unmade or with many potholes. There were a few roadblocks where lorries and busses were trying to squeeze past each other which slowed our progress.
As we continued climbing we caught up the the mountain goats Stu and Col who are both accomplished competitive cyclist and carrying less weight than me. They had stopped at a suspension bridge across the river which we climbed down to and had a walk over.
Meanwhile Bri had a kip and then when we got going again were winding up the hill when we got overtaken by a Dutch cyclist Ernst who was fully loaded and had cycled from the middle of Turkey.
He had taking a different route from me crossing Iran and Turkmenistan before the Pamir Highway and then he cycled through Pakistan.
We had lost Stu and Col by now who had shot off and I was leading out Ernst with Bri and Seens bringing up the rear.
We had quite a few stops as it was a hot humid day and we needed to keep hydrated as we twisted our way up the river valley.
We had arranged to meet up at a cafe called The Eagle's Nest about 5 minutes from the finish which sounded spectacular but didn’t quite live up to expectations being in a sub basement. There was no sign of the others but we were in need of food so dived in from some mo mos which are steamed dumplings.
We thought by it's name The Eagle's Nest might be the top of the climb but As we approached the town of Tansen we found it was perched on the hillside way above and we could see there was some more climbing to be done.
We said goodbye to Ernst who was cycling on and spent a frustrating hour trying to get to our hotel. The problem was that the gps on my phone kept changing its mind which was the best way to the hotel but we eventually made it and the end of a long day.
The next morning we had a big day with a 16 mile drop out of Tansen followed by a 50 mile climb up the next valley before a further 10 miles downhill into Pokhara. Bri and Seens were still suffering and we looked at the options available. These included them missing out today and getting a ride or splitting the day in two and giving up out rest day tomorrow. We concluded that we would all set off together, and if required the lads would get a lift to the end.
So after a slower start than planned due to some faffing about, we were picked out way again through the narrow winding streets of Tasen which wound back down to the main road
Once on the main road we pinned our ears back and started descending at speed down a fantastic alpine road which was equal to any we have ridden in France.
At one point I was keeping up with a gang of Royal Enfield riders who were impressed with my turn of speed.
We eventually arrived at the bridge and the village of Randi where the climbing began. With 60 miles left in the day I decided that the last 16 miles were downhill so for free and we would split what was left into four sections with 15 miles breaks.
We rode past some playful monkeys and took in the great views down the river on the far bank we started climbing. Stu and Col pulled ahead disappeared round the first bend and were never seen again!
Seens and Bri were keeping pace with me which was good although we were held back by .....you guessed it Bri having a puncture.
We struggled again to get his tyre back on which further delayed us.
As we were about to leave Bri gave out a cry and was bent double on his bike with stomach cramps but these thankfully subsided and we were able to get going again.
At 30 miles stop our group of three were still together but during the next section there was rough road in one of the towns and roadworks which held back Bri so I pulled ahead and with 45 miles done I found a shop next to a bus shelter and waited about 10 minutes here for them to arrive. The shop owner gave me some strange fruit to try which I shared with the lads.
It was about 2.30pm and we had another 30 miles to go 20 up and 10 down or flat which should be achievable in daylight. Bir and Seens had had enough and talked about getting lift but I was OK and quickly jumped on my bike as I was rested enough and wanted to get moving so was once again a team of one.
About 4-5 miles later the lads pulled over in a sort of Land Rover pickup they had commandeered which seem to be the work horses round here to check I had not changed my mind as there was room for me.
I said I was OK and they sped off but it was only as they rounded the corner and out of sight I suddenly though wait a minute, I could have given them my panniers and had the luxury of riding unloaded for the rest of the day!
I had a final stop with 15 miles to go I just got crisps but these were not enough and I had to dig into my stores for some cashew nuts. After another 5 miles which got me to the crest of the last hill and a fantastic descent into Pokara following a pickup with 4 people in the back watching me work hard to keep up.
I arrived in Pokhara and was reunited with the rest who decided that my error in not handing over my panners deserved the Coq de Jour today! At least my new cycling shirt worked a treat and a cold Gurkha beer was delivered to my room without asking which was a great start to our day off.
The next day we took a boat ride over Phewe Lake and climbed up the hill to the temple (Peace Stupa) on the top before settling down to an afternoon of world cup rugby.
We found a great bar with a full size screen outside which was also frequented by a few Keith Richard and Iggy Pop look alikes who look like they came to Nepal in a 70's gap year and got so stoned they forgot to go home!
Right three more days left to Kathmandu we had 60 miles to do today but the profile looked flat or down so hoped to be at the Riverside Resort we had booked and in the pool this afternoon.
However there was moisture in the air as we loaded up our bikes outside the hotel and as we set off it started to rain.
We had a big drop out of the city but was made perilous dicing in the wet with the busses which would again pull in and out without any signals or warning. Strangely most have them had painted across the back "wait for the signal" which was a bit ironic.
We made it out thankfully unscathed and soon we were approaching the 15 miles mark and managed to find a small shop with a canopy in front where we were able to shelter out of the rain.
We were not in much need of fuel as it had been mostly downhill so far however we did spot an ice cream freezer so as it was raining what better than a round of lookalike Magnums
We managed to stay relatively together today as we rode some lovely Nepal villages.
Bri had no punctures so all met up for lunch where we had some nice samosas with Bri taking the safe option and sticking to just fried rice.
We had planned to visit a cave on the way but Team Hare (Col and Stu) had fired off and shot straight past it.
When we arrived at the cave with no sight of the others Bri's rice was having it's revenge so we had to set off in hot pursuit of a toilet. Team Tortoise set off again and found Team Hare coming back up the track but we were now 2-3 miles beyond and downhill of the caves now so abandoned that idea.
This was not a bad thing though as the weather brightened up and at 3 pm we were at the resort which was lovely and after a quick shower were lounging by the pool. There were no mechanical incidents or crashes today so I decided to award the Coq de Jour to Bri for his unscheduled emergency loo break.
Two days riding left with the lads and we only had 40 miles to do today with a bit of climbing. So last night we made the decision or four of us did to go back a couple of miles to the cable car up to the Shree Manakamana Temple which we had passed on the way.
Bri quite rightly decided to take the lie in option so at 7.30am we hit the road early to beat the coach parties and dropped down to the ticket office by 8am only to be met with a fairly long queue for tickets then a huge queue snaking up the road for the cabins which would take you up the hill.
We later learned that we were in the middle of a 10 day religious holiday which would explain the popularity of wanting to go to up to the shrine. We were told that they sacrificed animals during this period which would explain those goats holding one way tickets!
We quickly came to the conclusion this was going to take more time than we expected so we bailed out and headed back to the hotel to be greeted by a surprised and mildly alarmed Bri who realised he’d be on the road soon.
And so, at just gone 10 am we hit the road and immediately noticed the difference from the usual early morning start with sweat dripping off me just trying to get my panniers on.
Unfortunately the back tyre on Brian’s bike was flat when he came to it in the morning but it might have been a slow puncture so rather than the delay and extreme effort of changing the inner tube we pumped it up and hoped for the best.
We made steady progress but Bri was having to stop every 3-4 miles to pump his tyre back up but that did give me the chance to pull ahead and take a few photos.
At one point me and Col were waiting for Brian who was restoring air into his tyre so he gave some local kids a go with his bike.
This was great fun with them standing over the crossbar unable to reach the saddle but the rearguard came round the corner so we waved them goodbye and were on our way.
We had just one morning break as we had the later start and it was a short day with a couple of rounds of coffee.
We were not in a hurry and it was still baking hot and we also spotted a freezer and had a round of Cornettos as there were no Magnums! What is the world coming to?
We later had lunch at a lovely riverside restaurant and took the opportunity to finally fix Brian’s puctured tyre whilst we waited for the food. Then we were off again with just under 10 miles to the hotel.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the resort location there were just a pile of sewage pipes behind a petrol station and asking directions from the locals were told it was 2 km up the road and then checking at the next hotel we were told it was 35 miles back the way we had come! That was not an option so we asked if there were rooms available here, there were and we checked in. Col headed off up to burn um his excess energy climbing up the nearby hill with Seens whilst we had a beer and tried to finish off our snack we had bought at the Nepal border.
Right the last day and just 30 miles left to get to Kathmandu with Col leading us out. With us getting an early start to make the most of the cool temperatures and hopefully being able to finish by lunch time.
The first few miles were very pleasant beside the river where we passed fish sellers and watched people rafting and canoeing in the river below.
Then it started to get a bit tricky with us getting caught behind queueing lorries first trying to get passed a truck whoses driver we concluded could only have done this by falling asleep at the wheel we hoped the others were all awake!
It's hard to describe the next 10 miles but the pictures below help to convey the mayhem of trying to climb on a very rough and congested road. There was either a drop at one side or a 2ft deep drainage ditch to land in but we managed to fight our way up to the top with a few drinks breaks along the way.
We reached the summit and shared an expensive 2 litre bottle of Mountain Dew which signified we were now paying city prices then began our descent into Kathmandu
The gps was telling us to take the long route on the ring road but right or wrong we decided to take the direct route through the city centre. We were soon in a Delhi style free for all fighting with the motorbikes and scooters for any space in the traffic to make forward movement.
At one point were stationary on a hill and I took to the footpath only to round the corner where there was a lampost blocking my way and had to make an embarrassing climb down to the road which was now over a foot below me.
Finally we were closing in on the hotel with three sides of a square to go but decided to engage in some light Salmoning up a one way street to cut the distance!
We arrived at the hotel by 12 noon and fortunately were able to store our bikes in the car park below and book in. We were at the end of our ride and looking forward to a few days relaxing until the boys flew out.
On our first day in Kathmandu we arranged a flight to Everest which ment and early start and we were all excited for this trip of a lifetime or rather most of us. Bri was in a bad way again having taken a turn for the worse during the night and I wondered whether he would be able to make it to the plane. Thankfully this was a small jet with a toilet at the back and after a couple of trips he perked up a bit as we closed in on the mountains.
Unfortunately the cloud level was low which meant we couldn't get close to Everest and they did announce that the flight would be abandoned but then it must have cleared a bit as we had another pass. We got to see most of it although the summit was still in the clouds the best pictures are below and a video in which I think Everest is easier to find.
Bri went back to bed when we got back and the rest of us did a walking tour to some of the sights. He saw another pharmacist in the afternoon who gave him some other treatments.
These seemed to work as he joined us on the next day for a tour of the sites around Kathmandu namely Patan Durbar Square and Bhaktapur.
I can honestly say I have reached max temples some of the best are in the slideshow below:
On Friday morning we waved goodbye to team Preston.
Bri was not leaving until 5 pm and was thankfully feeling much better so we decided as the forecast looked good (picture of the sun and a cloud I thought would be patchy cloud) so we grabbed a cab and set off for the cable car.
When we got there the top of the hill was shrouded in a blanket of cloud.
We didn't hold out much hope for some good visibility the prices were a bit steep so with plenty of time we deciding we would probably not spend long at the top so we bought one way tickets and would walk back down.
We were right as we made our way from the end of the cable car to the top of the hill there were signs showing you the sights that you were missing.
It was like on Bullseye when at they roll out the speedboat at the end in front of the unlucky contestants and say "let's have a look at what you could have won!"
On the back side of the hill there were some great views across the lower hill though stretching back towards India which were below the cloud line so it was not all lost.
When we reached the summit and the temple I started shaking from my recent overdose.
Bri had to help me down and we started looking for the path back to the bottom.
This was not well signposted and after asking the security guard we found it between two toilet blocks and started to descend.
We started on a stone path which wound its way down the hill but then seemed to peter out at a road with a barrier and hut with two security guards I asked which way to the bottom of the cable car and they pointed us left on the road. We set off but realised that this route was nearly 5 miles but we just about had time to complete it and be back for when we had told the driver.
The road on MapsMe showed that is dropped round the rear of the hill so I was not concerned when we lost sight of the cable car but after about 40 minutes of descending I checked our route again and it still said 5 miles to go checking in more detail two of these miles were up so we had obviously taken a wrong turn.
We decided to descended into the village we could see and try and get a taxi back but asking around an old lady flagged down a Toyota Hilux and we were bundled in the back with a load of locals.
We reversed our route back up the hill and then suddenly took a sharp right into what we thought when we walked past were just some quarry working.
This turned out to the our route to the bottom and down the most perilous rough track I have ever seen.
The hilux got us to within less than a mile to the cable car but we were now an hour later than we had arranged with the taxi driver.
Bri though the taxi would have left but I said we hadn't paid him and he would be there to pump us for more money and sure enough there he was talking about how he had waited and his lost business.
The journey back to the hotel was horrendous when we hit the city as we barely moved in the traffic.
With a mile to go it was an hour until Bri had to leave so we gave the driver our fare plus a tip for waiting and legged it through the narrow streets. We got to a bar opposite our hotel in time for a beer and a late lunch before Bri had to go.
The next day was the big match in the Rugby World Cup and I headed over to the Everest Irish Bar to watch it. I lost track of time updating this blog so when I arrived there was already a crowd around the big screen.
I positioned myself next to a smaller one on the back wall but only to find there was a time delay as the teams I was watching my England were still singing the national anthem whilst the others had kicked off!
I had to about face and managed to see about 75% on the screen but at least I had the a replay facility over my shoulder if I missed something.
A great victory for England made even sweeter by a loud mouthed Kiwi in the bar who grew quieter and quieter as the game progressed! I then started thinking where am I going to watch the final?
The England win seemed to go down really well with the locals. Either that or was it the festival of Laxmi Puja.
The next morning I looked at my trajectory and worked out I would probably be entering West Bengal in India by next Saturday. Judging my my attempts in Delhi thought I would have between no hope and Bob Hope of finding somewhere to watch the World Cup Final match.
I have some time in hand now so I looked at what the options were if I wanted to be back in Kathmandu and decided after talking with a couple of travel agents to take a 4 day jungle safari which would get me back here on Thursday afternoon. So I re-booked my hotel for then and arranged for my bike and panniers to be stored there whilst I was away.
With that all sorted I celebrated Diwali with the hotel owners before taking to the streets to enjoy the festivities. Walking around the city during the last week I thought what are all these people doing selling paint on the pavements but now I understand.
Happy Diwali Everyone!
There were lots of dancers on the streets and in the shops and restaurants
and also groups of children going door to door singing for money.
So the next morning I was packed up and on the bus back down the road we had ridden up for the last two and a half days before we turned off the Chitwan National Park situated in the south of the country.
Diversion Ahead - I think I broke my blog as it was not letting me add content because it was too long so please see my separate post Nepal Safari for more the stories and pictures of my trip.
Right, hope you enjoyed the safari but I'm back to Kathmandu and in the time available I have fine tuned my route for the rest of Nepal and across eastern India to my revised exit point into Myanmar.
I decided to take the most direct route I could take as I want to try and make up time so I can take the Laos loop I would like to add if possible. From Kathmandu I would head further east and then take the road south to exit the foothills and head to Bardibas. From there I would contine along the main east/west highway to enter back into India beyond Kakarbhitta.
I also finally fixed the puncture I picked up in Lucknow pumped the tyre up and found another fixed than then tried again and found a third pump up the try again and found another so gave up as I had run out of time and threw the tube in a pannier to come back to later. I concluded that this slime tube must have had multiple punctures but had done its job and stayed inflated but when I put the new tyre on I opened up those hole and that's why my tyre kept going down leaving Lucknow.
I've not wild camped since leaving Kazakhstan as the route to Lucknow was heavily populated and there was hotels all the way with the lads. However, I might start to going forward especially in the highlands of East India and Myanmar where availability of hotels might be an issue.
Having binned all my food with the exception of the porridge before I flew out of Almaty I went shopping for provisions in the well stocked supermarkets here. This was difficult with so many choices available but in the end went for the standard emergency noodles and instant pasta plus some 3 in1 muesli and dried fruit which I thought I would combine well with porridge.
That all taken care of I headed down to the Everest Irish Bar and staked my claim to a seat in front of the big screen eagerly awaiting the Word Cup Final.
That didn't exactly go to plan with South Africa playing us off the park. Thankfully the bar seemed to be most full of English supported or those who were impartial so there was not too much gloating over the final score.
I headed up to the roadhouse cafe to get a cappuccino some nachos and a pizza to soak up the beer and as comfort food then it was a early night as I wanted to be on the road by 7 am to try and miss the traffic.
That seemed to work up to a point the next morning but after 10 miles of cycling I had not escaped the city and the rush hour enveloped me with a swarm of erratic busses making progress slow and eventful.
Finally I could see some green and as I climbed the hill I saw a massive statue of Shiva off in the distance looking back over the city
As I climbed higher I had a great view back down into the the valley and had a 60 mile target today which was 20 miles up then 40 down.
That shouldn't be to difficult depending on my exit from the city and all was going well when a called in at a small cafe/shop at about 9.30 at the top of the climb and then started descending passing a lovely sitting Buddha on the way.
At the valley floor the road ran along the side of the river but was pretty treacherous as it was built up by about 10-12 ft with no protection.
I'd learned partially on my coach journey back from safari where the driver was obviously a reincarnation of Colin Mcrae. They put themselves in ridiculous collision situation and then it is down to the other vehicles or road users to react accordingly to prevent the inevitable pile up. I had been forced off the road once already today so was keeping well in and a keen eye on my wing mirror to see who was coming up behind.
Thankfully I made it through this section unskather and arrived at my 60 mile stop with a couple of hotels available just after 2 pm. The next day was another 60 miles to the town of Bardibas but this included a big 3,500 ft climb so I decided to use my advantage to push on for another 10 miles or so and eat into tomorrows tarmac. This was even though the road as you can see was snaking off up the side of the hill behind.
It looked much better from this angle!
I got I guy at the top to take the obligatory summit photo and the observant among you will notice I am sporting a new pair of shorts which I picked up in Kathmandu.
This is because the lads advised me that my padded cycling shorts had worn see through at the back apart from the seam. It now looked like I was cycling along wearing a woman's thong so I bought these "modesty shorts" to go over the top as the last thing I want to do is distract any drivers!
Talking of mirrors, there was a small shrine let into the roadside at the top and like the profusion of padlocks that have appeared on bridges there were hundreds of mirrors attached to the wall most with some Hindu writing on how strange.
The descent was quite fun with me playing cat and mouse with a 4x4 who was stopping at the road humps whilst I was getting airborne. I got in front of him at one point and then heard a unfamiliar sound. I look down and saw my phone had fallen out of its makeshift holder!
I thought that's it he will have run over that but ran back up the road to find it with a couple more cracks in the glass but still usable.
I took a more cautionary speed down the last sections which included a large steam to ford and was in Khurkot where there were a few hotels to choose from. I found one that was Ok for £7 and let me chain my bike to their tandoori oven overnight.
I ended up doing a bit of wild camping at the bed had no mattress and there were some uninviting thick duvets so out came my sleeping mat and bag.
Right up nice and early for the last climb then it was downhill and pan flat all the way to the Indian border. I was on the road by 7.15 as they ignored me in the hotel so I skipped breakfast but had some bananas and apples on board so wolved one of those down and was off.
I was soon looking at the start of 15 miles of climbing which snaked off into the clouds ahead.
Whilst I was taking this photo an Australian guy who passed me yesterday on his motorbike stopped for a chat before the climb ahead. He cheered me up no end saying "No worries for me mate on this thing".
He had also started from the UK but taken a southern route through Iran and then Pakistan where he had got a police escort across half the country which I thought would be a drag for me on a bike.
We compared notes on Myanmar he was saying he had to organise a local guide for $400 and all his hotels in advance to be able to get in.
I'd done nothing like that, I had left the tour agency section blank and got my Myanmar visa back no questions asked which he was intrigued at. I guess we will see at the border in a couple of weeks if I will be OK to get in.
I was making good progress stopping to take the compulsory shot of the hairpins below when my rear tyre started going soft!
I found a patch of flat land and took off all my paniers to invert the bike and got the inner tube out checking the tyre for a caused but could find nothing so banged another one in. I was on my way but about 100 metres later my tyre was soft again. Maybe I didn't close the valve properly I thought optimistically as I pumped it up again but that was not the case. I had to pump it up a couple of more times before I found a small layby to pull into.
This time I laid the bike on it's side with the panners on and took the back wheel out. Checking the tyre more carefully this time I found a small piece of wire which had worked its way through the centre. My pliers for some reason would not close tight enough to pull it so I ended up extracting it with my teeth! I put my last remaining inner tube in but struggled to get my back wheel in which is why I usually invert the bike but eventually managed it with shove.
The road I was cycling on was in very good condition and I learned why as I saw that it had been rebuilt after the 2015 earthquake with assistance from the Japanese government. I also noticed from the sign that both the contractor and the consultant were both from Japan but I guess that is how overseas aid works in reality.
About 10 miles in the climb it was 12 noon so not good progress. The climb leveled off at a small village so I took the opportunity to have a very late breakfast and mend one of my tubes. I then push on to the over side off the pass and a great view into the valley below.
I timed my descent to try and miss the traffic but eventually got stuck behind an old coach and a Toyota minibus the conductor of the latter shouting at the other to pull over who just smiled at him back. Eventually he forced his way through and I followed so could continue the rest of the drop playing cat and mouse with the Toyota him leaving me at the straight and me catching up on the bends.
Soon I was on the flat and as the landscape opened out to a flat plain crossed many large dry river beds either by ford or bridge that would bring the melt waters off the Himalayas which must be an impressive sight to see when they are in full flow.
My bike was playing up again with the gears skipping around so at the next stop now a late lunch I had to strip is down and invert it again. I found out that I had managed to damage one of the chain links pushing in my wheel. I got it moving and that improved things but still not 100% so will have to have another go tomorrow.
I eventually rolled into Bardibas at 4.30pm freshen up got this blog progressed and headed down the road to a pub for a well earned beer and some food. The place was jumping quite literally as there were these small back crickets who kept leaping at me as I was trying to eat. I had decided not to drink on this leg but my resolve lasted 48 hours but hear me out. My thinking is there will be little opportunity when I get into India so I'd make the most of my last few days in Nepal.
Right about 65 miles today on the H01 the main east west highway across the southern plain of Nepal and time to munch some miles.
I had developed a sore backside in the last couple of days which I hoped was not due to the addition of the modesty shorts I was now wearing so switched to my Decathlon cycling shorts for the day and would see if they would help.
I also had another look at my chain and found another seized link which I worked free but checking the chain it doesn't seem to be fitted on right.
This is going to be a job for another day when I have cleaned the chain which, with no petrol in my fuel can, is not going to get done today.
It was a pretty unremarkable day with predominantly straight flat roads punctuated with more huge dry riverbeds crossed by bridges.
As I had seen in similar situations back in Georgia and Azerbaijan alongside these riverbeds was a hive of activity with people extracting the rocks and sand that has been washed down by the last flood and some come sifting and crushing plans to process these.
I was making good enough progress but my gears were still slipping so more attention required there and stopped for the first of two breaks which I had scheduled for today as I was keen to try and press on.
So after just over 20 miles I found a shop with a bench and had a break watching some children play a game I had seen a few times over the last couple of days. This was a bit of a cross between shove ha'penny and pool with pockets at each corner which counters disappeared down.
I was doing ok for time so made a few attempts to see if I could find anyone to try and remove the snapped bolts that were left when my stand broke in India but no one was willing to rise to the challenge so pressed on and came up on this guy with a mini ice cream wagon.
I drew up alongside and bought the smallest Magnum in the world! The stick was like a sliver of wood and could barely hold the pint size lolly whilst I devoured it!
I was heading for the town of Rajbraj where there were a few hotels shown and with about 7 miles to go pulled off the main highway and onto a quiet back road which was great to have bit of peace a quiet.
That didn't last for long though as I approached the town centre the driving became for frenetic I'm only 7-8 miles away from India to the south and the people are starting to look less Nepalis and there driving was becoming more Indian!
I took a quick tour round the hotels none of which stood out and I plumped from one which had a covered garage to store the bike. Cheap at £5 but with another hard mattress and dodgy looking duvet so I will be indoor camping again!
I was on the road early as the first bus horn woke me up at 4.30 in the morning and carries on from then so at 7.15 I was ready to go but my rear tyre was soft. Oh no I thought not another puncture but I pumped it up and would see how far I got.
However, when I came to connect the pump I discovered the valve was open and speculated that some of the staff or guests may have been messing with my bike whilst it was unattended so pumped it up and hoped for the best. So I was rolling out and continuing on the country lanes that would take me east to the meet the main highway where it crossed the Koshi River.
The sun was slowly burning off the morning mist and as I cycled along there was a cacophony of tunes blaring out of I presumed unseen temples in the distance which made for a very surreal dawn chorus experience.
My tyre was thankfully holding firm and it was a pretty poor agricultural environment I was riding through with what looked like subsistence level existence with the women making fuel for the winter out of cow dung with their hands.
They were smearing this on bamboo like a big kebab which were left to dry by the roadside not a nice way to start the day for them.
As I approached the Koshi River the landscape I was cycling on a raised road which crossed a wetland area where the locals were setting nets with their canoes to catch fish which they were selling along the roadside.
I reached the river which was crossed by a long causeway that stretched off into the distance and started to make my way across.
Each section had a gate which was dropped to stop the flow of the river but as I got to the centre there were 6-7 gates which had been opened and created quite a flow that was being navigated by a dugout canoe which I captured below.
I passed a lot of roadside food stalls on the other side but having just covered 15 miles out of 70 I thought I would push on a couple more to get to one quarter done. I found a town and bought six small bananas for breakfast and found somewhere to get a coffee. I ate four of the bananas and there was a young goat rooting around for food. I wondered if the skins would be of interest but he never came near enough to toss one over.
I then remembered that I still had two punctures to mend so I went over to my bike to get one out and the repair kit. No sooner had got to the bike then the goat made a b-line for where I was sitting and I hear a shout from the shop as my remaining bananas got nicked.
I returned to my seat and set about the art installation entailed "Man Repairs Puncture" as I had now commanded an audience of about 20 people who were silently watching the process unfold.
Halfway through my performance "Artful Dodger" the Goat reappeared and seeing that I was distracted and so were the audience made off with the other four remaining banana skins.
Repair completed and no bananas left, I pushed my bike across the road with some of my audience following me like a promenade play to the next act "Man Buys Biscuits" which with some local support on that side of the road had a audience numbering around 30. I thought it went well I've seen Waiting for Godot so I know what bad looks like but not even a ripple of applause at the end!
Always leave them wanting more they say so I managed to ride past the crowd out of the limelight and stopped further down the road for my final private performance of " Man Eats Biscuits"
I wanted to make some more progress so did a long 25 mile set to the next large town so I had more miles behind me than in front when I pulled into a street cafe and ordered a couple of samosas and bottles of Sprite for lunch.
I was just thinking I could eat that again when out of the corner of my eye I spied an ice cream freezer and helped myself to a cookies and cream look a like Magnum which was delicious and made up for yesterday's poor offering.
10 miles to go and I pulled in again and replaced some salts with a couple of bags of crisps and was entertained by this little cutie.
She was holding her hands in prayer when her mother said Namaste, the greeting acoss Nepal, (it means "I bow to the divine in you") and blowing kisses when I said goodbye.
I added to the entertainment by causing an avalanche of sprite bottles when I tried to reach for a diet coke which I took as a sign from Buddha that he was displeased with me.
I arrived in Damak by 3 pm stopping off to buy some petrol and a tea towel on route but resisted the temptation to do any more shopping.
I had a first for me today that rolled up at a hotel and there were no rooms available astonishing that I had got this far on the trip without this happening before.
Once I had found another hotel I set about cleaning my chain with one of the many free toothbrushes I had acquired on route using the petrol as a degreaser and the tea towel as a cloth.
I then removed it from the bike and found three stiff links which I was not able to free up so ended up removing, six in total as they come in pairs. Replacing the chain it became apparent that it was now too short as I didn't have the full use of all the gears to I guess a new one is required.
OK, time to leave Nepal. It was 30 miles to the border and then another 20 miles to the city of Siliguri where I had booked into a nice hotel as it would hopefully be a short day.
I got on the road early as no breakfast was offered at the hotel so I just ate and apple and thought I would pick up more on the road. The bike was running really well with the stiff links sorted although I did put this new shortened version under stress trying to run from big cog front to big cog back a couple of times. You are not supposed to do this but stupid is as stupid does.
I had done some research and there only seemed to be one decent bike shop on my 700 mile route across India so replacing my chain might not be that easy. I also looked on Youtube and found a couple of other techniques for freeing up links so managed to dig those I had taken out of the bin and would work on them this afternoon.
I pulled over for a coffee halfway to the border and took out some mini bananas which I had picked up on route. My drink arrived and was a cup of hot milk that had passed close to the coffee jar to pick up some of the aroma. I began forcing it down when I remembered I had a sachet of Nescafe in my bag what I had lifted from my hotel in Kathmandu so whacked that in and my brew was transformed!
This little guy was rooting around for food and an entry into the cutest picture of Nepal award.
I then discovered that dogs don't like bananas as he took a lick and turned his nose up at it.
Probably not a statement that will stand up to scientific scrutiny as my sample size was one and you know how fussy kids can be.
I had a couple of locals take me on today which was fun I can always hear them coming up squeaking behind me on their poorly maintained bikes and pass me with their legs going ten to the dozen with no gears. I don't rise to the challenge as I am on a marathon not a sprint and as soon as they are ahead with no hare to chase they invariably slow down a bit and I just tuck in behind them. Once behind them it is 10-15% more efficient so I can sit on their wheel all day.
Not leaving me behind I can feel the them weakening and they start to slow further until when I feel the moment is right after a mile or so I pull out of their slipstream and push on past. I can feel their relief as they are finally set free of the treadmill with one guy today who just stopped pedaling as I drew alongside.
Onwards I went towards India and as I entered the border town of Mechiniagar I found a currency exchange and convenience store side by side so I bought a coke (full fat) and a couple of packets of biscuits with the last of my small notes and then changed all my remaining Nepal money this time calculating in advance what I expected to receive so I would not get swindled.
With that all sorted I then made my way to the border post with no Nepalese money to find this guy waiting for me. What a tragedy Magnums on the menu with no money to by one.
So with a heavy heart I headed through the arch and my fantastic but sadly Magnum free Nepal adventure came to and end.
