12338 km Pokhara
Door: Erik en Tjeerd
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Erik en Tjeerd
20 December 2007 | Nepal, Pokhara
After a week of Delhi, we we're happy to leave and get back on the road again. Off to Nepal! The roads out of Delhi were as expected extremely busy and not much fun to cycle. On those last three days in India we had the bad luck to have an accident and Erik got a close encounter with the Indian road surface after avoiding a head on collision with a truck. Well eating dust is still better then getting hit, so it was the better choice to be made. Luckily no real serious damage was done and we were left only with some scratchmarks and brewses. We called it a day soon after and headed for a hotel in Garmuktesar. Three days after we left Delhi we arrived at the Nepalese border at Mahendrenagar. Cycling had been a little harder then usual. It seems the new tyres we have, though blessed with great durability, are not exactly the fast type! We are cruising nowadays at speeds close to 20 km/h on flat terrain instead of the 25+ km/h we were used to. Making a 100 km in a day suddenly became a challenge again and we expect our daily mileage to go down a bit from now on. No problem of course we got plenty of time ;)
Crossing the Indian - Nepalese border was an easy process. First we had to sit down at the Indian immigration office to receive a stamp that we've left India. Of course everything is handled of in a wooden shack and we write down all the required details with a pencil and some carbon paper. After a nice chat, we were off to the Nepali side to do exactly the same thing in similar settings. Except we also had to apply for a visa here to enter the country. Getting the Visa was easy, just fill in some forms and bring a big stack of rupees, that'll make 'm happy :)
Then after almost two months we finally said goodbye to India. India has been a remarkable experience. We have met great people, seen wonderful temples. But after almost two months we welcome some change again and wonder what Nepal will be like.
Nepal, a country in turmoil. That this is true became apparent the moment we entered and started cycling on the Terrai (Nepalese lowlands). Every few kilometers we see roadblocks, armee forces, UN forces and every now and then a red communistic flag, showing the Maoist influence in this region. We can't say it affected us much though. Tourists are usually not targeted by the rebels and we have no reason to worry. It's hard to see what the impact off all this is on normal Nepali life. People here are without exception all very friendly to us and we felt at home from the moment we entered. The nature here is much more impressive then what we have seen in India, especially in the last weeks, since Rajastan is mostly desert. We have cycled through a number of national parks here and it felt quite relaxing not to have hordes of people around us all the time.
The first days in Nepal were as expected fairly easy. Hardly any climbing to do and we managed to cycle around 100 km a day. After a bit of trouble we managed to change all our Indian 500 rupees notes into the Nepali equivalent. Bank apparently don't accept the notes, but luckily the people on the streets do! So we're stacked and good to go!
After two days in Nepal we met up with Andre and Judith for the third time. it's a small world indeed. We cycled with them to Butwal, from there the Himalayan challenge lies ahead of us. We decided to have a restday, to allow Erik's leg to recover a bit from muscle ache. The next morning we headed of to what we knew was going to be an uphill battle. We did about 60 km and reached a highest point of around 850 meters in a place called Tansen. While doing maintenance on the bikes in the evening the gear cable of the back derry broke, meaning Erik had to cycle with just 3 gears, i.e. 3 frontblades, the next day. Then again, it's only the Himalaya's, so who needs more right? ;). Luckily the trip turned out to be easier then expected and we managed to go straight to Pokhara, a remaining 100 km, in just one day.
Pokhara sure is something else compared to what we have seen in Nepal sofar. We had been sleeping and staying in extremely basic places eating mainly chou-chou and chow-mien. Pokhara has all the modern tourist can ask for, which is both a blessing but also a bit of a pain. Pokhara sure is a beautiful and relaxed place and it's nice to enjoy a cold beer or warm cup of filter coffee, but it's not exactly Nepali life. We managed to get a real cheap room here even in Pokhara. It's low season at the moment (being winter and all). We stay at a very neat place which even has a warm shower, clean sheets. for less the 2 euro's!
So now it's just 210 km more till Kathmandu. We need to be there latest at the 27th of December and probably will not arrive there much sooner then that. Kathmandu is a lot colder than Pokhara and it's also very smoggy. The polluted air can't leave the Kathmandu valley very well and the valley is very crowded, since many people fled to there because of the violence.
Taken all off this into account, we'll just enjoy the surroundings here in Pokhara a bit longer and make some nice mountainbike tours up the mountains to the better "viewpoints" Views of the Anapurna Masif and some great 8000m+ peaks with eternal snow on them. Now thats a good reward for climbing up there! :)
So it looks like we are pretty much guaranteed a white Christmas over here in Nepal.
Wishing you all a very good Christmas and a good new year from an Idyllic Pokhara
till the next update,
Erik and Tjeerd.
pictures can be found:
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/erikopdefiets/19%20Nepal/
Crossing the Indian - Nepalese border was an easy process. First we had to sit down at the Indian immigration office to receive a stamp that we've left India. Of course everything is handled of in a wooden shack and we write down all the required details with a pencil and some carbon paper. After a nice chat, we were off to the Nepali side to do exactly the same thing in similar settings. Except we also had to apply for a visa here to enter the country. Getting the Visa was easy, just fill in some forms and bring a big stack of rupees, that'll make 'm happy :)
Then after almost two months we finally said goodbye to India. India has been a remarkable experience. We have met great people, seen wonderful temples. But after almost two months we welcome some change again and wonder what Nepal will be like.
Nepal, a country in turmoil. That this is true became apparent the moment we entered and started cycling on the Terrai (Nepalese lowlands). Every few kilometers we see roadblocks, armee forces, UN forces and every now and then a red communistic flag, showing the Maoist influence in this region. We can't say it affected us much though. Tourists are usually not targeted by the rebels and we have no reason to worry. It's hard to see what the impact off all this is on normal Nepali life. People here are without exception all very friendly to us and we felt at home from the moment we entered. The nature here is much more impressive then what we have seen in India, especially in the last weeks, since Rajastan is mostly desert. We have cycled through a number of national parks here and it felt quite relaxing not to have hordes of people around us all the time.
The first days in Nepal were as expected fairly easy. Hardly any climbing to do and we managed to cycle around 100 km a day. After a bit of trouble we managed to change all our Indian 500 rupees notes into the Nepali equivalent. Bank apparently don't accept the notes, but luckily the people on the streets do! So we're stacked and good to go!
After two days in Nepal we met up with Andre and Judith for the third time. it's a small world indeed. We cycled with them to Butwal, from there the Himalayan challenge lies ahead of us. We decided to have a restday, to allow Erik's leg to recover a bit from muscle ache. The next morning we headed of to what we knew was going to be an uphill battle. We did about 60 km and reached a highest point of around 850 meters in a place called Tansen. While doing maintenance on the bikes in the evening the gear cable of the back derry broke, meaning Erik had to cycle with just 3 gears, i.e. 3 frontblades, the next day. Then again, it's only the Himalaya's, so who needs more right? ;). Luckily the trip turned out to be easier then expected and we managed to go straight to Pokhara, a remaining 100 km, in just one day.
Pokhara sure is something else compared to what we have seen in Nepal sofar. We had been sleeping and staying in extremely basic places eating mainly chou-chou and chow-mien. Pokhara has all the modern tourist can ask for, which is both a blessing but also a bit of a pain. Pokhara sure is a beautiful and relaxed place and it's nice to enjoy a cold beer or warm cup of filter coffee, but it's not exactly Nepali life. We managed to get a real cheap room here even in Pokhara. It's low season at the moment (being winter and all). We stay at a very neat place which even has a warm shower, clean sheets. for less the 2 euro's!
So now it's just 210 km more till Kathmandu. We need to be there latest at the 27th of December and probably will not arrive there much sooner then that. Kathmandu is a lot colder than Pokhara and it's also very smoggy. The polluted air can't leave the Kathmandu valley very well and the valley is very crowded, since many people fled to there because of the violence.
Taken all off this into account, we'll just enjoy the surroundings here in Pokhara a bit longer and make some nice mountainbike tours up the mountains to the better "viewpoints" Views of the Anapurna Masif and some great 8000m+ peaks with eternal snow on them. Now thats a good reward for climbing up there! :)
So it looks like we are pretty much guaranteed a white Christmas over here in Nepal.
Wishing you all a very good Christmas and a good new year from an Idyllic Pokhara
till the next update,
Erik and Tjeerd.
pictures can be found:
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/erikopdefiets/19%20Nepal/
-
20 December 2007 - 10:46
Gloria @ Gerard:
So sorry to read about your misadventures, Erik. But still, you sound cheerful enough!
Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2008 to you both. -
20 December 2007 - 11:09
Cees Van Lugtenburg:
Keep on going guys, Be Safe on the roads and Have an Exceptional Christmas and a Wonderful New Year, which you will never forget.
Cees. -
20 December 2007 - 11:40
Gerard En Gloria :
According to the pictures you do not seem to need warm clothes yet. Is it cold at night?
The area looks less dry than India and if it is less crowded I hope you"ll not meet with the local fauna too much. Take care and good luck. W"ll miss you with Christmas. -
20 December 2007 - 11:50
Henk En Truus:
Dat is niet zo mooi voor Erik, maar wat je zegt beter stof happen dan een aanrijding met een vrachtauto te hebben. En dan ook nog eens pech met de versnelling het zit je niet mee Erik, laten hopen dat het nu klaar is met de pech. Wat een mooie fotó's weer en wat een wegen moeten jullie bedwingen.
Wij wensen jullie een speciale Kerst toe, toen wij in Fiji waren (met de Kerst)was het gebruik daar om de hele dag zoveel mogelijk herrie te maken met deksels etc, ben benieuwd hoe het daar is met de Kerst. Tevens wensen wij jullie een veilige en gezonde en een spectaculaire Oudejaarsavond toe in den vreemden. Wij zijn vanaf 27 dec t/m 3 januari even naar Limburg, dus dan ontvang je even geen mail van ons.Ook is het in Fiji normaal dat je op 1 januari nat gemaakt wordt als een soort reiniging voor het nieuwe jaar, dus let op! Dit is nl een Hindoe gewoonte. Happy
New Year.
We zullen aan jullie denken en zeker ook missen deze Kerst.
Liefs
Henk en Truus -
20 December 2007 - 12:46
Joep Van Sloten:
Hello guys!
Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2008!!!!!!!!!!!
Joep, Anita and Jurrien -
20 December 2007 - 13:53
Karin:
Here the Netherlands speaking: Have a wonderful christmas there in Nepal and a fantastic New Year.
Karin -
20 December 2007 - 14:43
Rudmer De Vries:
Beide oma's hebben je kaart ontvangen en waren er erg blij mee.Vroegen mij jou te bedanken
Namens de grootouders, Mama,Kirsten en mij natuurlijk prettige kerstdagen en een gelukkig 2008 -
20 December 2007 - 16:41
Peter S.:
Heren, hoop dat die emmer pech nu even aan jullie voorbij gaat. Wens jullie hele fijne kerstdagen en een gelukkig 2008. Ben benieuwd naar oud en nieuw in Kathmandu. Vuurwerk? Clubben? Who knows.... Hoop in de eerste week van januari weer nieuwe avonturen te lezen. Groeten, Peter -
20 December 2007 - 16:44
Jelle:
De beste wensen heren!
Jullie hebben toch wel die overheerlijke paling geprobeerd die in het foto album staat! :) -
20 December 2007 - 16:46
Gloria&Gerard:
Just saw the additional photo's you just uploaded. Who is the stuntman??
They say Tibet is the roof of the world, but Nepal comes very close to that!
It is clear it is not so hot anymore. -
20 December 2007 - 18:28
Mina Didi:
Ik neem aan dat jullie in Lakeside ziten.Dat is de touristenwijk!
Als jullie naar de stad gaan zien jullie het echte Nepal. -
23 December 2007 - 09:25
Masoud & Ahmad:
Hi tjeerd & erik
merry your 2008 christmas.
-
24 December 2007 - 08:52
Christian:
Hi Erik, fijne kerstdagen in Nepal en de beste wensen voor het nieuwe jaar! -
24 December 2007 - 10:23
Maarten En Kristina:
Ha Erik en Tjeerd,
Hele fijne feestdagen toegewenst. In Utrecht hebben we zelfs al een paar dagen voor de kerst sneeuw gehad.
Geniet ervan :)
Groeten,
Maarten en Kristina -
25 December 2007 - 07:57
Enver Keçeci:
hello erik gittin balantmz koptu insan bir selam verir benim msn deiti yenisi ENHATU28@hotmail.com beni sorarsan aynen bisiklet ve motor tamirine devam müsaitsen görüelim iyi günler (enver keçeci görele giresun TURKEY) -
25 December 2007 - 11:54
Michiel:
Hi Guys,
Fijne feestdagen; al enig idee waar jullie de jaarwisseling gaan vieren? En in welke tijdzone? Wel een witte kerst dus, mazzelaars. Hoop dat jullie handschoenen bij je hebben.
Fiets voorzichtig (dat meen ik!) en veel plezier. Hoeveel kilometer in 2008 nog?
Groetjes,
Michiel en Nienke. -
25 December 2007 - 13:41
Maaike:
Fijne kerstdagen allebei en een knallend 2008! (nou ja niet de banden dan he)
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