Steven Raucher's World Tour
2001-04-13 in Kathmandu, Nepal
Escape from Hindustan and other (mis) adventures
Ariella and I entered Nepal on a sunny day on the 12th of April after spending one night in Siliguri. We wound our way through the last of the murderous roads of India and arrived in the Indian border town of Raniganj (pronounced runny gunge...need I say
The customs officers were friendly as were the black market money changers -Indian Rupees are hard currency here! I could not suppress my excitement as I discovered the beautiful roads of the western Terai (Nepali lowlands), I just sat back and kicked that sucker into 6th gear and enjoyed some good old fashioned blacktop cruising. We arrived in a large town called Hetauda just before sunset and spent the night being eaten alive by DEET-lickin� mozzies. Nothing could deflate our mood, as tomorrow we would be in Kathmandu.
Tomorrow arrived with the sun giving us a wicked smile shining through the rain clouds. Nothing ruins my mornings more than packing up the bike in the rain. But this was just the beginning. We finally got on the road at elevenish and were sure we would be in Kathmandu by One o�clock. This is perfectly viable if one does not consider taking a wrong turn and wisely learning of one�s mistake after 35 kilometers! Not the sharpest tool in the shed. One also needs to factor in an accident, just in case... After correcting our course and heading in the general direction of Kathmandu, I noticed a bus on its side; I could not resist the wry smile that came to my face. I was probably thinking about how I need to be further away from India (and bus accidents), when suddenly: �Whoooooaaaaaaa� was bursting from my lips as Ariella and I became sidewalk surfers. I have a very vivid recollection of sitting up on my backside scratching my helmet and seeing Ariella cruising down the highway face-first and on her belly, the sense of comedy overwhelmed me thinking how similar she looked to superman. Apparently the bus had leaked oil all over the road but I was too busy reflecting on India to pay any attention to my road surface.
So once I had dealt with the usual local attention of seeing a white face picking up himself, sister and motorcycle off the ground, we made a speedy exit and perfectly on cue the rain started again, this time it came down in buckets! Not to be outdone my Indian-made horn chose this moment to break and left me hornless on a Nepali mountain road in a downpour. Not the best place to be I can assure you.
Making it to Kathmandu was quite an experience, luckily we bumped into Jan, a German overlade I had previously met in Goa; he gave me his map of the city and pointed out the hotel full of bikers. I felt compelled to burn some incense and remind myself that there really is a force out there watching us two-wheeled nuts on bikes.
Thamel is the touristy part of Kathmandu, and anyone will tell you it stinks of traffic and is full of motor vehicles. But not on this day. Because this day was, wait for it: Friday the 13th AND Nepali New Year, and nobody had bothered to tell me. I am going to have my palm read shortly, all these omens. This was coincidentally the second time on the road since leaving Italy that I had to drive in the rain, the first time was New Years Eve in Goa. Spooky.
Time to get drunk and welcome in the year 2458 (I think). This week I have some bike maintenance to do, yippee.
 Watching them watching me, making tea |
 I make this look so easy. Look ma no sub-frame |
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