Spoffords Travel

Day 10 February 25, 2024 Pokhara to Nagarkot Village

We fly to Kathmandu this morning. We could see the mountains from our side of the plane. They are certainly beautiful. Only partially covered in clouds. The flight takes about 30 minutes. A big bus is waiting to take us for the day.

First stop is Pashupatinath a World Heritage Site for one of the oldest and most sacred Hindu shrines. It sits along the Bagmati River. At least four cremations were taking place while we were there. When the process is finished the ashes are brushed into the river to be carried to the Ganges in India. Lots of people are there either to witness a cremation or to acknowledge one from the past. A son is supposed to light the cremation fire. Then every year for as long as he can he is to return to pay homage. They leave flowers and paint in recognition. A couple of holy men are sitting there giving out blessings along with red markings on the forehead. More people trying to sell necklaces and other things. A simple “no” seems to work. They keep reminding us that looking is free.

Traffic is terrible. We just inch along. Finally at one traffic circle there are two traffic cops directing traffic. Roads are coming in from all directions. Sure looks confusing to us. Oh my there is a K. F. C. That stands for Kathmandu Food Court. We did later see a KFC as we know from home. None of the other fast food chains however.

We finally arrived near the Boudhanath Stupa, also called Khasti Chaitya. We walked down an alley and were greeted by one of the largest stupas of its kind. It is set in an octagonal Mandela with shops all around. Tradition says you must walk all the way around going to the left. Lots of locals are here walking and carrying beads to count the number of trips. The guide stopped one lady who is a Sherpa and talked with her. She was walking around 108 times. That is a lucky number here. The stupa has two eyes and a nose looking down at you from four sides. Many colorful flags decorate from the top to the first floor of the businesses. A monastery is on one side. We did purchase a refrigerator magnet and a small purse with the eyes. Lunch was on the third floor of a restaurant overlooking the stupa. On our way again with a stop in Bhaktapur, called the “City of Devotees,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lined with palaces, temples, statues and squares connected by a maze of pedestrianized streets. About eight of the ladies in our group got really sick about then. They were throwing up and some also had diarrhea. They and a few of the rest of us stayed on the bus. Then we head up the hill. Another steep winding road but no switch backs. Up and up we went. Finally we arrived at the parking lot. Then up the hill to the hotel. Elevation is about 6300 feet. The facility is very large and definitely targets the tourists. All our meals will be here.

Day 9 February 24, 2024 Pokhara

We are up early this morning to go up the mountain for sunrise. The big bus can’t make it up the hill so we have two vans. The ride takes about 30 minutes without traffic. Sure enough the road is narrow, steep and winding. A surprising number of people are walking up and down the road. They don’t have lights nor reflective clothing. After parking we go up about 25 steps to a landing to look out to the mountains. It is just beginning to look light. The mountains are impressive. Lots of people are there. Mostly tour groups I think. The wind is blowing so you feel very cold. Rob is glad for the new coat. Back to the hotel for a hot breakfast. The coffee here is instant and not very hot. Of the hotels we have been in so far this is the poorest service and food. Most of the Nepalese food is Indian in flavor. Lots of vegetables and very little beef. Cattle are sacred in Nepal. Next stop is the International Mountain Museum. This showcases some of the ethnic groups and then lots about the mountains, climate control and the Yeti. It’s a very large museum and to really study it we would have needed more time.

Then to Devi’s Falls named for the woman who lost her life there in a flash flood. The small park entrance to the falls is nice and well maintained with flowers. Numerous stairs lead down to the falls but you can see quite a bit from up above. Connie talked with a young lady who had a very cute 6 month old son. She spoke wonderful English. Lunch was at the same restaurant where we ate last night. This time we were served individually and for the most part the food was continental. It was prepared very well. Dessert was especially good. A wonderful brownie and ice cream. The afternoon is on our own so we determined the amount of local currency we needed for tipping and Rob went to the ATM. He found a small bakery on the way back and bought one apple and one banana muffin sized cake. They were more moist than expected.

Day 8 February 23, 2024 Bandipur to Pokhara

Breakfast was served individually rather than a buffet. After breakfast it is back down the hill to the bus and off to Pokhara. Back down the mountain. Sure hope the brakes are working. There are no run away ramps. Then back on the highway. This section is the same as the last. The distance is not that far but we rarely can drive over 10 mph. We drove in and out of small villages and through farm country. Pokhara is the second largest city in Nepal and home to several of the tallest peaks. The vibe here is quite different. This seems more a tourist spot. Lots of shops and restaurants cater to the tourist. Most signs have at least English subtitles. The script here is very different. Looks more Arabic. It was derived from Sanskrit. Our hotel is down a narrow street so the bus can’t take us to the entrance.

After lunch on our own we take the bus to the Gurkha Museum. The entire museum is dedicated to the military troops that have served for over 200 years in the British Army. They are known for their bravery and have fought in all the major conflicts. The museum is three stories tall so a lot of pictures and displays. From there it was a short walk to a deep gorge where you can’t see the bottom. Rainy season is most likely different. Then to the lake for a boat ride described as a leisurely cruise around Phewa Lake. This is the second largest lake in the country. The boats are only slightly larger than the canoes so Connie stays on the bus. We drove to the exit point and parked. In just a few minutes the group was coming back. They weren’t gone long enough for a cruise. The rest of the afternoon we are on our own. We did walk along the main shopping street near the hotel. The shops have lots of cold weather clothing. Hikers come here to tackle the nearby mountains. There are also a few souvenir shops but no one is pushy. Business must be good overall. Rob bought a North Face jacket for $40 US. We are expecting some colder temperatures. They had lots of choices of weight, color and size. Then we ate dinner at a nearby restaurant with windows looking out on the street. About 30 scooters and motorcycles are parked below. They are lined up and we are just waiting for the domino effect. That never happened. Parking seems to be free since there are no meters nor any place to pay. We learned that if there is not space you simply move the nearby bikes and squeeze yours in. The traffic just goes around without a problem. As is common the perpendicular street has no traffic signs. Vehicles just come and go with minimal stoppage. Dogs on the street is a common sight but they are never aggressive. They all have homes but are not allowed in.

Day 7 February 22, 2024 Chitwan to Bandipur

We board the bus after breakfast for a journey day of about 3.5 hours. The village of Bandipur sits on a hilltop. Getting there was quite an experience. Most of the road is under construction which means it isn’t paved. The bumps are significant so the bus must go slowly. Lots of traffic of all kinds and both directions compete for the easiest part of the road. We now understand the sign advertising for a car with the most clearance. The sides of the mountain that have been cut away are amazing. Seems a lot will come down during the rainy season. Even though construction crews are working there are no flaggers or piolet cars. Drivers here are so much more polite then at home. Our guide says the ride is like having a free massage.

We follow along different rivers none of which have much water. Based on the riverbeds this is not always the case. This road goes to Tibet. We eventually turned off the highway and started uphill. More of the road is paved but it is much more narrow. There were at least 15 hairpin turns. We were amazed at each of those that the bus was able to make it up and around. Of course we continued to meet other vehicles and vehicles passed us. There are no guard rails so we can only hope the trees will stop us if we go over the side. Luckily we don’t. Eventually we turned into a parking lot. The rest of the way up will be on foot. Sure glad someone else does the luggage.

We arrive at The Old Inn which will be our lodging. The building is over 180 years old. Meals are served on an outdoor terrace looking out to the mountains. Our room is very unique as we understand they all are. The toilet and sink are in one room. The main bed is in another room, the shower is the next room and a smaller bed is in the last room. Doorways are small and you must step over the threshold which is about 12 inches tall while ducking your head. The main entrance is two doors with a chain on each door. The chains reach to a loop. A link of each chain is put over the loop and then a small padlock secures everything. We have a small terrace looking over the dining terrace below. The beds have electric blankets. We ate lunch on the terrace which was more food than we wanted.

Later in the afternoon everyone took a walk around the village. We stopped at a school which was just letting out for the day. It was founded by a couple of nuns and was called Norte Dame. Teaching is done in English. Connie talked with one of the primary school teachers. He has been there for 12 years. Our guide asks some of the kids their age and grade level. They are quite willing to talk to us. Dinner was on the terrace with fires going in the bottom of barrels. We were still cold by the time we went to our room. The electric blanket felt good.

Day 6 February 21, 2024 Chitwan

After breakfast everyone but Connie walked down to the river and boarded canoes for a ride down the river.

Connie rode in a jeep to the crocodile farm and waited there. The canoe folks were lucky enough to see a male rhino. They saw lots of birds as well. The water is not very deep and there are no rapids. Everyone took a quick walk around the crocodile sanctuary before boarding jeeps for a safari ride through the jungle.

This is a very large national park. It covers hundreds of acres of land. If you are caught killing an animal from there you will serve 5-10 years in jail. We saw numerous kinds of birds, lots of deer and one lizard. No tigers even though 125 of them live in the jungle. Since they are a nocturnal animal our odds were not good. We made one stop for coffee, tea and biscuits. Then more safari before heading back to the lodge for lunch. After a short rest the naturalist talked about many of the jungle animals. There are 369 rhinos in the park, three kinds of deer, alligators and numerous birds. Then some folks went for a bird watching walk. The response was lots of birds in flight.

That evening before dinner some of the locals performed various local dances. For the last dance they invited all of us to join them.

Day 5 February 20, 2024 Kathmandu to Chitwan

This morning we flew to Chitwan which is to the south and in the low country. The flight lasts about 30 minutes. A bus takes us to our lodging about an hour away. We are really out in the country side. Crops are in small fields and include mustard, wheat and potatoes predominately. They can grow as many as five different crops on the same land in a year. Housing is varied with some really nice and others very basic. Our lodging is located in a river resort.

The rooms are in duplexes. They are small but clean and well maintained. WI-FI is available only in the main lodge. Although the outside temperature is rather warm the inside is cool. Glad we are here now because summers can get temperatures over 100 degrees. Lunch is served at the lodge where we sit looking out to the river and jungle.

After a brief rest we follow the local naturalist to where four elephants are kept. He talks about elephants and we each get to feed one. They have prepared a packet of rice, corn and salt wrapped in grass. One of the elephants has been trained to pick up paper money with her trunk and pass it up to her handler. After the presentation the elephants head to the river. Our group walks around a small part of the village learning about their life.

Housing is small. If they are lucky at least part of the house is made of concrete. The other major building material is a mixture of clay and cow dung. The people seem happy. Everyone seems to have at least one cow, a couple of goats, and several chickens. Gardens separate the houses. Lots of different plants.

In one field women are harvesting mustard. Sure glad I don’t have to do that. Eventually we get back to a paved road. More tuk tuks here than elsewhere. Dinner is again at the lodge. The evening has cooled off which is nice. We heard some jackals howling but didn’t see them.

Day 4 February 19, 2024 Kathmandu

We are up early this morning for a flight to see Mount Everest. We are warned that flights maybe delayed or canceled based on air traffic and weather near the mountains. We bussed out from the terminal and boarded the plane. The flight was delayed forty-five minutes based on air traffic. Everyone on board gets a window seat. The aircraft is a prop plane so the wings are above the windows. Fog or smog lies over the city but the plane can get above it. The round trip flight takes about an hour. The flight attendants handed out a pamphlet showing the largest of the mountains and then pointed them out as we passed. Mount Everest was the furthest away so once we passed it the flight turned back and the other side got the view. The tops of several of the mountains were covered with clouds including Mount Everest. We did get to see the majority of it. They are quite impressive. We learned that all five planes scheduled to fly did so today. That is not a common event. We were very lucky. Then back to the hotel for breakfast before beginning the tours for the day. After about an hour of driving uphill we arrived at a monastery. The road really was something. It was quite narrow, steep and winding. It’s a wonder the big bus could make it up. After we got off the bus, we had a steep walk up to the monastery itself. We were met there by a monk who explained about their daily life. The grounds are beautiful and so are some of the views. We stayed for tea and biscuits (cookies) before heading back down the hill to the bus. Our next stop was where we were to get a blessing at the Temple of Kumari, home to Nepal’s most important living goddess. Unfortunately the Kumari wasn’t available. She may be after two. This girl is chosen at a young age and will retire when her menstrual cycle begins. She must meet 27 qualifications. Her family lives in the temple with her. She can only leave the temple during festivals. Her feet never touch the ground when she does go out. When she retires she returns to her original home. So off we go to Durbar Square where Hanuman Dhoka, the ancient palace of Nepalese Royalty is located. This is a very large square with many shrines and a few British architecture buildings. A very odd combination of buildings. Once again many are surrounded by scaffolding so they are not as visible as they could be. Today is a holiday and the square is full of people and salesmen. The second tallest temple in the country is located here. It’s about nine stories tall. Once again it is like a pagoda decorated with Hindu gods.

Everyone seemed willing to skip lunch so after an hour looking at all these buildings we headed back to be blessed. The Kumari was in so those who wished could remove their shoes and receive her blessing. Those who did received a red dot on their forehead. Rob got a red dot.

Our last stop for the day is at the monkey temple. It is located on top of a hill and is believed to be the oldest Buddhist stupa. It also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage site. The walk up the hill looked somewhat steep so Connie opted to stay on the bus with three others. Rob did go up. He said not a lot of monkeys like we had seen in India. We took the optional dinner and cultural show. About a fifteen minute walk from our hotel was a Nepali restaurant. All during dinner up to four performers did various dances from around the country. Dinner included a local wine poured from a brass vessel with a long spout. The drinking vessel was a very small clay bowl. It only held about two tablespoons at most. The pourer would start close to the bowl and then lift the vessel up to the level of her head without spilling much liquid. Next came a bean soup. Then Mo Mo which are dumplings. A black bean soup came next. Then they brought out a dinner plate sized brass plate. Rice was placed in the middle and then various foods around that. They included a green vegetable of some sort, mixed vegetables, chicken curry and a pork dish. They kept bringing the food around so you could have as much as you wanted. Dessert was rice pudding.