Back on bikes: Pokhara to Kathmandu

Trek over, all that remained was to retrieve our bikes from Pokhara, cycle them to Kathmandu, and fly home.

Travelling the main Pokhara-Kathmandu highway by bus hadn't been much fun. Cycling it looked like our idea of hell. Buses and trucks zooming past at crazy speeds, their fatalistic drivers not overly bothered with paying much attention to the road. If we cycled this way how long would it take for an insignificant pair of cycle tourists to be flattened?

These dangerous odds along with the noise and roadside rubbish made it clear we needed to find a different route. And this proved easy enough to do. A couple of pointers from Sonam at Dawn 'til Dusk, followed by a few hours poring over satellite images on Google Earth and we were all set to go.

Though only a short hop, we were excited at the prospect of getting back in the saddle. Four months had been too long. Any trepidation about how our knees would hold up to the steep climbs faded as we left town and elation swept over us. The thrill of two-wheeled speed, so wonderfully liberating! No traffic, dirt roads, views of towering peaks in the Annapurna, Manaslu, Ganesh and Langtang Himals whenever we turned our heads north. Eating simply and well, sleeping on hard beds, chatting with friendly villagers, all under the watchful eye of the magnificent Himalaya. This was more like it. This is what adventures are made of!

As we freewheeled down into a smoggy Kathmandu Valley Haz's camera slipped from her bike, never to be seen again. We didn't let this spoil our mood for long. It had been a fabulous end to our Himalayan sojourn.

Please click to see our Pokhara to Kathmandu cycle photoset on Flickr.

Overlooking Phewa Lake, Pokhara, and the Annapurna Himal. While we trekked across Nepal our bikes were looked after by the friendly guys at Village Inn, - to be found just to the right of Neil's head in this shot!

Kids near Begnas Tal. They lived in a house at the top of a little pass, so we hung out with them for a bit while recovering from the climb. Great shirts!

This bahini cooked up a mean chowmein for us in Sundar Bazaar.

Carrying back up to the road after a cheeky shortcut over a pedestrian suspension bridge.

Cycling in Gorkha, the Manaslu Himal in the background. This shot is typical of our 5 days from Pokhara to Kathmandu - great scenery, no traffic, friendly little villages.

Recycling at its best. San Miguel ketchup, Tuborg chilli sauce.

A gang of young terrors near Arughat.

The last suspension bridge of our Nepal trip. (Don't worry, Haz did dismount before mowing over the old grannies and school kids.)

In the hills south of Ganesh Himal. Having enjoyed that section of our trek so much, it was great to return to the region on our bikes.

Descending from the last pass into Kathmandu. This was on the only busy section of road on our route between Nepal's two largest cities.

Strike day in Kathmandu. A great opportunity to get out and take some photos without fear of being run over by insane taxi and micro drivers.

For stats, please wait a while until we write up our Pokhara - Kathmandu route information notes.

East Nepal - The end

On a trek across Nepal local people will frequently ask about your motives. Why on earth would you want to do such a thing? Our stock answers of 'for the challenge', 'for adventure', 'to learn about the culture and landscapes' rarely satisfied our Nepali hosts. Surely we were hiding some other agenda?
But by the end of our Himalayan traverse we too were questioning the purpose of our walk. The onset of snow in Lukla prevented us taking an interesting high route east and we didn't anticipate the final two weeks in the lowlands being physically challenging. This physical challenge, we have learnt, is one of the foremost factors in any trip we take. We knew we could walk to the Indian border with ease, so what was the point? 
Eventually our original ambition of an unbroken self-powered route from Kashmir to Sikkim held firm. We'd wavered before, but had always continued. It seemed foolish to stop now.
Sinuous trails led us through magical rhododendron forest, gnarly with ancient trees. We walked with wizened old men and ate endless unsatisfying biscuits and noodles. We climbed. We descended. We crossed suspension bridge after NGO-funded suspension bridge. 
The grand finale to our 8 month journey proved a spectacular anticlimax. On the Sikkim border, munching Mars Bars, gazing at pleasant views which couldn't even begin to compare with previous wonders. So, this was it. The end. GHT over.
An interminable bus journey back to Kathmandu provided ample time to further contemplate the trip. And when not focussing on evading headbutts from neighbours on the rougher sections of road, this we did. Had our Himalayan trip challenged us enough? Would we ever attempt another A-to-B journey again, with the long uninteresting sections it entails? Why were we thinking so much of the Andes when we were in a country as beautiful as Nepal? When would we embark on our next adventure?
Our hearts lie in the Andes so we know that it'll be to that range that we'll return. It's just a matter of how soon.
Please click to see our East Nepal photoset on Flickr.

Freezing hair at a chilly Panch Pokhari. We hadn't meant to go over this 4,450m pass, but rather than heading straight down-valley on a minor trail as intended, we missed our turn-off and stuck to the main trail which climbed 1,000m to these sacred lakes. Low cloud meant there were no views of Mera Peak and other large mountains in the area.

At a tea house in Phedi. We stayed here in 2007, when this friendly young lad wasn't around. With no tourists in this part of Nepal, our faltering Nepali was given a run out, after not being needed for long spells in tourist areas. In most villages it wasn't long until our presence would bring the local school teacher running and we could have slightly more in-depth conversations in English with them.

A typical village in east Nepal.

Schoolgirl in Khande Bhanjyang, near Taplejung. We'd stopped for a cup of tea and some biscuits - part of our staple diet in eastern Nepal.

We'd hoped to get closer to the Kanchenjunga massif, but with the February snow decided to stay in the lowlands. During a spell of clear weather we were treated to wonderful, though distant, panoramas of the world's third highest mountain.

Lady in Sablakhu Bhanjyang, Taplejung.

Typical houses on the way to Chyangthapu, near the Sikkim border.

Valentine's Day 2013 on Chiya Bhanjyang, the Nepal/Sikkim border. After 100 days and 1,600km of trekking, and 60 days and 3,700km of biking, this is where we ended our 8 month traverse of the Himalaya, having begun on bikes in Manali in July 2012. All very anti-climactic. Is this the end of our GHT, or just a pause until we head to Pakistan at some point in the future?

The lovely lady in Chyangthapu who won our 'find a nice old person to give a Leki pole to' lottery.

Stats: Lukla to Chiya Bhanjyang
Days - 19
Trekking days - 15
Distance - 258km
Trekking time - 86hrs
Amount climbed -16,450m
Passes - 8 (Zatrwa La - 4,616m, Panch Pokhari - 4,453m, and 6 lower ones)
Dal bhats - 14
Maggi - 16
Gringos - None

Empty Everest

‘How odd that there are no tourists here’, I said to Harriet for the fiftieth time. As she'd wandered round Namche looking for a room I’d lazed on some steps in the main street. Half an hour had passed and still not a single Leki pole-toting soul had marched past. Likewise on the wander down from Thame that morning. ‘I know the nights are cold, but they're not that cold. Where is everybody?’
The contrast with the bustling trekkopolis we’d seen some Novembers back was startling. Were it not for the rows of shuttered outdoor shops we could easily have been convinced we weren’t in the trekking hub of the Everest region at all. 

Some days later we crossed a grey Renjo La. Everest was blanketed in cloud. Near the pass we met three German trekkers, our sole encounter with foreigners between Namche and Gokyo.

In Gokyo it snowed. The temperature fell to -20C, or possibly -25C; we weren't sure, having inadvertently crushed our thermometer near Thame. The next night was colder still. This must be what was keeping the others away.  We huddled round the yak-dung stove and spent hours chatting to our fascinating hostess, Pasang Futi. She'd started selling tea to trekkers who began appearing in her yak pastures in the 1970s, and from these humble beginnings had built a colossal lodge catering to 100 guests in high season. There were only four of us there.

The weather cleared. We climbed Gokyo Ri, making a path through fresh snow to the top. For a serene hour we had the place to ourselves. Not a sound but our footsteps and the light fluttering of tattered prayer flags in the breeze.

We crossed Cho La, made trickier than anticipated by our fatigue and the slippery, snowy boulder fields. We met no-one on the path until Dzongla.

We hot-footed to Kala Patthar and lazed by the weather station in the hot sun. We were the only ones there.

We crossed Kongma La, again in the sun. The scale of the mountains was mind-blowing. The trail was deserted.

We descended to Namche, our high altitude trekking at an end. Tempted though we were to continue east over Amphu Labsta and Sherpani Col, the weather was changing. Waning were the clear skies of November, December and January, to be replaced by February's snow and sleet. With heavy hearts we settled on a lower route to the Sikkim border.

To view all our photos, please take a look at our Solu Khumbu photoset on Flickr.

Gokyo, mid January, the morning after a night of snowfall.

Ngozumba Glacier, from Gokyo Ri. The glacier is usually an unattractive brown colour, as it's covered in silty debris. After a fresh covering of snow it brightens up and looks far more appealing.

Atop Gokyo Ri, looking east towards the giants of Everest, Lhotse and Makalu.

A beautiful day on top of Gokyo Ri. More than enough reason for a big smile.

On Gokyo Ri. Cho Oyu (left, the world's 6th highest mountain) throwing clouds at Gyachung Kang (right, the world's 15th highest at just under 8,000m).

Ice crystals on our Gokyo bedroom window. The night before was the coldest of our eight months in the Himalaya. Though our thermometer had smashed a few days previously, the forecast had been for temperatures of -27C lower down in Dingboche. 

At Gokyo Namaste Lodge, run by the redoubtable Pasang Futi (right). Her children, as with so many affluent Sherpa, were being educated in Kathmandu, and she told us of their ambitious plans to build ever more luxurious accommodation up in the mountains. The Solu Khumbu region already has many of the best lodges in Nepal - they may be far more expensive than most in the country, but you invariably get better facilities and tastier food for your money. Fewer stomach upsets too.

On Ngozumba Glacier's lateral moraine, about to cross over to Tangnak.

Crossing Ngozumba Glacier, on another quiet day in Solu Khumbu. We met no-one on the two hour walk from Gokyo to Tangnak. 

Descending from Cho La. This day we walked from Tangnak to Lobuche, as we had done in November 2007. In winter the trip took a good few hours longer as the slippery snow made crossing boulder fields slow going. 

Ama Dablam revealing herself for a few seconds on the walk up to Lobuche.

The classic view of Everest, Nuptse and a bit of Lhotse from Kala Patthar.

On Kongma La. Being made to feel very small by the hulking Nuptse-Lhotse wall, top left.

Hanging out by the Nuptse-Lhotse wall. Haz Photoshopped-in.

Phortse, in the lower Gokyo Valley.

Stats: Namche to Lukla via the 3 Passes
Days - 11
Trekking days - 9
Distance - 126km
Trekking time - 42hrs
Amount climbed - 6,800m
Passes - 3 (Renjo La - 5,406m, Cho La - 5,362m, Kongma La - 5,510m)
Hills - 2 (Gokyo Ri - 5,362m, Kala Patthar - 5,642m)
Dal bhats - 11
Maggi - 0
Gringos - 52

Kathmandu Recommendations

Nowadays we don't travel with country guidebooks, preferring to just use maps and trekking guides. So when we come to larger cities and towns it normally takes us a few days of trial and error and asking for recommendations to find places we like. Here are some of our favourites from Thamel, with a map of where they can be found:

Accommodation:

• Backpackers' Inn - comfy beds, wifi and hot showers. The en suite rooms here are very good value in off-season (the only time we've stayed).
• New Namaste Guest House - if Backpackers' is full, try this nearby place which also has good value rooms.

Food & Drink:

• Cha Cha Spaghetti Cafe - some of the best tourist food we found in the Himalaya. The pasta dishes are especially good.

• Anjana's Tea and Coffee Shop - on an alley in the centre of Thamel, opposite 'Yala's Newari Restaurant' this place (which doesn't have a sign) does basic but delicious food at cheap prices. While you wait, enjoy watching a chapatti-making master at work.
• Weizen Bakery - join the 50% discount post-20:00 scrum!
• Lumbini Hotel - good deluxe thalis, great tandoori aloo parathas and curd.
• 65 Momo Soup - tasty and cheap momos and chowmein.
• Sandwich Point - as the name suggests, this Thamel institution is the place to go for sandwiches.
• Sam's Bar - a nice place to while away an evening or two. Classic tunes, interesting wall graffiti.

Outdoor Gear:

• Shona's - run by a Nepali/English couple this is a reliable place for good quality down clothing - their own brand is 'Alpine Designs'. We have sleeping bags, down trousers, down jackets and down mitts from this place! Andy, the owner, is also a good source of trekking info.
• Mount Everest Summiter's Shop - run by Nima Gombu Sherpa who has climbed Everest many times, this is a good shop to pick up some new or 2nd hand kit. 
• Sherpa Gear - the flagship store is wonderful to visit just go to touch and feel some beautiful kit. All the while wishing you had more money to buy some of it.

Cycling:

• Dusk till Dawn - Sonam at the branch on Amrit Marg (there's another office in the Kathmandu Guest House) has plenty of spares and is a reliable guy to go to for repairs. He's also a goldmine of information about cycling in Nepal.

Interweb:

• MSN Cyber Cafe - in the Narsing Camp alley, this place is expensive and has a rubbish name, but is good.

Beer: (Not KTM specific, but extremely useful to know nonetheless)

• Everest: piss. Nepal Ice: Special Brew. Gorkha: yum yum.

Thamel Map

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