Central Nepal

Monkey Temple

The Hipsters have found a new place to settle.  Think Boulder, Colorado circa 2000 but moved about 12,000 mile away, and instead of dread locks and shadow dancing to the Grateful Dead, Pokara is linen shirts, pajama pants, man buns, beard oil and Mojitos.  An actual line from an over heard conversation was, "man...I am really feeling the meditation working, my chakras are really freeing up, I am so much the better for it.."  So, if your chakras are out in need of alignment, Pokhara is the place for you.  Now mind you, I am not making fun of the people who come here to have that done...really I am not... honestly...oh fuck it, yes I am, it is weird, not in a bad way, but not in a good way either.

Even though the parental funded hipsters out number locals, Pokhara is very cool and has become an adventure base for helicopter touring, bungee jumping, long trekking, climbing mountains that aren't named Everest, paragliding, rafting, etc. etc etc. The tourism part of the City is clean, affordable, and a nice place to visit, and I had a very nice time there.  The locals, like most of of the residents of Nepal, are just awesome.  Again, I was invited to dinners, outings and motorcycle runs.  I never asked, and they invited, never expecting anything in return.  Just great people.

Some of the locals took me for a very cool ride through the mountains

After Pokhara, I headed over to Kathmandu, the namesake of an old Bob Seeger song and apparently the hash capital of south east Asia.  I walked around my hotel and was approached no less than 11 times during my 20 minute stroll.  The Nepalese who told me that Kathmandu was dirty and not the best their wonderful Country has to offer, were correct.  Unless you want some of the aforementioned hash, or some top quality North Face knock-offs (they are quite good), Kathmandu has little to offer.  Mind you I did not feel unsafe at anytime, I just could not recommend the location for people on a time-constrained vacation.  That being said, if your in the area, spend a day or day and a half...but not two.



My final thoughts on Nepal are the people are great, the place is beautiful, and the roads flat out suck.  That being said, I highly recommend it if you are the outdoorsy type.  Well, I am off to give India a second try and I hope the experience will be better than before. 

Weird Fact:

Ducati motorcycles have been banned from Kathmandu.  The government indicates that it is due to their noise, but the locals feel it has more to do with financial considerations.  I kind of believe in the locals position as the noise issue makes no sense.  The ban only applies to Ducati, and the City is quite loud already, but I will let the individuals make up their minds on that one.

Trip summary

Leg Distance: 290 mi (467 km)

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 29,935 mi (48,283 km) 

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds), India, Nepal

Into Nepal

Talk about night and day.  With the exception that the bus drivers are assholes (that's worldwide though), Nepal and India are nothing alike.  Crowds, garbage strewn about, weird smells. and the bizarre staring all went away in a simple border crossing.  In its stead, are uncrowded roads, beautiful scenery, and well, some of the nicest people I have ever met.

As much as this place is beautiful, I did not pick the best time of the year visit - monsoon season - but I do like it when 95 percent of the tourists are not around as it is an opportunity to get a much better understanding of the country and its people.  The only downside is the amount of rain that has been falling. It is excessive by local standards for this time of the year. The mud puddles are numerous and deep sometimes making travel arduous.  Unfortunately, these road conditions will continue all the way to Thailand.  I am not sure my suspension can handle much more, it is the stock shock and it was never intended to handle these roads nor all the weight I have piled on her (340 lbs on a shock designed to handle 170 lbs).  In order to keep my spine from shattering and my fillings attached securely in my molars, I will need to change out the rear shock in the very near future. 

Just 11 miles into Nepal, I stopped at a roadside cafe.  This family (pictured below) started chatting with me, provided a pretty good synopsis of what to do in Nepal, then invited me to stay at their place for the evening.  I politely declined as I did not want too impose, but they were just the nicest people, as are all the people I have met here so far.

On my trip up towards Pokhara, I ran into a group of locals at another roadside cafe, and they too invited me to join them for lunch.  As I was leaving, they made the following comment, "if you ever have any trouble during your travels, just ask a Nepalese person, we will always help, that's just us."  I could not agree more.  I am not sure about the big cities, in particular Kathmandu, as people tend to be less friendly in the city (worldwide) but I will be heading out soon to see if the statement rings true there too, but not before I hit Pokhara. Note:  Many of the locals make the comment, "Nepal is beautiful...except Kathmandu," and I will soon see if that statement rings true also. 

Weird Observance of the Day:  I was riding along in a small city near the India border and a cow darted out into street and in the way of an oncoming motorcycle.  Despite the rider's valiant efforts, he hit the cow... right in the brisket ... spinning the beast 180 degrees.  I was amazed that a cow could spin on its axis in that fashion and that quickly (I guess hooves on old asphalt do not offer much traction).  Luckily, all people, and the bovine, walked away seemingly unharmed.  One could say that they narrowly escaped an utter catastrophe.

Trip summary

Leg Distance: 427 mi (689 km)

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 29,645 mi (47,816 km) 

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds), India, Nepal