You rode on what?

That’s the reaction I’m expecting from most people when I tell this story, so I thought I would get it out of the way early. This morning I was reflecting on some of the things I’ve posted on this blog during my two stints in Nepal, and it occurred to me that a small plurality of my stories seem to revolve around frightening transportation incidents. This happens to be another one (again I’m fine, nothing went wrong etc etc). This past weekend we made a small trip to nearby Dhading district to visit one family. Its not so far from Kathmandu, so we were able to make the journey there and back and complete the job in two days which was nice.

Upon arrival in Dhading Besi, the main town, we were faced with the choice of walking five hours or riding on a jeep for one and a half and walking the same. The three of us weren’t feeling all that great, so the second option seemed the best, in order to limit the amount of physical exertion that we had to endure. In retrospect I would’ve rather walked the distance four times over than ride on that jeep ever again (yes I said "on" not "in"). As with most transportation in Nepal, whatever one might consider a vehicle’s capacity to be, rest assured that the driver and conductor will manage to cram at least five to ten more people in along with their baggage. This is how we found ourselves riding on the top of a jeep along with four other people and about 10 bags (the back of said jeep was already packed with at least 15 people - I didn't get a true headcount).

At first it didn’t seem so bad (when the jeep wasn’t moving) but as soon as we started crawling up the road and the vehicle started lurching from side to side it occurred to me that perhaps this wasn’t the best idea. So that's how it went, for about one and a half hours, grinding up this dirt road teetering from side to side. Three times we had to get down from the top of the jeep due to large amounts of mud in the road. Then to top it all off, about a quarter mile from where we were to depart there was some horrific noise and the vehicle came to a stop. I heard mumblings that sounded something like broken axle and we decided to get off and walk from there. The jeep started again and sped past us, only to come to a grinding halt mere minutes later. Needless to say I was glad that the ride ended and even more glad when we didn't ride on a jeep during the return journey the next day. I got a couple pictures of said vehicle, although I'm not sure they do the experience the justice it deserves. Here it is anyway. The other images below are some more enjoyable photos from the trip to Rasuwa.

Into Rasuwa

After spending 12.5 hours traveling in ways that most people would consider unconventional, I finally returned to Kathmandu from Syaphru Besi on Friday.  We left on Monday February 1 and spent 11 days trekking through the villages of Rasuwa Nepal, famous as the home of Langtang National Park, one of Nepal’s most travelled to trekking destinations. 

Langtang is famous for its beautiful scenery and traditional Tamang culture, which is more akin to that of Tibet than anything one might find in Kathmandu or Lamjung.  Rasuwa’s close proximity to the Chinese border explains this influence.  Everything about life in Rasuwa is different from the way people dress to the houses and the food. 

I felt as though I was back in Dharamsala or Bhutan, being served endless cups of butter tea on a daily basis along with large amounts of local alcohol called Raksi, usually made from rice or wheat.  With Losar approaching, Kapseg, a type of fried dough was also available in massive quantities. 

Most days were filled with lots of walking and visiting with families followed by eating and drinking too much and then sleeping on the floor.  I realize this might sound highly unappealing, but it was a truly once in a lifetime experience, especially in a place that is so dominated by hotels and guesthouses geared towards tourists.

The last day of the trip was capped off with an 8 hour walk downhill to return to the small town of Syaphru Besi where we had started.  The following day, February 12^th was Shivayatri, the day we were to return to Kathmandu.  No busses were running due to the holiday so we were forced to ride 8 hours in a soda truck followed by 4 hours on the roof of a bus.  Despite all the hassle we finally returned to Kathmandu (safely I assure you) with tons of great memories. 

I’m now wading through a bog of photographs.  Here are a few images from the trip.