Nadi Bazaar to Pokhara by bus, a long day!

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Nadi Bazaar – Pokhara (by bus)

Well the trekking is all behind us now but we really do have some very special memories to take with us.

Today we’re travelling to Pokhara using public busses. Pokhara is a major provincial town in the centre of Nepal and is quite touristy being the logical place to depart and return to/from treks around the Annapurna, Mustang and Manaslu areas.

Up early, me with an extremely sore back due to the bed, and packed up before breakfast. Rohit following me like a shadow and trying his best to help me pack. All a bit frustrating because after three weeks there is a certain routine that I know works and having another pair of hands really confuses things. He is however well meaning and I think just enjoying the interaction and opportunity to use his English.

After we finished breakfast the 7.30 bus stopped outside the guest house (we were intending to get the 8.00am one) and despite us not being finished packing was happy to wait while we got sorted.

Onto the bus for the journey to Besisahar which is about 20km and we were told would take between an hour and hour and half. The bus slowly filled up as it proceeded until it was bursting at the seams. We were in the back row which was designed to seat five but somehow seven crammed in. All very intimate but the locals just take it in their stride and no one is concerned that they are sitting half on you.

This “short” trip took over two hours and despite our initial enthusiasm that we could get the 9.00am bus from Besisahar we well and truly missed it.

On arriving at Besisahar we had a break for lemon tea and generally sitting around until the 10.00am bus departed at 10.30 or so. Initially it had only a dozen or so passengers (including the seven of us) but then took over half an hour to complete the first 1km of the trip and made multiple stops until it was bursting at the seams.

A couple of interesting passengers were a goat on the roof (we initially thought it was a dog but clarified the species when later on it was lowered back down and in amongst the squirming and thrashing about it tried to get in through Arch’s window. There was also an old guy with a rooster in the flax bag that he carried aboard.

The distance between Besisahar and Pokhara is about 110km, this took us 51/2 hours so an average speed of 20km/hr. This gives a good indication of the road conditions, the speed of traffic and the large number of pretty random stopping places.

The bus is manned by a crew of three; the driver who has a segregated cab which it seems is a coveted place for the locals. At any one time there were ten or so crammed into the cab.

The second crew member was the fare collector and it would seem customer service manager. He collected fares and handed out blue burf bags to the locals. Obviously they don’t travel much and motion sickness seems to be a pretty significant issue. Interestingly I’d wondered in the past why the roadsides here are littered with blue plastic bags, the answer being once used they merely throw them out the windows of the busses. All pretty disgusting but given we’re spending a number of hours in the close confines of this bus better they litter than we have the distinct aroma that I’m sure would result if they kept the bad aboard after use

The last of the crew was what I would call the bus boy. He was a young guy, dressed in denim jacket and faux leather Chicago Bulls cap. His job is to hang on the door step advising people where we’re going to and coercing them to board regardless of how full the bus is. He is also in charge of signalling the driver, through a code of bangs on the side of the bus, how close the bus is to the edge of the road, another vehicle or random other obstacles. At times he was literally running either ahead of or behind the bus. He really was “too cool for school”, frankly, if Jesse Ryder decided to finally give up cricket he’d fit into that role perfectly. Notably when selecting passengers, at times the bus was bulging, he had a good eye for the pretty young girls!

We’d decided to use the local busses in order to give Arch and Gordie a taste of it. After the first hour or so that taste was sated and the idea held less appeal. By then we were, however, hostages of the public transport system so just had to grin and bear it.

At about 4.00pm we finally rolled into Pokhara, much to our dismay not the bus station we thought we were going to end up at, so a further taxi ride into the Lakeside where we are staying was required.

Finally at about 4.30 we arrived at the Sacred Valley guest house where we are staying for three nights.

The first thing we did was have showers, almost unlimited hot water and real towels which was true bliss for us. Also the promise of cotton sheets after three weeks of sleeping bags had us felling like kids in a lolly shop.

We went for a wander down the main street of Pokhara lakeside and settled on dinner in a restaurant called Roadhouse. A great meal, everyone had what they’d been craving, McVet calzone, Gordie steak and veggie, Arch chicken and veggie and Mexican pizza for me!

One new experience was the Hoegaarten beer served with a slice of orange in it. Our new favourite drink, incredibly refreshing and a really nice sweet flavour added to the beer.

Had a look around some of the shops on the way back to the hotel, really as a preparation for our big shopping day tomorrow. All a bit overwhelming, I think we’re all cut from the same cloth, we all want to take something home to our loved ones but equally all struggle to decide what, a decision made all the more difficult with the wide range of choice here in Pokhara. We’re also all struggling to remember how small or big our various grandchildren are which makes selection of things for them all the more troubling!

On reflection a really great day albeit with the long bus ride!

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Photos

Crowd trying to get on the bus
Note the ticket/money guy (customer Service manger) and in the background the “bus boy” checking out the girls!