Nepal Adventure Ride

[meteldog]

So, I get the Facebook friend request from a guy called Kumar in Nepal in January 2022. Look at his profile and see that he is a adventure biking tour operator there, so connect with him. Kumar messages me and says he can see I am a guide in SA and have taken lots of tours here and asks me if I would be interested in bring a group of riders to Nepal from SA. I give it a bit of thought and ask Kumar to give me a tour overview, best time of the year to come and some pricing.

Kumar gets back to me with a 2 week itinerary for October 2022 and some pricing. I look at the pricing in US$ and realise its probably not going to fly with riders from SA, so plead SA Rand US$ exchange rate poverty and send him a link to the Big Mac Index that shows just how undevaluaed the Rand really is. In no time at all he gets back to me with a massive price reduction! Immediately the red flags get raised and I get a bit worried. So I get onto his Facebook profile and start messaging some of his Australian and American friends, most them get back to me a say they have toured with him and he is legit and a good guy. Chat with Kumar, he tells me he has 18 Royal Enfield Himalayans available in Nepal and a fleet of Royal Enfield Classics and Bullets that he keeps across the border in India and that at any given time he also has about 4 hiking treks on the go in the Himalayas. So all looks good.

Get onto my Tankwa Biking WhatsApp group and Facebook and ask who wants to come. About 19 riders put their hands up, so the fun begins..

9 months later 8 of us (6 from SA and a couple from Germany I have guided in SA on two tours) plus a rider from Spain that Kumar asked if he could put on the tour arrive in Kathmandu to a warm welcome from Kumar and his son Sujan who was going to be our guide.

 

[Snafu]

Rob in this group?

 

[meteldog]

We check into our hotel, clean enough and comfortable, situated right next to the old Tramel area of Kathmandu. I've travelled to places like Turkey and Thailand and some of the Arab areas in the Middle East, but this it like something I've never seen before



A sea of people, but at no stage did any of us feel insecure

 

[meteldog]

We got lucky, Qatar Airways had messed us around and cancelled our flights, so we had to re-book and ended up getting into Kathmandu a day earlier. No problem said Kumar, he threw an extra free nights accommodation in and organised a mini bus cultural tour for us in and around Kathmandu, no extra cost, just give the guide (who happened to be a professor of mathematics from Kathmandu University) a good tip!

Probably the most interesting was a Hindu Temple on the river where they were cremating people. According to the Professor, the river that runs through Kathmandu connects with the Ganges river in India and that if your ashes make it to the Ganges river then you go to heaven.

 

[meteldog]

Rob in this group?

No, no Rob

 

[meteldog]

The next day our bikes arrived at the hotel for us to ride and check out. Any issues we had were sorted out and they exchanged 2 of the bikes we were not happy with were replaced with new ones.

 

[meteldog]

We departed on day 3 from Kathmandu to Bandipur which is only 157kms away, our guide Sujan told us it would take us 5 hours. 5 hours to do such a short distance we asked?
Once we got on the road we worked it out. It took us about 30 minutes to get out of Kathmandu which does not seem to even have 1 traffic light, so very busy at intersections and roundabouts, you just go with the flow and somehow it just all works. Fortunately for us Nepal drives on the left, so no new driving experience for us.
Once we hit the "Highway" to Pokaraha, even though it is one of their major roads and "tarred" most of the way it was more challenging than most gravel roads we have ridden on in South Africa, massive potholes and washouts, nowhere to pull over and deep ditches on the left and dropoffs on the right into a river, add a couple of busses, trucks and Nepalese motorists and it was a real learning experience.

Finally we turned off and went up into the mountains on a beautiful long winding road up to Bandipur, an absolutely beautiful small town. Our hotel was top class with huge comfortable rooms and great selection of restaurants all within walking distance.
Once we had parked our Royal Enfield 411cc Himalayans the support crew took every bike and tested it to make sure they were 100%. One of the bikes had a brake disk that was a bit worn which they replaced. They carry literally all the spares you would ever need including Barrels, Pistons, Rings, valves and all the works with them.

We woke up in the morning to our first magnificent views of the Himalayas and after a super breakfast we departed back down the mountain towards Pokhara

 

[meteldog]

We went down the mountain from Bandipur on a nice long winding road and rejoined the main road to Pokhara only 76kms away. Took us about 3 hours to get there, road was not nearly as busy as the day before. Even though tarred most of the way, still in an awful condition with sections of really bad gravel. We had one puncture which the backup crew fixed quickly.

We checked into a nice hotel the Lake Star Hotel. 42 degrees when we arrived with very high humidity, our riding gear was soaked.

Pokhara is Nepal’s 2nd largest city with a population of over 500 000 and is set on a beautiful lake. It is the hub for Trekking expeditions in the Himalayas and has lots of nice restaurants and bars on and close to the lake.

The backup crew once again checked all rode all our bikes out.
The Royal Enfield Himalayans we were using were good enough bikes for this terrain. 411cc is enough power to get past busses and cars. I would give the suspension about 6 out of 10, it works, but could be a bit better. They are quite small bikes and I battle a bit with my long legs touching their top crash bars. We were very impressed with their performance especially with the hammering they take on these roads.

 

[Fuzzy Muzzy]

Here comes a story.. let me grab my popcorn. Rubbing my hands.

 

[Jacobsroodt]

Glued to the screen!

 

[meteldog]

We woke up in the night in Pokaraha to thunder and heavy rain, by the time we left the hotel in the morning it was bucketing down. Our route was to Kalopani with is in the Mustang region, all off road from there on plus climbing to high altitudes. About 40 kms into the journey we had to skirt around large rock falls on the pass we were on, 10kms later we were stopped by an avalanche. We walked into it in the mud and water and around the rocks and boulders, perhaps we could with helping each other get our bikes through, but there was no way we could get our support vehicle through. We then heard that there we another 3 avalanches further up the route. So plan B we went back to Pokaraha and onto Chitwan National park, so about another 210 kms in the pouring rain.

Getting there we had to get back onto the Kathmandu road from Pokhara for about 90kms which is in really bad condition, the pouring rain making it even worse. One of the riders from Spain had head on a collision with a couple on a scooter and a minor fall, hurt his hand and a little bit of damage to his bike. This caused a delay as the couple were demanding US$1,500 in compensation for their scooter and minor injuries, but after long negotiations with the support crew they settled for 5,000 rupees (about US$40). This caused us about a 2 hour delay while we waited for them about 20kms further on route.

We finally got into Chitwan National Park after riding in the dark for 30 minutes which was scary riding though the nearby town, many cars, bikes and Tik Tiks with no lights on riding on the wrong side of the road. But all drenched we all got there safely.

 

[meteldog]

We had a good evening at the Chitwan National Park, a home to 33 Tigers, Asian Rhinos and many antelope. We had a 2 hour game drive scheduled for the morning, but it was still bucketing down with rain. So we put our rain gear on and got into the open park vehicle and went on the ride. Saw plenty of animals but sadly no Tigers.

We then departed in the rain for Lumbini, the birthplace of the Lord Buddha. Only 166km, but challenging for the first 100kms on really bad potholed roads, the pouring rain making it even more challenging.

After about 100kms we turned off onto a good road to Lumbini, the rain stopped and it was great. Going through the towns on route, the Hindu community were having loud street parties dancing and throwing coloured powders over one another. It was the time that they called "festival" for about a month, so schools closed and lots of family gatherings.

We overnighted at the Lumbini Buddha Garden Resort, a really super hotel with a great restaurant.

Next day, we visited the birthplace of the Lord Buddha near Lumbini, the holiest place for Buddhists.

 

[meteldog]

After a tour of the temples we departed to Pokhara, 196kms away.

The after the first 40kms we got onto a very twisty mountain pass that would continue all the way to Pokraha, breathtaking scenery with lots of waterfalls. We all agreed that we have never ridden so many twisties in a day before. Took us about 6 hours on the pass. Road not too bad, only a couple of tricky muddy potholed sections. About halfway through the pass the heavens opened again, so rain gear back on.

We had an electrical breakdown on one of the Bikes which the support crew after switching out CDI's and fuses, switches etc fixed after finding a break in the wiring harness. These guys had all the spares that are needed to keep their bikes running.

So now on day 8 we had a lekker rest day in Pokhara, a super city, really hoping to be able to get into the Mustang region the next day..

Even though we were sad that we were no able not get into the Mustang region because of the landslides 2 days earlier, if we had, we would have been in trouble. There apparently were a whole bunch of bikers trapped up in the Mustang region for 4 days, many had missed their flights out.

Our guide Sujan said he would make a decision the next day, if the landslides had been cleared, then we could possibly still get into the Mustang region, but he was doubtful that the roads would be cleared. There was a group of Australian bikers who were putting their guide under pressure to get them into the Mustang no matter what, even if they were to leave their support vehicle behind

 

[meteldog]

Next morning, sadly no good news, the landslides had not been cleared. Sujan our guide said not to worry, there lots of other good places he could take us to. After a call to the office in Kathmandu, Kumar managed to get a permit to get us into the Annapurna conservation area.

We left Pokhara and after about 2 hours on twisty passes we entered the Annapurna conservation area. The rivers were still raging from the floods and we were totally off road on muddy roads now. After crossing a couple of rivers, we started a steep climb on a Jeep track up towards Annapurna base camp in the Himalayas where would spend the night. The riding was tricky up steep muddy and loose slopes with lots of switchbacks. One rider fell of in one of the rivers, but no injuries except been soaked.

Our lodgings were high up in the mountain and we had to leave our bikes parked at the bottom of the mountain and take a bit of a walk up. The support crew carried our bags up for up, some of them with 2 suitcases on their heads at a much faster pace than we could walk up.

 

[AfriqueDS]

Excellent RR. Thnx for doing it. I visited Nepal twice and found it to be extremely easy going and lots to see and do. Incredibly friendly people.

 

[meteldog]

Thanks, still a bit more come. We also found the Nepalise people to be friendly and very respectful. We never saw much wealth but also no real poverty. As mentioned before, none of us at any time felt insecure

 

[DikZol]

Nepal bucket list trip for me. Thanx for sharing this awesome trip with us!

 

[meteldog]

Next day we went all the way down the mountain again, had to cross the same rivers and went onto spend the night in a traditional Nepalese village called Riepe. Once again all they way up the mountain on steep slippery muddy roads. We got a warm welcome from the villagers there and checked into traditional Nepalese cottages

Surya once again cooked us a delicious Nepalese dinner and took our breakfast orders

The villagers entertained us with Nepalese music and dancing and rice wine

Next morning woke up to nice views of the Himalayas then after breakfast back down the mountain to the main road. We were now about halfway back to Kathmandu from Pokhara.

The Himalayas were really illusive, we only really got to see them early in the mornings, by mid morning they would hide behind clouds

So our tour was starting to come to and end. We were given an option of spending one more night in Bandipur on the way back to Kathmandu which we all happy with. So back up the winding road to that beautiful village with the best coffee shop for one more night

Next morning back down the mountain to the main road

 

[meteldog]

Our guide Sujan was really a good guide. Followed most of the rules that I do with adventure guiding. If there is risk and another alternative, then take the other alternative, you not riding with buddies, but a paying group that expect you to take care of their safety.
We heard that the Australian bikers we met in Pokhara who were putting their guide under pressure to go into the Mustang region got their way and then into deep trouble. Lost one of their bikes in a raging river and then somewhere on the way to Musikanth the roads behind them washed out so badly that they had to abandon their bikes and walk about 20kms back to their lodgings

 

[meteldog]

So finally back in Kathmandu on the second last day. We had to battle through one of the worst traffic jams up a mountain pass I have ever been in for about 2+ hours getting back into Kathmandu. Once we got to our hotel we were exhausted, but riding over, so nothing like a good couple of cold beers