Kathmandu to Pohkara Bus Ride 10-19

Somehow the travel day to Pokhara fell on my birthday and I was not looking forward to a 5 hour bus ride. Let me start off by saying that I get motion sickness just driving down the road in the passenger seat of our car at home. Add in tons of people, no AC, winding roads and an inability to see in front of me and we have a major problem. Alan keeps telling me that it’s all in my head but I feel it’s all in my stomach.

We left our hotel for the bus depot (a.k.a. the side of a busy lined street where you have to guess what bus you are on) to catch a noon departure. The local buses are a bit of a free for all, first come first seat and if you leave your seat good luck getting it back. We were one of the first people to arrive and I was very happy to get a seat along the bench that faced the driver in the very front of the bus. All the buses, trucks and rickshaws are decorated with funky, colorful painted designs, tassels, incense and bobbling deity statues. As we sat down the tassels kept hitting Alan in the face and when another woman wanted to squeeze herself in as the fourth person in a three seater bench Alan opted to grab an actual seat in the back of the bus. As we left town all the seats on the bus were full, but we continued to stop every kilometer for the next half hour to pick up more people. Soon the aisles were full and I lost sight of Alan as babies and snacks were being passed around amongst strangers. In between my bench and the driver’s seat was another small middle bench that was over the engine and surrounded the gear shift. Soon that filled up as well and I was knee to knee with the other passengers. A fifth person soon made their way onto the three seater bench along with two children that were sitting on laps. At one point I was holding a child’s balloon at another I was holding an older woman’s hands to keep her from falling over when the shock less bus turned or bounced over the uneven road. Even though it was cramped, it was a nice experience being surrounded by so many local females. Every once and a while when the bus made a sharp turn and all the people who were standing shifted to one side I could catch a glimpse of Alan, crammed up against a window on a seat near the back talking to a couple in front of him (Stephan and Nanette, a German couple who we would spend the next two weeks trekking with). After three hours the heat of the engine, the sun and lack of breeze began to get to me and when the bus made a quick stop we opted for the roof. Riding on the roof of vehicles is very common thing to do and sometimes proves to be a more enjoyable experience. For the next two hours to Pokhara the view and the breeze was great, as long as we did not look down at the tiny roads with their lack of guard rails from the ravens below. Upon our arrival in Pokhara we found a nice hotel. As I came out of the bathroom from showering I was surprised with the room decorated with maragold garlands and in the evening we enjoyed a nice dinner by the lake.