Journey to Lamjung, Nepal

We took a bus from Kathmandu to Lamjung today. The trip in itself was an adventure! The traffic getting out of Kathmandu was ridiculous, backlogs and general chaos. Once we got out onto the mountain highway things were a bit better. The roads are incredible windy, narrow, and have very little in the way of barriers along the cliff edges. On our journey there we were on the opposite side of the cliffs, which means that the way home we will be entirely along the cliffs.... We took a "deluxe" bus instead of a normal bus and I am very glad for that. The deluxe bus wasn't bad but it still wouldn't compare to a typical Translink bus.

The trip was supposed to take 5 hours but ended up being closer to 7. First we waited past departure because not all the seats were full, then we encounter traffic leaving Kathmandu, and then finally we encountered the worst traffic I have ever seen and I swear I will not complain about Vancouver traffic again! We're talking worse than the pre-port Mann traffic during rush hour. Satya (my guide for the day and daughter of the family I'm staying with) tells me it is because there is construction on the Chitwan highway and we were getting close to the junction. Roads I thought barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass each other were suddenly 3 deep and barely making it past one another without accident. At one point our driver squeezed through a space with barely inches on either side of the bus. Impressive, I would never want to drive here.

The scenery once we left Kathmandu became very green and pretty, In a way the landscape reminds me of Italy with the plots of land for farming dug out of the hill sides. The highway seemed to follow a river and alongside the roads were multiple rest stops and restaurants aimed at travellers. Our bus stopped once for a washroom break and once for lunch. I used my first squat toilet... I'm sure I'll be seeing many more of those! Also along the highway are small homes. It looked like the first level of the home was on the road level and they built down into the cliff. Would love to be able to take a closer look one day. People were lounging at the front of the houses just watching traffic go by.

When we got off the bus in Lamjung we looked for a Jeep to hire to drive us up to the village where Satya is from. Unfortunately we couldn't find one and had to walk... What the volunteer coordinator described as an easy 1.5 hour walk was really more like the Grouse Grind. With a heavy bag. Lovely. And it got dark half way through so we had to navigate with the light from our cellphones. Partway through Satya's father came to meet us and he helped me with my bag. I'm sure that the walk won't be so bad in daylight and without a heavy bag! In fact I'm looking forward to doing it and seeing the views instead of focussing on the ground in front of me.

We arrived at Satya's home around 7pm and her family greated me warmly. We had a dinner of dal baht, which I really need to learn to eat properly. They are very lovely people and I'm happy to be here for the next few weeks! They have animals in their yard but I'll have to wait until morning to see everything :) The trip was long and exhausting and I am ready for bed right away. We'll see what tomorrow brings!Read more