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Diary
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Saturday, 17 August 2002 We are currently in Pokhara, Nepal. We have been on the road for 102 days and covered 12 933 miles (20 693 kilometers). Our pc has blue screened (no go Joe) so we will be unable to provide any photos till we get another in Bangkok in a few weeks. Please bear with us till then. Since leaving Mcleod Ganj in northern India, we went further north on the road to Leh but only got as far as Manali. It reminded us of the KKH in Pakistan as it's a very similar road winding it's way up the Beas river into the mountains. After Manali the tar ends and we attemped to do a roundabout trip across the east and down to Shimla but due to the rainy monsoon season the dirt roads stopped us in our tracks - a huge waterfall which we couldn't cross safely - so we turned back. This area also heads up into Kashmir so we decided not to venture up to Leh which was another option. We rode back down the same route the following day to Shimla where Gary had another puncture! We met a Danish cyclist who was doing Leh to Shimla over a few weeks and he got a puncture at the same time. He had hoped to reach Shimla that evening but after we left him we climbed a huge pass up to Shimla and we are sure it took him a few days to reach it! Nijababad was our next stop in India, a dirty, busy town bustling with the usual livestock and people. The humidity is not something to joke about in these regions and without aircon or an airfan little sleep if any can occur! We came to a decision that we'd rather enter Nepal via the Western border of Mahendranagar than spend another 2 weeks travelling south into India and then north towards Kathmandu. India was not doing us any good: the food is too spicy, the constant dice with death on the roads was getting us down and the rain/humidity don't help the situation. We spent 3 days at Corbett Tiger Reserve in Northern India, which boasts over 100 tigers, but, due to it being the monsoon season, it was very wet and we didn't manage to see the tiger we'd hoped. We did however use the time to relax and enjoy a different side to India. The jungle is very thick here and we did a 4 hour walk in the rain to see some of it. Unfortunately the view was obscured by low cloud, something we have become accustomed to now, but it didn't obscure the beauty of the park. The manager, Surinder Pal, was a really friendly chap and, as the only guests at the Corbett Ramganga resort (www.ramganga.com), he gave us 100% of his time. The food and staff were fantastic and the resort has a wonderful setting. We even played cricket against the staff but sadly lost 3 - 0 to some very good players! We departed Corbett in good spirits after 3 superb relaxing days. We only spent 11 days in India in total but were glad to enter Nepal after that. Nepal is a lot cleaner, the roads not as congested with people and livestock. The border crossing didn't take long and we stayed the night in the nearby town of Mahendranagar. We ran out of time to continue any further due to discovering another puncture (no. 3) to Gary's bike though this time it was front wheel. While Dam and Dom fixed it, Gary changed money, did the customs stuff and gathered info. for the journey ahead. The following day we rode into Bardia Natural Park, another wildlife sanctury with around 70 tiger, elephant, rhino, many types of deer and loads more including crocodiles! We stayed at Bardia Wildlife Paradise, a local resort run by a family. Krishna is the manager and Shanka, his brother, an experienced local wildlife guide. We spent 2 days here on our quest to see a tiger. We did a day walk with Shanka as our guide, into the jungle, quite taxing due to the heat and humidity but very enjoyable all the same. We managed to get within 10 metres of 2 rhino enjoying a local watering hole. They weren't impressed by our presence and soon moved off into the thick jungle. We saw all but the actual tiger on this day: We found the tracks, only a few hours old, the tiger faeces, teritorial markings, claw scratings on the trees. We even heard the monkeys sounding the alarm that one was in the area but it wasn't to be. After setting off at 7am we arrived back at camp around 6pm tired, hungry and hot. It was a great experience but now it was time to get on with life! We rode to Pokhara yesterday, a 600km trip which took most of the day but the roads in Nepal are fantastic. Once we turned off the main road from Butwal, the road became narrower as it wound its way along the river valleys upward toward the Himalayas. The views from the road are fantastic though we were running out of light so couldn't really stop to enjoy them! The last 35 kilometres we rode in the dark but it was not as bad as we had thought. We are going to stay in Pokhara at least 3 nights hoping to do some mountainbiking here. It appears though on a closer inspection that people cycle from here to Kathmandu. We may end up going to Kathmandu on our motorbikes and then flying back here. This way we can ride bicycles over some of the most beautiful off road the world has to offer. We have yet to find out if it's possible this time of year though...we'll chat to a local tour operator who was closed today. Our itinerary over the last few days: Tuesday, 6 August Wednesday, 7 August Thursday, 8 August Friday, 9 August Saturday, 10 August Sunday, 11 August Monday, 12 August Tuesday, 13 August Wednesday, 14 August Thursday, 15 August Friday, 16 August Saturday, 17 August Sunday, 4 August 2002 We are currently in Mcleod Ganj, northern India. We have now been on the road 91 days and covered 11 541 miles (18 467 kms). Our last 2 days in Pakistan were quite warm and humid as we headed south to Lahore before crossing over the controversial Wagah border that is currently closed to local people. We tried to use the new US $ 1 bn motorway but as motorbikes are banned (but remember that these are 125cc), the police were not interested in letting us on. We had read that other motorcycle travellers had used this fantastic, 6-lane highway but we were unfortunate to run into the highway police at the entrance. We should have made it from Islamabad to Lahore within 3 hours; instead we had a 100-mile detour back to the old road and so only reached Lahore at 5pm. We were going to try and get across the border that afternoon but as the border closes at 4pm we had no choice but to spend the night in Lahore. We found it to be quite an interesting city and we had dinner at the top Kabana Hotel, a well-known chain throughout Pakistan. On route from Lahore to the border
it was quite hectic with animals, people, taxis, bicycles, tuc tucs and
other road users almost blocking the road at times. It was not without
event as a cycle rickshaw rode side on into Damian, removing a few spokes
from the rickshaws It took us 4 hours to cross the border into India; strange as we were 3 of only 5 people crossing at the time! The officials on both the Pakistan and India side really took their time though everything was done in usual military style. India: Our entry into India was without any hassle and the road from Wahgah to Amritsar is lined with lush green farmlands for the first few kilometres. Amritsar is very populated and so it took us a while to find a suitable hotel to house the bikes. We were eventually led, by a friendly cycle rickshaw rider, to a hotel with a courtyard, not far from the Golden Temple. Once we had settled in we visited the Golden Temple, a Budda shrine built in 16th century that occupies a large area in the centre of the old town. The highlight in the centre is the Hari Mandir, a gold-plated, 2-storey marble temple. The inside of this huge enclosure houses the Pool of Nectar, the size of 2 Olympic swimming pools, where the Sikh pilgrims religiously bathe themselves. We followed the busy procession through to the Hari Mandir and were amazed to see how much money was being put into the tithe box. These people are not wealthy by any means but the notes could not be put into the box quick enough! The following day we headed up north toward the Himalaya region leaving Punjab and entering Himachal Pradesh province. The monsoons must have hit this region while we were trying to navigate our way north; the road was hardly visible at times, covered in a foot of water! We had been hearing of the drought that Western India had been suffering but this was surely the day the droughts ended! The rivers were flowing strongly but they didn't pose us too many problems. There were times that their overflow covered the potholes but we managed to survive. We rode up to Pathankot before turning east to Dharamsala and further up the climb to Mcleod Ganj. As well as having a strong Tibetan culture, Mcleod Ganj is the official home of the Dalai Lama. There are many maroon-robed monks around and it certainly doesn't feel like we are in India! It is also a favourite area among travellers, many seem to have been left here since the 60's! A real hippie paradise! We have met a few interesting people and among them a Swiss couple travelling around the world on a Triumph Tiger, Marcel and Flavia Wolf (http://www.tiger-club.ch/weltreise) They have been on the road for 14 months now and covered our route including Scandinavia and the Eastern block. They are following a similar route to us down to Australia but will spend a lot more time than us in each country. After that they will be doing South and North America before considering what to do after that. Their entire trip should last around 4 years, our little adventure seems nothing in comparison! If you wish to contact them you can email them on: m-f.wolf@gmx.net We have had a few days here to soak up the laid back Tibetan atmosphere but we'll probably head on our way tomorrow to a similar area north of here, Manali. Itinerary of the last few days: Thursday, 1 August Friday, 2 August Saturday, 3 August Sunday 4 and Monday 5 August, no travelling.
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