We are checked out of our hotel by 6.15am and are leaving through the front door to head to the Kantipath Bus 'station' with is really just a street outside of Thamel near the Garden of dreams where the bus's line up. The previous nights research made us reluctant to purchase overpriced tickets online & instead we plan to get there early and negotiate a price with the bus drivers. We had a list of the most reliable & longest running bus companies to approach. As we head out of our hotel and start walking we meet a young Nepali man dressed smartly, who enquires where we are going & if we have a ticket. It turns out he works at Kantipath and organises passengers & tickets for the bus's. We walk with him to the bus station and view the bus he proposes we take before agreeing on a price. The first price he offers is very reasonable and we happily accept a ticket. The price includes WIFI, a free bottle of water & the seats on the bus are comfortable, have seat belts and even air con!
By 7am the bus is nearly full and the driver closes the doors and departs the city of Kathmandu. The journey can take anything from 6 - 8 hours and depends on the conditions of the roads and traffic. At this time of year landslides can be a factor in delaying your arrival.
It's nice to leave the dusty, dirty city of Kathmandu and head out into the country. Most of Nepal is mountainous, making our journey a lot of up and downs. In the country the people seem to be farmers and the hills are terraced, supporting crops of corn, rice and water. We see lots of Buffalo and farmers, knee high in mud, ploughing the fields. Horses, goats and cows roaming free with bells on their necks and lots of chickens scratching around.
Nepal is very pretty. Its a shame we are sitting on the left side of the bus, the side without the view and we dont have many photo opportunities. The bus had surprisingly good suspension and before long we are both snoozing.
The journey goes for 7 hours with 3 food and toilet breaks included, minimal traffic and is very pleasant.
We arrive in Pokhara at the bus station which is a large square block of dirt and grass that the bus's pull into. The city centre and our accommodation are a 2km walk away from the bus station. We shoulder our packs and set off in the heat. Pokhara is a lot more humid than Kathmandu, the air is hot, wet and sticky. We instantly break out in sweat. The 2km walk felt more like 10km's!
We make it to our accommodation which is 1 street away from Pokhara's main lake and check in, very happy to learn that we have 1 nights free upgrade!
After a cold shower we set out to explore Pokhara & get some dinner. A lake side restaurant seems the perfect place to do this and we hungrily devour vegetarian Pizza and cold beers while watching the local Nepali kids play soccer in a field. Shortly after dinner, a thunder storm rolls in and saturates everything with rain and induces a few irritating black outs. An evening thunderstorm with heavy rain and black outs are a normal occurrence this time of year in Pokhara. It's nice to smell the fresh rain and air, appreciating the cooling affect it has on the air before we need to sleep.
- Alli
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