More than I can chew ?

I'm now at the end of day 5 of my road trip. The short version is that I have made it safely across the boarder to India and a further 390km to Delhi. I was more than a little apprehensive about returning to India after the comparative paradise that was lakeside-Pokhara, Nepal. I can only think it must feel this way to remarry your ex-wife. To be reminded of all the little quirky things that she did that made you fall in love in the first place, the mystery the wonder, then to suddenly be reminded of all the little quirky things that made you want to bury her under the patio. To say that my first 5 days were a roaring success would be an exaggeration, to say that they were a disaster would be a little dramatic.

After several days of being rained in at Lakeside I finally packed up on a cloudy day that looked like rain and said my final-final-final goodbyes to whoever was around and set off in the direction of Tansen some 120km through winding mountain roads. I soon discovered exactly how far in KMs the "event-horizon" of Pokhara actually is. It's exactly 11KM. As I tootled up the mountain roads with a deep feeling of liberation there was a "clunk" on my back wheel, my chain had come off, crap. After fixing it for the 3rd time I figured it would better to head back down the road back to Pokhara and get a mechanic to take a look. I soon discovered that the reason my chain was coming off was that my back bearings were shot. After watching the man wedge in a bit of old bent wire to keep my bearings in place I figured it was a good idea to take a visit back to Ram-Babu the mechanic who made my bike in the first place. Ohh the embarrassment of seeing some old faces as I reentered town. How could I stay another night. After Ram-babu fixed up the wheel properly I headed off on the Tansen road again, but with not much time to make 120km through the roads in only 4hrs. About 1hr into the ride it started to rain and the temperature dropped quite a few degrees. It was bloody freezing. My fingers were numb, what a wimp. The going was slow, some 120km in 5hrs. This slow time was mainly to do with the road being single lane mud and rock in places. Every 3 km there was landslide debris and the going was very slow. I'd had enough by the time I reached the hill town on Tansen and found a cheep hotel. Next day I set off for Butwal only bout 20km but this time climbing down the hills. There did not seem to be enough downs as there were ups, the law of up and down (otherwise known as Dibners Law) did not appear to be valid in these parts. I used the downs to freewheel for two reasons. Firstly to cool down the engine after the laborious climbing and secondly to conserve my meager 12litres of petrol (remember there is very little in Nepal right now). Once past Butwal the road was meandering and of extremely good quality. It followed the line about 30km from the India boarder just below the hills. I was hoping that I would be safe from the monsoon here. Ohh how I was wrong. About 2pm it started and did not stop. I pulled over under some trees in the middle of nowhere on the forest road. I pulled the rain cover over firestarter and looked back on my bags to see I had already managed to lose my waterproof pants. It would not have mattered for I realised that my jacket was hardly waterproof. More like water concept proof, it could withstand having the word "water" directed at it but anymore than this it suffered badly. I was soaked...totally soaked to the skin, the rain was relentless. I stood across under another tree and watched the rain. After about 1hr I decided I should seek better shelter, but she would not start, the custom Bullet petrol tank run-off was positioned directly above the spark plug. So I pushed her for about 1KM until I found an old concrete bus shelter. Here I striped and wrung out my clothes and did all I knew to get the bike started. After 1hr of trying I figured that the shelter was as good a place as any to spend the night. I had resigned myself to trying out my 2nd hand sleeping bag when a local lad walked by and told me in broken English of a nearby village down a previously unseen dirt road. A night with the tribals, I thought, excellent. I put the bits back on the bike and give it one last kick for good luck. It started. Off I set again trying to reach NepalGanj before it went dark. I was full of optimism until I ran out of petrol and had just enough momentum to carry me down to the next petrol station, which like the other 30 on the way was dry. I asked around for somewhere to stay, someones floor, anywhere. Luckily a local man took pity and found me 1litre of petrol and told me the next town 1km away had a hotel and a pump with fuel. I pulled in the next station and he was right, I filled up 13litres and checked in the hotel across the road. By now it was pitch dark. As I lay on my bed I wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew. What a day. Well what a couple of days. Then this is what it's all about, the adventure, not knowing who you will meet and what town you will be in and where you will be sleeping.
The next morning, keen to get going again I looked out of my window. I was not going anywhere. The monsoon was back with a vengeance. Trapped in this nameless, nowhere dirt track town. Boredom set in, how tedious.
The next day I waited until 9:30am for a break in the rain and set off. The road was very much the same, great conditions, but this time I had entered a different region of Nepal. A region of unrest as could be seen by the burnt out petrol stations, buses and trucks scattered along the road sides. I was allowed through several Maoist road blocks and an equal number of police check points. The rain came and went but never got serious. I passed through a Royal National Park with spectacular scenery. I was aiming for Mahenhranagar the town near Indian boarder on the very west of Nepal. As I said the road was in great condition, but not all the way. It is easy to be fooled when for 5km the road is perfect then suddenly it goes to bombed out conditions and then disappears all together under a fast flowing river. The first river I crossed I went a little too fast, learning (nearly) the hard way that there could be big potholes under the water. I was lucky as I wobbled but regained balance. The second river I had to cross was over knee height and after the last water related problems with firestarter I was worried I'd be stuck in the middle of nowhere again. I reached Mahehdernagar it around 2pm with an arse that felt like it was made of granite. That's right I think I need to buy myself a nice soft girlie cushion at some point. The boarder was slack I nearly drove right past the Nepal Immigration office. Funny, in this part of the world how there is nice tarmac running up to a boarder crossing then as soon as you reach no-mans land the surface disintegrates to dirt and rocks. I guess no one is responsible for making a road in no-mans land. I was surprised how easy it was to do the paper work for my bike in India, I was in and out in 30mins or less. The India customs did not even check my bike, I mean they did not even leave the office to see if I actually had a bike with me. Now what to do? I had made such good time on the drive here, but I was keen to make up for the day sat waiting the rain out. My road map was basic, but the gods decided and I have got a bit lost, headed kinda south west instead if west and I'm now in a the forgotten town of Pilibhit some 350km east of Delhi. I was going to press on to a town 50km farther west, but firestarter stopped again. She clearly had had enough for one day. The bond is being made, I'm even starting to talk to her. I might be mad by the time I get home.
On this final day of my blog entry I set off in the general direction of Delhi, but with no real hope of making over 350km. The first 70km took me over 3hrs, the roads looked and felt like they had been land mined. Unlike the rest of the places in India that I have visited no one speaks any English. It's so different, you see things so differently being on a bike. Visiting places in no guide book. Some places look totally forgotten, not even a bird in the sky, or if there are they fly upside down.
After about 4hrs I hit a really fantastic road, perfect and hit my cruising speed of 55km/hr. It would be crazy to drive any faster. The KM clicked way and after 7hrs I was in reach of Delhi as long as the road remained in good condition. I knew I was getting near as I drove past the slums and rubbish dumps the sky blackened with the thousands of eagles circling, looking for mice and rats feeding on the rubbish. After over 9hrs and nearly 350km I have arrived in Delhi. Back at the Majors Den hotel for a night. I have had a shower, cleaned my teeth and all I need now is a cold beer and a bottie massage and the day will be signed off as a success.
Tomorrow north West in the general direction of Amritsar.


Here's a summary so far
Day 1: Pokhara to Tansen = 130km (5hrs)
Day 2: Tansen to nameless town 20km from Nepalganj = 240km (11hrs)
Day 3: Monsooned in
Day 4: Nameless town to Pilibhit (260km) 8hrs
Day 5: Pilibhit to Delhi (320km) 9hrs

Well I'm defiantly in India, the beeping of the horns. I have already stood in something unsavory on the way to try and find an Internet cafe. I have had 2 attempts to cheat me, but both failed, I'm too sharp now. It's hot too, humid, mossies the works.

I'm off to repack my bags now, having my laptop over the petrol tank with the bungy net appears to have put some strain on the motherboard. It keeps turning itself on and off of its own free will. Hopefully putting it in the main bag at the back might give it a break, but this means having all the weight over the back rather than some on the front. The experimentation starts.