Crazy varied ways to travel in Nepal

A reasonalbly flat road in good condition.( above)

Micro Bus( Toyota Hiace)

Travelling in Nepal is as exciting and eye opening as visiting any tourist attraction. You take the positive with the negative. We have just survived another 9 hour micro bus ride in the a trusty Toyota van with 20 people ( I am sure this exceeds the limit ) , some sitting small cane stools bridging the gaps between the bench seats or perched on the many bags which are piled up in the isle. Imagine the Manawatu gorge with higher vertical ranges, a longer drop to a raging river , everyone driving in the middle of the road to avoid the huge pot holes and boulders , slips, waterfalls , unsealed road in parts where only a 4wd drive vehicle could get through , cows, people walking , motor cycles and trucks oncoming buses for a mere 9 hours ! Exhilarating.Thrown into this there are people being sick, vomiting into plastic bags and throwing them out the window with all the other rubbish , children vomiting over parents who are cradling them on their laps so and not to have to pay for another seat, Nepalese music on full volume or the occasional English song such as “ I’m on my way to heaven” , it’s a journey never to forget but has to be repeated if you want to travel in Nepal ! Along the way there are mud and bamboo lean-to’s and very basic houses carved into the ranges as well as pole houses on the road side overhanging the gorge many of which are selling water, cheese snacks and two minute noodles . There are also places ( ‘cafes’) cooking the traditional Dhal Bhaat Nepalese food over a smoking fire and or gas ring , rice cooked in aluminium pressure cookers, dhal in pots and woks stir frying curried vegetables , accompanied with milky very sweet Nepali tea . Refreshments for weary travellers.
Local Bus and Jeep rides.
Just to put things in perspective the microbuses are discussed above are for travellers with higher incomes . The more common means of transport are local buses ( photo) and jeeps. The latter being used to access the many remote villages. Motor cycles are everywhere and these are used in the villages and to access houses. I have had the experience of riding with Kedar from the Hope centre down the windy valley to the village centre . I closed my eyes as we slid through the mud of the monsoon rains and bumped over the deep ruts made by other bikes some of which had dried and formed crevices, avoiding slips rocks and locals walking up the tracks and school children . Nepalese local bus. People and animals ride on the top either out of choice as it is cooler and less crammed or , due to necessity when there are no seats left inside the bus. Mark travelled on the top of this bus from 24 kms which took 1 ½ hours ! I sat inside with Sita amongst the locals. When it came time to pay Sita who was our ‘guide’ care of VAD Nepal and MEND, and I negotiated the finer points of the Nepalese disability strategy with a young boy collecting the 50 rupees for the fare. Sita has a disability card that identifies her as having a registered disability and under Nepalese law , which I have read whilst here transport for people with a disability is supposed to be provided at ½ price and education is supposed to be free ( thats a blog title in itself so will not go there now! ) . The young man debated the point as he obviously had not seen such a card before and he possible could not read which did not help the matter, He did seem to understand when I said in English ‘it is Nepali law! “. He smiled and eventually we only paid half price. Another point of interest when paying for some forms of transport and when purchasing items there is one price for tourists and one for local people which I see as fair considering the average income is from 5000-8000 rupees $100 - $140 per month .( from what we have been told )


We caught a local jeep to Chatara 17 kms ( 1 hour duration) all dirt roads., through the jungle across and across waterways along the banks of the flooded rivers . We rode on the top of the jeep with our back packs and a few locals. I was somewhat apprehensive initially but after relaxing and positioning ,myself on top of my day pack to cushion my bottom, I thoroughly enjoyed to ride in the fresh air. The driver was cautious and safe. ( well I didn’t fall off ! )
Crossing small streams from the Koshi river

Hotel pick up

Other means of transport include elephant, camel, and the trusty bicycle which is used everywhere and modified to carry building supplies and produce to goats being strapped in a cloth to the centre bar and up to 2 additional people .