......coming from Kathmandu.....
Arriving at the Gongabu bus station on the northern outskirts of Kathmandu (best name ever!), we bought our ticket for Gorkha, and found our bus. To our dismay it was literally the crappiest bus in the bus station- small, dirty and cramped, but at least we were the first ones on, and had a choice of a seat that wouldn't cripple Rich. Although the journey took longer than we expected, it actually wasn't too awful in the end, even with the piercingly loud pop music that nearly deafened us. The worst bit was the need to have the bus door open in order to pick passengers up constantly, letting a freezing wind blow in for the whole six hours.
We did like the hand painted, colourful trucks on the roads, with random slogans written across the front such as " Honesty is the best policy" and "Practice makes perfect"!
Gorkha is a very important place historically as it was where Prithvi Narayan Shah was born. He was responsible for unifying the different kingdoms of Nepal into a single country, and is held in high regard here. His palace was the main draw for a visit here. Our slug to the top of hundreds of steps wasn't particularly rewarding, to be honest, although we were treated to our first view of the Himalayas. Rubbish was strewn all over the path and mist obscured many of the views. Added to that, arriving at the top, we discovered most of the palace was closed for renovations, so there wasn't a lot to see. The temple is very popular for goat sacrifices (an important ritual for Nepalese), and on the climb up we saw a few creatures on their way back down, dripping blood. The entire floor of the temple area was covered in dried blood and Sal felt a little squeamish taking her shoes off for a look around!
Gorkha's tiny town center was quite cute, and the few old squares with towering wooden buildings, and quaint buildings and temples were very pleasant. But the cold, misty, miserable weather and the over-priced, but under-par accommodation situation left us less than inspired. There wasn't much food on offer in Gorkha, but we found a delicious thali place (or dal baht in Nepal- pretty much the same thing, from what we can see), and some average chai. It has to be said- it is hard to get a good cup of strong, spicy masala tea out of Kathmandu, in our experience. Locals seem to prefer their tea as a slightly tea flavoured hot, sweet milk.
A surprising sight in Gorkha was the strong presence of tartan patterned clothing. We never found out how the pattern might have arrived in this part of the world.
The bus trip from Gorkha to Pokhara was hardly pleasant, but we could almost put the journey behind us, and forget the atrocious screeching music, the smell of vomit and the ache in our backs as we approached the mountain town. We could hardly contain ourselves on the road into Pokhara when we saw the beautiful majestic Himalayas shining in the sun out of the window, looking so unbelievably close and huge. Stepping off the bus, the sun was shining brightly, and we finally felt warm!! We hadn't had a hot shower or changed our clothes in two weeks, so our first priority on arrival was a clean and comfortable room. We quickly found the perfect one (from the thousands of mostly empty options). It boasted plenty of hot water and sun streaming in to warm it during the day, which pleased us no end. The extra thick doona, crisp white sheets and a stunning rooftop view added to the luxury. Pokhara is quite low in altitude for Nepal, and therefore a much warmer climate. The small difference in temperature made a huge difference to our moods!
.....more adventures around Pokhara......
Arriving at the Gongabu bus station on the northern outskirts of Kathmandu (best name ever!), we bought our ticket for Gorkha, and found our bus. To our dismay it was literally the crappiest bus in the bus station- small, dirty and cramped, but at least we were the first ones on, and had a choice of a seat that wouldn't cripple Rich. Although the journey took longer than we expected, it actually wasn't too awful in the end, even with the piercingly loud pop music that nearly deafened us. The worst bit was the need to have the bus door open in order to pick passengers up constantly, letting a freezing wind blow in for the whole six hours.
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| Bus to Gorkha |
We did like the hand painted, colourful trucks on the roads, with random slogans written across the front such as " Honesty is the best policy" and "Practice makes perfect"!
 |
| Our route KTM-Gorkha-Pokhara |
Gorkha is a very important place historically as it was where Prithvi Narayan Shah was born. He was responsible for unifying the different kingdoms of Nepal into a single country, and is held in high regard here. His palace was the main draw for a visit here. Our slug to the top of hundreds of steps wasn't particularly rewarding, to be honest, although we were treated to our first view of the Himalayas. Rubbish was strewn all over the path and mist obscured many of the views. Added to that, arriving at the top, we discovered most of the palace was closed for renovations, so there wasn't a lot to see. The temple is very popular for goat sacrifices (an important ritual for Nepalese), and on the climb up we saw a few creatures on their way back down, dripping blood. The entire floor of the temple area was covered in dried blood and Sal felt a little squeamish taking her shoes off for a look around!
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| Goldsmith, Gorkha |
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| House along the palace path, Gorkha |
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| Some of Gorkha's poorer residents |
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| Gorkha beauty |
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| Walking up hill in Gorkha |
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| Palace temple, Gorkha |
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| Gorkha goats, pre-sacrifice |
Gorkha's tiny town center was quite cute, and the few old squares with towering wooden buildings, and quaint buildings and temples were very pleasant. But the cold, misty, miserable weather and the over-priced, but under-par accommodation situation left us less than inspired. There wasn't much food on offer in Gorkha, but we found a delicious thali place (or dal baht in Nepal- pretty much the same thing, from what we can see), and some average chai. It has to be said- it is hard to get a good cup of strong, spicy masala tea out of Kathmandu, in our experience. Locals seem to prefer their tea as a slightly tea flavoured hot, sweet milk.
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| Gorkha town square |
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| Local tailor, Gorkha |
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| Lovely old lady and grand daughter, Gorkha |
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| Posing for Rich! Gorkha |
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| Cute rugged up child, Gorkha |
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| Gorkha man |
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| Fruit seller, Gorkha |
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| That's Rich's kind of clinic! |
A surprising sight in Gorkha was the strong presence of tartan patterned clothing. We never found out how the pattern might have arrived in this part of the world.
 |
| Ladies in tartan, Gorkha |
The bus trip from Gorkha to Pokhara was hardly pleasant, but we could almost put the journey behind us, and forget the atrocious screeching music, the smell of vomit and the ache in our backs as we approached the mountain town. We could hardly contain ourselves on the road into Pokhara when we saw the beautiful majestic Himalayas shining in the sun out of the window, looking so unbelievably close and huge. Stepping off the bus, the sun was shining brightly, and we finally felt warm!! We hadn't had a hot shower or changed our clothes in two weeks, so our first priority on arrival was a clean and comfortable room. We quickly found the perfect one (from the thousands of mostly empty options). It boasted plenty of hot water and sun streaming in to warm it during the day, which pleased us no end. The extra thick doona, crisp white sheets and a stunning rooftop view added to the luxury. Pokhara is quite low in altitude for Nepal, and therefore a much warmer climate. The small difference in temperature made a huge difference to our moods!
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| View from roof at Pokhara guesthouse |
.....more adventures around Pokhara......
Those head splitting bus rides bus rides and minor altitude sickness became my nemesis whist in that region. A challenging area for travel, though a consolation are those hidden surprises, like that Himalayan peak. Thanks for the inspiring post.
ReplyDeleteA note on black and white photography opportunities whilst in the region. Himalayan peaks' with snow and deep ridges are great subjects, given scenes of high contrast, for fine art black and white photographs.
ReplyDeleteHello rich n sal.back in Oz,met Igor the German Rasta in c'rai as well as Alaskan Eric. Belgian Simone had been to the hotel b4 Xmas also.had a great time, Nepal sounds good but cold weather frightens me these days.enjoy yourselves.
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