Leisure & Travel

EducationWorld’s special correspondent Srinidhi Raghavendra together with Kishore Patwardhan under the aegis of Borderless Bikers, Bangalore was on a South Asian motorcycle odyssey from December 3, 2006 to April 15, 2007. The objective of the mission was to spread the message that the people of India and neighbouring nations need to demand Equal Quality Education for All. The duo traversed 18,700 km during their epic four and half month tour, zooming across 25 states in India and crossing national borders into Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The expedition was supported by EducationWorld; TVS Motor Company; Intel; and Cramster, Bangalore.

In the May 2007 issue we featured Raghavendra’s diary notes recording the duo’s journey through the Hindi heartland states of north India. Given below is an account of their journey through the neighbouring Himalayan nation of Nepal.

January 31, Crossover into Nepal. We started off early morning from Basti in Uttar Pradesh anticipating a delay at the Indo-Nepal border while Nepalese officials checked our travel papers in this Himalayan kingdom, now coming to terms with democracy. The route from Basti to Sanauli took us through some of the remotest villages of India. Our first stop was at Bansi — a small town, where a bridge built across a wide stream is damaged and has not been repaired for the past two years. Luckily it hasn’t quite collapsed and could take the weight of our motorcycles. Buses and heavy vehicles have to negotiate the shallow waters of the stream.

Despite the arid remoteness of the region, roads, though narrow, were of surprisingly good quality. Another paradox we witnessed was that the latest models of mobile phones have reached even the most back-of-the-beyond villages of India’s most under-developed state. Though living in thatched, sometimes makeshift huts, wearing dirty and tattered clothes, the mobile phone seems to be a ubiquitous accessory.

We reached the Sanauli (India)-Bhairava (Nepal) border, one of the dozen legal road crossings between India and Nepal at 2.30 p.m. Sited just a stone’s throw away from Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, Sanauli-Bhairava is a very busy border crossing, especially during summer when devout Buddhists from India arrive in droves. But despite being largely underdeveloped in terms of civic infrastructure, Sanauli has everything a tourist could possibly need — money changers, travel agents, import-export agents, cyber cafés, hotels and multi-cuisine restaurants. This single-road town was a riot of colour and cacophony of sound as men and women in traditional costumes milled around the border, going in and out of the countries in a casual manner with minimal fuss and bother.

As we pulled up in front of the ramshackle, tin-roofed, customs and immigration office of the Nepal government to purchase permits for travel on our motorcycles, we were surrounded by touts offering an array of services. Ignoring them, we walked into the office expecting a surly bureaucracy and red-tape, so typical of India. But to our surprise we were courteously facilitated by Nepalese officials, who helped us complete all procedural formalities. It took us about 30 minutes to move through four chambers, pay our motorcycle entry fees (NRs.860 for ten days) and collect our permits to ride into Nepal. Riding for the first time in a foreign country, I experienced an inexplicable thrill. I was on the road to realising the first part of my dream to circumnavigate the globe on two wheels.

Our first stop in the exotic mountain kingdom of Nepal was Lumbini (pop. 55,000), where Lord Buddha aka Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BC) was born. The 24 km stretch from the Indo-Nepal border to Lumbini is a narrow, bumpy journey, but riding in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas, with negligible traffic, especially after the chaos and disorder of Uttar Pradesh, was truly exhilarating because apart from an occasional cyclist or a battered truck, we were kings of the road.

As we entered Lumbini, an immense peace descended upon us in this birthplace of one of the world’s greatest sages whose name is synonymous with serenity and inner peace. We checked into Hotel Siddhartha (NRs.200 per night) which offered safe parking and clean rooms with running hot water.

February 1, Lumbini. Inside this Buddhist mecca, our first port of call was the renowned Lumbini Heritage Park, a vast 3.5 sq km green belt developed as a natural-cum-spiritual heritage space to boost pilgrimage tourism in Nepal. The highlights of this park include a vast water body in its epicentre, the Mayadevi temple, monasteries built by Buddhist communities around the world and a sprawling, fenced-in forest area which houses the endangered Blue Bull. To all this add neat walking paths for visitors to enjoy the greenery and bask in the tranquil environs which is easy, given that only bicycles and cycle rickshaws are permitted in the park.

This heritage nirvana houses the Mayadevi temple which enshrines painstakingly restored and protected archaeological remnants associated with the birth of the Buddha. The Nativity Sculpture here depicts Maya Devi (Lord Buddha’s mother) holding a branch of the sal tree in her right hand with the newborn Gautama standing on a lotus petal, the traditional oval halo around his head. According to local guides this sculpture was installed by Malla Kings of the Naga dynasty who ruled this region between 11-15th centuries. Contiguous to the temple is the Pushkarini — a crystal clear water tank where the infant Buddha was believed to be bathed immediately after his birth. The sal tree under which Maya Devi rested just before giving birth is sited on the bank. Another historical landmark here is Emperor Ashoka’s edict which was installed when he visited Lumbini in 249 BC.

February 2, Lumbini-Butwal-Palpa Bazaar. It was a chilly morning when we set off from Lumbini towards Butwal (pop.75,600), the largest town before Pokhara, where we were pleasantly surprised to see a small TVS showroom. The proprietor Arun K.C. was thrilled to meet us and no sooner had we apprised him of our Equal Education for All mission than he arranged for us to visit the Glory Boarding School (GBS) and address its staff and students.

At GBS we were warmly welcomed by principal S.K. Tiwari and his team of 36 teachers who deliver high quality holistic education to 700 students. Tiwari explained that every month the school conducts a cultural competition, excursions to a heritage spot, interactions with local dignitaries, etc so that children derive more than mere textbook education. We suggested that they also include a slum outreach programme.

Following a traditional Nepali meal comprising rice, dal, roti and sweet kheer at Arun’s home in Butwal, we were escorted by him and five of his biker friends to the outskirts of the town. It was 4.00 p.m by the time we hit the highway snaking into the hills, past green mountainsides, gurgling streams, deep ravines as we meandered towards Palpa. Nepal’s undulating roads cut through high mountains and deep valleys and make for thrilling road journeys. The highs and lows we experienced during the 90 km ride through the backroads of Nepal provided an unforgettable experience.

Even as our TVS Apache motorcycles negotiated the sharpest hair-pin bends without any protest, another pleasant memory is of the excellent road manners of drivers in Nepal. Smaller vehicles (especially motorcycles) are given priority by cars and buses, and on several occasions powerful cars pulled over and let us pass them on narrow mountain roads. Considering that Nepal’s literacy and education system lags far behind India’s and thousands of Nepali citizens come to India to study, work etc, it’s commendable they haven’t learnt the bad road manners of Indian drivers.

Although we sped towards Pokhara, we couldn’t resist stopping at points which offered breathtaking panoramas of Nepal’s green valleys and mountainscapes. But as night fell suddenly, we shelved our initial plan of reaching Pokhara (120 km) and pitched tent beside a small stream in the middle of a forest, near Palpa Bazaar. As the night progressed the chill set in and even though we were well-equipped with alpine sleeping bags, we felt the icy winds threatening our tent. Fortunately it held fast.

February 3, Palpa-Pokhara-Kushma. The sun shone bright early next morning lifting our spirits as we dismantled our tent and headed for Pokhara. The road wound through rugged mountainsides affording stunningly beautiful vistas. We reached Pokhara at 4.30 p.m with rain clouds gathering on the horizon. Not willing to lose an evening we headed to Baglung/ Beni, the starting point of the Annapurna circuit and Mukthinath trekking routes. We rode through the mountain trails before the rain caught up, just before we reached Kande (15 km). From there on it was slow progress to Kushma where we halted for the night.

February 4, Kushma-Pokhara. Rising late the next morning we explored the banks of the revered Kali Gandaki river, known for its fossil caches. Further exploration took us to Gupteshwar Gupha, a natural 1.5 km deep cave which hosts thousands of glistening stalactite formations. Concealed lighting has been installed to highlight the stunning natural wonders of the cave.

Once again the rain caught up with us 12 km short of Pokhara. It was quite a challenge to negotiate the paddies and ponds of the Himalayan foothills. Finally we entered Pokhara town at 5.30 p.m and booked into a quiet little hotel in the heart of Pokhara’s commercial hub, the lakeside. Our intent was to take a breather — late breakfasts, trivial jobs (sightseeing, diary updation, laundry, and e-mailing friends), chatting up locals, making new friends etc.

February 5-7, Pokhara. Famously known as the base camp for wildlife, nature, tourism, trekking, mountain-eering and adventure holidays in the mountain kingdom, Pokhara (pop. 120,000) is sited in a picturesque, tranquil valley. As in subcontinental habitats, Pokhara’s roads are potholed, dirty and crowded. Petrol is a scarce commodity in Nepal. But although it is imported from India, petrol retails cheaper here (NRs.71 (Rs.45) cf. Rs.51 in Bangalore).

Popularly known as the lakeside, the Phewa Lake and its environs are the most vibrant part of this town. This is the hangout of western junkies and backpackers crowding the town’s ubiquitous bars, restaurants, discos, dance floors etc. The atmosphere is festive throughout the year. During winter Pokhara is quieter but nevertheless, the celebrations go on.

An idiosyncrasy of this charming town is its weather, which turns from clear to cloudy in a matter of minutes followed by sudden showers. Often referred to as the Cherrapunji of Nepal, Pokhara’s capricious climate can be quite frustrating. For three of our four-day stay in Pokhara, the spectacular panorama of the Annapurna range (comprising four peaks, all above 8,000 metres) was obscured by cloud cover. Luckily on the fourth day the clouds cleared, the sun shone and there was the Annapurna in all its glory! In the afternoon we ambled down to the lakeside and lounged on the banks of the Phewa lake, soaking in the magnificence of the snow-capped, needle-pointed, fish-tailed mountain — Machhapuchhre (6,977 m) from across the azure expanse of the lake.

Also recommended in Pokhara is a motorboat ride across icy waters to the two-storied pagoda style Barahi Temple sited on an island in Phewa Lake in honour of the boar manifestation of Ajima, the protectress deity. Our next stop was the other famous landmark of Pokhara, a beautiful waterfall christened Devi’s Fall or David’s fall. Locally known as Patale Chhango (Hell’s Fall), this scenic waterbody is fed by the waters of the Phewa lake which converge into a narrow stream and plunge 100 ft down into a deep gorge.

In fulfillment of our mission to propagate the importance of Equal Education for All, in Pokhara we checked out several schools and had interesting interactions with their students and teachers. Among the schools we visited was the Education Center for Poor and Helpless (sic) Children (ECPHC), a free kg-class VI school with an aggregate enrollment of 350 children, promoted by travel entrepreneur Agni Prasad Shivakoti. According to Shivakoti the school hasn’t received any donations/funding for the past three years and he was running it out of his own savings. We decided to do something about this, and persuaded three local hoteliers and five adventure gear and booksellers to commit an annual donation for maintenance of the school, and place donation boxes in their establishments so that visitors could also do their bit to save the school.

February 8, Pokhara- Kathmandu. The morning started off with light rain but by 11 a.m the weather cleared and we filled up and headed for Kathmandu. The 220-km ride on a busy, four-lane and smooth surfaced highway through mountainous terrain took us about eight hours to negotiate. It was cloudy and there was a slight drizzle upto Dhamouli (45 km). But after that the weather steadily improved. One of the most discomfitting practices in Nepal is the discrimination in pricing of services. For example internet access for locals is priced at NRs.20 per hour while foreigners (including Indians) are charged a hefty NRs.99 per hour. Ditto for food. Every restaurant has two menu cards, one for locals and another for foreigners in which prices could be 400-500 percent higher. In India too, foreign visitors have to pay more to enter government maintained monuments, museums and parks. But it’s not as pervasive as retail discrimination in Nepal.

As we raced along the excellent wide and traffic-free road, we noticed a local biker trying hard to overtake us on his Chinese-made motorcycle. But however hard he tried he couldn’t get past us. About 80 km short of Kathmandu when we stopped for a cup of tea, the local biker also pulled over to make his acquaintance with us. "The way you were riding I thought you were Europeans or Americans," said Arjun Gurung. "You ride well on these mountain roads." When we informed him about our mission to take the message of Equal Education for All across five countries, he was highly appreciative and insisted on paying for our tea and snacks. After rapping with him for an hour and regaling him with our on-the-road stories we hit the road for Kathmandu reaching at 8.00 p.m and checked into Aurobindo Ashram’s guesthouse (NRs.300 per night).

February 9, Kathmandu. Tired by our long ride of February 8, we woke up late to explore the exotic capital of Nepal, famous for its Pashupathinath temple and Mt. Everest. Sited on the banks of the river Bhagmathi, Pashupathi-nath temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and thronged by pilgrims from India throughout the year. Built of a mixture of stone, wood, metal sheets and bricks, it is a stunning work of art, reposing within it, the soul of this mountain kingdom.

Across the river is a wooded hillside which hosts a deer park and over 120 small conical temples built of stone, each enshrining a shiva linga. A unique feature of these shrines is their uniformity of size, style and design on walls and roof panels. It took us a good three and half hours to explore the sprawling temple and its sub-shrines. Ambling around we took in its potpourri of religious and philosophical beliefs.

February 10, Kathmandu-Motihari (India). The cold mountain air sweeping through Kathmandu kept us in bed longer than necessary. So we got off to a late start at 9 a.m. With knees knocking in the cold, the thought of the plains of India warmed us as we raced down the Thribhuvana Rajpath or the National Highway 2 which links Kathmandu with the Raxaul border.

The road to Raxaul is narrow and the terrain steep and rugged. Although there was hardly any traffic on the road, we reached Damon only at 12.30 p.m. The next stretch of the road was the most challenging we experienced in Nepal. It took us over three hours to cover the distance of 65 km because of the sharp and curvaceous nature of the road. Moreover shortly out of Damon, we encountered sudden fog and low visibility. Recalling my crash and providential escape in foggy conditions in Lucknow (see EW May), we were unsure about continuing our pilgrim’s progress. Fortuitously we met up with an Indian jeep driver travelling from Raxaul to Kathmandu who informed us the depth of the fog was only 5 km. Thanking him, we rode cautiously downhill through the fog and reached Hetuda (130 km). From here it was a smooth and easy ride upto the Raxaul border from where we crossed into India.

The Raxaul border outpost was less orderly than the Sanauli border crossing. For one, there’s no checking of incoming traffic on the Indian side of the border. Vehicles and people have free access into India through perennially open gates. The customs post was full of uniformed officers but they were engrossed in a game of cards. We zipped across the border into Bihar (pop. 82 million), which by common consensus is India’s most under-developed and crime infested state. Our destination was Motihari, 51 km away, to rest for the night. But we hadn’t budgeted for Bihar’s roads, which are mere rough hewn tracks. For the entire stretch of 51 km from Raxaul to Motihari — designated a national highway — we didn’t see a trace of asphalt. And this stretch has been notified as a part of the prestigious Golden Quadrilateral Project! Bouncing along the road at an average speed of 15 kph, we finally reached Motihari at 9 p.m checked into a hotel with a dormitory (Rs.50 per head per night).

February 11, Motihari-Muzzafarpur. We started off from Motihari at 8.30 a.m heading for Muzzafarpur in light drizzle. The road was barely visible and traffic chaotic, with every driver on the road following his own rules. Traffic lights, signals, sign boards and policemen were conspicuous by their absence. As we exited the city and hit the highway, road conditions improved somewhat. But rain played spoilsport, impeding our progress. Finally at 12.30 p.m we stopped at a Reliance A1 Plaza (hotel attached to petrol bunk), Panapur, about 65 km from Motihari for lunch. We got there just in time because no sooner had we stopped, the heavens opened up.

The proprietor of the A1 Plaza, franchisee Lt. Cmdr (retd.) Shashank Shekhar, was highly accommodating and allowed us to bunk down in the Plaza's A/C room instead of the common resting area. He further introduced us to Col. Harjeet Singh, head of the local NCC (National Cadet Corps) unit, who invited us to breakfast in the morning.

February 12, Panapur-Muzzafarpur-Naugachchia. The day started early as we freshened up in the new petrol bunk-cum-resthouse pioneered by Reliance Petroleum. The A1 Plaza offers all the comforts for a person on the road — hot meals, clean toilets, hot and cold showers, comfortable dormitories, ample parking space and a utility store. With over several standardised A1 Plaza petrol bunk-cum-resthouses having sprung up across the country, a huge boom in road tourism is imminent.

Resolved to ride non-stop to reach Purnia by 7.00 p.m, the best we could do on the narrow potholed road was 40-45 km per hour. Being an arterial link road between Lucknow and Siliguri, truck traffic on this highway is heavy. Moreover our progress was painfully slow because one had to negotiate deep potholes. Craters which could easily accommodate a small car are commonplace on this stretch. Finally after a commendable 256 km we called it a day at another Reliance A1 Plaza near Naugachchia town where also the staff were courteous and accommodated us in their resting area. Grateful for the hot meal served by courteous staff, we hit the sack at 10 p.m to sink into deep sleep.

February 13, Naugachchia-Baghdogra. This direct route from Naugachchia to Baghdogra is only about 240 km. But since we were not agreeable to paying for ‘special permit’ charges to ride in Bihar to a police outpost in Purnia, a town 60 km short of West Bengal, we were deliberately misguided by them to an alternate circuitous route which added 80 km of the mud and gravel roads of rural Bihar to our itinerary. This detour cost us dear and we reached the BSF camp at Kadamtala, Baghdogra at 9 p.m — three hours behind schedule.

In communist-ruled West Bengal, we immediately experienced superior road conditions and some signs of law and order. We were given an enthusiastic welcome by R. Ramaswamy, DIG of BSF frontier headquarters, and accommo-dated in the very comfortable officers mess .