West to Pokhara

There comes a point in every journey where momentum is easily lost, and for us it definitely seemed as though Kathmandu was the place we felt it most strongly.  Perhaps it was the thought of being past the halfway point, or maybe it was the cumulative effects of pretty much 3 weeks of inactivity, but we cycled out of town with heavy legs.

We opted for an early start to avoid the rush hour, which we managed most successfully, and aside from a small detour for wont of accurate directions, we made it onto the Pokhara bound highway from down-town Thamel without a detailed map.

Our aim for the day was 68 miles, to one of the resorts that surround the hill upon which lies the pilgrimage site of Manakamana, which is reached these days either by a 5 hour trek through the jungle, or a 10 minute ride in Asia's longest cable car.

The road undulated gently for most of the day.  The worst of climbs being of the long drag variety rather than the outright knacker-you-out sharp clips.  Still by the end of the day, we'd managed to descend by nearly a thousand feet from Kathmandu and we pitched up just in time to secure lodgings at a comfy resort hotel. 

We're both starting to doubt where Nepal's reputation as being friendly comes from.  It can't hold a candle to Cambodia or Laos in that regard, but perhaps it's just as we are on the most frequented tourist trail in the country.  For the moment I certainly feel like I've been classed in the mobile cash machine pigeon hole by the local populous.  But still, that's how it goes in some places.

The next day dawned dripping, deluge like wet and we set off into the monsoon with another 65 miles or so left to run until Pokhara.  Feeling a bit stiff in the legs, it was Another day of ups and downs, but this time mostly of gradual ups, with a couple of sharp down hills to keep Den on her toes.   Since Kunming, she's been the very happy controller of the rear disc brake, which means she can limit our speed on the down to 20-25 mph.  Which is probably very responsible, but very frustrating for me, as these hills will be my last chance for a while to break the 50mph mark on the tandem.

It took us most of the day to compete the distance, and we took the first room we came to, that was in the Rough Guide, at the Sacred Valley Inn.  Nice enough hotel for the $10 per night charge, but the room we are in at the back on the ground floor is a little damp.  Maybe should have paid the extra for the room upstairs.  Anyhow, the plan from here is to have a couple of days off the bike, (so soon?!? yes, we're wimps) before we start the long drag out west to the Indian border.  There's a nice lake to walk around, sail on and lots of other wallet lightening activities, so we'll see what we can get involved in.