I met my guide, Rissi, at 6:30 to catch the bus to a town a little past Pohkara. It was supposed to take about 5 hours. It seems like Nepali and Indian time are very similar. We left only a half hour late on a big bus where we each had our own seats. The bus was old and the breaks screeched on every turn and downhill. Despite the rough road, I was able to sleep for a little while. We'd stop every couple of hours to let people use the bathroom and stopped twice for lunch. We arrived in Pohkara about 3 hours behind schedule and hopped on a local bus. This one was old, brightly colored and with breaks that long ago stopped squeaking. Now they make an awful grinding crunch when they are applied. The busses were as full as those in India and there was a giant drum of gasoline and two smaller drums of cooking oil wedged between the front seats. There's an unofficial embargo set up by India and it's a huge problem. There are signs of the gas shortage everywhere and food and goods are much more expensive. In the shops they're all cooking over fires instead of the usual gas stoves.
People would get on and off the bus wherever they wanted. One had an argument with the driver that my guide wouldn't explain. Landslides following the earthquake had taken out parts of road and didn't help the trip. Towards the end of the drive we Saw fishtail peak. It was beautiful and that view alone made coming to Nepal worth it.
We hopped off the bus and hiked through a small village for about 25 min to tea house. My guide had asked if I drink alcohol and I said sure, sometimes. They brought out some abysmal homemade wine with the dinner that tasted like a mix between sake and rubbing alcohol. I only had a sip or two. It's gotten cold and I slept wonderfully under the think blanket.
-AB
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