It’s Gonna Be A Bumpy Ride ... (Nepal: 8 Nov ‘22)

8 november 2022 - Syapru Besi, Nepal

Bzzz Bzzz, 6 a.m. Tuesday November 8th, not just your average bus ride today… Waking up was a tough one! With four sleepy eyes we carried our trekking backpacks downstairs, plus remaining luggage. Our hotel offered safe luggage storage, which was ideal. Only necessities coming along with us! After checking out, we were offered a cup of black tea whilst we waited for the taxi. Meanwhile, we heard what sounded like an urgent Nepali phone call. This was probably Amuel (the Hotel’s taxi driver) being called out of bed. Our boiling hot tea didn’t even have a chance to cool off before Amuel arrived in his white mini-van. What followed was an intense minute of huffing and puffing to make our tea just about drinkable. With a heated core we headed off on a 10-minute taxi journey to the bus pick-up location. At this time of morning the Kathmandu streets looked totally different: hardly any cars or bikes, no honking, no vendors, no dust, children heading to school and even people out on a jog. The pick-up location was North of Thamel, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. As we arrived we were again shocked by the amount of dirt and plastic, but also amazed by the hundreds of “Tourist busses" lined up along the roadside. Amuel showed us where to buy bus tickets to Syabru Bensi and handed us over to some guy organising the bus (we would refer to him as “Fixer1”).

Nepal - Taxi hotel ThorongLa to bus-pick up Nepal - Calm morning Thamel streets

At first we were a bit skeptical of the bus, the guy, and in fact the whole environment we were in. Especially, when Fixer1 said our backpacks could go on top. Sorry mate, those bags are coming in with us! First got to see it, before we believe it! As we got on the bus we were the only passengers, even though it was due to leave in just a couple of minutes. This had our skeptical senses on high alert. It turned out to be drama for nothing, as within a few minutes the bus had filled with a mix of locals and tourists. Perhaps we should ease up a bit? Anyway, being the first ones, we had tactically positioned ourselves at the front of the bus to ensure a nice view (and more importantly: that Roos wouldn’t get sick). Amongst the many Nepali voices we picked up some very familiar sounding words. It was a Dutch couple (David & Ayla) seated a few places behind us, who we became friends with later on.

Nepal - Trash outside of bus pick-up location Nepal - Our bus to Syabru Bensi (Ayla with orange backpack cover) Nepal - Lawrence on bus

At 7:30 a.m., with our backpacks crammed between us and the driver’s cabin (functioning as a 2-in-1 seat belt and airbag), we set off on a seven-hour bus journey up North. We spent the first half hour staring at the traffic-filled Kathmandu “highway” whilst also trying to figure out who actually belonged to the crew (as the driver’s cabin was stuffed with Nepali people). Next to Fixer1 and of course Mr. bus driver himself, we identified a third guy belonging to the crew. We appropriately named him “Fixer2”. With a couple of hours sample size we were able to distinguish their individual tasks:

  • This was pretty straightforward for Mr. bus driver, though his secondary role was precisely timing our stops. On the road, Mr. bus driver was THE boss. In his black leather jacket, no other vehicle would be too fast, too large or too inconvenient to overtake in the tightest of bends or gaps in approaching traffic, taking over left and right with excess confidence. Even the “much faster” (and more expensive) jeeps to Syabru Bensi didn’t stand a chance. How could he manage? Twenty years experience on this route and a set of horns which sounded like they belonged on a clown’s bike.
  • Fixer1 had two major roles, with one being the most important of all: filling the bus with people and collecting their money. Next to that he also made sure of smooth passings through different checkpoints, by gathering people’s passports and permits upfront.
  • Fixer2, on the other hand, played a more active role throughout the journey. Whilst Fixer1 seated himself at the back of the bus for most of the ride, Fixer2 stood up at the front, functioning as a second pair of eyes for Mr. bus driver by whistling or tapping the door everytime things got tight or when giving the “all clear” signal around corners.

Nepal - Bus gang (David & Ayla 2 seats behind us) 

The journey itself, next to the crew and driving style, was one we’ll never forget. A strange cocktail of squeaking breaks, theme-park style bus horns, winding dirt roads filled with pot holes, countless of nerve-wrecking overtakes and steep drops, numb and cramped legs (because of our heavy backpacks resting on them) and Benny-Lava-style Bollywood music videos to help distract from everything going on, all whilst looking at breathtaking Himalayan landscape. This did change Roos’s strong opinion on the state of the Belgian roads. Luckily our mind and body was given time to recover, as we stopped several times in small villages along the way. Here they had toilet facilities and local shops selling street food to the hundreds of tourists passing daily. We decided to skip the local food, as the last thing we wanted was to be sick on this bus journey. Just a packet of crisps and a coke. Though it might sound crazy to believe, after a couple of hours we became pretty comfortable on the bus, making the journey entertaining.

Nepal - Front seat view of mountain gravel road Nepal - View at first bus stop Nepal - views during bus journey, heading to Langtang Valley
Nepal - First bus stop on our way to Syabru BensiNepal - Second bus stop on our way to Syabru Bensi

Seven hours later, and ?only 150 km? (no such thing as a short drive in the Nepali Himalayas), we finally arrived in Syabru Bensi at 2:30 p.m., the gate to the Langtang Valley. Here we headed for the closest tea house, which was called “Old Namaste”. Often these Nepali tea houses charge next to nothing for a room, as long as you have breakfast and dinner with them. They provide beds with warm duvets (as many as you need), hot showers (often solar powered), toilet facilities (a hole in the ground mostly), a fireplace to sit around in the cold evening, and of course lovely fresh Nepali food! Our room in the Old Namaste even had a private attached bathroom. First a quick, highly-needed refreshing before our hungry bellies went looking for lunch in the little village of Syabru Bensi (didn’t have any breakfast or lunch besides a packet of crisps). Back at our tea house, we were surprised by a yearly traditional procession passing, which celebrated the lunar eclipse of that night (we had no clue of the lunar eclipse taking place). A lot was going on: people were holding torches, carrying a Buddha sculpture, wearing demon masks whilst waving about coloured pieces of cloth, banging on drums, hitting houses with tree branches to scare away the devil and demons, some other stuff which is inappropriate to describe here, followed by the rest of the villagers. We felt lucky being able to witness this.

Nepal - view from back Old Namaste Nepal- view from front Old Namaste  Nepal - Roos in Syabru BensiNepal - Tom & Jerry in Syabru Bensi

Nepal - Procession passing in Syabru Bensi (Buddha sculpture) Nepal - Procession passing in Syabru Bensi (Demon mask)

Nepal - Rooster in Syabru Bensi Nepal - Doggo in Syabru Bensi Nepal - Kitty in Syabru Bensi

Later on we got to know our Dutch co-travellers David & Ayla, who were also staying the night here. A fun and lively couple, who were of similar age as us. David had roots in Tanzania, and both were professional actors and theatre designers. We had dinner together and shared some laughs as well as our itinerary. Next to us sat a group of three from London, two of which were geologists, but don’t get them started on it! The odd-one-out had a girlfriend living in Eindhoven. Every month or so he would go over. This reminded us of when we first started dating, which involved lengthy travels every other weekend. The group of three had just completed the Langtang trek and were on their way back to Kathmandu. They shared their route and tips, and made the “unknown” feel very welcoming. With excitement-filled bodies we went to bed, alarm set for 6:30 a.m., ready to tackle the Langtang Valley tomorrow!

Nepal - Truck in Syabru BensiNepal - view from Syabru Bensi (truck driving down dirt road)Nepal - Room in Old Namaste Syabru Bensi

Foto’s

1 Reactie

  1. Auntie Cathy xx:
    2 december 2022
    Wow, what a start and a great read!