Varanasi, India

Greetings from Varanasi

Well here I am in India after a couple of days climbing the hills of Nepal to get here.

The scenic route from Kathmandu to Daman and then to Raxaul Bazaar in India takes you over the Daman Pass - at 2488 metres it doesn't sound high but boy-oh-boy is it a climb - and a corresponding drop on the other side + more.
The morning I left Kathmandu it looked somewhat similar to the first time I was here in 2004. I'm not sure what the protest was and I wasn't about to hang around to find out - lest a another curfew be imposed.
The view from Daman

Daman
The view of the mountain ranges from Daman is reputedly the best in Nepal - as far as the the number of peaks you can see. The nine highest peaks being visible on a clear day - and yes it was magnificently clear my day. I did end up being in Kathmandu until the 13th - when the embassy opened for pre-poll, so I left Kathmandu about 11am - later in the day than I'd like to have. The good thing about leaving late was that it meant I ended up riding into Palung - below Daman - in the dark and staying there the night. That meant the climb from Palung to Daman was done in the morning not in the afternoon - really good news for getting views. The air is clearer and the mountains less likely to be covered with cloud in the morning, and it was a fantastic ride up broken up by a huge number of stops to take photos (and rest). With the photo/rest stops it actually took me about 3 hours to do just over 10km from Palung to the pass. The best views are from Daman township not the pass itself and the clouds rolled over the peaks as I climbed from Daman to the pass - perfect timing for Daman.

On the other side of the pass it's down, and boy is it....

"Down" from Daman to India

There's the occasional little piece of "up" to remind you that your legs have just done the climb but it is the longest down I think I'll ever do. (you do it at a controlled speed though as you really can't trust the road surface nor any drivers that may be coming the other way. I've seen way too many bus crashes here in Nepal - so many I've actually lost count - and I've only travelled the roads here on 4 days - head on collisions, roll overs, run off the side, you name it the buses here do it.)

The next night in Hetauda (Nepal) left me at the bottom of the hills, with just a relatively nice 10 or 20km "up" the next morning, then essentially flat all the way to where I am now. The hills are lovely and the road to and from Daman were spectacular for scenery - but the legs do appreciate the flat when they get it. My first two days out of Kathmandu I only rode 70 to 80km and I was (very) pooped. I wondered if the month of no riding had taken all my condition away. - But it was just THAT hill, the day from Hetauda south I did 100km reasonably comfortably - well as comfortably as 100km ever is with a heavily laden bike. (and on roads yet to be discussed)

The border of India is pretty much a free for all with large masses of people going hither & thither with no checking. There's a guy looking for anybody that appears foreign - like me - and he calls and beckons them over to Immigration - to do the paperwork. And yes Nepal and India both still do it as paperwork. A big bound book and you get to be one line in the book, passport number dates etc. On the India side of the border I actually had to look for the immigration office in amongst all the shops and things in Raxhaul Bazaar - they didn't have anyone grabbing the foreigners that passed. Even changing money I had to go looking. The road through Raxaul Bazaar I cannot describe and convey to you the condition. It is the worst road I have ever seen anywhere - either in the 12000km so far this trip - or at any other time. I think its even beats the Maasi Mara road in Kenya. The worst part is that the the road was typical of all the ones I used in the state of Bihar (and yes I was on the highways - I dread to think what minor roads are like)

At last some bitumen in India

The road takes its toll on my cheap rear tyre - Supervisors watching me change to one of my high quality spares. But the cheapy got me from Istanbul to here.

I think Bihar is also the mosquito capital - with its low lying flooded areas and lakes and rivers everywhere. I was in hotels the first few nights - but still sleeping in the tent (with the tent inner erected on top of the bed, and using hiking boots hanging by their laces to keep it up).


Bihar - mosquito heaven

The first night I tried to seal off the room and kill the mozzies inside, but it was fruitless, a few hours and two more killing sessions later i got the tent out. Now i just do it - and get a good nights sleep.

Fortunately I'm now in Uttar Pradesh and the roads are a lot better - I even saw a road sign today (in Uttar Pradesh). In Bihar there are no roadsigns of any description, nothing to say what road goes where, nothing to say speed up or slow down, no warnings about bumps or turns, no give way no stop, nothing !!! (the compass is your best friend in Bihar)


- A typical roadscene in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh
- Its not yet 9am but the cricket has started

Varanasi

The old and very holy city of Varanasi - and lots of Indian & International tourists. The Indian tourists in the Ganges, the international tourists watching from the side.

It's festival time here too. "Deep Dewali" which I believe roughly translates to "Festival of Light".

There was plenty of river side entertainment on the banks of the "Ganga" the night I arrived in Varanasi. And I finished the evening eating a meal from a high priced restaurant (180 Rs) with a local internet cafe owner instead of eating at a cheap roadside seller (20Rs) and spent the next 36 hours in bed. When I'm feeling a little more normal I'll be back on the bike... Maybe tomorrow...

Jeff
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http://www.whereonearthisjeff.com/