Wednesday 9 March 2016

The taxi gets me to the bus stop by 7am and I find my bus amongst the many lined up. I sit next to a young guy who’s traveling back to Kathmandu with is wife, son and sister in law. He lived six years in England working as a chef and has just returned to be closer to family. His parents are aging and he will help look after them. He was concerned by the way the elderly in Britain are forgotten by their children and left to look after themselves. I explained it’s like that in Australia. Nepalese culture is different. He aims to start up a restaraunt in Kathmandu but for now his having some fun on funds saved while in England. The family has been holiday ing in Pokhara and in a few days he will travel with his brother in a jeep to the Mustang region of Nepal. Mustang is a province with a difference. It has its own rules. It has its own monarchical structure. There is a king of Mustang. It’s very expensive to get entry into the area but it is supposed to be old worldly and beautiful. It borders Tibet so there is a strong Tibetan influence there. It is a unique region.

The bus trip goes well. It’s an interesting trip because the road is high up in the mountains and it follows rivers for most of the time. In places it’s terrifying looking down over sheer drops. Nepalese life flows by. Rafting is popular on the rivers, and even my friend has tried it recently.

From the bus stop I walk to Hotel Hotel Lilly. Raju is there and we have a discussion about the trek. Ganesh is on his way. Raju, Ganesh and I go to an Irish bar just a few doors down from hotel Lilly. It’s a night of drinking and pool playing for Ganesh and me. We team up against other travelers and actually win a few games. Raju stays sober so he can pick his wife up from the orphanage. She looks after about 23 children there.

There are plenty of travelers at the bar from all corners of the world. It’s fun and Ganesh and I actually succeed in winning a few games. I drink too much.