The Kathmandu - Nagarkot Biking Challenge

A week before I departed for Kathmandu I already had Nagarkot in my plans. Online research told me that Kathmandu is 4,500 feet above sea level and Nagarkot is 7,200 feet, which means that a bike ride would have an elevation gain of 2,700 feet or 822 meters - something unheard of in pancake-flat Bangkok. 

The map will show the route, which is 32 km from Thamel in Kathmandu to Nagarkot.

Nagarkot is also considered as one of the most scenic spots in Bhaktapur and is the northeastern rim of the Kathmandu basin.

I also learned that there are many mountain bike shops in Thamel where I can get a biking day tour with a guide or just rent a bike and set out by myself. 

Thamel is a the backpacking tourist hub of Kathmandu akin to Khao Sarn road in Bangkok. It was here where I found this shop - Bike Hub, with Trek brand Bikes managed by Dipendra Baidya. This guy impressed me a lot with his business savvy and he offered for me to rent a bike for 10$, take it out in that moment and return it before 6 pm the following day, which exactly was my plan. 

the bike that he gave me had cable disc brakes, a front wheel as bald as my head, a busted front shocks lock, a chipped and worn-out saddle that looked like it had been through a thousands tours, and I got a super grimy roughed-out helmet (which I had to wash that night) - but it was good enough for me. The thrill that I was anticipating was not about the bike, but the exhilarating ride through the cool mountains.

I took the bike to my lodging at Lalitpur for the night and at 5:30 dawn I was out in the highway to Nagarkot. It was about 9 degrees Celsius and still pitch dark, but with my headlamp I managed to dodge the sea of humanity that was already at the intersection waiting for any bus that may have miraculously procured some gas.

Bhaktapur came next and the sun was just about to break over the ridge. What a way to see this culture wake up before my eyes... definitely a different kind of tour.

at the break of day I was well passed the city proper

and slowly inching my way up the first couple of hills.

a typical sight in the early hours - people bringing
fresh milk to the milk processing centers.

the hills had a thin layer of mist

a selfie attempt while trying to keep

the nose from flaring.

finally the Nagarkot bus park

where I hungrily consumed this small "breakfast special" 

at Berg house cafe and hotel 

my rented trek bike (gold) hangs securely with other
bikes of the Himalyan Biking Adventures, courtesy of 
the guy below who graciously put it up for me so 
that I can eat in peace.

with breakfast done I mount the bike and pray that
the wheels and brake cable can withstand hard braking
as I speed down the mountain. The air was still too
cold to comfortably shed my warm coat and pants.

some evidence of the recent quake

an occasional car

met these ladies with tons of firewood on their backs

Yeah, for the first time in my life I caught up 
with a bus and passed it. Tight corners are easier
done on a bike than an overcrowded bus.

some nice downhill speeding here

back on the highway at Bhaktapur in midday and it is almost
deserted due to the petrol crisis

a farmer bringing home some fresh onions

  through the bazaar at Lalitpur

main street Kathmandu

and back to Thamel to return the bike

the GPS tracing showing the tortuous road up the mountains...

and the other info that my ride managed to achieve.

With Nagarkot conquered, Angkor Wat may just be a breeze away.

Smriti

Trekking Nepal

Ok, the title may seem formidable and intimidating, but the actual trekking that took place never went over 10 kilometers. Altitude-wise, maybe some difficulty was encountered considering that the site of this story is in the heart of the Himalayas.

What makes this story quite intriguing is the naivety-bordering-on-ignorance of this writer and the hilarious unseen and unplanned consequences that unwittingly became the ingredients of a memorable stew that is this story.

Medical camp in Jungu was underway in the first day and we were swamped by a horde of patients. The second day ended at 4 pm and I eagerly changed into my jogging attire and ventured over the hill behind the camp just to get a closer look at the majestic Gauri Shankar.

This is what I saw (photo below)... another mountain between me and the Guari Shankar - of course. I was now imagining myself as the "bear that went over the mountain."

That night I spent most of my time trying to figure out a plan. I reckoned that if I could leave the camp at exactly 4 pm, I might be able to trek to the other mountain across the deep valley... camp there for the night and get up early enough to go over the other mountain (like the bear). I recalled seeing a school building on the other side that would make a good shelter for the night.

The next day at lunch time I started deflating and rolling up my air cushion, mat, sleeping bag, warm clothes, power bars and 2 bottles of water and stuffing them into my back pack. Someone managed to get a stolen photo of me preparing to leave (below)

I was intending to push through with my plan as soon as clinic was off at 4. I interviewed some locals and they said that it was very safe for me to camp out as there were no bad elements in the area. 

With my stuff on my back I approached my boss - Rasmira, asking her permission. I explained to her my plan and luckily she nodded her approval, obviously unaware of the distance I was wanting to go. On instinct she asked a local guy to accompany me and to keep an eye on me. In a few minutes another guy and lady joined us and that made us a foursome climbing up the mountain.

We got to the top of the mountain and the first guy points to an empty house (obviously damaged by the earthquake but still usable) and tells me that it belonged to a cousin and that I could bed down there for the night. I tell him that there was still enough daylight to go further and I pointed to the other mountain telling him that if possible that was how far I intended to go.

He looks at me in disbelief and the three of them argue in Nepali. I imagine that they were saying that I was crazy and that I had become a liability to them. They explained to me that it would take 5 hours to get to the point where I wanted to go - which I realize there and then that it was true, and that my only option now was to sleep at the house of his mother-in-law somewhere down the valley behind the forest (in the middle of the photo below) if I really intended to go farther. 

I now realized that my foolhardy plans were dashed and that I had to give in to their wisdom. I also eagerly anticipated experiencing the hospitality of the Nepali people firsthandedly. 

Darkness fell fast as we rounded the bend and Suraj - the eldest of the three, pointed to a makeshift GI sheet hut were his mother-in-law stayed. It was beside a 2-storey house that was damaged by the quake. (photo below was taken the following morning)

In my mind I knew that this was going to be epic. I would now experience the life of the Nepali people post-quake and this stint would be priceless. 

I was introduced to the old lady who immediately proceeded to put our dinner together by first milking the buffalo behind the house. While she was at it, Smriti, Benjamin and Suraj got busy on keeping me abreast with their culture and the effects of the earthquake.

In about 2 hours dinner was served and it consisted of steamed spinach, wheat meal, potatoes and pickled sauce. I was also treated to homemade yogurt and fermented milk - a la yakult.

After dinner we have a selfie with a real smoke-screen because cooking was done inside.

Then Suraj says that we had to go to another makeshift tin house which will serve as our bedroom. It is there where some fun would take place.

While we were preparing our sleeping stuff there was a knock on the door and 2 dudes enter. They give my companions hugs - obviously so happy to see each other, and after some talk one guy disappears into the night only to reappear with 2 bottles of beer. Benjamin goes on to point out that it is "Commando" extra strong beer and he asks me if I wanted to try it. I take a look at the label and it says 6.5% alcohol. 

"yeah... pour it out bro and let's see if it hits the right spot." I say. I take one gulp and tell them that it doesn't seem to be extra strong. They look at each other and then one guy leaves only to return with a pitcher. He says that it is the local wine made from millet. 

I take a swig from the pitcher and shake my head. "It's water" I tell them. Now they're really baffled. I explain to them that the Lambanog in the Philippines slices like a knife from the throat to the stomach when you swallow it and this stuff in the pitcher is like water in comparison. They look at me in disbelief and one guy says that he has a bottle of strong stuff from the town. He leaves and in a while returns with a small bottle of vodka, which made the night more memorable.

The temperature that night plunged down to about 8 degrees Celsius, but we all slept in the warmth of the brew.

The following morning I was up a bit late and so I hurriedly retraced my steps back to camp with this awesome view looming over me.

After that night, trekking in Nepal would never be the same again.

Nehemiah Nepal

The Old Testament prophet - Nehemiah, was tasked by God Jehovah to rebuild Jerusalem from ruins. A similar restoration job, Pastor Kaji and Rasmira Maharjan of Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal, took upon themselves, howbeit with a different twist.

Pastor Kaji - now in his early sixties, started the gospel work in Kathmandu as a very young man. He figured out that sin ruined mankind and that it will take someone - a Nehemiah, to help rebuild sinful man - particularly in Nepal, back to God's design. At that early stage of the gospel work in Kathmandu, Pastor Kaji dubbed his mission - "Nehemiah Nepal." His strategy stuck and now there is also a "Nehemiah India" and a "Nehemiah Bhutan."

In the few days that I stayed in their home and had fellowship with them in church, I was inspired by this couple in many ways. Their simplicity, sincerity and burning love for their countrymen and for God was so evident and contaminating.

in the guestroom dining quarters

 The Ananta Shalom church in Lalitpur

 worship is on the second floor...

 and there are no pews... 

just beautiful rugs where the worshipers 
can make themselves comfortable

I wanted to join in the singing but I couldn't make
out the head and tail of their alphabet

It was the first Saturday of the month (the official 

weekly holiday in Nepal is Saturday - not Sunday) and 

it was my blessed opportunity to break bread with

them in the celebration of the holy Eucharist.

Pastor Kaji related to me how the gospel work is now seeing a bountiful harvest. The indigenous people of Nepal are basically animists and they have a lot of taboos and superstitions, which keep them in the bondage of fear of the unseen. 

Any illness is first taken to the village shaman and then to the medical doctor if the former fails. When the medical doctor fails the last resort is the church upon recommendation by the doctor. And like in the days of Paul and Silas miracles have been happening in Nepal. 

I wished that I didn't have to fly home so soon, but I realized that God needed me more with my family. 

A "Nehemiah Thailand?" Who knows!

Jungu, Dolakha, Nepal

Jungu (pronounced joogoo) is one place I have never heard of ever since.  I didn't have the slightest idea what awaited me in terms of sights or culture. The most I knew of it in my research was the temperature at this time of the year, which could range from 5 – 21 degrees Celsius.

The maps below show where this remote place is in relation to the country where I come from.

the red line is the Airasia route that brought me from 

flat Bangkok to steep Kathmandu

That's Nepal in relation to its neighbors: Tibet up north, 

India in the south and Bangladesh and Bhutan to the east

Jungu is at the Gaurishankar reservation in the Rolwaling 

mountain range. Mt. Everest of the Annapurna range is next 

to the Rolwaling range.

You may note that the highways (yellow lines) are limited compared to India. It can also be seen that Jungu is not anywhere comfortably near a highway. So what was I expecting?

I got into the Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu at about 8 pm of November 1 and was met by Pastor Kaji and Gunraj Praja (below). 

That night I was briefed with the activities, which started with the departure at 6 am the following day and arrival at Jungu after 10 – 11 hours, granting that the bus survives the rugged trip and that no landslides happen that night to obstruct our passage.

The entire medical team of 30+ persons inside a 30-seater bus. At this point I wasn't yet introduced to them and my acquaintances were limited to the church folks who numbered about a dozen. I soon discovered that the majority of the team were Hindu and were connected with the Dr. Iwamaru Memorial Hospital and school of medical arts at Bhaktapur.

 we traverse through the Araniko highway linking Kathmandu 
to Tibet, China with the view of the beautiful Sunkoshi 
river taking my breath away...

 ...and then leave it behind at the junction in Kadichaur to make

the steep climb to the mountain town of Charikot/Bhimeshwor.

this stretch of highway (Lamosangu-Ramechhap) is one-lane 

with designated areas where you can pass slow vehicles 

or stop to let the oncoming car through.

main street Charikot - a city set on a mountain

the dizzying descent to the Tamakoshi river that drains the 

melting glaciers of the Annapurna mountains.

 The bridge across the Tamakoshi river

and then a muddy/rocky stretch of about 15 km

The final climb from the Tamakoshi to this spot on a ridge

with the village of Jungu (center of photo) in sight at last . But mind you, it will still be another 2 hours from this spot and under the cover of darkness before I finally set foot on ground zero.

sunrise the next day revealed this spot where we had

set camp.

Medical camp would commence after some ceremonies and preparations and this would be my home for 3 breezy days and 4 bone-chilling nights in the land of the legendary Sherpas and Ghurkhas.

"Lord, what will you have me to do?"

The welling up of anticipation and excitement in my recent life is noted every fourth quarter of the year. Expectation and eagerness for what God would have me to do for the present year in some remote, neglected and impoverished village… usually in a mountain range or some time-forgotten island it is.

This year’s stint was announced by my god-sent German friend – Ralf, when he said in a facebook message that the church in Kathmandu was preparing for a medical outreach in some remote region abutting the grand Annapurna mountain range and that I was invited to contribute my medical services toward this endeavor.

After some online research, I realized that this would be the farthest and most expensive volunteering job that I may undertake. It would also require a considerable amount of time out from work. In spite of these matters, I was pushed by an unseen force to give my immediate positive response and I was accepted into the team – “Nehemiah Nepal.”

I am blessed with a very supportive family, and when I announced my decision to go to Nepal, my wife and children immediately got into planning mode. This involved research on local weather conditions, which would dictate the type of clothing that I would need to bring, and putting this stuff together.

Another sign that bolstered my resolve to go on this trip was the kind approval by my boss - Villyn, and the generous consent of Jeremy and Anthony to take over my workload for 10 days. God was keeping his hand on this matter and it was nothing short of his perfect design.

God’s answer to the question for the year 2015, “what will you have me to do?” was loud and clear – “go to Jungu Dolakha, Nepal and I will be with you even to the uttermost ends of the earth!”