Journey to the Border

October 7^th, 2026

Phuentsholing, Bhutan

Woke with the alarm at 5:00AM.

Sat in the chair for about 10 minutes, then got into the shower.

Was done with shower, and dressed and ready to go by 5:35.

Packed the last items and took most of my medications during this time as well.

A knock on the door was the hotel staff collecting the luggage.

Thankfully I had both the duffle bags ready to go, just had to zip the one up.

Handed them over and he took them away.

All I had now was just my small shoulder bag with a few important things inside.

I used the toilet one last time, checked over the room, turned off the lights and opened the blinds and then left the room to go down and check out.

Once checked out, I stood with the rest of the group for a bit, then we went outside while they loaded the luggage into the shuttle van (15 passnger?)

I recorded a few videos and then was the last person on the van.

With Ben and the two Bhutan guides + the driver, we had 10 people, and that is when we noticed we were missing a rider.

Sadly, one of the guys (UK rider) had called Ben around midnight that he had to leave the trip due to a serious family emergency and that he would be flying out that day.

So, we now only have 6 riders.

We got going, but only managed a few blocks when we were stopped in a bottle neck with the narrow road, trucks parked on the road and a stalled car blocking the main route.

Took a few minutes for enough people to help push the car out of the way, then we could proceed.

Once past that, things were moving along pretty good, just moderate traffic, but the narrow roads still caused a few slowdowns.

We soon reached the edge of town and the road started to get very curvy and moving up into the lower hills now.

This slowed things, and made passing slower vehicles a challenge as well.

We meandered along the main highway till we reached the turn that would take us over into Assam.  We then moved along at a slightly better pace, going through several small towns and villages and crossing a large number of decent sized rivers (though most had only minimal water flowing at this time of year).

After 2-3 hours, we pulled over for a beverage stop and toilet break.

Most of us used the facilities and then we sat around and all had a chai while we talked a bit.

Once done, it was back in the van for the last hour to the border.

The road soon turned north to reach the border area where we would stop to go through India immigration to leave the country.

We reached the section of town where the immigration office was.  We all exited the van and followed the Bhutan guide into the building, only to find the office closed.

Guide went to talk with the officials as the front gate and found that the staff had gone for a coffee/tea break.

We stood around, thinking it might be quick, but was probably 30-40 minutes before anyone showed up. 

In the meantime, another couple had arrived trying to cross back into India, and they had a flight to catch as well, so time was running out for them.

When the guy finally showed up, we let them go first, but shortly after a 2^nd guy showed up to start processing our departures.

In the end, all of us got through the departure process before that one couple got through the arrival process.

We all left and were walking to the van when we were called back by the official at the gate.

Turns out they needed to record more info.

I find it somewhat crazy the amount of manual, hand-written, ledger records they keep around here.

They official had to take down our names, passport data, visa data, age, gender, phone number, and counter of residence, all by hand, all in a book that I will guess gets sent to some central office, probably stored in a big room and never looked at again!

Once done with that, I stood around waiting for the others and had a chance to talk with the woman from the other group.  Her and her husband were actually living in India and had diplomatic visas, but the local official kept trying to process them as tourists, which was wrong.  So that is why things took so long for them.

We finally finished and got back on the bus, drove down the road about 1 mile, and then pulled over just down from the border.

The van could not take us to the entry point and would need to cross at the main gate up the road.

We had to unload all the luggage and walk over to the human entry point.

One of the guides did grab a tuk-tuk driver and they loaded most of the luggage onto that to help move it over.

We all walked about ¼ mile to reach the entry point, a small portal in a big wall.

They had two lines, one for foreigners and another for Indian/Bhutan citizens.

That line moved pretty quickly as they just had to show ID to the first guard, then again to the 2^nd guard 5 steps away, then they could enter.

We had to stand in line and sit, one at a time, at a small table where 2 more guards wrote down all the same stuff they had done in India in their own set of ledger books, and also took digital photos of us.

Once done we could then go up and show our ID to the 2^nd guard and enter the building.

All of our luggage has already been taken through by the guides, so we just had any smaller bags on us.

We had to go through a security checkpoint, bags getting x-ray, metal detector and a metal wand pass over.

From there it was a long hallway up to a waiting area.  A few were still waiting, as they had not been given the paper copies of the visa, but as I had mine, I could go into the last room and go through the immigration entry process.

I grabbed my bags (all in a huge pile) and went in, then when my turn came, I went through the basic process of him checking passport and visa, taking picture, asked a few basic questions, and stamped the passport.

We then went past and outside.

I noticed some of the others over buy the van, which had passed through the road gate and was waiting for us.

Dropped off the bags so they could be loaded back on and then got into the van and out of the sun.

Once we were all in the van (minus one of the guides who had walked over to the nearby hotel to get things ready), we drove up the road.

But due to the nature of the road way, we had to drive past the hotel, up a small hill, around the block, and then back down to the hotel entrance road.

Once in the parking lot, we unloaded the luggage, and all went into the lobby to wait.

They served us all a welcome drink and then we were presented with welcome gift of a local scarf (similar to the one we were given in India 4 years ago).

Then Ben was given all the room keys and they were just handed out randomly as all the rooms were the same.

Our rooms are all on the 3^rd (and top) floor of the hotel.

We grabbed our bags and then walked up the stairs to the 3^rd floor and into our rooms.

Nice rooms, pretty standard layout.  My only complaint is not very many power outlets, but thankfully I had charged most of the stuff last night.

I did some quick filming and then sat in the room and cooled off as we were going to meet up for lunch in about 20 minutes.

I went back down stairs and inquired on the Wi-Fi as I had been unable to login since the room number had not been linked to my name (the usual method involved logging into the wireless with room number and last name).

They front desk staff gave me the main password instead, still used with the room number.

Finally online, I was able to check a few things out and make updates if need.

I had turned on my cell service, and this time it did get a signal, enough to change the phones time and I actually was getting text messages again.  But calls were still emergency only and no data at all.  So, the roaming ability of the Nepal provider must not have been enabled on my tourist package I bought.

I have already arranged to go with one of the local guides this afternoon to get a Bhutan SIM card.

Once we were all in the lobby, we followed the guide and walked a few blocks over to a local restaurant.

We had seating in the back dining room and ordered off the menu.

I was feeling pretty good today, so decided to try one of the local specialties, and chicken and noodle dish with nothing too crazy in it.

We all enjoyed our meals and then we walked back over to the hotel and into the back parking area to check out the bikes.

We will be riding Honda NX500 bikes, nice, newer models that are well equipped (crash bars, tail plates, phone mounts, and even luggage, though that will be removed unless we really want it (no one did).

I went up to the room to get my gear so we could install it and make sure it would work.

I manage to get the tank bag straps on without too much issue.

While my phone seemed like it would fit in the holder, it did not fit well enough, and the holder itself was not secured very good.

Thankfully the team had the Allen key to allow me to attach my QuadLock base and just use it.

So, one of the guides helped me get that installed and setup, and then I decided to try the Go Pro on the crash bars and they come up pretty high.  Not sure if I will like it, but place to start.

I could not find the box with the various sized rubber inserts, so limited on what size I can install it, and the mirror stalks are not fat enough to hold it.

Once done, I ran the left over tools and gear back to the room, then myself and a few others went off to get phone cars. (Well, one of the guys came with us, but then disappeared to do something else.)

One guy sat down and got his e-SIM setup, and I sat down to get the physical card setup. (My stupid phone does not support e-SIM usage).

Cost me about $20 to get an unlimited data access service for the 2 weeks we will be here.

Thankfully they accept Indian Rupee here as I have not yet had a chance to get local currency (The Ngultrum).

The third guy already had an e-SIM, but it did not appear to be working in this country, so he decided to get a small, limited setup as well.

Once done, we then walked over to an ATM so I could get money, but huge line and when we walked up to the front the guide found the machines were not working at the moment.

I decided I could go without for now as I still have enough Rupee and the two currencies are on par value wise, so not even any crazy math to figure out.

We walked back to the hotel and I came up to the room to do my own thing till we met for dinner in about 3 hours.

I took this time to pull out all the riding gear as I would start using it tomorrow.

I then condensed the two bags into one, and repacked everything as I would need it.

Thankfully the bag will go in the support truck here, and not need strapped to the bike.

I will be putting the rain gear in the small backpack I have, and it will strap to the bike, but not a big issue there.

I then played online a bit, and finally had to put phone on the charger as well.

Eventually I went down to check out the restaurant, but found most of the guys on an outdoor patio that is the roof to the front entrance.

We sat and talked for a bit, as more and more of the group showed up.

Finally, about 7:30 we went into the restaurant across the hallway and sat down for dinner.

They already had some vegetable trays on the table, we all got drinks, were brought some kind of soup (no idea what it was, but was good), and then a buffet of various local and Indian style foods.

Since they did not have anything but that, I decided to go ahead and give it a try, and hope my insides will not hate me.

Had a few different dishes, skipping the fish curry (not a big fish fan and curry tends to mess me up) and the chicken masala. (I like it, but really hate having to pick the meat off the bone).

We enjoyed the usual conversations, though I was near end of table, so kind of missed out on much of it except John and Jude (the Indian rider).

After eating too much food, we all sat around talking for a bit.

I left the table to go use the restroom, and decided to just run up to the room instead of using the public facility.

And barely made it.  Not sure if lunch finally hit me, or if something tonight just acted that fast (some stuff does), but the insides were very unhappy.

Went back up and sat with the remaining crew for a bit longer, but we all eventually went off to end our nights in the room.  We will regroup at 7:30 for breakfast.

The day tomorrow will include getting on the bikes, riding over to the traffic school, going through a basic course on road rules in Bhutan, and then we will ride up the road to the checkpoint to leave town and hit the road.

We have 160km, 1 more checkpoint, and 1000m of elevation to ride after that.

Back in my room, I put phone back on charger, organized gear a bit, and then got out the laptop to type up the last 2 days of blogs, but thinking I will still wait to put them online, getting tired.

So with that, good night and catch ya down the road.

 

Arrival Day – Bhutan Motorbike Trip

October 6^th, 2026

Siliguri, Nepal

Woke at 7:00AM and took a nice hot shower.

Dressed and then went down for Breakfast.

Met Ben, the owner and our tour manager on this trip again and sat and talked for a bit.

He then had to leave to get ready to go to the Airport to pickup some of the other riders arriving this morning.

I finished and went to the room and packed up the bags and then sat and read my Kindle for a few hours.

Around 10AM I got a call from one of the Bhutan guides who wanted to know if I was ready to transfer to the other hotel, which was the official start of the tour.

As I had nothing to do, I agreed to go then and gathered my bags and met them downstairs.

While waiting for the taxi to arrive, I ordered a Coke from the small café stand in the lobby.  Took a bit of effort to get my change, but then drank the cold drink just in time to finish as the taxi arrived.

The driver and guide loaded my bags into the trunk and then we hopped into the car, I was sitting up front and the guide took the rear seat.

We hit the highway out front, which is a mess.  They are building an elevated highway to move traffic quickly through the area, but right now it is just using up most of the road space below, and the construction blocks even more.  So, the highway is 1 lane in both directions, separated by a space of concrete pillars and piles of construction debris, littered with trucks and workers in various sections.

I heard it has been going on for 1.5 years already, and probably has that much longer till it is done.

The road is also very rough here as well.

Ironically the other hotel was only about 1 mile down the road, we probably could have walked that distance in less time than driving it, though in the heat and humidity, it would have been an unpleasant walk.

At the new hotel, we unloaded and went in to check in.

Received my room key, then the bell staff took my bags and carried them to the room.

We are on the 3^rd floor, very nicely appointed hotel, and the room was good sized, well appointed and comfy.

Once inside, I unpacked a few things, and sorted a few more, then relaxed for a bit before I got the Kindle out and started to read again.

I also put the phone on the charger and also the Wi-Fi as I do not have cell service here right now, and not going to buy any SIM for India as I leave in 2 days.

Received messages on WhatsApp about the dinner gathering later that night.  I walked down to the lobby for a bit, then walked out to the main road to check if the hardware store listed in front of the building would have my tools, but once I saw them, they were very focused on bathroom fixtures, so did not even go inside to check.

I then went inside, and up to the 5^th floor to check out he restaurant there, but it was not yet open.

However, it was a rooftop setup, so walked over to the edge to look down and also get some views.

As we are in a very flat part of the country, there is not much to see.  Just lots of buildings, roads and dust in the air.

Once done, I was going to go back to the room, when I had a notice on WhatsApp.  Checked message and it was one of the other riders who was down in the ground floor café having a drink, so I went down to join him.

Brad was from Canada, so we talked for a till a few others joined us.  I did not catch all the names, but one guy from the UK at least, 2 from Australia and another guy who is Indian, but did not hear if he lived in India or elsewhere.

We all ordered food then as well since it was a bit after normal lunch time.

Ben soon joined us as well and most of the team was there except 1 guy (Another UK person if I heard correctly.)

Once we had eaten and exhausted our conversations, we all went to our rooms.  All by myself and Ben had just flown in that morning, so were exhausted and needed rest.

I just returned to the room and played online and sorted a few more luggage things as we would not be riding tomorrow, so still needed to keep the bags separated.

Few hours later I received message that Ben would be in the rooftop bar area at 6:30, and dinner was to start at 7:00PM.

I went up just after 6:30PM, a few others were there as well, and eventually everyone but the Indian guy had shown up.  Ben messaged him, but we decided to go ahead and start, figuring he was probably sleeping.

After we all perused the menu a bit, most were wanting local foods, so Ben ordered several dishes to just share, but as my stomach had been acting up the day before, I decided to go safe and order a pasta instead.

We all ate and conversed for a bit and then the last guy showed up as he had woken up.

Soon the group started to split off into smaller groups of conversation and Brad (Canada), John (UK), and myself got into discussions of world affairs.

But it started to get late, and we had to be in the lobby at 6:00AM to leave, so we all left to turn in for the night.

I repacked as much as I could to save time in the morning, even laid out the clothes and such to allow me to sleep late as possible.

Set the alarm for 5:00AM, and then played on phone a bit till I was ready to crash.

Tomorrow we will get our shuttle van that will take us to the India/Bhutan border where we will exit India and enter Bhutan.

Catch ya down the road.

Re-positioning Day

October 5^th, 2026

Siliguri, India

Woke at 6:00AM today and took a quick shower and dressed.

Packed the last few small items and then went for a very quick breakfast.

Once done, used the restroom and then grabbed my bags and headed down to the lobby.

Paid for the room and incidentals, and then sat to wait for my car to the airport.

At 7:00AM a guy pulled up, came inside and asked if I was Alex, but I said no.  He parked and waited around for a bit, then talked to the front desk a few times, and eventually they called me over to find out who I was waiting for.

Turns out this was my driver, but he had been given wrong name?

Day starting on wrong foot.

We got into the car and got going only about 10 minutes later, so shouldn’t be too bad.

Traffic was quite heavy though, so still took about 25 minutes to reach the airport.

Got out and walked into the departures area and tried to make heads or tails of the mess.

People standing all over the place, but finally noticed two lines that went past barrier and into the building.

You have to show your boarding pass to enter the building (or something about your flight if you have not checked in online ahead of time).

You then have to put bags through a quick X-Ray and get a pat down to enter the hallway.

Once done with that, you have all the airline check in counters to choose from.

While I have my boarding pass, I need to check a bag, so found the Air India line and since I was flying Business Class I got to stand in the line with 1 person instead of the line with 30 people.

Once it was my turn, I checked the bag and she printed me a paper pass as well.

She then instructed me to go down to the end of the baggage belt and wait till I saw my bag go into the machine, and then wait another minute or two before going to the gates.

Odd request, but went down.

I then saw what they were doing.

If the checked bag had any thing odd, they would call for the person to come into the room and open the bag so it could be inspected, then they would leave via another door, take catwalk over the belt and then could leave.

I saw my bag come down, waited for a bit while it sat there, then it went into the machine.

Waited a good 2 minutes and no one came out, and many more bags went in, so figured I was good.

Went up the escalator to the 2^nd floor and found the airport lounge I had a pass for.

They checked me in, and then I sat there for about 45 minutes filling out some paperwork online for the India Immigration stop, and checking on some other things.

I was not hungry enough to eat anything, so just drank the water they gave me (and still had half a bottle of my own I left there since I could not take it through security.)

Left the lounge and went through security.

Had to take out a few things from the bag, but no issues otherwise.

Found me gate and took a seat and waited for the boarding.

Bit confusing as the announcements are hard to hear, and usually in more than one language, but never sure what you are hearing, and since the English one is usually last, all the locals are moving around first making more noise as well.

I thought I heard that we could start boarding, and saw some people in the business class line.  I asked and they said I could, and took me to the front.  None of the others actually had business class tickets, but appeared to be part of a group, so were keeping them in that line for some reason.

I was scanned in, then out the door and onto the bus.  Then they started letting all the other people through.  Really no benefit to being first to board there since you all end up on the same bus.

Once full, we drove out to the plane, and then they had us waiting for a few minutes before they let us out.

Once out, I started to move toward the entry point for the plane.  They had some odd building cars setup before the ramp, so when two lines started to form I though the one might be the business line, but then noticed the lines were gender splits.

One of the agents saw my confusion, looked at me pass and then told me to go to front of the line of Men.

They held line while I got in, and then noticed they were having everyone open carry-on bags to go through them.

Then in the next section, you got pat down again (so third pat down and 3 baggage check today)

I then could walk up the steps to the plane.

Found my seat, which was in the first row and put bag in the overhead.

Then waited while the plane loaded up.

Once full, and it was full, we closed up and started to taxi.

Was airborne soon after and had some nice mountain views along the first 3^rd of the flight, before the clouds got too thick to see.

They served us our meal, and then I just played on the phone for a bit till I got tired, and then sort of zoned out till the plane landed.  Did not actually sleep, but kept eyes closed and tried to just not focus on anything.

My head was starting to hurt a bit, my congestion was getting worse, and that of course was triggering my cough again.

Once we landed, and spent some time getting to the gate, we sat there for a while waiting for the bus.  Turns out we had landed 20 minutes ahead of schedule, so they were not ready for us.

Once bus arrived, they let the business class out and then the bus took just us over to the terminal, which was quite a long drive in and round all the gates.

Once out, I stopped to use the restroom and then found myself in the immigration hall.

I looked for the signs on the lines and saw that I could use either foreign passport, or evisa lines, then noticed the two lines right next too me were for Business/First Class.  Much smaller lines.

Got into those, but while smaller, they also only had 2 agents working, so still slow.

While in line I got to talking with guy in front of me, and at some point documents came up and he asked if I had done the E-arrival form?

Not heard of this form.  Was not mentioned in my research, none of my emails from the airline mentioned it, they said nothing on the plane, no signs in the hallway or tables of forms were present either, yet it was a required form.

Ladies behind me said they had gotten to front and they sent them back out to find them, did not tell them where, just sent them away?

Like WTF?

So, I went off to see if I could find one, nothing.  The guy had mentioned he did it online, so I saw the kiosk to get the Wi-Fi code where you scan passport and it spits out a code for you.

Got online and did a quick search, found the official government page with the form and filled it out while still in line.

Just finished it before my turn came up.

Handed over my documents, showed him the health form I had completed that morning, then did the photo and fingerprints (had some issues with my thumbs and had to repeat the process 3 times).

Spent a bit of time talking as during the questions about what I planned to due, turned out the guy was from Siliguri which was my final stop that day.

He then asked to see the access form I had just completed in line, and then got my entry stamp and visa stamp in the passport.

Walked around the long hallway to exit the area into baggage claim (after walking through all the duty free shops).

I found my bag on the floor near the belt with many other bags from the flight and then went to exit customs where we had to run bags through another X-ray.

then stopped to buy some local currency, as I was not sure if I would need it to get to the other terminal, heard there might be a cost.

I then wandered around trying to find the shuttle that was supposed to go over there.

I eventually saw the domestic transfer terminals and asked the lady; she told me to go to the airline counter.

I stopped at the counter she took my info, and said she could not check the bag as it had to be checked in the other terminal, but did print me a boarding pass, that way I could use the shuttle for no cost.  Then told me where to find the shuttle.

Left the building and found the spot, stood in line for a bit and then the first shuttle filled up, but I was next in line, so got on the next one early.

That one did not pack full, so was nicer ride.

Took a few minutes to leave, then stopped by some traffic, then we got to Terminal 2, and had a few leave, then a much longer drive to Terminal 1.

Once there, got off the bus, stood aside to sort my bag and then went up the escalator.

I went in the wrong door at first, and found I was in the ticket purchasing area, so left and then found the terminal doors.

Had to have boarding pass scanned, then went inside and found the check in counter for Air India Express.

Lady there got the back checked in, and then printed me a new pass with the gate listed on it as well (other one was blank as it had not been assigned yet?)

I then wandered over to the security area, had pass scanned again, then started to unload onto security check area.

Pushed my bags and tubs of stuff into the machine, walked through the metal detector and got my pat down/wand scan, then went over to claim my stuff, and as expected, the bags had been pulled aside.

Had to pull out the electronics and open every single thing so they could see it, ended up unpacking 75% of my bag to get it all, then they had to scan bag again with all that out.

Then while looking in my GoPro bag, the found the small tool I have in there that had 2 screwdrivers and several Allen keys on it.  This was a small bicycle took, was barely 2 inches long, and with the tool unfolded was maybe 3 inches.

But they freaked out about it.

I asked why I had gone through 6 other checkpoints in several airports without an issue, but now suddenly this is on the not allowed list (excuse…it was a tool).

They called over a supervisor while I was trying to repack everything, and flatly told me I could not have it in the cabin.  They kept telling me I could put it in checked bags, but those bags were already gone into the system.

They said I should go back to the counter and have them get it back (yeah, sure they will do that), but then I would need to go through this security circus a second time.

Finally told them to just toss it, keep it (or shove it up there ass…at least I did not say that one) and left.

So right now, I cannot mount my phone holder to the bikes, but while annoying, not critical.

The tool itself was something I think I got for free someplace, or maybe bought for cheap, do not recall.  While pissed off that I lost it, I rarely use it anyway.

Just really get tired of the complete lack of consistency in these wasteful airport security shows.  They get bent over things that are not really that dangerous, while ignoring several things in my bag that I could use to hurt someone far worse than a 1 inch Allen key could cause (and let’s not even go into what I can do with my hands and feet).

Nearly every object made can be turned into a weapon, so why do we not just focus on the items that are actual weapons and have no other purpose.

Or they need to ban all carry on items and let nothing onto the plane.   Stupid theater of illusions that people think are making them safer and it actually doing very little in that regard.

I got out of the security area and stopped to fix my bags a bit, and now had about 2 hours to burn.

I got on the Wi-Fi with a new code as the old one did not work over in this terminal.

Eventually got up to use the restroom, and then my headache was getting me so bad I noticed a pharmacy and they had some stuff to help.

Bought a soda from shop next door and took one right away.

Then sat longer till it was close enough for my boarding.

Walked down the long building of gates till I found mine and had a seat.

Time ticked along and eventually we were supposed to start boarding, but slight issue, there was no plane to board.

They eventually called out that the flight was delayed 20 minutes due to our plane not yet arriving.

Around 20 minutes later a plane did pull up, but then nothing happened.

I went to use restroom and when I came out the line for the boarding was already full, so I guess the boarding zones mean nothing here.

I went ahead and got in line since it seems there is no order or procedure, just a free for all.

Finally got up and scanned through and then walked down the long hallway to the jetway and over to the plane.

Got on and my seat was in 2^nd row.  Put bag in overhead and they had to lean way over to keep from getting smacked by all the others walking through.

About half way, I had to get up and let 2 people in next to me, which ended up being a damn night mare.

They were with the 3 people on the other side of the aisle, and he kept talking over to them (and they were never paying attention, and also kept just reaching over me to hand stuff back and forth to them as well, quite rude and annoying).

Plane finally took off about an hour after it was supposed to leave.

Rough take off, pavement was very uneven and plane shook all over trying to move.

Once airborne, things smoothed out some, so I just played on my phone for a bit.

They served food to those that had pre-ordered or wanted anything, but nothing was free, had to pay for any meal.  I skipped as I was not going to fart around trying to pay for food on the plane, though by now I was hungry, and regretted not buying a small snack at the terminal.

I spent second half of the flight just zoned out, maybe even dozed a few minutes here and there, till the plane started to come in to land.

Once on the ground, was a short taxi to the terminal building.  They opened the door and soon let us out and down the stairs.

We then walked across the pavement to the entrance and went inside.

Asked one of the military guys standing around where the baggage would come as I could not see any signs, he said belt one, and only after I got closer do the belt, did I see the sign with our flight on it.

Waited a few minutes for it to start, and another 5 for my bag to show up.

I then walked outside and was hoping someone would have a sign with my name on it.

I had no signal here, and the airport did not appear to have Wi-Fi either, so no way to communicate with anyone.

I stood off to the side and played on my phone like I was using it, while a dozen guys on other side of the fence were all screaming about taxi services.

Finally, a guy got my attention and asked if this was me, while holding his phone up with my photo on it.

I had to walk over to see what was on the phone, but then yet, that was me, so this must be the guy I was waiting for.  Sad thing was that I did not even know what hotel I needed to go to, so couldn’t even take a taxi if I wanted too.

Guy grabbed my bags once I was out of the airport zone, and then took me to a car.

Took about 30 minutes in some crazy traffic, on some beat up roads to get to the hotel.

Got my bags and went to check in.

Got on the Wi-Fi here and let the tour people know I was here.

I then saw the messages about the hotel and the pick-up driver, but all came it after I had lost Wi-Fi at the airport in Delhi.   Beginning to think I should have bought a really cheap SIM card for these few days.

I got checked in, up to the room and then went to meet with Ben, the tour manager (and owner of the company).

He was finishing his dinner in the restaurant, so joined him, had a drink and then ordered some food as I was really hungry now.

We talked about bikes and rides and tour companies, and then we parted ways.

I came back to the room, unpacked a few small things, spent 10 minutes trying to get the power outlets to work with my power adaptor and then typed this up so I could get it done today.

I will put it online later though, too tired.

Tomorrow I will chill in the morning, then we will move hotels around noon, then I will see if I can find a shop in the area that can sell me a 3mm Allen key.

Otherwise, it’s just hanging out waiting for the other riders (there appear to be at least 7 on this ride) to show up.

I will also do some research, see if there is a SIM option that will cover both India and Bhutan. (My Nepal card supposedly has that ability, but must not be part of the plan I bought as it does not work.)

Catch ya down the road.

Final days in Nepal

October 4^th, 2026

Kathmandu, Nepal

I awoke on the 2^nd of October and got ready.

Went down for breakfast around 8:00AM and was soon joined by my guide.

He confirmed everything was ready for todays last leg to get back to Kathmandu.

After eating, we parted ways and agreed to meet in the lobby at 11:30.

I went up to the room and did my final packing and checks.  Thankfully this flight I would be able to stay in street clothes as they had room for me to have two bags on the flight.

As with my international flights, I have all the riding gear and a few things moved into the one bag to check, and all the clothes and electronics are with me in the cabin.

I sat around playing online till it was time, then did a final room check and then left to go downstairs.

I paid my laundry bill, but the hotel was paid for by tour company, so I would pay them for it since we are now outside the original planned trip.

I then noticed the guide sitting outside on the patio, so went out to meet with him.

I had just walked up and asked if the car was coming and it pulled up.

We loaded our bags and then got into the vehicle.

I was about a 30 minute drive to the international airport, traffic was bit heavy, otherwise probably take half that.

We arrived at the drop off point and driver went off to grab a cart.  Kind of wish he wouldn’t have.  Took more time to grab that cart so we could push the luggage 30 feet to an X-ray machine and leave the cart behind, would have been quicker to just walk in carrying them.

At the X-ray we had to run bags through and walk through metal detector and get pat down to even enter the airport.

Once inside, we retrieved our bags, which were spilling all over the floor, and then walked over to the ticket counters and found our airline.

We stood in line for quite some time while they ticket agents were busy checking in a very large tour group and the mountain of bags they had.

Once we got up, we were able to get each of our bags checked and our boarding passes printed.

We then went over to the security lines, which were crazy long.

The area was not roped off in any management, so line was just snaking into the seating area around the ticket counters.

There were two lines, but each was designated by gender, so the Male line had about 5 times as many people as the Female line, and it was also not moving at all.

Eventually something must have broken or stopped working, as they moved us all over to the Female line, for about 3 minutes, then suddenly they re-opened the Male line again.

So, a bit of dancing back and forth, but finally got through the security checkpoint which was the usual X-ray, metal detector, and pat down.

Once past that, we walked over a bit to our gate and took a seat.

The plane was supposed to be leaving at this time, but there had already been announcements to delays due to weather in other spots of the country.

Our plane finally arrived about 45 minutes later, and quickly unloaded.

We then lined up to get passes scanned, then walked across the tarmac to reach the plane parked just past the jetways.  Plane was too small to use them, so we just boarded from the ground using the built-in stairs on the plane.

We are flying on a Bombardier Dash-8 (Q400) plane.  Another larger propeller driven aircraft.

Again, we were seated near the back of the plane, but we loaded from the front.

Got to our seats, and barely fit my bag into the overhead, it was a bit short height wise, thankfully I only use duffle bags, so they can deform to fit places.

Plane took of shortly after loading completed and we were airborne again over the mountains, flying mostly around 11,000 feet.

Some nice views, but also a large amount of cloud cover preventing larger views of the mountains, but got a few peeks at the local peaks along the way.

At one point the plane did a complete circle in the air, and final flight time was 30 minutes instead of the stated 20 minutes, so guessing the Air Traffic Contrl slowed us down due to delays still going on in Kathmandu.

We landed and taxied to the stopping point, where we unloaded and boarded a shuttle.

A quick shuttle ride dropped us at the Domestic Terminal of the airport and we exited into the baggage claim building.

Here we waited around for a few minutes while the bags came.  Then it took several minutes for all of our bags to show up.

Once we had those, we exited the building and the driver of our car was waiting in the lot across from the doors.  He saw us and went to get car while we walked over to find the crosswalk to the lot.

The driver met us as we walked into the lot, loaded the bags and then we drove off to reach the hotel I was staying in.  (This is same place I stayed before the ride).

This ride took probably 20-30 minutes due to heavy traffic, but we arrived and unloaded my bags.

Here I bid farewell to my guide as he would be dropped of later at his home (I guess he lives locally, though I had originally thought he lived in Pokhara).

I tipped him and thanked him for his efforts along the way.

I then went inside and got checked into the hotel.

I used the booking I had made as it was for the full 3 nights, and had them cancel the 1 night booking the tour company had made.

I let the tour agent know I was at hotel and he said he would stop by a bit later.

After he arrived, I met him in the lobby and he asked why I had not used his reservation as it would save me about $25 a night.

So, we tried to cancel the online reservation and go with his, but the online required a fee to cancel which was basically a full night’s cost and had to be approved by the hotel.

In the end, we canceled that request and tried to change the dates so I would just pay for the 1 night and then 2 nights under the agent.

The hotel rejected that was well (the next morning), so will just stick with my online booking and I would let agent know what happened.

I then crashed in the room for a bit and then went over for dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Not long after that I tried to get some blogs online and was so tired, I finally went to bed around 9:00PM.

The next morning (3^rd October), I woke with my alarm at 7:00AM and sat around the room for a bit.  Had not slept that good, was having issues with congestion, and coughing, not to mention the still ongoing stomach issues.

I finally went for breakfast around 8, then back to the room where I did a few things online and then sat around for a bit.

I then left to go do some quick shopping.

The zipper of the pants I had packed broke along the bike ride, and did not want to spent the next two months walking around at night with my fly open.

I went over to the same trekking shop I had bought straps at, and checked with them.

They only had one brand of pants with the zip off legs (I like to convert them to shorts in warmer climates, saves packing space).

I tried on the two sizes I thought might work, but frankly they both felt the same.  While the length was good, and waist fit, the pants were so tight along my butt and groin that I could not even lift my leg all the way.  Not sure if the larger pair was mis-sized, or just bad manufacture (I am guessing they are probably not authentic North Face products), but neither fit, and they had nothing else to choose from.

I started to walk down the road and saw another shop right next door, so checked them out.

They had the same “North Face” brand, and another brand of zip off pants.

Did not look like they had my size in the other brand, but the one style of pants was a bit different in the North Face brand, so tried on those.

The one size was a bit tight, but the larger one fit nicely.

I went ahead and bout those (about $20) and walked back to the hotel.

I changed into those and walked around a bit, happy with the purchase.  While the zippers are a bit crappy, and may not survive the trip, at least I have something for now.

I then walked over to the main road to one of the money exchange places to get a bit more local currency so I could avoid the credit card charges added to the bill.

I pulled out another $40 worth, that should get me by the last 2 days.

I then walked back to the hotel and hung out in the room working on various things, mostly not important.

Later that night I walked over and around the block aways to find a restaurant that I wanted to eat at.

I think this place is same company as the one we ate at in Pokhara.  Called the Roadhouse café.

Had a great dinner there, and then walked back to the hotel.

I had been looking for a club to maybe hang out at later, knowing about the rock club I had passed a few times and recommended by the original tour people, and found a few other music clubs with DJs, but most had mixed reviews and was not sure I wanted to deal with it or not.

In the end, it did not matter.

By 8:00PM I was not feeling good at all.  Stomach was still upset, I had a headache, sinus pain in my cheeks and jaw and was coughing quite badly and congested.

I decided to just go to bed after taking another cough drop, and had taken allergy medicine earlier in the day to hopefully lessen that issue.

Slept hard through the night, only up a few times to use the restroom, though things were worse when I was awake.

At one point in the middle of the night, I ran some hot water on a towel and held it up to my face for a minute, repeating that a few times.

It immediately loosened the congestion, blowing my nose several times, and seemed to take the edge off the pain.

I finally felt good enough to try sleeping again.

Slept again deeply till morning, and woke up only slightly congested, and without any sinus pain.

Took a longer hot shower, then dressed and sat in the room for a bit.

Finally went up for breakfast and had a decent meal and sat around reading for awhile just to avoid coming back to room where I might want to sleep again.

I eventually did come back, but was feeling good, so worked on uploading the rest of the blogs, then got some additional airfares booked for upcoming legs of the trip.

I then worked on a few other things, and then it was time for lunch.

I walked over to a small shop in the alley road nearby, thinking I might try the pizza there.  While they had it on the sign out front, they did not have it on the menu, so was not sure, and then figured a pizza might be a bit much for lunch this soon after breakfast anyway.

Had a grilled chicken sandwich instead, which was quite good.

I then walked back to the hotel and played around online for a bit, then figured I should get this last blog entry done before I leave tomorrow.

I will then work on a few other online things, probably play a bit, and then figure out dinner.  Might do the pizza for dinner, either same spot as last night, or try one of the other places nearby.

Then will come back and relax for a bit, then in bed early as I have to be up earlier tomorrow for a 7am airport pickup.

After playing around online for a bit, I was late enough I decided to just go get dinner earlier than planned.

I figured pizza would do again, and went to another local place I had found that was not too far away, and this one was in one of the smaller alleys, so lacks the traffic noise you get from the busier roads.

I walked over and place was not too busy, found a table and sat down.

Ordered a pizza and drink, and had both in about 15 minutes.

Pizza was really good, enjoyed it immensely. They actually do pretty decent pizzas in Nepal.

After eating, I still had half my drink left, so sat and continued to read while I nursed it, and then the power went out.

Kind of strange to be sitting there and then all lights, music, kitchen noises go dark and it’s the entire street.

Was out for about 2 minutes, then came back on, for about 1 minute, the out again.

Another 2 minutes and it came back and seemed to stay on that time, though I left shortly after as the place was starting to get busy and I did not want to use up a table without purpose.

I walked back up to the main road, then down a block to check out another section of town.

I had walked the road early in the trip to go check out the bikes, but had not really checked out the stores.

I still had about 2000 Rupee to use up, so figured I could find some small, simple, and none breakable things to buy to take home.

I wandered the road up to the place where the bikes had been, then back down the other side of the road.

I then took a small alley way that would bring me back toward the pizza place I just ate at.

Along there I did find a small show selling little animals made of cloth, almost fuzz balls.  Not sure exactly, but they were kind of cute, asked if the had any cats, and guy took me to shelf with a few.

I bought 2, which cost me around $6.

I then went back to the main road and stopped into a book store that had maps and other trinkets.

I figured I might buy a map of the Mustang valley just to better find places I went, and I like maps, so do I need another reason?

Found one, but it was more than I had left, but lady pointed me to a smaller version, which will be easier to pack and carry as well, that was much less.

I bought it and two magnets that looked cool, hopefully someday I can plaster a refrigerator with all my travel magnets.

I had 200 left now, so bought another soda for 100, and will just put the last 100 into my currency collection unless I need something cheap at the airport tomorrow, but doubt there is anything that cheap there.

I came back to the room and finished this up.  Will worry about posting it online later, but wanted to get it typed up so I could put the laptop away and start packing up as my next task.

Want to have everything basically put away so I can just shower, dress and leave in the morning.

With that, I will end this and go do those things.

Catch ya down the road.

 

 

 

Game Over, flying out of Mustang

October 1^st, 2026

Pokhara, Nepal

Woke with alarm at 7:00AM.

Feeling beaten still.  Was down by around 10ish, and only up twice for bathroom visit, but still not feeling rested.

Wandered around the atrium a bit, then stepped outside to watch the locals going about their daytime starts.

Went back to the room and shocked that we still had hot water, but did not want to take a full shower, so just washed head and face.

Went back in and sat on the steps of the atrium as there is no chair in the room, but did not want to sit in Café and make them think I wanted something.

Just played games on the phone to wake up.

Guide found me when he was walking upstairs.

We talked for a bit, then went to café and ordered breakfast.

Still no internet or phone, but his talking with various guides and local government people tells us that the roads south are still not passable, and will be out of service for at least 5-6 more days.

We do not have that kind of time.

We briefly think about riding down to the area to see what the story is, but that would take at least 3-4 hours, and waste fuel, which is getting harder to get.

It’s decided that our ride is over.

He talks to hotel about getting a car to take us the 6 miles back to Jomson to reach the airport, and also about storing the bikes at the hotel until a time when they can be retrieved.

We both got and pack, and since the small planes have limited luggage space, we will have to wear our riding gear on the plane, so much joy!

We get geared up, socks and boots are still damp, but nothing that can be done.

Finish packing, checked out the room and then left to wait in the lobby.

Guide arrived a few minutes after me.

Hotel staff took my large bag and we walked out of the small alley ways to the main road area where a car was already waiting to take us to the airport.

We crammed into the small SUV and then took about 15 minutes to drive up to the town and get dropped off in front of the airport (right on the main highway).

Cost me 2000 rupee for the ride. (guess I am paying for the extra transport).

Guide talked to the security in front of the airport entrance for a bit, then dropped bags on the ground and I waited with them while he went inside to see if we could get on a flight today.

Since we have not internet, we could not book online, and the main ticket office on the street was also down, so he was trying the direct route and going right to the airline desk inside.

Guide was gone about 20 minutes or so, and when he returned, he said we could go now.

We walked into the airport gate and found the departures building.

We stood around for a few minutes, then he overheard some others talking that NCell, the cell company I was using, had restored service.

I took my phone out of airplane mode and sure enough, I had service.

He used my phone to call the tour company people back in Kathmandu to explain what was going on and update them on our status.

We then went up to the ticket booth as they were ready for us.

Staff weighed our bags (both overweight) and then took them to checked bag security.

I then had to pay for my flight and bag fees, which came to $215 US dollars.

We then got boarding passes, and were ready to board.

We went through what appeared to be a non-functioning metal detector and then waited outside rooms for security search.

Gender specific rooms where you would be patted down and asked if you were carrying anything prohibited.

Carry on bags were not checked though, or perhaps only if security was not satisfied with answers?

We then went into waiting area and sat down.

Cell service kept going in and out still for me, and his came back, but only phone and only emergency calls, so still not fully restored.

Soon after they started calling us up and checking our passes, then we went outside and waited on the steps next to the plane parking area.

A plane landed soon after, and it was ours (Summit Airlines).

We waited while the plane was unloaded of passengers, and then they let us walk over to start boarding.

We were toward the rear of the line, so would be near back of plane.

We also saw the luggage being loaded into the rear cargo bay.

This was a small plane, and LET L410-UVP-E20  made in the Czech Republic.

I had the last seat on the left side, which was a single seat row.  The exit door was right behind me.

After boarding, we left soon after, the engines had never even shut off, just powered way down while we boarded.

We taxied to the runway and took off.

Noisy plane, we were right behind the upper wing mounted engines.

Great views though.

Flight was amazing as you were constantly going along the mountains and above the valleys, but still had massive peaks rising several thousand feet above.

As we moved down the Mustang valley the clouds started to increase, as did the turbulence, but nothing too bad, just seems worse in a small plane.

We arrived over Pokhara in about 20 minutes and landed.

Quickly arrived at parking area, and deboarded the plane.

We walked over to a simple building where they would bring the checked luggage and waited.

Once that arrive and we had claimed our bags, we left to find a taxi.

That was quick process as they were all lined up nearby.

Driver took us to the same hotel we had stayed at last time, though while we were in route the guide had called, and supposedly the place was full.

Some back and forth with the tour agent in Kathmandu and suddenly we had rooms at the hotel.

We had actually arrived at the place before this occurred, so just sat in the taxi waiting to see what would happen.

Once we were good to stay, we got out of taxi, I paid the 800 Ruppe cost, and we checked into the hotel.

Got into my room (guess the guide will stay at another place across the road that is not as costly?) and got out of the now over heating riding gear. (it was quite warm and humid here compared to when we left Jomson).

I then took a nice warm shower and cleaned myself top to bottom, while I had done this the night before, I had still been wearing dirty clothing and probably smelled quite rank by now.

I then sat down and did some updates online as I figured people might be wondering where I was after a week of silence.

I then gathered all the smelly, dirty clothing into the bag provided by the hotel, filled out the form and called down to have them come get stuff for laundry service.  (not very cheap, but desperately needed).

They came up in a few minutes and took the stuff away.

I then put stuff on chargers that were very low and put boots out on the patio in the direct sunlight to dry, and hopefully kill of some of the smell (they are toxic!)

I then went downstairs to meet up with the guide and go to lunch.

We walked over to a nice place about ¼ mile away and both had pizza for lunch.

Then we walked back, stopping so I could get some water and a Coke, and then returned to the hotel.

He had earlier worked with the tour company to get our flights and airport transfers booked, so we will leave tomorrow around 11:30AM.

We will still meet as usual for breakfast around 8:00AM and then plan any last minute details.

A car will be picking us up for the 20-30 minute ride to the larger airport, and then after 1-2 hours we will take the 30 minute flight to Kathmandu where another car will take us into town.

I am going to be dropped off at the same hotel I stayed at last time as I know the area, it is a nice place (though not cheap) and I still need to pay for the last night I spent there due to the mistake made by their front desk staff.

I will be in Kathmandu for 3 more nights, then will be leaving Nepal for the next stage of this adventure, but will cover that in a later entry.

For now, I am going to try working on getting all the previous weeks entries online and then think about dinner, either eat at the hotel if serving, or see about some place close by, though may even go back to same place we had lunch, nice menu there.

 

 

Motorcycle Trekking - Getting past the road damage

September 30^th, 2026

Marpha, Nepal

Woke early today.

Put on shoes and went outside to get some fresh air on the front patio. A few of the guides and the hotel staff were moving about, but none of the other guests.

Took a few photos and just sat there getting some Zen time.

Eventually people started to move about, more of the guides were hanging out up on the road side and a few other guests went out for walks or taking photos.

I went up with the guides; sun was shining there and was much warmer.

My guide asked to use the charging cable again for his phone on the motorbikes, so went into get it.

We ran on his bike for about 10-15 minutes.  While that was going on, two of the Chinese guests were going on about the bikes and asked to take photos, and a bit later after we moved away, I saw them both posing with the bikes.

We then moved the phone over to my bike and ran it as well to charge phone, and both bikes were not warmed up and ready to ride.

Went in for breakfast and the French group was already eating, and the Chinese group was starting to arrive. 

My food came out soon after and I quickly ate and then went to the room to change into my gear.

Then sat around in various places playing on the phone till we were ready to leave.  We wanted to leave about 9:00AM, but think we got out by around 8:30AM.

All the other groups were also getting ready to leave.

All of us were going to use the alternate way of bypassing the road damage, the village trail.

Those in cars would just hike down the hill and get a different car at the bottom.

We had the extra challenge of moving the bikes down the trail, which was something that we knew could be done, but most doing it were using smaller, lighter bikes.

We got on our bikes right after the French group left, and passed them almost immediately.

The road was a bit better this time as the tractor had cleared a few of the areas and about 2 dozen trucks had gone down the road the day before, so the worst sections were somewhat flattened and we could follow in tire tracks.

Most of the thick wet mud was now damp hard mud, still soft and bit slick, but not going to get stuck in it.

We reached the village of Chele right before the road damage and guide asked around and the work had not even started yet.  They were still waiting on the dump trucks that were needed to haul the gravel up from the river to fill in the washed out sections.

So, we were going to have to move the bikes down the hiking trail.

We rode over into the villages narrow dirt paths and stopped at the top of the hill.

Guide hiked down a bit to check things out and was pretty sure we could do it, but would need help as the bikes would be too heavy to handle alone or even with the two of us.

He went off to find some help, and was gone for probably 30 minutes.

I stayed with the bikes, getting strange looks from the locals going about their business in the same area or passing through.  Passed time with a few photos and just staring at the bikes.

The French group hiked down around this time, and 20 minutes later the Chinese group came and hiked down.

They would have cars pick them up at the bottom to continue on to the Jomson Airport or the next town they were to visit.

Guide brought me a bottle of water as I was thinking I would need it after helping move the bikes.

Eventually the help gathered.

They took guides bike first.

One smaller guy got on the bike, and two (the guide being one) grabbed the bike from the back and they coasted it down the hill.  Several others followed along to help when needed.

I stayed up top with my bike and the bags (we removed all the bags and gear to make bikes lighter.)

When it was my bikes turn, the same guys took it and guide said to wait and he would be back to get the bags.

However, shortly after they went down (I filmed the first segment and the walked back to the bags) one of the drivers that had been with the French group grabbed two of the bags, another guy grabbed another, so I grabbed what was left and we all hiked down the hill.

Figured no point I making my guide hike back up again just for the bags.

We reached the bottom just after they did with the bike and we all stood around a bit while they talked, drank water, and rested.

The guys that helped went back up for another bike, which we watched them bring down, and then it was time for us to get on the bikes and go.

We rode just a short distance to a large, somewhat technical water crossing.

Guide went first and bike got stuck on a rock and he stalled in the middle, then was just spinning wheel when trying to go.

I parked and went over to help, wading into the 6-12 inch deep, quite cold water.  Yeah, my boots are finally wearing out, water got in almost immediately.

We spent a few minutes trying to dislodge the bike from the large rocks and get it up the slightly steep bank.

Finally got it up and he took the bike (it was running and he was operating it while walking on one side, me on the other) up the road a bit to park.

I walked back, now missing my water bottle that had fell out of my pocket and washed away, and got on my bike.

I started the bike and line up, but waited as the guide was in the water moving some rocks around to clear a better path.

Once he finished, I eased the bike to the edge and the drove into the water and crossed.

It was rough, and still found a few rocks, but reached the far bank without getting stuck, then powered up the bank, but slightly off center, so took a rougher route around his parked bike to reach smoother road.

We then got going again.

Rest of the road was rough, some parts washed away, but paths made over the remains.

Many of the slides on the road across the bridge were still there, but tracks had been made over them, so we could get across.  It was bumpy, and still a few muddy spots, but not too bad.

We eventually reached another washed crossing.  Looks like we were just crossing the stream bed as the original bridge was gone.

This area was made up of very loose stones and running, muddy water.

I made the mistake of following the guide in too close, and when his bike slipped for a second and he slowed down, I had to stop to avoid hitting him.

He continued okay, but now I had to get going, and after just a few feet my back tire was stuck and spinning.

He came over to give me a push, and the bike got going, but then lost traction and killed the engine.

Got it going and was able to hit the last section and bounce out of the water.

After this the road was mostly just avoiding fallen rocks, which in many places covered our lane, making us use the oncoming lane instead.

Thankfully there was not too much traffic.

Some sections of mud slide to ride over, and at one point we had to divert onto a path next to the road as the main road was covered in a sheet of thick mud.

Not sure if this area had been used as something else as the trail was well worn, but very rough.

We stopped twice on our way to check out of the permit zones, which we had overstayed by two days, but thankfully guide had already been in contact and the authorities were aware of the situation and reasons why.

We reached Kagbeni and went into town to eat at YacDonalds again.

At this point, my stomach issues were getting quite bad and had to spend a bit of time in the restroom, only to find the toilet would not flush!!!

I did what I could, but then told the person running the place about the issue, and he indicated the toilet had a water leak and water was shut off, he said he would fix later and just locked that bathroom.  Kind of embarrassing, but also a bit annoyed, if the toilet did not work, why was it not locked before someone used it.

After lunch we made our way out of town, some very rough sections of road, and had to wait for a tractor blocking the road while they dumped off a load of rocks.

We then found the highway again and shortly after this the pavement returned.

Still, plenty of loose rock and dirt on the road in sections, but made the rest of it much nicer.

We passed through Jomson as the guide wanted to stay in a different place until we knew what we were going to do as it had the parking needed to leave the bikes if it comes to that.

This section of road had some very beat up areas, though think this was more from lack of maintenance than the recent flooding and rains.

We soon reached the small town of Marpha, which we had stopped in on the way up for coffee.

This was the village with the very narrow roads that no cars could use.

We meandered our way through the small lanes and found the same café/hotel we had stopped at before.

Guide said we would stay here tonight.

So got my room, got out of the dusty gear and wet boots and then took a hot shower.

Dressed and laid out a few things to dry in the window I opened and then wandered out to see if the guide was around, but he had moved the bikes somewhere and then went off to do something, I guess.

I went back to the room to look over the calendar.

Today should have been my return to Kathmandu and the end of the trip.  We now are at least one or two days from being done.

Our problem still remains lack of information.  Internet is still out for the region, so no Wifi in the hotels, and for last 24 hours now, all cell service has stopped working.

We need to find out if the road wash out near Tatopani has been fixed, or at least graded down enough to allow vehicles to pass or not.

If yes, we can ride out tomorrow to Pokhara and then back to Kathmandu the following day.

If no, then we will likely need to leave bikes and fly out, but not sure if that will be a single day or two days of flying.  There are only a handful of flights out of Jomson each day due to high winds that come up in the early afternoon. (Flights are on smaller 2 engine prop planes).

I ended up falling asleep while I was thinking, or so I assume, I just recall waking up and 2 hours were gone.

Went out and found the guide in the café talking with another, so joined them, and soon the other guy left.

We talked a bit about current issues, then hotel asked if we could get dinner order in as they were expecting to lose power in the next hour.

Seems that the main power is down here, but a smaller hydro power plant nearby does provide some power, but it rotates it around the various villages.

We ordered something that could be cooked on the gas stove, just in case, and glad we did as the power dropped about 15 minutes later.

At our dinner (we both had the spaghetti, though they chicken had to be replaced with yak, the chicken they had was no longer good, and other was frozen still).

Once we finished dinner, we talked about various things for a while, then I grabbed the laptop to get this typed up.

They have already closed up the café and think things are winding down.  We are the only guests here right now, most staying here have already moved north, and all access to the region has been closed off now due to the current situation.

Will head back to room soon and upload footage, then probably read a bit and go to bed.

Catch ya down the road.