Nepal, Day 7. - Pokara to Tatopani, part 2

Heading upwards again and it cools. We turn off the main valley and into a still wide, but narrower one. The river is smaller also, but judging by the house-sized boulders along the banks, it's powerful when it wants to be. The sides are still steep, but rather than meandering, the river runs much straighter.

We left proper tarmac a long time ago but there are still scraps left in places. For the most part the roads are muddy, with stones and rocks strategically placed to throw you off course. Keep momentum going and you'll get through. Sometimes the road runs on bare layered rock and you either cut 'across the grain' which seems to give the best grip, or run along a smooth face, which is usually very slippery. 

This is Neil's first trip; he's never ridden off road before and is struggling a bit and I find myself over-taking him a few times. He's doing really well to keep going for a first timer, as even some of the vets are having problems in places.

I'm following Alex and Vidhya and the road splits at a bridge. It looks like the main road crosses the bridge, but they go straight on. I decide to stop and mark the road and take a few pictures of the bridge. While I'm out of view momentarily, Mick heads across the bridge. A few shouts and he's back on course. Makes me realise the value of the corner man method.

A bit further on and there are some enormous puddles. Jamie guns the engine, dashes through and gets a decent muddy soaking. Some use the feet-up technique to keep dry, but I always feel more confident being planted on the pegs to allow the bike to move beneath me if it hits hidden rocks. Fortunately for Jamie we reach the hotel shortly after, so he can dry off.

To reach the hotel itself, we have to ride through the narrow alleys of Tatopani, up and down the steps on their built-in concrete ramps which are only 20cm wide; intense concentration is in order. It's fun though and the locals look on inquisitively.

Poor Graham is still hobbling. For some reason his feet are swelling in the boots. The doc thinks it may be dehydration. Others are also hobbling for various reasons. It's getting to the stage where we're starting to look like the walking wounded returning from the battlefield. Mark's ailments are of a more delicate nature; he's in-line for tomorrow's Skidmark award, but not for the usual reasons... his poor boots! He does look rather pale though and is suffering from acute gut problems. He's done well to get this far.

Totapani means hot water and just down the road from the hotel are the open air hot springs. It consists of two pools, one natural hot spring water, the other regular water heated with the geothermal energy. The natural pool is so hot I can barely enter. The heated water pool is a little cooler and we gather there and sip drinks. Despite the heat, the natural water is preferable as it looks cleaner. And my still healing broken shoulder feels relief in the warmth. 

We meet two foreigners at the springs, an Austrian man, cycling the area and a lady from Toulouse, France, who's been on the road for eight months travelling through Vietnam, Cambodia, India and now Nepal, after giving up work. I'm very impressed that Glenn is able to converse with her in French, while me working and living in a French speaking country can just about manage a bon jour! And to think I skipped a trip to Machu Pichu to attend a French lesson - what a missed opportunity.

Glenn has another chance to practice his French as at the hotel we meet a lady from the French island, La Reunion; lucky her, the weather is better than her home town in Northern France. There's also a Russian, he's very interested in our bikes and tells us he rides a Kawasaki ZX-12R; Glenn doesn't speak Russian.

The hotel is a popular trekking hotel and is more basic than others we've stayed in. It's also cooler and for the first time I use the sleeping bag liner to sleep in.

Sent from my trusty rusty BlackBerry

SuperBikerDom, somewhere en route (pic taken by Iain Crockart)