Day 13
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Day 13: Wednesday 11th December

Early-morning bird watching; windy road up into Himalayas; picnic lunch by glacial river; arrive Kathmandu at mansion-hotel.

So... the birdwatching. I'm joined by Caro, Susan, Carolyn, and Frances. We have tea and breakfast before attempting the bird ogling.

It's a simple walk along the road, into the fields to the right, and along the rhino grid (seriously deep, large holes cattle-grid style along the edge of the field). We see plenty of brightly-coloured birds: peacocks, parakeets, herons... and the wader who repeatedly ate the frog until he could force it down.

Back at the hotel the others all have breakfast before it's time to (sadly) depart. A cruel joke is played on some of the crew: because of a Maoist attack the road to Kathmandu is closed and we have to go... back to Varanasi (not the most popular destination). The truth is a relief.

Our final trip on the jeeps takes us back to the bend in the road where we rejoin the coach, and we have to bid farewell to our guides from Chitwan. Jamie joins us on the coach to Narayanghat where he's to make his own way to his next rendez-vous point. We stop in a petrol station, on a long, wide section of the road, and go along the row of shops to furnish ourselves for lunch. There's a lot of people about; they're curious about us mainly, and the begging is restricted to a bloke with 6 toes.

The coach then ascends the mountains by a twisty windy road running beside a pure green river complete with beaches in a severe 'V'-shaped valley - the water's a beautiful deep green colour, but bitterly cold. We have a brief photo stop for pictures then an aborted lunch stop (there's an orange/corn market in progress in the lay-by Clare usually uses) which is deferred only briefly to give us a lunch stop amongst the rocks riverside.

We continue the ascent... there's a lorry dangling off the edge of one corner... At a particularly long checkpoint stop, there's a girl with her mother playing in the not-so-clean water pump, Grandpa washing on the roof, a bloke doing his hair in the mirror of a shack-shop, and a little girl who stares us through the checkpoint. Most dining here is done in ground-floor or subterranean restaurants beside the road, on rows of long wooden tables and benches.

Eventually, we reach Kathmandu [p2, p3, and p4], and make our way - very slowly - to reach our palacial (and it is) hotel, The Shanker Hotel - it's a converted Rana Palace, a mansion-like column-clad white building with big gates, security, oaken insides, and manicured gardens!! Remarkable!

Checkpoints for today: 7 stops and 3 actual checks.

I'm in room 515 (on my own again) - one quick change and I chat to Gill, Chris, and Andy on the landing outside their rooms; Alex joins us. Andy goes back to change, and I arrange to meet him in the bar later (7:30pm for 8pm departure to Clare's restaurant).

With some time to spare, I go out for a reckkie - walking down the road toward the city centre (and Thamel, our favourite 'haunt') I walk on the wrong side along the front of the Royal Palace (which is next door to our hotel) I am asked - extremely politely - if I wouldn't mind walking on the other side of the road by an armed guard. He almost thanked me for crossing over!!

At the next junction, trying to cross the road, a lady on a moped slid off her moped right in front of me, knocking her out. The military were soon in control, however - no great drama. After a quick circuit round Thamel, I returned to the hotel.

Took a taxi (far more common here than in India) to the Thamel House restaurant with Jo, Alex and Sally. Our driver, alas, just didn't know where it was (though we did only pay 15Rs, rather than 50Rs, which should really have warned us). We wander round Thamel a bit (there are tons of little cramped streets) until Madam Whiplash (Clare) hooks onto us. The Thamel House served 'traditional' Nepalese food (a rarity round here - a lot is western or Indian), including rice wine (ow!), with everyone sitting on the floor. And we get a china mask gift to take away on leaving!