I didn't get much sleep last night, my intestines were waging a war against my stomach and the resulting implosions didn't make for a night of comfort. I had to run to the toilet several times for fear of what might happen, but it wasn't till 6am that I finally managed to let everything go. It was poor timing as I was catching the bus to Pokhara for a weekend vacation - it left at 7am! So I was glad I had packed the night before, otherwise I would have surely missed the bus.
At ten to 7, I had finally managed to pull myself together and shuffled at the fasted pace I could to the bus station. It was hard as I was badly dehydrated - muscle cramps and headaches. When I got to the station (line of buses on the street) I could only manage to show my ticket and be pointed to the next bus. Luckily the driver saw me and walked with me to the last bus in the line.
I had popped a few gastro-stop pills, with little idea as to how effective they are or the resultant side effects. All I knew was they didnt cure anything, only delayed symptoms. I had scored the front passenger seat of the bus - best spot for sickness right? Wrong! The bus was the old style design with the engine in between the driver and I. So heavy vibrations were rattling my body, adding to the fear that the pills might not work and I would be placed in a very embarrassing situation. I discovered a bad omen - my ticket number was 66666, the extra two sixes giving a little emphasis on how dire my situation was.
Hooning off, it was good to be in a tourist bus. Being such a big vehicle, you had right of way in the traffic pecking order - rickshaws and motorbikes aren't game to play chicken. However when there was a traffice jam (frequently) we were stuck and all the little guys would zoom around us. Still it was ok, as we went through parts of Kathmandu I wouldn't have made a particular effort to see.
As we got further from Kathmandu, the pollution lifted but we were still left with a haze of dust. It was constantly moving, so occasionally you would have brilliant views of the countryside, even if all the hills were badly overfarmed. The ride itself was hectic as you are on a very thin road, roaring downhill on the side of a mountain with no barriers! There would be kids walking on the side, so the driver would just violently swerve around them. I counted at least 5 vehicles (2 tourist buses) that had rolled into a ditch. As we were coming onto a corner a tourist bus going the other way skidded badly off the bridge but our driver seemed totally unphased as he hit the accelerator. There were also a few speedbumps, which I think are unnecessary as all the potholes were violent enough!
We stopped at a small hillside restaurant for what I presumed was lunch, with everyone getting off. I popped another pill and nibbled at some fried rice as I realised that noone else from my bus was here. Running outside, the bus was ready to hoon off and I had to run and leap onboard. I smacked my head for the second time on the small roof, but I still managed to grin as I realised how stuffed I would have been had I been left in the countryside!
I spotted a welcome sign to Pokhara, relieved that the trip was nearly over. But we kept on driving and I began to fear I was on the wrong bus, but then I saw another sign saying "Pokhara: 9km". Righteo.
I was very relieved when we finally made it. The whole trip took 7 1/2 hours to cover about 200km, so you can imagine how bad the roads are for the trip to take so long. I grabbed a taxi from the station to Lakeside
and rushed to a hotel. I now had a bigger problem to worry about - the pent up contents of my stomach! I had overdosed on the pills and was not sure what would happen let alone when. To make things worse I soon discovered that the british owner of the lodge had kids that loved to scream, driving nails into my headache. Eventually I just collapsed on the bed, waking later in the evening. I felt so much better and had no fears of any further implosions, but I had missed the planned buffet and cultural show. Not too upset, I returned to my curled up position in bed. I still hadn't seen the main body of the lake!
