The Kathmandu Note
After an arduous trip to Muktinath temple in the Himalayas, central north of Nepal, I had to head back to Pokhara city. I anticipated, and indeed experienced, damage to my bike’s rear rack because of these extreme road conditions. Despite being in a remote area of the Himalayas, a tourist bus driver rescued me and helped me safely return to Pokhara. I have spent many weeks cycling to many of Nepal’s most spectacular places. One thing I’ve noticed is not only the beauty of the Himalayas but also the people of Nepal. Although Nepal is regarded as one of the world’s poorest countries, however, the Nepali people live and function in harmony within their dramatic environment, harnessing and utilizing their land to their benefit, mostly through the fertile, lower-lying foothills and lowlands of the country, an area perfectly set up for challenging and culturally immersive cycling.
I had to travel to Kathmandu to repair or replace my bike’s broken part, as well as wait for a visa from the Indian Embassy. My second return to Kathmandu was different from the first time I came here; I gained much knowledge and experience after cycling to many places. Most people think of Nepal, they think of Mount Everest, extreme mountaineering, treacherous mountain roads, yaks, and yetis, all set in the romantic yet foreboding arena of the world’s highest mountains, the Himalayas. There are a lot more things to explore especially people and their way of life.
Thamel is a commercial, tourist, and busiest area in Kathmandu. The place is pretty popular with all kinds of tourists thanks to the concentration of hotels, hostels, and shops packed into narrow lanes. You will typically be greeted with a warm welcome and the most genuine hospitality by some of the kindest people you have ever met. Every morning, courteous taxi drivers, shopkeepers, and porters greet you with a smile and say good morning to you.
Nepalis are encouraged to treat foreign travelers with respect and kindness from an early age.
Sometimes, I visit their shop unintentionally and end up purchasing products they merely want to display. However, their welcome and smile always make me want to buy something from them. Thamel is the hub of Kathmandu city; it may be frenetic and stressful, with a dizzying choice of items to buy from shopfronts brimming with merchandise. However, a few feet away from the main strip, you may find a peaceful space to sit and contemplate, close your eyes, breathe in the rich smells and aromas of this wonderful old city, and enjoy a moment of serenity. It’s an exceptional place for an adventurer like me. I still go back to the old place, Planet Nomad Hostel, although I found a better hostel here, Kwabahal Boutique Hostel, which is a place that can save me a lot of money on accommodation. The price of only 700 Nepal rupees is about $5 per night.
I purchased an aluminum rack from a bike shop under the management of Santosh Rai. Santosh is the co-founder of the Himalayan Single Track bike shop; he is a very friendly and welcoming person. Santosh has become a close friend of mine, and there are many things I have learned about him. Santosh grew up from humble beginnings in rural east Nepal with a keen sense of adventure inherent from birth. As a teenager, Santosh’s intrepid journey led him to Kathmandu and into the whitewater rafting business. A fellow guide allowed Santosh to ride a mountain bike, which ignited his passion.
Since then, he has dedicated his life to mountain bike guiding and exploring the limits of enduro riding in some of Nepal’s most remote regions.
One Saturday, Santosh brings me to an intriguing place, Pashupatinath Temple. This Hindu temple, situated on the banks of the holy River Bagmati, is the most revered in Nepal. The main temple complex is open only to the Hindus; non-Hindus must satisfy themselves by observing from the terraces just across the Bagmati River to the east. I’ve had an amazing experience with Santosh, Samir, and Kiran. Pashupatinath is a tangle of cultural treasures; most people know it as the place where the bodies of Kathmandu burn.
It’s the first time I’ve seen funeral ceremonies and bodies burning near the river in Nepal.
At Shree Pashupatinath, some visitors come to enjoy the Hindu-only temple, others are drawn by the art, murals, and architecture, and some are there to profit from tourists. However, many people associate this temple with the practice of burning the dead and mourning in public, attracting both locals and tourists. Despite being the oldest Hindu temple complex in Nepal, Pashupatinath’s construction date remains a mystery. Heritage says 300 BCE; its first documented mention is in the 8th century, and the main temple’s present form only came into being in the 17th century.
Several days ago, I was still waiting for a visa from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. I went to the India visa center to inquire about this, and I decided to send an email to the embassy asking for a visa so I could continue my journey from Nepal to India. Despite the extended waiting period of up to 6 weeks, I still didn’t receive a response, which resulted in me wasting a significant amount of time and anxiously waiting for my visa. This is unusual because the India visa center has a policy of issuing visas to travelers like me, who only have to wait three weeks.
I met Alex, a young tall bike rider from the UK who spent 2 years on his world tall bike tour. He has a close friend named Nova, a dog he raised from an early age and made his passport in Serbia. Alex and Nova traveled from Europe to Nepal and met me at the Moutain Rider bike shop, where I stayed with some friends such as Samir, Sujanz, and Giri. Alex told me that while he was staying in Pakistan, he waited for a visa from the Indian Embassy there for six weeks.
Not only Alex, but other foreigners have informed me that the Indian embassy appears to discriminate against the UK, expressing a deep-seated hatred and resentment towards the UK due to their shared history. Is that true? To this day, does this diplomatic discrimination and resentment continue? Many Nepalese friends have informed me that India has poor relations with its neighbors, but since I am a cyclist from Cambodia, I don’t care if this is true or not. There are numerous intriguing aspects about Alex; he shared with me his challenges and insufficient funds to continue his journey, yet he has no desire to return home. Despite his realization that he won’t be able to cross the border through Burma into the countries of Southeast Asia, he remains passionate about pursuing his journey. Waiting for the opportunity to cross the border into Southeast Asian countries will take a long time. Alex wanted to sell some bike parts to earn some money for living here, so I bought his front rack for $40 to help him and use this bike part on my front wheels. I hope he can achieve his goal of riding his tall bike with Nova around the world, and I wish I had a chance to meet him again someday.
Apart from Samir and Sujan, Piyush Giri is my best friend, someone with whom, when I have an important task, I always discuss it with him. He and Samir offered me a place to work at Mountain Rider, Scott’s bicycle import shop in Nepal. Giri told me many stories about Nepal and answered many questions that I continue to want to know about the culture, traditions, and way of life of the Nepalese people. Giri has a mechanical engineering degree, is currently studying mountaineering, and works as a spare part manager at this bicycle shop. He is very skilled and has a long-term vision for mountain biking tourism in Nepal. Listening to his stories has provided adventure travelers like me with valuable lessons and inspired me to create a brand name for adventure-themed merchandise. It could be a special project in the future, and I am spending time trying out all those merchandise designs, such as T-shirts, hats, bags, and more.
The atmosphere around Mountain Rider and Himalayan Single Track never bothered me; we always chatted and had a beer before saying goodbye. People here admire and value me for my charitable cycling work for Cambodian children in hospitals, and they have gifted me numerous items like hats and T-shirts. There are a lot of interesting stories about Nepal’s Mountain Bike Community. I met some professional cyclists, such as Dolma, a Nepali who had a career on a mountain bike team in India. Kiran is a friend who always smiles at me and talks to me every day. He is an award-winning mountain biker who has also won mountain biking championships. Kiran invited me to visit his bike shop; he was a very gentle person. One night we had a small party, drinking beer and playing the guitar.
I had the opportunity to meet a remarkable Nepalese adventurer, who was the first of his kind to achieve his dream.
Mangal Lama is breaking down barriers to what is possible. Mangal dreamed up the idea for the ultimate adventure challenge — to mountain bike across the mythical Great Himalayan Trail (GHT), a 1,700 km high altitude traverse of the Nepali Himalayans from Kanchenjunga in the east to Hilsa in the west — a feat that had never been attempted on a mountain bike and was widely considered impossible. In 2022, Mangal achieved his dream and rode the GHT high route solo, completing it in just 88 days. I have a gift MTB t-shirt with the Mount Everest symbol designed by Mangal. This nice-designed T-shirt was given to me by Giri.
Sujanz Tamang, an ordinary boy I will never forget, works as a bike mechanic at the Mountain Rider workshop. All of his friends here, who like to joke around with him, call him Gu. Subsequently, I ceased using the term “Gu” upon realizing its derogatory connotations and decided not to interpret it literally. Sujanz and I always hang out; he is like my assistant in Kathmandu, especially since he always guides me to visit some special tourist places, such as Boudhanath Stupa and Patan Durbar Square. I especially thank Sujanz for spending a lot of time with me and supporting me while I was alone. I visited Patan with Sujanz, which I thought was a memory I will never forget. Patan Durbar Square is situated at the heart of the Lalitpur district preserving a huge collection of fine art and architecture carved and inscribed on wood and metals by Nepal’s ancestors. This city is very famous for temples, shrines, statues, monuments, festivals, culture, etc. that reflect Nepal’s ancestors’ crafting skills.
Even now, if you walk through Patan’s small alleys, you can hear the tapping of tiny hammers as craftsmen work on various ornaments and idols. The Bagmati River separates Lalitpur, the second largest town in the Kathmandu valley, from Kathmandu. It is around 5 km away from Kathmandu. You can reach Patan in around 30 minutes from Thamel, depending on the traffic.
If I were to leave Kathmandu, I would miss Sujanz the most.
One afternoon, sitting next to a stupa in Thamel, I told Sujanz that I was homesick; I had been leaving Cambodia for the past three months. While everyone perceives me as a joyful bike traveler, I am currently experiencing loneliness and stress, possibly due to the uncertainty surrounding the status of my visa application. However, time in Kathmandu is a special time for me, and I have had many travel experiences. It’s a place I’ll never forget and will always want to return to.
These things are very different from my expectations, which I believe should be focused on cycling, content creation, and fundraising to help Cambodian children in the hospitals. However, the process of obtaining cross-border visas from one country to another is challenging and can cause complications. I believe that applying for a visa to ride a bike in many other countries, including India, may present challenges.
My experience of cycling almost everywhere in the Southeast Asian region does not apply to this trip; it’s a completely different experience.
Seven weeks ago, I decided to reach out to the Indian Embassy again, as well as send an email to the Cambodian Embassy in New Delhi, India, to inform them about this unusual issue. I hope the Cambodian Embassy will have a solution to help me now. Due to the delay, I have applied for a visa extension in Nepal twice already, and the time remaining in Nepal is getting less and less. I started to feel stressed and overwhelmed by waiting.
I met another mountain biker, Ashish Shrestha, who was very supportive of me. He contacted some travel agencies to find a solution to help me. He spent time chatting with me and would help me talk about cycling and traveling. He showed me many beautiful pictures of mountain biking. He was a close friend of Mongal’s. I was so lucky to meet them and become their best friend. While bad things happen, many good things also happen simultaneously. I have the option of flying from Nepal to Kyrgystan and continuing my cycling journey in Central Asia, but India is a country I do not want to miss; it is a special place for an adventurer like me. Flying over India is a disastrous decision right now. After patiently waiting for 54 days in Nepal, the Indian Embassy finally contacted me and said that I could now obtain a cycling visa through India. It was an experience I will never forget. My adventure trip has a clear destination in India.
I will continue to take extensive notes along the way, and I anticipate encountering many more challenges in the future.
