Besisahar – Wanderer

Entering last part of Nepal trip. So by now, we have gone through most part of the trip. We have reached Manang, spent a night sleepover, and now It’s time to go down by car. We opted to use car for the benefit of time. It’s actually also possible if you would like to go on foot if you have the time. Our trip this time would be Manang – Besisahar. To leave Nepal we must go back to Khatmandu however It’s not recommended to go directly from Pisang to Khatmandu and based on my experience it’s indeed not recommended so please adjust your travel plan accordingly. For us, we have been informed that it may take around 6 – 8 hours drive from Manang to Besisahar by our guide. So there we were waking up in the morning, eating our breakfast, soaking the last Manang air, and loading all luggage to the car.

The road From Manang to Besisahar was like an off road. Again, I was just so amazed by the driving skills. We rode a 4 wheel drive ( for sure ) and it was a cloudy day. Basically, if we move a bit too far left or right, it was already a cliff. We were driving in a white haze. Yet, somehow I felt safe. LOL.. that kind of feeling like when you ride a plane. There is no going back once departed and you could only trust the pilot. It’s also worth noting that sometimes there will be roadblocks and land slides. Hence it’s important to calculate and put some ample time into your estimation. We were still able to get through this time but sometimes we can’t and need to get down, offload and load back our luggage to another car. Just like what we had in the beginning of the trip to chame .

Along the way, we have noticed that Manang – Upper Pisang ( that killer trail in day 2 ) was only about 2 hours drive away by car. hahaha.. my city girl kind of thought was intrigued, “why didn’t we just use car then?” anyway, it’s not that I regretted the experience – Just a thought that crossed my mind.

Our trip was rather quick. I think our driver was like either a respected person or very famous. He kept on getting a call and when there was another car passing many said hi to him. He seemed to know the road pretty well so yes it helped to fastened our trip. We stopped 2 times . One stop was short, there is an apple farm between Pisang and Besisahar, you could stop by over here and get a fresh farm products or getting a bit of a refreshment. Second stop was actually for our lunch. By this time, I don’t know how many momos or noodle that I’ve eaten. Food wise, I tend to go with a mild taste so I found that Dal Bhat is a bit too strong for my palate but my friends seemed to like it. The one in our last stop I could accept it. Worry not, Dal Bhat default type will be suitable for vegetarian. The meat if you want to is treated as an add on. Portion is very generous and you could ask for more rice with no additional cost, well.. for me, it seemed we could get more of everything (besides the meat add on ) with no additional cost. Definitely enough for us to carry on through until our destination in Besisahar.

We reached Besisahar so much faster that we originally planned. I think it was around 2 PM. What we did was we checked in to the logging and as usual we planned out dinner ahead of time and agreed to meet each other at dinner time. Taking a bit of a stroll in Besisahar somehow felt strange. Besisahar looked like a modern city with many vehicles passing by. It was a rather busy city. By this time, I didn’t remember to take pictures anymore. unfortunately. ;'(

For me, since I still felt a bit under the weather, I only took a bit of stroll around the city. trying to get some more surgical mask to fight the dust and so that my sore throat didn’t get worse. Thankfully there was a pharmacy nearby the hotel. The experience to buy things was a bit confusing because we didn’t use to the brand and what I found was that the medicines choices somehow went towards Herb or Ayuverdic medicine. I couldn’t really get the usual medicine that we have back in Indonesia. Well, my throat was killing me so i tried one. For Mask, they didn’t really have surgical mask, they have the usual mask though but it’s an ear loop so if you wear hijab just make sure you have the mask head loop add on. We went there before the pandemic so it was still uncommon but now it’s available in many places make sure you pack it too. Basically just that before I went back to the hotel and stay for the night getting into hot Shower, Electricity, Internet access, and food, usual items that I appreciated more after I went hiking.

I wish you were there with us drunk by the mountain trip with happiness in our heart.

Cheers!

Triana Mustika Rukmi

The story between Kathmandu and Besisahar

We have finally arrived in Kathmandu – the capital city of Nepal. Getting out of the airport, we were welcomed by our friend who will join us within this trip! The pack is now complete. Our eyes wandered wildly in the effort to soak the new environment and adapt and off we go the city center – Thamel.

Thamel is quite busy many people come here especially for tourist based on my observation. There are many shops, restaurants, and money exchange around this area. It seems to me that this is where you could purchase anything that you need for your trip, if you go to Nepal for outdoor activities. More about this on later post. While for us, this is to finish all administrations with our travel agent and to have lunch before we take off. Btw, the size of the food was massive with a lot of Rice. You will surely feel full.

The lunch time was a very good time for pacing. Personally, i felt so much has happened within that last couple of days. Nepal was the 4th Country just within days count with flights have been flown. It was good to be on the ground before we continue our journey to Besisahar. A road trip for another 7 – 8 hours.

What’s all this cable.. i thought Indonesia has been complicated enough.

The trip started off quite well, we used a van type since there were luggage and 8 persons to be carried over. while waiting, i’ve noticed that in Kathmandu people ride motor bike quite a lot. It’s similar like Jakarta but in a different type. The environment was dusty so it would be good to wear mask.

During the road trip, i couldn’t help but to compare the vegetation and the surrounding like in Java island. I read online before my trip that the road between Kathmandu and Besisahar is good with a high way. Along the way i had to ponder – was our understanding of a high way was different or did i use different road? all in all it’s an asphalt road with usual structure to go up and down on mountain area. Overall the trip was great with a bit impedance where our car vehicle stuck in a water stream.

When we reached Besisahar, it was already late at night. We tried to adapt ourselves with the new place. Cleaned ourselves and ate dinner ( My First dal baht! ) before we finally went to sleep. Writing this i can’t helped but reminisce that the pact was awakened at 3 or 4 AM in the morning because one of our fellow had a call with the family back in Jakarta. She was looking for her cat named “Belang” ( means “Stripes” in English ). It was loud. I love my friend to the bone but at that time i wanted to shoved my pillow at her. >_< Yet, all that was cleared out with the morning rise and the environment surround us. Wow… 🙂

The story between Besisahar and Chame

After finishing our breakfast, off we go to Chame. The next city. Another 6 – 8 hours drive. This time we had to change into Jeep. The road to go there is not suitable for camp. The road was more challenging. This is what a real off road looks like. It’s a trip with an inch away from the cliffs, narrow road only for one lane, and midst. Along the way, it got me thinking that Nepal people are high skill worker in the area. The driver could still drive with one hand. Oh my…

During the road trip you could see people who have already started their hike. Drive carefully around them and be nice. It’s common to say namaste when you meet other people here. What i really like about this roadtrip was it awarded us with a very nice view of the ridge and a very nice lunch place across waterfall. Our heart content! btw, don’t hope you will get good signal within the road. It was only available in certain places so it’s good to have your buddies around.

Continuing the journey, the weather getting a bit unfriendly with midst and rain. Yet, that wasn’t all. Our road was blocked. We had to cross a river and the bridge was still under development. There we were had to pack all the belongings crossing the unfinished bridge under drizzling weather. The new jeep were smaller so it was more packed for all of us. Thankfully we had pass half of the journey. Oh, notes for you! for every outdoor activities there are documents that you will need to administer so that you could get the permit. Ours was the permit for Annapurna. The documents will be checked couple of times depending on your journey track. Well, ours were prepared by the travel agent so i can’t really share the process.

When we finally reached Chame, it was already nearing sunset. The surrounding was foreign yet familiar at the same time. Many buildings were built by using woods and it looks like a good holiday home. Just with a thick mist and in high altitude. Chame is 2,650m above sea level. Ha! get ready dear low altitude creatures. Jakarta is less than 10 m above sea level. So.. yes, we came long way here.

We roamed around a little bit in Chame before the sun set. There are shops which sells trekking / hiking gears so you could still get something here. There are pharmacies as well if you need something. Taking a bit of walk in our surrounding then we came back to the lodging to get some warm environment and to eat dinner.

We ordered a noodle which taste like instant noodle with some local spices and tried the local bread. I don’t remember the name but the bread taste nice. Fresh and a bit sweet as well. Both were quite fulfilling. Playing some cards afterwards with the pack. Teaching our guide how to play ‘Boong’ which means ‘Lie’. He started with telling the truth all the time until he finally lied and we kept on trusting him. Good move! night comes and we had to end it, need to prepare ourselves for the hike.

The temperature was very cold for low altitude tropical creatures like us. So we need to sleep with jackets and stuffs. This is where all the notes that i read about “..you will regret that extra layer / stuffs that you don’t bring…” comes into my head. If only i had them with me. *Cry later that night, this time i could understand even better the need of a headlamp. The electricity somehow unstable so it will be good to have it just in case. Not only that, it’s useful when you have to go to the washroom / Bathroom. Enabling you to have the hands free experience. Until then, sleep tight. See you on our hike story!

Wish you were there spending hours on the road with us. 🙂

Cheers!

Triana Mustika Rukmi

Tag: Besisahar

Pisang to Besisahar by Car

Kathmandu to Besisahar to Chame