Thursday 27/1-2005 - When we arrived at the airport, a mutual friend, brother Pradhan, met us. It felt a little safe. He was the only one I had met before, since he once had been in Norway. We visited his home and said hello to his family, and he also supplied us with some nepali litterature. Thus we would have the possibility of preaching the news for people in territories which had never been preached. He also arranged a hotel room for us for the night at a hotel in Kathmandu.

Friday 28/1-2005 - At this (for me) first day in Nepal, we were looking around in Kathmandu, in addition to ordering flight and trekking tickets. John also ordered some new glasses for picking up later, and he showed me some of his familiar places from before. The fact that he seemed very familiar with the place, felt reassuring to me.

Saturday 29/1-2005 - After our breakfast, we went to Pokhara with the local bus. It took about eight hours, and it was very different from what I was used to, as some of you would imagine. At many places the bus never really stopped, but people jumped or were assisted on and off, while the bus was in motion.

West of Kathmandu, a lot of people had their dirty and fragile homes made from wood and stones and with corrugated iron roofs, close to the dusty main road. Many of them made their food outside on wood burning tile stoves. Along the road there were some common water-posts, where they both washed their cups and clothes and had their baths.

Later, there were those endless stony river valleys where people literally had their homes and their work in the middle of the dry, stone filled riverbeds. There were no possibilities for taking pictures of these events, since we were inside the bus almost all the time. But about half the way, in Mugling, we had a short brake.

After arriving in Pokhara, we looked around Lakeside (pictures to come). We got a room at the hotel 'Fire on the Mountain'. At the hotel's restaurant, I had 'Momo' for dinner for the first time, along with a delicious tomato soup, salad with dressing, chicken lollipops and pancakes with apple and honey. For the uninitiated’, Momo' is one of Nepal's national dishes, and is a kind of baked-in, mixed meatloaf.

Sunday 30/1-2005 - Early in the morning we were put on a little plane, heading for Jomsom (2740 meters above sea level). After a flight at about 25 minutes, we arrived there while the sun was shining. We had a nice view of some beautiful mountains.

Since we took along some literature, we started with some field service. The people were very friendly, and everybody gathered around us to listen and to get some literature to read, and also to write down their address so we could contact them later. And they really appreciated our visit. When John and I had gone down the valley for maybe forty-five minutes, there was a man who came running after us because he had to correct his address. He suddenly had remembered that everyone in the valley had recently received new and corrected postal addresses. Funny, but maybe this was their first field service visit ever.

In Marpha, we had the most delicious breakfast, and we’re still talking about it. Most of the day we experienced cold winds, and sandstorms. From time to time, we met some donkey caravans, carrying supplies for the villagers.

We finished the day's leg of the journey in Larjung, which is at an altitude of about 2550 meters. We found ourselves a lodge for the night, but it was a cold place, with totally tasteless food, and the only lightsource in the room was a bare lightbulb which appeared like poor moonlight.

Monday 31/1-2005 - The next day was cold, with some snow in the air. Huge scars in the terrain told the stories of heavy rain and floods. I was told that, a generation ago, the monsoon never reached up here, only just a few miles from the border of Tibet. And now, they have really big problems every summer. Most of the things here are made from stones. Houses and fences and even more fences, made of millions of stones.

After passing Lete, there was a really steep descent toward more jungle-like surroundings. In the middle of the jungle, we found a little place with only one or two houses, called Komaonidal. 'Komaoni' means Buddhist roll and ‘dal’ means place or city. This settlement, which is at about 2250 meters elevation, consisted of a little more than one house, and there we had dinner and slept overnight.

Tuesday 1/2-2005 - The night was freezing cold, too cold to even sleep, so this was no place to stay. After breakfast we proceeded southward. Some rain and some fog, very slippery and steep, and no fences. Lots of stairs made from stones. Some places were hit by big landslides where there was only narrow paths to walk on. We had our lunch in Ghaza, but after hours of walking we were still wet and cold.

After lunch, with some more rain and slippery paths, we saw beautiful nature scenes and spectacular views. We were passing though the deepest valley-point on the earth and the altitude was some 2300 meters. At each side, there are mountains higher than 8000 metres. To the west, the majestic Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest mountain peak in the world, with its 8 167 meters. The name Dhaulagiri means "White Mountain". To the east lies Annapurna I, which is the tenth highest mountain peak in the world with its 8 091 meters. But due to the hazy weather, no peaks were visible at that time.

At the end of the day, we stopped at Kopchepani, a small place about 1900 meters above sea level, on the edge of a huge landslide, which had slid down the mountain five years before. We met a cozy family, enjoyed a wonderful evening meal, and got a double set of blankets for the night.

Wednesday 2/2-2005 - The next morning there were blue skies and the sun was shining. Lots of steep stairs headed downwards. We met donkey caravans all the time, with up to 30 donkeys in one caravan. With two to three caravans following each other, and only a narrow path, we had to wait patiently many times.

There were stone houses and people everywhere, and the weather felt suddenly warm like a Norwegian summer (not very hot). Later we arrived were surrounded by tropical vegetation, such as orange trees, mandarin trees, lemon trees, bamboo, and many more of which I don’t know the names. We asked for dinner and beds in Dana, a medium sized village with a nice mountain-view.

As we relaxed on the roof terrace in the beautiful tropical evening, we noticed that the trail was filled with armed soldiers marching in the direction we had come from.

Thursday 3/2-2005 - The next morning it was beautiful summer sunshine, and we had our breakfast on the restaurant roof. While leaving Dana, we had a closer look at how the river at some places becomes dangerous to the citizens. The southmost part of Dana was very close to an approximately 15-meter high vertical rockface cared into the landscape, down to the river. And the direction of the river headed directly into this spot. It was easy to see that the next heavy flood probably would dig out the soil and cause the path and the nearby buildings to disappear into the river.

We moved along, walking on more stairs, passing lots of small villages, banana and flower trees, people, chickens and donkey caravans. We were walking on a very narrow path which were 150 to 200 meters above the river. There were no fences at all and a very steep dropoff. We stopped for the evening in Tatopani (= hot springs), and we were sitting in the hot springs down by the river until it got dark.

In the evening we had a delicious meal at our hotel. First we had hawaian burger and beer, then apple pie and mustang coffee (coffee with brandy).

Friday 4/2-2005 - The next morning was gray, but still like a Norwegian summer. Tatopani was a nice little town, with a long main street passing through, many lodges, and a quaint atmosphere. Some of the English-speaking citizens were talking about some kind of national crisis, but they were not able to explain what really was going on.

In the morning, I heard several planes passing by, and I realized I hadn’t heard the sound of planes since we arrived in Jomsom, five days ago. We met an Englishman, whom we had met some days ago heading north for Jomsom. Because there were no planes, he had to return from Jomsom and walk back, and now he told us he just missed his return plane back to England.

We started the day with a delicious breakfast that a middle aged lady served at a small place out in the main street. Then we talked to a man that seemed to appear from nowhere, but it turned out that he owned the entire building, and that the middle-aged lady was his mother-in-law. When we talked to him, he seemed very interested in what we had to say, and had a lot of questions. The rest of the day was quite relaxing. We read English together with some schoolchildren, who also tried to teach us some Nepalese words.

We went windowshopping in the main street in the small town. While we were in a small bank branch and exchanged some money, the bank employee told us about his first meeting with foreign currency a few years earlier. He told us, when he was working as a guide, he was once paid the salary in Italian Lire. He received a total of 336,000 Lire for the job, believing he had become a millionaire. Unfortunately, the banks would not have his Lire, but at the black market he had exchanged them in 3600 Nepali Rupi, or about 40 USD.

When we were in the street, we also found a poster with old pictures from Nepal, and text in English and Norwegian. And I who thought I was far from home!

Saturday 5/2-2005 - When we arrived at Tatopani, I thought we were somewhat closer to civilization, but how wrong could I be? After leaving, there were even more narrow paths, steep stairs up and down, landslide areas and steep slopes into the river. Some places the path was even chopped into the rock walls. On the other hand, most of the landscape in Nepal is not made of rock, but merely moraine residue from ancient times. We also went over the most rickety suspension bridge since we started from Jomsom.

And here, at an altitude of lower than 1100 meters, we started climbing the hillside. The next day we reached the hilltop between Ghorepani and Deorali, more than 2 kilometers up from here. The start of the climb was very steep, and most of the path was made up of stairs. After some time, the stairs became even steeper, and started to zigzag up the hill.

At the first top, or more like a ledge, we were met with the following sign: ‘Welcom to Maoist’. We didn’t feel quite confident, since the Maoists were classified as ‘rebels’. A little later we met an English couple that informed us about some men further uphill who would offer ‘protection’ against the Maoists, for money. But they had not seen any Maoists, so we were told just to ignore them.

Just a few years before we came, they got electricity in the countryside. The wiring of the official power supply in this area also served as a clothesline. Since the distance between the houses often were several hundred meters, the thin wires were strung up between the houses and the nearby trees, and they would often span up to twenty meters in length. Yes, and then they were bothered with frequent power cuts, but nobody knew why...

From the view we had, in the middle of the mountainside, we could see small villages and cultivated terraces, people, goats and chickens in the hillsides all around us. In the afternoon we arrived at Chitre, and just in time, as I felt exhausted.

Sunday 6/2-2005 - At the hotel in Chitre we had rooms with hot showers and proper toilet (not just a hole in the floor - amazing!). Outside there was some sun, and a little cloudy. We proceeded our walk into a real jungle, with enormous, old moss-covered trees and small plants hanging down from the moss-covered branches. At night, the temperature had been just below zero, but in the morning time it rose to 8 to 10 degrees, and even warmer in the sun.

While we were walking uphill along the paths and stairs, from time to time we saw some snowy patches. Later on the landscape and the paths were totally snow-covered, and of course also the stairs. Since our boots not were designed for walking in compact ice and snow, it was a bit tricky getting up the stairs from time to time.

We had planned to go to Poon Hill to see the nice view, but too many clouds made us change our plans. The woodland was dense, and all the trees were really Rhododendrons, with lots of moss on the trunk and branches. Even though the landscape became snow-covered all over, the tracks were still visible.

At last, we stopped for the evening at Deorali, which is located at an altitude of 3180 meters, after passing the highest point at an altitude of 3290 meters. There were only three or four houses, with friendly Nepalese and Tibetan people, a few markets, accommodations, a hot stove, nice food, candlelight and some warm socks to buy.

After having preached to all the listeners at our lodge, Nima, the trekking guide, insisted that we had to come and visit his family in Kathmandu. But more about that later ...

Monday 7/2-2005 - The next morning we woke up to the sound of singing and chatting. The night had been ice-cold, and not only outside. As we left Deorali, heading for the next place called Tadapani, we were told to visit ‘Super View Top - Lodge and Restaurant’, and ask for room nr. 10.

We went downhill into a beautiful jungle area. For the first hours it was more sliding than walking, with ice and snow-covered stairs going zigzag downhill as far as the eye could see. The impression of the ghostly jungle was impossible to capture with the camera, though I tried many times.

We had our breakfast some 700 meters below Deorali, at a place called Bantanti. When we asked about the path to Tadapani, we were told: «a little down, and a little up again». After walking for some time without any ups and downs, we reached an edge, and since it was a little too far to jump to the other side, we climbed downhill in something like a bottomless hole, 130 meters below the edge. On the bottom there was this tiny bridge crossing a little stream. The uphill climbing at the other side was even steeper than the downhill climbing, maybe about 70 degrees. After some more climbing, we reached Tadapani.

The place Tadapani consisted of about 5 - 6 lodges and additional buildings, and everything is built over the last 25 years, after the trekking tourism started up. And every item of building-materials transported from other places, having been carried by humans, since the paths are way too steep for any donkey caravan.

We found our lodge, and asked for room nr. 10. It was a very special room, as it was like hanging outside of the wall of the building. The room was small, with two beds, and almost nothing more. Since two of the walls were fitted with windows all over, the view was really a ‘super view top’.

In the evening, we were seated in the ice-cold dark dining room with live coals in a fire pan under the table. The table had a wool blanket attached to the edge, down to the floor. With the blanket placed on our knees, it was really not cold at all.

We ordered fried cheesepotatoes and tea. Fried cheesepotatoes is made of mashed cooked potatoes and vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, celery, broccoli and so forth, in addition to spices. Gratinated with cheese and fried on a pan over an open fire. Just delicious! Under the table we felt the intense heat from the coals.

The staff at the lodge was Dolkar Gurung and Maya Pun, both Tibetans, and John and I were the only guests. Dolkar was related to Pasang Gurung whom we met in Deorali. We witnessed to her about Jehovah and the meaning of His name, and we read and explained a lot from the Bible. From time to time she had some questions, but most of all, she just wanted to listen.

Later we had our dinner and pancakes together with something to drink, and we had a relaxed theocratic conversation for hours in the candlelight. Dolkar asked for help to write 'Jehovah' inside her fist. Many times we wanted to conclude the conversation, but it just restarted over and over again.

When the coals under the table went out, burning ones were added. After some time, the tabletop was so hot that we could barely touch it with our bare hands. It was a very memorable evening that we'll always remember.

Tuesday 8/2-2005 - We had a good nights sleep in quite good beds. This means that the matresses were five centimetres instead of three centimetres thick (or thin). The next morning there was some clouds and some snow in the air. We looked at the small markets, and found some souvenirs for bringing home to Norway. A hail shower changed to dense snow weather, but we both had an umbrella, so we started on the next lap anyway. The path was nice and easy, although it snowed.

After some time we arrived at Bhaisi-Kharka, where we had some breakfast. It was still snowing. The downhill path followed the bottom of a long, steep valley, and we went through a moss-covered Rhododendron jungle with the most surprising formations. In one months time from when we were there, the whole mountain from Chitre on the other side, and to where we were, would be covered by breathtaking deep-red Rhododendron-flowers.

After walking some more downhill, we started to see some scattered settlements. Then, at last, we arrived at ‘Annapurna Guest House’ in Gandruk. It was a beautiful but cold hotel, with not more than eight degrees in the dining room. We had some friendly discussions with some of the staff and also some of the trekking guides. We organized it so everyone got five to ten minutes each and so they sat in line waiting for their turn to talk with us. There was also a group of about ten Chinese trekking tourists there, but unfortunately we did not get time to chat. Unlike Norway or any other place for that matter, at nine o’clock in the evening, the light in the dining room was shut off and the guests were told to go to bed.

Wednesday 9/2-2005 - This morning had beautiful weather and I got some nice pictures. After leaving the hotel, we walked downhill on the stonesteps for a long time in a landscape tilting about 40 degrees downhill, with terraces and settlements and people and animals everywhere.

We had or breakfast at a teenytiny place called the 'Remember Restaurant'. When we had walked for a little while, we started to talk to a young lady who had a Bible in Nepalese, which she was very fond of. After I had read and explained to her some interesting scriptures that I translated simultaneously from my Norwegian Bible, she became very keen to find the corresponding verses in her own bible. This was not an easy task, since I did not understand Hindi letters. But she did mind that, and we kept on until she had underlined all the verses we had read.

When we finally came to the bottom of the hillside we started the day before (Tadapani), we found a quaint little village called Synali Bazar, where we had our lunch. It was a beautiful summer day and 25 degrees C. After a long walk in the burning sun, we arrived at Birethanti, which was the end station of our walking journey.

It was the eleventh day after starting at Jomsom, and though the distance was not easy to measure, it was probably some place between 120 and 150 kilometers. We rented a room at ‘Fishtail Lodge and Restaurant’, and had the rest of the day off, strolling around in the streets and looking at the markets.

Thursday 10/2-2005 - We were up at seven, after listening to roosters for more than an hour. Had a warm gas-powered shower, and the water was almost too hot. Birethanti has an altitude of 1075 meters, so we have walked downhill about 2200 meters the last two days, mostly on stone-stairs.

At the market, I got myself a nice oil painting of Mount Fishtail (6997 meters). In the middle of the day, we walked towards the main road to catch a bus to Pokhara. When the bus arrived, we climbed onto the bus roof, together with a Nepalese guide and a Scotsman. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and all the way to Pokhara we had this nice view, sitting on the roof of the bus. Did I hear someone talking about safety belts?

In the evening we went to a meeting at the Kingdom Hall in Pokhara, and afterwards we were together with good friends of John, who have been in Nepal several times before.

Friday 11/2-2005 - During the day, we looked around Lakeside, delivered some laundry, ordered some garments from a local tailor, and set aside a motor bike for a trip we were planning for the next few days, visiting some people and looking at the landscape around Kushma and Baglung.

Saturday 12/2-2005 - Despite of a communication strike all over the country implemented by the Maoists, I found a city bus this morning, heading for Lakeside. Though there were people and bicycles and ox transports everywhere, it was almost impossible to find a taxi or a bus, but I did find one!

After fetching my motorbike, I picked up John at our lodging, and we headed westward.

We had a breakfast break in Naudanda before we were heading towards Kushma. There was among other things a young Chinese there who contacted me while he was having his meal and told him that he had been in the same hotel as us in Ghandruk four days earlier. Then he said: "But why didn't you talk to me too?" I explained that we did not have time to talk to more than we did, but I could talk to him now, as soon as he had finished eating ... "Then he replied: " No, you can talk to me right now ... "

To get the whole picture of the following story, we have to put ourselves three weeks back in time, on sunday 23. januar 2005. That was the time I first got together with the english group at the Kingdom Hall in Kristiansand, Norway. I met Arjun Tiwari from Nepal for the first time at that group meeting. And when he realized I was going on a holiday to Nepal, I was instantly invited to visit his family in Kushma. Since Kushma was close to our trekking route, we included a visit at his home.

When we arrived at Kushma, we made telephone contact with Arjun's wife Gita, and as we met, her small daughters handed us flowers, a quite moving moment.

Though I thought Kushma was the size of a bus stop, it was a really crowded place with maybe 15,000 inhabitants. The main streets appeared nice and clean, and it was something attractive about this small city. Maybe it was the fact that our visit was appreciated?

Sunday 13/2-2005 - Half past seven the next morning, a group of sixteen armed soldiers speeded past the house, and a little later some more came walking. At eight o’clock the sun rose, and it seemed to be a beautiful day. The Tiwary family lived in a beautiful house, with many artistic decorations in different patterns and colors.

Later in the morning, we were invited to visit a boarding school nearby. We arrived in the middle of something like a combined celebration and a song contest (like Idol), and at once we were encircled by some of the pupils.

The school had around 150 pupils from first to seventh grade. They start at school at the tender age of four. To avoid disturbing too much, we were placed in the middle, together with some of the teachers. Many pupils took turns singing their songs, using a microphone. Some of them were also accompanied by a drum, or even music from a cassette player.

After a while, we were asked to tell a little about our country and ourselves, and about our visit in Nepal. We took turns telling the students about our trekking adventure, and many of the differences between Norway and Nepal, and so on. We were also invited to eat with them a little later, but we had to say goodbye since we also had other plans for the day.

Shortly after leaving the school, we started the bike and headed for Baglung. The landscape between Kushma and Baglung was breathtaking. But in Baglung, even thouhg it had a population of about 25000 inhabitants, it was extremely quiet.

We met an Englishman who had heard some shooting this morning on the way from Pokhara. He told us that the national conflict caused the trekking interest to reduce drasticly. About a year ago, it was like a state of war in Beni, about ten kilometers from where we were. Some people were killed, and the trekkers were rescued with a helicopter. So at present, trekkers in Baglung were very rare.

When we returned to Kushma, we got a tail of schoolchildren hanging after us because of our visit to their school. And after we had looked around in Kushma for a little while, we returned to our host family.

In the afternoon, Gita took us to a drip stone cave, which the Hindus had turned into a temple for some of their gods. Inside the cave it was very moist, and the bottom of the cave was tempered due to hot springs in the bedrock. But although the Hindu believed that the Stalagtites and Stalagmites were gods, they were probably only stones, unfortunately.

Monday 14/2-2005 - At seven o’clock in the morning, we heard a group of armed soldiers marching by. A little while later there were several groups of soldiers marching by. A little later we went for a walk in the streets of Kushma together with our host family. We had our breakfast at a little cafeteria, tea and donuts and boiled eggs.

While returning to their house, we met one of the teachers from the day before. He thanked us again for telling the pupils about Norway, and told us that the pupils liked our visit very much.

While leaving Kushma, there were a lot of soldiers along the road. The strike problem was evident, there were no cars or buses, and there were people and soldiers everywhere along the road. The ride went smoothly, and riding the motorbike gave a huge feeling of freedom. As we passed the bus stop close to Birethanti, several trekkers was walking along the streets, but due to the strike, there was no transport to be found anywhere. So they had to walk the 30 kilometers to Pokhara.

Back in Pokhara, we had a nice meal at Lakeside, before we went shopping and went home to our room at the Kingdom Hall in Pokhara.

Tuesday 15/2-2005 - Fewa Lake or Pokhara Lake is the most beautiful and second biggest lake in Nepal. Its average depth is 8.6 m and maximum depth is 19m. It covers an average area of 4.4 sq. km. On its southwest side there is a protected dense forest and on the Northeast side there is a beautiful built-up area 'The Lakeside', the main tourst center of Pokhara. In the middle of the lake there is an island where a famous Barahi temple is located. Fewa Lake is famous for its flat water boating. Motorboats are not allowed in the lake.

For some time we have had this plan to have a boat trip from Lakeside to a restaurant on the south side of the lake. And today would be the last opportunity, since we were going to leave Pokhara early the next morning. So, after delivering the motorbike, we met the boatman and hired a boat together with the boatman’s son. Paddling across the lake took about twenty minutes; still it wasn’t really across but merely along. On the other side, we ordered something to drink and some really strong peanut masala. Because of the hazy weather, we couldn’t see the mountains, but when the weather is nice, this is the perfect spot for the most beautiful mountain panorama. You can find some hyperlinks to some nice pictures on the appendix page. From the other side, from Sandrakot/Naudanda, we noticed some paragliders jumping.

After some time, we felt some raindrops, so we decided to return a little early. Back at Lakeside we went shopping, and looking around at the Pokhara markets for the last time. In the evening we spent at Hari and Gita, who had prepared many different local specialties for us.

Wednesday 16/2-2005 - We had a cup of pepper tea as the last goodbye at our lodgings, after which we headed for the express bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu. The strike was over, and traffic between these two largest cities in Nepal went almost as normal. The bus was a Toyota hiace minibus with 15 seats. When we started in the morning I counted 19 passengers, and some time later that day I counted 22. Don’t ask me how, but I remember the trip as pretty crowded.

The weather was gray and hazy, and even though there were people all along the road, the bus went quite fast. The bus even passed an ambulance with flashing lights and sirens, really insane. The car radio played music all the time, and one of the songs I recall was ‘Final Countdown’ in Nepalese. It felt quite appropriate for the situation. When we passed dense populated areas, there was no slowing down at all, just intense blowing the horn, while people, dogs and chickens fluttered by. It truly was an express bus! A young woman in the next seat vomited.

Through the day, we stopped at several military checkpoints for control, but only for some seconds each time. When we entered into the city limits, there were signs of 'drive slow' which seemed to have no effect even though there were many small children along the road.

After two hours we arrived at a place called Mugling. Once we stopped, sellers offering food, water and snacks, surrounded the bus. The place seemed muddy and dirty. We were told we had to wait in Mugling for an hour because of some problems, related to the Maoists. Rumors told that the road was booby-trapped somewhere ahead.

After four hours of waiting, there were some ambulances passing in both directions. And for the next hour, several army mine-protected vehicles with armed soldiers followed by most of the buses from Kathmandu, passed by. But in our direction, it was a total stop.

After five hours of waiting, the traffic in our direction was rolling along, and still fifteen minutes later, we passed ‘the spot’ with armed soldiers, military vehicles and lots of stones in the road. Close by, a truck was tipped over and burnt-out.

The rest of the journey went by fast, like the first part, as the express buses in periods constantly were overtaking each other, also in dense populated areas, while the passengers felt like doomed sardines. Although I'm not the nervous kind of guy, arriving at our lodge in Kathmandu was truly a relief.

Thursday 17/2-2005 - The next morning at our private lodge, we had a nice breakfast, while discussing the map and the plans for traveling eastwards.

Then brother Pradhan told the most interesting story about what had happened the last days, while John and I were travelling in Pokhara, Kushma and Baglung. And in the story below comes a short version...

In the middle of the day we arranged to meet downtown together with brother Pradhan, to find a suitable motorbike, but the prices were up to double compared to the prices in Pokhara. After some time we found an almost new Yamaha Enticer 150cc, to exactly the right price. And we didn’t pay a rupi in advance, but instead I left my flight ticket.

After some brief packing at our lodge, we left Kathmandu around 15:30. The bike was really nice. When we left the city, we passed a military checkpoint, and a little later a big truck was tipped over and blocked most of the road. But there were really no problems with a bike.

There was a big climb uphill to the planned stop for the night, at Everest Hotel in Damon (2488 meters). It was dark when we arrived. We wheeled the bike into the reception area, or as what we might call it. In our room there were sleeping accommodation for ten people. After an evening meal, we went to bed. Outside, it began to rain, as we could hear the drumming on the corrugated roof, but after some time it became quiet.

Friday 18/2-2005 - We had an early start; at 7 am we hit the road. In three hours and 54 kilometers, we reduced the altitude with some 1900 meters. The road was blocked because of maoist activities in several places.

On the first location, four burnt-out cars blocked the road, so we could barely pass. According to some youths, it happened five days ago. On the next location, a burnt-out Toyota bus was placed crosswise the road. Later down the hill some trees were cut down over the road, but we managed to get by it narrowly.

The landscape was incredible, with a fantastic view. Some parts of the road was good enough, but one part about 10 to 15 kilometers was terrible, with big holes and heaps of pebbles. At that part we had an average speed of 15 kilometers per hour. The road was zigzagging down the apparently endless hillsides, and after some time, the temperature rose significantly. In the lowlands close to Hetauda, there were many military checkpoints. At ten o’clock we had our breakfast at ‘Avocado Lodge and Orchid Resort’, and the temperature was about 25 degrees. A beautiful place - exotic.

The next lap was the highway eastwards. Seemingly endless distances covered with bicycles, cows, goats and people.

On the first 50 to 60 kilometers eastwards from Pathlaya, hundreds of tall trees were cut down across the road by Maoists, as a part of the strike. But now, the road had been opened again. Time and again there were military checkpoints, some with obstacles in the road. From there the trip went smoothly, and we could drive up to 80 kilometers per hour. Though the communication strike was put to an end, there were hardly any buses on the road. As a result there were a lot of peoples everywhere, walking in and along the road, and also lots of three wheeled taxi bikes - tuk-tuks.

Some places close to the big rivers, the road was built on piers. And though it was the dry period of the year and almost no water in the big dry riverbeds, but it looked like it was ready for the next monsoon and flood season.

In the dusk close to Biratnagar, there were a lot of insects in the air. In periods it felt like a gentle hail shower. I was hit in my face by an insect as big as a dragonfly, or maybe it really was a little bird? In Biratnagar (88 meter altitude), we made a phone call and waited for some minutes, after which a young couple that were waiting for our visit, picked us up.

Saturday 19/2-2005 - After a nice breakfast with toast and omelet, we packed some of our stuff and headed north for Dharan and Dhankuta. The roads were broad and nice, and we passed some overgrown woods along the road. Some of the trees were enormous. There were many people and thousands of taxi bikes. The speed limit signs showed 40 km but the traffic speed was between 10 and 90 kilometers per hour. Or put another way: Some drove at ten kilometers while others drove at ninety.

After some time, we arrived at the nice viewpoint Bhedetar (1420 meters), where we had to stop because of some booby-trapped power pylons blocked the road ahead, going downhill towards Dhankuta. Someone suggested a local road to one or two lodges, and ‘nice view’. But this 'gravel road' was our worst choice ever. There were no lodge anywhere, and this 10 kilometer ride on the longest and steepest rock pile imaginable (poor bike), was a total waist of time.

We returned to Bhedetar and found a nice place to stay and started the stopover with a long siesta, after which we ordered a nice dinner. Some of the mountaintops of the Himalayan were barely visible in the hazy horizon, since the distance from here was about 100 kilometers. In the evening, there was this beautiful deep-red sunset over the lowlands and towards India. But when I finally took a picture of the sunset, I was unfortunately a few minutes too late to capture the beauty of it.

Though the strike was brought to an end, people were still afraid, and there was no transport of necessary supports to the villages. On the roads there were none or just a few cars, since the drivers was afraid of future reprisals from Maoists. Around 300.000 inhabitants live in and around Dhankuta and Terhathum a little north from here, and they have been cut off from supplies for more than a week.

Sunday 20/2-2005 - Early in the morning, between 4 and 5 am I was awakened by the roosters, but I really wanted to sleep. While I lay in my bed, I waited for the sunrise. But still before the sun rose, the roosters stopped crowing, and I fell asleep again.

I was told that our hotel was quite famous, since both ministers and royalties and celebrities have stayed here.

After a relaxing morning at Bhedetar, we made our way southwards. We took a brake in Dharan, strolling along in the streets and looking at the markets. Since the city lay in a long slope, the main street appeared to go in a long gentle decent. All around in the city, there were hundreds of car-like three-wheeled scooter taxis, taking up to eight passengers at a time.

At the next small city, Itahari, which is located where the Dharan - Biratnagar road crosses the east/west highway, we also had a little stop. While waiting for a small meal at a little restaurant, something was burned in the kitchen, causing both the owner and the waiter, together with us, to start coughing heavily, and we had to escape with our meal, out on the street.

An endless stream of pedestrians, bikers, cows, some motorbikes and from time to time a single car filled up the road back to Biratnagar.

As the sun was setting, the insect hail shower started. They flapped against my face, slipping behind my sunglasses and into the helmet, where they buzzed and crawled around my ears.

Yesterday, 15 trucks were put on fire close to Muglin, and one of them was an ox transport with more than 40 oxes. And the day we arrived Biratnagar, a man got his hand cut off by Maoists, when he was out, driving his car a few kilometers west of Itahari.

Since our friends Buddah and Sujata were not used to going out to eat, we had to almost force them, and we finally got an acceptance. We were a total of five people and we ate our fill for 995 rupees, or about 18 norwegian kr per person. We had ice cream for dessert, and Sujata liked it very much. When she learned that we were going to Naryangath, she said: You must stay with my family one night! After the successful restaurant visit, we returned to our room at the Kingdom Hall for the night.

Monday 21/2-2005 - The night was filled with music from a wedding or something nearby. We got up before six o’clock, and after we said our goodbyes, we headed westwards along the highway towards Naryangath. There were bikes and people all along the road, together with cows and goats and, of course, the beautiful nature. Where it was possible, we drove at 80 kilometers per hour, in the middle of the road. My thumb was placed at the horn knob at all times, ready for use. And I did use it, all the time.

A man came walking towards us in the middle of the road; he only moved a half meter out of our way when we passed, and lucky for him, in the right direction, because I had honked at him intensively for four or five seconds. Judging by his clothes, he was a Hindu, and it would not surprise me if he intended to go all the way along Nepal's lowland highway, using the center line. I Hope I didn't ruin everything for him, forcing him to start walking all over again. Anyway, he didn't seem to be much afraid.

After about 120 kilometers, we had to stop due to some problems ahead, and we were told to sit and wait in the office of a local police inspector. After a little waiting, we could proceed, but we were told to follow an open jeep with some armed policemen. A little later we were allowed to continue on our own.

There were practically no cars on the roads, and less than ten buses. Many, or maybe all of them were used for moving military troops. There were also less then ten motorbikes the whole day. None or only a few dared to drive, and the country still seemed paralyzed.

So far on the trip, we had no trouble getting gasoline along the way, because there were always a gas station when the need arose. Otherwise we made sure that the tank was well filled when driving in more remote locations. But now we had driven from Biratnagar, and we had planned one filling about midway to Narayanghat. Then when the tank was getting empty, we turned into a gas station, but we were told they had no more gasoline, and we were referred to a station about ten kilometers further on. We continued, and after about five kilometers another gas station appeared. But there was a note saying that they did not have gasoline, and there was no service there either. The place semmed totally abandoned. Now it started to get really stressful, because the fuel gauge was about to pass the red mark on the wrong side, but we had no choice but to drive on. About five kilometers later we arrived at the gas station we first got tips about and luckily there was service. I stopped at the pump and got ready to fill, but the man who came out to help us, told us that unfortunately they were out of gas too. It was not until he was completely convinced that we were not Maoists, that he changed his mind and suddenly had gasoline for us anyway ...

When we got to Hetauda, ​​we stopped for lunch at the same place we were last, namely 'Avocado Lodge and Orchid Resort'. It was good to get some food! We had a litlle chat with the waiter, and talked about the problem with the Maoists, who they are, and how they behave. He told me that the maoists are often uniformed as government soldiers, but instead of leather boots they have light shoes or sneakers so they can easily run. Another important difference was that the government soldiers never knew where the Maoists were, while the Maoists always knew where the government soldiers were.

After we left Hetauda, we saw locations where about ten big vehicles were burnt. The asphalt was at some spots scorched and burnt down to the gravel, an also the nearby vegetation was burnt. Looking at the vegetation, it was evident that this incident happened just some days ago. In several places we had to stop at military checkpoints, and we were also stopped several times by the police. But we were not stopped for speeding in a densely populated area, nor for driving with dark sunglasses in the evening. (Due to large amounts of insects, it was not possible to drive at all without glasses and sunglasses were the only ones I had.) At the checkpoints they had only three questions: Where are you from, where are you coming from now? Where are you going?

The roads were mostly good, but from time to time they were dug up by river streams. Though it was a long time since the monsoon, there were still big craters without any warnings or signs. Many, many times we had to reduce our speed from 80 to 5 kilometers per hour, just in seconds, because of big craters in the road.

After sunset, the insects appeared like a light snow shower, since we still were down in the jungle area. While arriving Naryangath in the dusk, after a short phone call, we were connected with some friends and were guided to our lodgings, the Gainda Cottage, owned by fellow believers.

Tuesday 22/2-2005 - Bharatpur is the fifth largest city in Nepal, and the area is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Narayanghat is the name of the city's and area's main trading center, and is located on the Naryani River bank in the center of Bharatpur. Ever since we traveled from Norway we had planned to be a few days in Narayanghat because there are many friends here and because the surrounding countryside is so special.

In our lodging, I found this paper on the wall, advertising a riverboat for rent. It was a big boat, about 40 feet long with 30 seats, 2 engines with totally 2000 horsepowers and water jet. So we hired the boat, taking our friends with ut. But this first trip was short, since one of the engines apparently had a cooling problem.

Back on shore, John wanted us to have a barbeque a little later, and everybody from the boat trip wanted to join. After some time, a fire was made in front of the lodge. The weather had become cloudy during the afternoon, and there was some lightening in the southern horizon. Someone brought along their guitar, and the staff at the lodgings supplied us with lots of marinated chicken, peanut snacks, drinks, and other stuff. In the horizon from east to west, there was lightening the whole evening, making a really magic atmosphere. So we had fried chicken, while chatting lively, and from time to time accompanied by the guitar. Everybody was having a good time, but about half past eight, we were told to terminate the party and go home, because of the curfew starting at 21:00 in the Chitwan area. The following night we spent at the house of the family of Sujata in Biratnagar.

Wednesday 23/2-2005 - After an early breakfast, we decided to visit the Chitwan National Park, and we invited Sujata's brother Neeraj to join us. Outside Narayangath, a long line of buses were waiting for escort. Some soldiers told us that the road to our destination was somewhat risky, due to rebels. But nevertheless we could continue, but were prompted to be careful. Drawing near to the national park, all the area was quite inhabited. A lot of small cottages along a narrow muddy street about 1.5 or 2 meters wide and several kilometers long.

After arriving at the park, we traveled by an elephant into the dense jungle for more than two hours. We spotted monkeys and deer, mongoose and crocodiles, and many different species of birds and butterflies.

Later that day, after returning to Narayangath, we found out that the riverboat from the day before had been repaired. We filled the boat and had ourselves a nice and speedy voyage at about 40 knots, upstream in the direction of Mugling, and back.

In the evening, we went to our third lodge in three days, at the house of Simon and Silash. On a shelf in the living room we found the new magazines in nepali, including 'Awake!' dated 22. february 2005. One of the articles contained a short story abut this family and maybe most about their mother Bishnu. The article revealed that Bishnu was previously illiterate, like many others, also in Nepal. But when she became familiar with the truth, she first learned to read and write, and then she taught the rest of the family about the truth. We did not get to meet the oldest son Ruben since he was at Bethel in Kathmandu at that time. (And for more information about this, just read the article ...)

Then we had this beautiful evening meal, which was mostly momo (a traditional nepalese dish), but also a beautiful sauce, some fried potatoes and tomatoes, Tuborg beer and McDowells. It was a truly extraordinary meal. Not even at restaurants have I ever tasted a better momo. After some small talk into the wee-hours, we decided to hit the sack. The next day we would return to Kathmandu.

Thursday 24/2-2005 - For several hours during the night, the dogs in the city were barking like crazy. Since the moon was full, maybe they were influenced by that.

In the morning we left Naryangath headed for Mugling. Though some buses were waiting for escort, we were able to pass with our motorbike. We came across several groups of armed soldiers, camouflage painted and with leaves in their helmets. Some of them stopped us, but we were instantly allowed to continue.

The forces of nature have tremendously ruined the road from Naryanghat to Mugling, as the rainy season obviously hit this valley particularly harsh. At many spots, we could see what the river had left behind, up to five to six meters above the current water level. Every time we passed a little valley, we could see where the valley streams had dug out the road and totally destroyed it up to several hundred meters. As most of the mountainsides are made from moraine residues, the water filled valley streams many times were causing landslides, sweeping away parts of the road. On the about 37 kilometers from Naryangath to Mugling, the road was destroyed at more than 100 different spots.

In Mugling, there were only two buses, and no traffic at all. We had a nice breakfast, while happy music flowed from a tiny music shop close by.

While we were about to leave for Kathmandu, we were stopped by some soldiers. The road further on was closed due to some rebel problems, like eight days ago, and we just had to wait. Five army mine-protected vehicles with armed soldiers arrived, together with some ambulances. After four hours of waiting in the hot sun, we left Mugling, escorted by a mine-protected vehicle.

Some twenty kilometers after Mugling, we spotted some of the burnt-out trucks we were told about some days ago. The first one was obviously the ox transport. It was easy to see that, since it was full of charcoaled cadavers, and the smell of death was evident. Later we spotted a burnt petrol truck. Due to the burnt vegetation, the flames had reached maybe 20 meters up the slope. Scattered along some five to six kilometers of the road, we found a total of 15 burnt-out vehicles. At several locations, it seemed that stones were recently removed from the road, and a little later, some timber had been cut down to close the road, and had recently been removed.

After some time, the escort was released, and the traffic appeared like the ‘Wild West’. In the race that insued, the taxies and the express-buses was in the lead, closely followed by the motorbikes. After some minutes, there was a total stop. An oncoming cyclist was hit by one of the first cars, as we could see an ill-treated bicycle and some blood traces. The unlucky one was dragged into a car, and then the rush went on again. The wrecked bike laid partially into the road, and was instantly run over by the cars on my right side.

Our motorbike was rather fast. In the last uphill zigzags before Kathmandu, we caught up with most of the other motorbikes; still we were two on the bike. After a short break at the police checkpoint at the hilltop, we had a really easy ride home to our lodgings.

Friday 25/2-2005 - While we were on trekking (Sunday 3/2) we met the sherpa Nima who we promised to visit in his home in Kathmandu. And on this last day in Kathmandu we finally got the opportunity. We first contacted him on the phone, and afterwards we drove to an address on the other side of the city. There we met Nima, and we followed him to his home. We met his family, and we talked about our journey and what we had experienced, in addition to our thoughts about trekking in the Himalayan / Everest area. He told us that two days before we met in the mountains, armed maoists robbed him and his tourist group of fifteen people. When we were about to say our goodbyes, Nima's teenage daughter appeared. When we had preached to her for about fifteen minutes, Nima asked her: 'Now how do you like what you hear'. The daughter replied, clearly touched: 'It's the most amazing I've ever heard '. The daughter would love to have a Bible study and contact was of course conveyed.

After this nice visit at Nima's, we went to the center of Kathmandu, where we first visited the zoo before shopping for some clothes and shoes to bring back to Norway.

The traffic was tremendously stressful all the time, and surviving here felt somewhat incredible. Some times there were three vehicles honking side by side, on a road with only two lanes, and the poor driver coming in the opposite direction, had to throw himself and his vehicle onto the shoulder of the road, if there was any. And even in the middle of the city, there were many dumpy and muddy narrow roads with no passing lanes, with lots of cars and people, bikes and cows all over the place, and in each directions.

And did I tell about spotting a family of four persons on one tiny motorbike? All the time there was a lot to see. After coming back to our lodgings, we had a snack while we were talking about our trip and our experiences.

Saturday 26/2-2005 - The last day in Nepal had come. It was funny to think how the days and weeks have rushed by. Most of the time since we arrived, there had been a state of emergency in Nepal. Though the strike together with its aftermath paralyzed the country for long periods of time, we had really no problems traveling around. The last 14 days, due to our rented motorbikes, we have traveled about 1500 kilometers up and down, from slightly above the sea level to about 2500 meters above sea-level. And all the way, we met some very nice people showing friendship, kindness and hospitality. They all shared a part of their life and their country.

Though we had plenty of time this last day in Nepal, due to the dense traffic we were a little late to the airport. We were picked up in a hurry by some of the airport staff, and almost hurled into the waiting airplane. And suddenly my first visit ever in Nepal had ended, but hopefully it will not be the last.

Due to the state of emergency, it was almost impossible to travel freely around Nepal as we did. After returning to Norway, I found a journalist's travel description from the same time as John and I traveled to East Nepal. Their travel experience became a different one from ours. Just look here:

Road closed - Wandering aimlessly across Nepal without a destination.

(Day 1) On 16 February we left Kathmandu for our destination: Tehrathum i eastern Nepal. After six days, we were forced to backtrack 1,000 km across Nepal to Butwal. There, we stopped because finally we could go no further. We avoided the Prithbi Highway by taking the unconventional route to Hetauda via Dakhsinkali. At Kulekhani, an army sentry told us we were the only car he’d seen this day. The Tribhuban Highway in Bhainse was empty. There were some motorcycles in Hetauda, but no cars.

(Day 2) The next morning, we passed a convoy of 50 tankers and trucks escorted by an army mine-protected vehicle. At Patlaiya junction, we were waved on at the checkpoint: only res and ambulances were being allowed unescorted. We passed patrols clearing tree trunks from the road and saw only two passenger buses on the 50 km stretch to Nijgad. Joined by a tractor full of merry marriage-goers we reached a deserted Chandra Nighapur in time for lunch. A landmine on the Kamala Bridge had just been defused, we pressed on towards Lahan and didn’t see a single vehicle till Itahari. Turning north we got into Dharan. A journey that would normally have taken 12 hours had already lasted two full days.

(Day 3) The next morning we heard that the Dhankuta road was blocked by booby-trapped power pylons, but we drove up to Bhedetar thinking we could still make it to Tehrathum. Not Possible, so we headed back towards Jhapa. East of Itahari, there were only bicycles, and at Belbari locals told us there was ‘some action’ up ahead and the road was closed, so we returned to Itahari. By now we had no destination, we were wandering aimlessly around Nepal.

(Day 4) Continuing westwards the next morning we passed a long line of trucks, buses and taxis near Lalbandi all moving at the same speed. It looked like a long train being pulled by an armoured personnel carrier. We talked our way past checkpoints, defied warnings and risked going to Birganj by nightfall.

(Dag 5) The next day we headed north towards Bharatpur, the road was clear but there were checkpoints every step of the way. At Lothar there was another convoy of vehicles headed in the opposite direction. An army Alouette hovered overhead. We wanted to turn off and go back to Kathmandu, but the road was blocked at Krishna Bhir. What to do? We headed west, past heavy army patrols and convoys and several long-distance rickshaws carrying cargo from Narayanghat to Butwal, a distance of 100 km. Rotten tomatoes had been dumped by the roadside by farmers who couldn’t take them to market.

At Kawasoti, a roadside resident was sick of it all: «At night, the Maoists force us to pile rocks on the road, by day the soldiers come and tell us to clear them.» From Butwal we could go no further, the road to Lamahi and Pokhara were both blocked.

A highway allows you to get to your destination, it is not by itself a destination. If you are a traveler on Nepal’s roads these days, having a destination you can reach is a luxury.