EXOTIC EAST RIDE

█ Text & Photos by Rabi Thapa

It’s not what you ride, it’s your attitude that it counts.

THE EAST conjures up images of mysticism, magic, beautiful landscapes, exotic food, spices and friendly ethnic people. This is what we had envisioned while planning the EXOTIC EAST RIDE to the Eastern part of Nepal. We were NOT disappointed.

After being flagged off from The UN building in Pulchowk, F.O.R.E. (Friends of Royal Enfield) a group of 10 enthusiastic Royal Enfield Riders along with a TV crew and a mechanic, set off to discover and capture the beauty of Eastern Nepal on a 9 day, 1765 kilometer Motorcycle journey from 25th September – 02 October 2012. This journey had two agendas.

• To participate in the world Tourism Day activities at Kakarbhitta, the eastern border between Indian and Nepal and promote domestic and International tourism in the region by means of motorcycling through a documentary.

• To assist UNICEF’s Global Hand Washing Campaign “Sabun Pani Hath, Sadhai Sath Sath” to create awareness with the benefits of a simple act of washing hands with soap that eventually saves people from various diseases where by saving precious lives.

Escorted till Dakshinkali by a group of fellow Enfield riders, we slowly eased through traffic jams and after carefully negotiating this slippery path, we climbed to the ridge at Deorali and steeply descended the narrow winding mountain road honking horns and warily looking out for the jeeps that ply this route. They appear suddenly at turnings / steep bends when you least expect or want it. The twists and turns were difficult to negotiate as one has to desperately try and avoid the many large open pot holes and at the same time, give way to oncoming traffic.

From Bhaise, we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be riding on a flat open metalled road all the way to Hetaudah.  At the Avocado Motel, the local business community warmly welcomed us and after refreshments and took us to the Martyr Memorial Park constructed to honor the martyrs of Nepal, including the ones who lost their lives since in the British colonial wars to the ones who overthrew the autocratic Panchayat system in 1989. The main attraction of the park are the sculptures of these martyrs that are sculpted on one big boulder.

September sees the last of the monsoons but it was not going to spare us. As we rode along towards Janakpur, the heavens opened and we were completely drenched. At 7 PM, we arrived at the outskirts of Janakpur to be greeted by the Guides Association of Janakpur, who had turned out in great numbers and escorted us around Janakpur in a motorcycle convoy, like returning heroes. For dinner, we were treated to Janakpur’s special Thali, made up of 54 varieties of vegetarian delicacies but we were happy to settle for 15. We checked into our rooms but sleep was difficult as it was very hot but were thankful for the mosquito nets that kept us safe from the irritating mosquitoes.

JANAKPUR, the centre of the ancient Maithili Culture is the home of Hindu Goddess Sita (Janaki). The Janaki Mandir (dedicated to her) was built by Queen Brisabhanu Kunwari of central India 1911 AD and is an excellent example of Hindu – Rajput architecture. In the Hindu Mythology, Ramayana, Lord Rama came as a suitor and having successfully strung the divine bow of Shiva won Sita as his bride.

After a tour of the temple, we set off for the Dhanusa temple where the central piece of the Divine Bow of Shiva, landed on earth.

The east west highway is excellent for motorcycling and we made steady progress eating up the miles at a constant speed of 80 kms / hour. At the Kosi Barrage, Royal Eastern Enfielders (REE) from Dharan was there to receive us. After introductions, we (25 Royal Enfield Bikes) set off thundering for Itahari (70 kilometers) a 1 hour ride, for a much deserved lunch break.

With promises to meet the REE Riders the next day in Dharan, we continued our journey to Kakarbhitta. Driving long distances is tiring and regular breaks are necessary to stay focused and loosen the muscles. We reached Kakarbhitta around 7:30 PM where NATTA Eastern had arranged accommodation and we gratefully checked in for a much deserved rest but ended up excitedly chatting until 2 am.

27th September 2012. World Tourism Day ! The first tourists had arrived. One was from Cameroon and the other from Guyana. They were greeted with a time honoured tradition by putting a red tika and Khada (silk scarves). Amidst a function organized by the Tourism related / Business organizations and the local community, they were awarded gifts of free accommodation in Pokhara and a bus ticket to Kathmandu and paraded around the town accompanied by the local band and dignitaries. We joined the parade and the Royal Enfield motorcycles added to the fun and curiosity to bystanders. Our Royal Enfield Riding friends from Kalimpong, Gangtok, Hashimara and Siliguri arrived in Kakarbhitta to attend the function and join us for an overnight ride to Namje.

After lunch, we travelled to Dharan where 25 REE Riders once again, were there to receive us. After introductions with our friends from India and group photo session, we set off for the city in a 2 line formation. With beaming headlights, the 40 + Royal Enfield riders cruised the streets of Dharan making a thunderous sound. The locals watched in awe as our group noisily but steadily arrived at the Clock Tower and was welcomed by the local Tourism related Organizations with Khadas (Silk Scarves) and red tika, a sign of a Royal Welcome.

Dharan, the hub of eastern Nepal is situated on the foothills of the Mahabharat range and was once the location of a recruitment center for the Brigade of Gurkhas but since 1993 has been converted to B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences.

After refreshments, we set off for a 16 kilometer ride to Bhedetar, a beautiful hill resort with a panoramic view of the eastern mountain range as well as of the terai down below. 4 kilometer further is Namje, a small Magar village named by CNN as one of the 12 best unheard places. Warmly welcomed by the local community with a tika ceremony and flower bouquets presented by young Magar women, we were ushered to the main village area for our evening’s entertainment.

The famous “Hurra” Dance is performed by the youthful girls holding hands and moving in a counterclockwise direction singing songs to the beat of the madal (local drum). Everyone joins in forming a bigger circle and participates by singing the chorus “Hurra Ha Ha”. The singing and dancing continued late into the night and was followed by dinner of Bar B Que pork, rice, nettle soup, green vegetable curry, Daal and the most dreaded “Dalle” the most hottest Chillies of the region. Namje prides itself as an organic village and everything is grown organically.

After dinner, we were allocated beds in different households to share the local experience.

Morning. WOW !  There were stunning views of Mt. Makalu in the horizon. Our host brought us freshly brewed black tea with pepper (not my personal favourite) but just the right thing to wake us up after a night of merry making. Bidding farewell to our hosts and friends from India we set off for Phidim via Raja Rani and Budhabare to reach Ilam the following day.

Meeting local organizations and their steady stream of welcome from Village to village (we were the first motorcyclist tourists to ever reach there) set our schedule haywire. The bad road conditions made riding difficult and slow. At Rajarani, the Hotel Management Institute treated us to a delicious Nepali lunch followed by an even more enjoyable boat ride on the lake.

Budhabare, our destination for the day was a tough call. The road was still under construction and fit for only trucks, busses and 4 wheel drive vehicles. Huge grooves on the trail made progress slow. As we neared Budhabare totally exhausted from hours of hard riding, the whole village turned out to receive us and welcomed us with flower bouquets. Another 4 kilometers of riding in the dark brought us to the main village where we immediately went about ordering our evening meal and sought accommodation in local tea houses. One of our friends jokingly suggested that we rename the group “NIGHT RIDERS” as we were always arriving after nightfall.

Having learnt from locals that the road ahead was still under construction, we decided that it would be too dangerous to tackle the rough terrain in the steeper hills of Nepal with our Royal Enfields and so agreed to return to Dharan and the head to Ilam via the normal and direct route. Offering our thanks to the village elders for the hospitality, we set off for Dharan, a little disappointed but thankful that we had come this far without any accidents in this extremely rough and difficult terrain.

Dharan… Home of the brave. Home of the famous pork meat. Home of the Royal Eastern Enfielders who once again were there to assist us in finding accommodation and threw a grand party on our behalf. BBQ Pork & Chicken and drinking whiskey and singing Nepali and English songs to the guitar made a very relaxed and highly enjoyable evening. Clean sheets and gracious accommodations… WE WERE IN HEAVEN !

When in Dharan, a visit to the Buda Subba Temple is a must. So with a quick detour and tying the coloured threads around the walls seeking blessings for our loved ones, set off for Ilam 194 kilometers through one of Nepal’s most scenic roadways. We retraced all the way to Char Ali, a mere 10 kilometer before Kakarbhitta and then turned north for Ilam. At the gate of the Partibara temple, we stopped for lunch. Weather changes fast in the hills. The bright and sunny weather suddenly turned to pouring rain and heavy fog engulfed the hillside. Visibility was less than 10 feet so we waited. But no luck. After 4 hour of waiting, it got dark and with 50 kilometers still to cover, we decided to take a chance and ride slowly in a compact group to Ilam.  After travelling only a kilometer, one of the motorcycles refused to start up and with the rain pouring down, we had no option but to return to the village, find a shade and repair it. It was late now so we decided to split up. The main group and jeep would continue slowly to Ilam and the rest of the group of 3 riders + mechanic would catch up later. I left my motorcycle for the mechanic and as the oldest rider in the group, night riding is always a challenge and in the foggy rainy night, I decided I would be much comfortable and better off in the jeep.

At AAiatabare (15 kms), a small town on the hill above Phikal, Chhedup called to say that there was a landslide nearby and that a few vehicles had returned. It would be madness to do anything in the night and so planned that they would travel very in the early morning and meet us in Ilam. We arrived at Ilam at 9:30 PM but thankfully Mr. Lok Srestha, Secretary, Ilam Chamber of Commerce was there to meet us and arranged our accommodations. (Note : The landslide in Ilam was one of the biggest and 14 people lost their lives. 1 truck, 1 pick up and 2 cars were washed away in the landslide. Our friends never made it to Ilam but yes, we met up after the road was cleared and happily set off for home).

Tired and hungry we set off for the dining room for the most delicious Nepali meal. We sampled their Tongba (Fermented millet drink) as well as the local Raksi (a millet distilled alcoholic drink) a tonic for a good night’s sleep.

Ilam is situated in the far eastern region of Nepal lies at the base of Mt. Kanchanjunga, the third highest peak of the world and is famous for natural scenery and landscapes, tea production, and diverse agricultural economy. Their milk products (lollypop), “Dalle” very hot red chilies, ginger, black lentils are amongst some of their most sought after products. The famous Ilam tea comes from the region and a walk through the tea gardens is very enjoyable.

The EXOTIC EAST RIDE provides another exciting adventure in Nepal’s unchartered tourism destinations. Friendly, smiling people, beautiful landscapes, awesome cuisine, ethnic cultures and great mountain views provides visitors with adrenaline pumping adventure.

Come along for the ride and leave with a memory for a life time.

(Author is the CEO of Sacred Summits (P) Ltd., www.sacredsummits.com)