Hitchhiking in Nepal.
There’s nothing but confusion regarding my notes about Nepal. In the opposite of the much-detailed ones from India, which I carefully catalogued in a Word document, I have only some scratches, still in paper, of my trip in Nepal. What to do? I will have to try and sort it out what I can remember, and together with the pictures (which are very few) try to put everything together. Here it goes…
17th of April, 2023.
The first person to stop for me is a writer! Shikhar is going to Bharatpur, which is not far, but is better than where I am standing. He is surprised about my journey and I am surprised for meeting a writer. I think I was never picked up by one. When we arrive in Bharatpur, we have some coffee in a hotel, and Shikhar tells me a bit about Nepal and this region. He draws me a map of my way to Siddicharan, marking the most likely cities I will be pass by, and tells me about Okhaldunga.
On trying to reach Siddicharan, I get picked up by three men going back to their family house, in Chandrapur. It’s down already, and when I tell them that I must camp somewhere for the night, they invite me to stay with them.
The family lives in a village outside the town, in a very cute traditional house. Part of the family actually lives here, and two other couples came to visit. Actually, one of the wives is doing an exam tomorrow, so that’s why they came. I eat with them upstairs, where she prepares dinner in an improvised kitchen. The family downstairs also want me to eat with them, but apart from eating some snacks, I tell them we can all eat together tomorrow. My favourite part is actually after dinner, when we eat sweet rice prepared with milk, a kind of rice pudding. It is delicious! The wife and I share one of the rooms and share also the bed.
There are many children too, and they are all playing around but they are also very excited to talk with me and by the fact I am from Brazil. One of the boys, is especially interested in languages and studies in general, so I teach him a few words in Portuguese. He is actually the reason why the men went away and, on their way back, picked me up. They went out checking for this special school which he really wants to attend to. You need to pass an exam to enter because the level is really high and only exceptional students are admitted. It reminds me of my high school time, when I also had to pass an exam to enter my dreamy school, and luckily, I did it.
Next morning, while the ladies are preparing breakfast, one of the men and all the kids take me for a walk to a park nearby. It is a nice place, with high trees and a small stream. It would be even better if it hasn’t been neglected. We pass by some traditional wooden houses, and I think they look gorgeous! People are drying corn on the road, to use as ration for the animals.
After breakfast, a bit reluctantly they let me go, and in a motorcycle, they take me to a hitchhiking spot.
18th of April, 2024.
My goal is to reach a place called Siddicharan, to visit a small town, Okhaldunga, which is quite famous for its grinding stone patrimony. That’s also the meaning of the town’s name. It is a long and hard way to get there.
Pabrita and Someeta, a lovely couple going to Kathmandu for a meeting, take me all the way to Bardibas. We stop in a tiny restaurant by the road, and while they have a soft drink, I decide to have a lassi. It is dangerously hot and we keep making jokes about that.
A man called Rogeni, ex-army but now working with some kind of organization, offer to drive me a long part of the way, which is awesome! He is very nice and I like talking to him. We stop to have some orange juice in the top of a hill. It is freshly squeezed orange juice and, traditionally, is served with black salt, because the oranges are too sweet. Ah! I miss black salt! Just as much as I miss India… The juice is delicious, by the way. When we are leaving, a group of women ask a lift in the back of the pick-up, until a nearby village. Rogeni says it’ fine so we take them. Double hitchhiking. Laugh.
The way to the Siddicharan is already gorgeous! It goes all the way alongside a river, but uphill, so you have some gorgeous views. And all the suspension bridges on the way also give a wonderful touch to the scenery. It is just very difficult to take some good photos, because of the terrible condition of the roads. Unless you are stopping all the time, which you don’t normally do when you are hitchhiking.
They drop me off in a very interesting turn at Khurkot Andheri Khola Bridge. Why is that? Nobody is coming on my way. Many cars go towards Kathmandu, crossing the bridge in the opposite direction of where I am going. That’s good news for when I am coming back but not today. There are a few taxis though, but I am not even trying to hitchhike with them.
I am saved by Sushil and the young driver, Regmi, who has spent 6 years in South Africa and that’s how he can speak some English. When we arrive to their destination, a village called Ghurmi, they follow their way and I intend to get away from the centre, on the road to Siddicharan, so I can camp for tonight.
It is a tricky walk downhill, through a very dusty, bumpy road. I pass by a restaurant near the river, and decide to ask the owner if it’s OK for me to camp on the back of her restaurant, where the is some grass and some empty space. Sarmila is extremely surprised with my presence and my request. She asks me to wait for her husband to come back from work, so we’ll talk.
When her husband Sanjaya arrives, we all talk and they invite me for dinner. The food is incredibly tasty and Sarmila’s dal is the best I would have in Nepal over the whole month I spent there.
Together with their restaurant, they have some small rooms, which they rent for truck drivers or travellers passing by. They are very simple, non-furnished rooms, just for sleeping. They say I can stay there for the night. I happily accept, but I decide to sleep inside my tent, without the canvas though, because of the mosquitoes.
Next morning, after some tea with Sarmila, I resume my journey to Siddicharan.
10 Years Around the World 