Friday, December 1, 1989

Pokhara in domov / Pokhara and return home

17. dan: Birethani-Pokhara
En del naše skupine je še prespal v Naudandi, nekateri pa se nismo mogli premagati, ko nam je tovornjak ponudil prevoz v Pokharo. Tam smo najprej pospravili pol slaščičarne, potem pa ležali na travi pod palmami in pili limonado. Najedli smo se tudi golaža, ki ga v neki restavraciji streže Avstrijka.
Day 17: Birethani-Pokhara
A few members of our group spent the night in Naudanda while the rest of us couldn't say no when a truck driver offered us a ride to Pokhara. We first emptied out the local pastry shop and then rested on the grass under palm trees and drank lemonade. We ate beef stew in a restaurant owned by an Austrian woman.
18. dan: Pokhara
V Pokhari smo počivali nekaj dni. Prvi dan smo še malo razmišljali, ali si upamo vzeti rent-a-bicycle, saj tam vozijo po levi strani ceste, tako po Azijsko, da je vožnja po cesti v bistvu borba za preživetje. A smo se le opogumili, preverili, ali zvonci na kolesih dobro delujejo, in se odpeljali v muzej, kjer imajo zbirko več tisoč vrst metuljev in drugih insektov.
Day 18: Pokhara
We rested in Pokhara a few days. The first day we were reluctant to rent bicycles as we weren't used to driving on the left side of the road and the traffic is Asian in that it is a fight for survival. We took the bicycles after all made sure that the horns worked loudly enough and cycled off to a museum of more than a thousand butterflies and other insects.
Vožnja z avtobusom nazaj v Katmandu (razdalja 200 km) je trajala celih 11 ur, to pa predvsem zato, ker je cesta ozka, speljana nad prepadom in vsakič, ko se je nasproti pripeljalo kakšno vozilo, je bilo precej manevriranja, mahanja z rokami, trobljenja in usmerjanja, da sta vozili odpeljali drugo mimo drugega. Pa se nismo pritoževali, saj smo srečno prispeli, zadovoljni, da naš avtobus ni bil eden izmed tistih, ki občasno padejo v prepad.

Domov smo se vračali prek Bangkoka, kjer smo ostali in počivali še nekaj dni. Kar težko smo se privadili na velemesto, civilizacijo, hitro postrežbo v restavracijah, a še dobro, da smo imeli ta vmesni postanek, da vrnitev domov ni bila prehud kulturni šok.
Our bus ride back to Kathmandu (a distance of 200 km) lasted 11 hours. The road is narrow and goes along a cliff so that each time we encountered a vehicle coming in our direction there was lots of activity, honking and arm waving to manouver the two vehicles to pass each other. In the end we were thankful to arrive safely with the realization that our bus was not one of those that occasionally drop down the cliff.

We returned home via Bangkok where we also stayed and rested a few days. It was quite a transition back to civilization, a huge city, efficient service in restaurants. But this stop made it easier to adjust to returning back home to our real lives.