KATHMANDU TO KALIMPONG 2014: 03/02/14

Distance 46 miles. Climbing - 298 feet
Route Details http://www.strava.com/activities/115452668

Usual breakfast of porridge, eggs - boiled or poached, sausages, tomatoes, toast and tea. I'll be putting on weight on this trip instead of losing it. With two days of hard cycling in wet conditions, over the hills of Sindhuli, we have now reached the Tarai, the plains of Nepal. We were enjoying a chilly but pleasant sunny day until the mist came down and you could hardly see 2 yards in front of you. The group got split up in the mist so for safety sake the lead car stopped to allow the others to catch up. Quite eerie. Athough very rough in places the road is much flatter now so making better time. Vanda has got over her tummy bug and is strong again, geeing us along with her chat. With the sun back we passed through teeming villages, not as colourful as India, but full of life. Shops, tradesman, farmers all mingling making a simple living. Traffic is not as hectic as India but is ever present, horns blasting, cutting in, overtaking, goats, cows, dogs, anything goes, you must be constantly alert. We stopped at a quiet spot for a lunch of egg sandwiches, cold meat, potatoes and salad. Normally I wouldn't eat salad in this part of the world but Binod assured us it was perfectly safe being washed in iodine water, and it was, delicious. Some of us managed a snooze in the sun. We made good time reaching Lahan by 1.30pm, plenty of time for a proper shower and to relax. The shower is wonderful, no bucket and jug this time. There is a large tent with chair, plastic mat, wooden mat and a garden like hose. The water comes from a plastic container with plunger which one of the support team pumps furiously when you shower. How clever is this? Oh, it feels so good to be clean. We are camped on a large playing field creating interest from the boys of a nearby engineering college, there is always someone who speaks english and is confident about coming forward. I love chatting with the locals encouraging their questions. They always want to know your country and what you are doing.
Binod announced a friend owned a cinema in nearby Lahan and invited us to go. A few of us enjoyed the delights of "Gunday" in an interesting picture house. The film wasn't shown from reel but taken from the internet. Great fun but certainly a world away from our cinema's back home.
We returned to a great meal of Tomato Soup with croutons, Spaghetti Bolognaise, Apple Turnover and Ice-cream. Earlier we had watched the cook make the pudding in the a tin lined with foil, tossing the apples and spices together. So clever and yummy. After dinner we were asked who wanted a hot water bottle and every hand shot up. Such comfort. We are also issued with down jackets, so cosy. Love it. Loud music playing again tonight, great beat, wonder what the celebrations are for this time.
Spike is holding up well although he is filthy, I can tell he is not pleased as he keeps giving me dirty looks. Enjoying the challenges of this trip so much.