"Acclimatization to the new environment at Manang takes time and effort but everything is worth it. Freddie stands in the middle of the trail towards Gangapurna Glacier- a rest day worth the view of whole Manang."
I found myself planning the first thing in the morning and it felt too funny.
Lesson 1- never plan! Not that you should never plan but with these bunch of silly adult babies, don’t even bother! You can be carefree during your teenage years but now that you’re an adult and on a budget, I needed to prepare a plan to meet the budget, itenary, and lodging while the boys were on their own. Usually by 1-2 pm people would take rest on the way but we were just leaving the hotel by then! We were supposed to leave early at 7 or 8 at max but we were way late. Our destination for the day was either Tal or Jagat and the climate was pretty humid so in an attempt to lighten our luggage we got a big bag to put all our heavy clothing and stuff and send our necessities along with the bag in the jeep so riding our bikes was easier.
"Early morning at the Timag Village, our bikes are parked outside the hotel while we catch a quick tea-coffee break before hitting the next trail. We could be professionals!"
The driver of the jeep was Sudeep, a 14-year-old kid! And yet he was handling the big bolero jeep up in the circuit by himself, you could tell he was experienced as most of the people there ride almost anything (bikes, jeep, truck driving business) at an early age as the source of their income. Funny thing was that Sudeep wanted to bargain the price with us for weed but we weren’t carrying any. This made me realize that we were 5 men who resembled Israeli travellers due to our scruffy beard and rugged foreigner appearance and perhaps we looked like we smoked weed to him. Finally we got us a deal for Rs.1, 500 and off he went to Tanje where he would deliver our stuff.
Now that the heavy burden was gone we just had to ride our bikes however the guys were all goofy and this had me confused if the boys were really serious about reaching the top in time. We had just begun riding and Sarthak tore his shoes, which he managed to find a cobbler and stitch. I was baffled by this situation- we were 3 hours late and even after this shenanigans they wanted to stop again well at least he got his shoes fixed! We reached a point where a big long tunnel stood in front of us; it was the first tunnel I’d seen in Nepal. Apparently this was a big hydropower station made by the Chinese government and I knew it was a really long tunnel as it was really dark with a white dot at the very far end. We had to cross this slippery tunnel with cars and trucks roaring behind us at full speed. There was a board that read ‘No brakes, One vehicle at a time’ so we rode our bikes slowly and reached Nagdi where Nitesh and I would have our lunch.
"Me and Freddie on our short cycling period stand side by side in the trail of Kathmandu from the Kakani Scout Camp. So many boards that indicate you where to go but where do we go?"
My first experience in the mountains and the food was Rs. 550 per plate for the Nepali lunch set! We could see glimpses of the tiny mountains from where we were riding along. Nitesh was grining ear to ear as he said, “ The real charm is about to begin” and I agreed- we were just starting from here on but the other guys wanted to rest and have lunch. I was done so I decided to get a headstart because I knew if I rest now, I’d be resting for a long time and I was determined to reach Jagat that day. The boys were okay with me going ahead and said they would catch up later so I left with Sarthak while the rest took shelter from their fatigue
You’re not really on an adventure if you don’t get lost but I was pissed and cursed at the map because we had no idea where exactly were we. If only there was a proper navigation we wouldn’t be lost. We pushed our bikes uphill to Baun Dada for half an hour when I got a call from Freddie and was horrified to find out that we had gone the wrong trail and after all that pushing we were back to square one. I didn’t dare stop, slowly and steadily I pedaled and when I looked behind, my friends were nowhere to be seen but I couldn’t stop here. Following the real trail I reached Sangye at 4 pm; a dead place with no people so Jagat was reachable by the evening. And I did, Jagat was amazing and I managed to get 2 decent rooms (A bed, a light bulb and charger points luckily) for Rs. 300. Freddie arrived 3 hrs later but still no sign of the other lads. It was dark now and they were late. Panic arose when another hour passed by but they finally arrived, not on their bikes but on a truck. I could see the look on the 3 men’s faces that they had it rough. The jeep ride was horrible, nauseating, claustrophobic and the bumpy road was like fuel to the fire. They were disappointed that they had to hitch a ride from the truck; Nitesh kept blabbering about something, Kabir was clearly pissed and Sarthak had the same blank expression that he always did.
"Beards and Bicycles and Hot tea! Once you stand in front of the entry of Manang there is no turning back- this is where the real journey begins. No pressure but you must visit the big waterfalls there. You don’t want to miss it!"
Lesson2- Always leave on time. That night I finally slept well and got close to Sarthak. He was a warm energy- he had a rough past with being abused by drugs and he had finally started to change. He was taking mountain biking as a form of rehab to let his broken pieces of life slowly come together as one. He was recovering one step at a time. It was very nice to be in the mountains but I could feel myself getting a bit homesick however Sarthak offered me the Horlicks his mum had packed for him so I could warm myself up which I gladly took his offer to our new friendship.
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