four wide to pass. Then throw in the
pedestrians, dogs, cattle and chickens
that all wander around in the middle
of it all.
The bikes hired were all 100cc.
Anything larger are considered big
bikes over here. These bikes are ap-
propriate technology for local traffic
and road conditions. A couple of
Indian made Enfield’s were spotted;
a 350 Bullet and the larger 500, but
none for hire. Steve and Brant have
Yamahas, I’ve got a Honda Hero and
Mingma (our leader from the trek)
has an Escort.
The Honda is a four speed and is
quite light and maneuverable. The
plus side is that it’s supposed to get
over 50 kilometres to the litre. Fuel
is about 40 rupees per litre, roughly
AU$1.10, at the time parity with the
Australian prices.
Top speed on the bikes wasn’t that
important, narrow handlebars were.
TaTa branded trucks from India were
everywhere, gaily painted, spewing
out incredible amounts of diesel
fumes. A safe speed in downtown
Kathmandu is a bit above walking
pace and, on the winding Prithvi
Highway, down to Chitwan most of
the traffic travels at about 50kph.
Our trip, barring landslide damage,
potholes, oncoming trucks overtak-
ing on blind corners and a diverse
range of livestock, would take us
about 5 hours to do the 160km. Not a
high-speed trip by any means, but it
does give you an idea of the winding
road and traffic volume. It’s a bit like
the traffic on any western city’s major
arterial road trying to squeeze onto
a suburban street … all at the same
time.
So, at 6:00am, in the carpark of
the Garden Hotel, we adjusted our
bandannas (so we didn’t choke on the
fumes) and nervously headed into the
fray … earlier plans to beat the traffic
were thwarted, as most of the million
people that live in the Kathmandu
valley were well and truly up and
about.
Goats! Goats, I forgot to mention
the goats on the road, and ducks,
water buffalo and more dogs.
Another couple of things I learnt
about Honda Heroes. Whilst stalled
in traffic, with a truck up my arse
playing who knows what on its air-
TRAVERSE 56
horns and another moving over, just
about running over my toes, you can’t
kick start them in gear and neutral is
on the bottom with four gears up.
We encounter one big landslide
about 50km out from the start,
around halfway to Mugling. Trucks