we wend our way through on the Enfield ’ s . The bikes just plodded along in first gear at a little over walking pace , they must have heavy cranks as there was not a hint of stalling .
When we reached the main road there was a large traffic jam . We worked our way to the front , a biker ’ s prerogative , only to find that the army had stopped everyone to keep the road clear for the Prime Minister as he headed for his helicopter at Pokhara airport .
A half hour later we were set loose and it was obvious that security was very high as army personal were deployed at regular intervals along the road back into Pokhara . There were many army trucks and the odd armoured troop carrier .
As we ’ d been split up in the traffic jam , we regrouped under a shady tree on the edge of Pokhara . After some time , Chandra came along and said we should go back to the hotel as Rajesh had had a minor accident with another motorbike and they ’ d gone to the police station to sort it out .
Rajesh showed up a little later with a broken taillight and said he had to go back to the police station tomorrow to retrieve his licence and pay a fine .
In the evening I went to a dance restaurant with Rajesh . These establishments are very popular , they ’ re a bit like the 1960 ’ s go-go scene , with girls dancing on stage at regular intervals to the latest Indian pop tunes .
It had been raining overnight . I wasn ’ t looking forward to the ride back to Kathmandu without a front mudguard , especially if the roads were wet .
It had now started raining steadily but as we left the blue sky reappeared and remained for the day .
There were now seven bikes , as Jiggy , an American expat and his wife joined us .
Jiggy is a bit of a character as he ’ d taken on Buddhism and married a local girl . He also drew cartoons for the Nepali Times .
I rigged up an old rice bag to act as a mudflap to stop the front wheel spraying water in my face . The ride back to Kathmandu was without incident and the road was relatively traffic free . It made for good riding through the sweeping turns chasing Binod . He was better when we came to traffic , more experience with horns and indicators , so I was often left behind playing catchup .
The group spread out and when we stopped to regroup before entering the Kathmandu valley , we were now only four . After some time , the decision was made to move on . I found out later that there was some confusion about the rendezvous point .
An army checkpoint on the rim of the valley caused a huge traffic jam , they needed to check our registration again and as before it was bikes to the front of the queue . We were soon through , no doubt saving us at least one and a half hours .
More Kathmandu traffic , looking out for the goats , we were soon back at the Himalayan Enfielders workshop with smiles all round and a few local beers to wash down the diesel fumes . An interesting experience , as we lived … to die ? SM
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