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a round of strong black coffees , Bijay managed to successfully round up our motley half-drunk-half-hungover crew and make it to Kathmandu airport in time for the morning flight to Pokhara . Now , Kathmandu airport is an utter shit show . An administrative labyrinth of queues , delays , laisser-faire attitudes and every-man-for-themself mentalities . Think Paris Charles De Gaulle airport , but on steroids . A difficult obstacle to overcome when nursing spiteful hangovers for sure .
After making it through the preliminary circus of security , checkin and baggage handling , riding-out a three hour delay in departures , sitting buckled into the plane on the tarmac ( with no aircon running ) for a further hour waiting to take off ... it was then announced we needed to disembark from the plane due to a fault … so we were then decanted into a replacement plane before finally taking off some five hours behind schedule .
Tiredness and irritability soon ebbed away into feelings of peacefulness and contentment though as we touched down in Pokhara , breezed through arrivals and headed into the city .
Built around a picturesque lake and flanked by the Annapurna mountain range , Pokhara is simply stunning . The vibe is completely different to Kathmandu too . It ’ s a laid-back Matthew McConaughey of a city when compared to Kathmandu ’ s half-crazed Charlie Sheen .
Thirty minutes later , we arrived at the Ride Ultimate Adventure HQ in downtown Pokhara and were warmly greeted by the full team of guides , mechanics , and drivers ( we had a 4x4 support vehicle following us with our gear , tools and first aid supplies ). The support crew were an easy-going bunch of guys who made us feel welcome and seemed as genuinely excited about the trip as we were . We became fast friends . Introductions made , and paperwork for the trip completed , we then dropped our bags and went to check out the bikes we would be on for the next five days .
If a Land Rover Defender had a one-night stand with a Honda Africa Twin , the resultant lovechild would be a Royal Enfield Himalayan . Utilitarian bordering on agricultural , but with a charm all its own – the Himalayans were unconventional beauties , but still easy to fall in love with . The Single cylinder 411cc engines coupled with a reassuringly clunky five speed box ensured that these lightweight workhorses had enough grunt to move when they had to ! Although they were fun to throw around on tarmac , they weren ’ t really built for open roads . As the name suggests , they were specifically designed for the punishing offroad Himalayan terrain we were going to be exploring . When the roads turned
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