Respiratory rhapsody (Tuesday 22 February 2011)

Choose to get out of bed at 7am following a full night of light from the flood lights outside and truck braking. Breakfast of Chiyaa and "Fried bread" which turns out to be a loaf of baked, sliced bread still in it's package and served on a plate. No honey or jam, but who's complaining.

Leave Naubise and it's industrial sized cement factory sitting next to fields of cabbage. Immediately climbing with the trucks and buses, but with less of a road edge even then yesterday, which makes things tricky on a tight two laned yet busy road.

Snow peaks peaking through the haze. Climbing trucks belching out clouds of exhaust as battling their way to the ridge. Trucks and buses just pulling to the side causing recurring traffic challenges. People walking on the edge. Refer horoscope re smog.

Steep climbing, but at least with fresh legs across a road rippled due to it's heavy weighted use. Pass our first evidence of aged road carnage. Road crew working with wheelbarrow.
Peak with billboards prior to descending into the more densely packed valley. A few Brick works sitting in green verdant fields backed by a smoggy

View to where we were to climb - you can see the cars/trucks on the road towards the top.

Dried meats hanging outside shops by the road. Clay ovens can be seen in front.

Downhill dodging road lumped moguls and upward traffic dodging the same.
Traffic starting to condense. Barmy late winter day. Follow an open backed front wheel drive tractor in which rested the butchered carcass of a pig on it's way down the road. Pork is officially off the menu for the next couple of days.

Following the motorbikes as weave through long line of consolidating traffic sometimes on the road, sometimes off, dodging the non indicating buses and vans as they abruptly stop. Live and let die theme music still playing in my head.

Clip a open backed utility and hear a crunch. Pull over as Soph passes going uphill. Identify that have snapped the pannier bolt. Bugger. Pull into a wood working yard to work through options. Unfortunately bolt head lost and sheared end stuck in the frame pannier heads. Not enough exposed thread to get a grip to spin the trapped thread out. Due to frame shape can't rest panniers on frame and than electrical tape to hold through to finding hotel. Get directions to an engineering shed back down the road. Roll down without the rack. Spot a metal drill, but on enquiring told that yes though it might be an electric drill without electricity (Load shedding) it would not work. Bugger. Give in. Negotiate with a van taxi and twenty minutes later unloading our gear at the Yellow house hotel.

Crash out for a while in our super sized room including open fireplace, yellow Ganesh bread spread and Buddha paintings on the walls.

Onto the streets and though pre armed with mud map wandering within ten minutes. Streets winding and packed with stores but with semi controlled hectivity out front.

Late lunch on the roof terrace at the Dolche Vita. Good and fast but expensive, even before the 10% service charge and 13% vat. Funny nowhere else has identified vat before. Feeling quite full (ukus mukus in verbal Nepali) struggle back down stairs.

Pass our first tiger balm salesman and struggle to lose our first tour then thanka tout.

Stop for chiyaa on way back followed by Hot lemon, strangely served with salt and pepper rather than honey. For some reason tasting like egg the lower into the glass you got. Straight across the road was a mountain bike place with bling Merida, Trek and Gary Fishers sitting out front. Enquired re bike repair.

Back to the hotel with slightly more certainty. Flake out early listening to city street noises of traffic and the odd dog.