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November
5, 1999
This is
Earle Lowe again. Today we traveled from khatmandu to Butwal
We have
been delayed yet another day, not because of the terrain or the Rovers
but due to illness. Yesterday my spewing power was more powerful than
Mount St. Helen’s. I was deemed unfit to travel, so the group took
advantage of this time to continue work on the Rovers. Hercules’ starter
had been sounding more and more strange each time we started it, thus we
decided to take a closer look with our good friends at the British
Embassy's DFID. At first a starter repair seemed like a no-brainer, but
any easy repair is not always so easy. When we were removing the starter,
the retaining piece that holds the gear and the spring on the end of the
starter motor came loose and found its way into the bottom of the bell
housing -- or so we thought. Anyway, after hours, and many modified
tools, we lost hope in trying to retrieve the missing piece. We debated
the merits of leaving the piece in, wondering if it would find a resting
place and would not bother us during the rest of the trip. On the other
hand, would it be better to separate the engine and transmission and fix
the problem the correct way? In this way, we would eliminate the
possibility of a more serious problem down the road, in an unknown
location, but what unforeseen problems would we run into while separating
the engine? Taking our chances, figuring we would possibly cause more
problems than we were likely to incur by moving the engine, we opted for
the less drastic fix. Our man, Atal Tamang, attached a strong magnet to
the bottom of the bell housing figuring the retaining nut would
eventually find its way to the magnet and be retained there by its
magnetic force.
It was
amazing to watch this guy work. A true master of his craft, he cut the
magnet to size and affixed it to the housing by using a metal sling that
was bolted into place by two bolts that were already there. Anyway, the
seemingly easy fix took more than eight hours and we finally made it back
to the hotel around noon. In the course of the repair I was able to look
around at some of the insect and plant life. Nepal is a bastion for butterflies
and the pictures will give evidence as to what I saw. Also there is a
video that depicts Nick and I driving through Kathmandu back to the
hotel. You can get a feel for the traffic and look of Kathmandu.
Checking
out of the hotel also was not an easy process. Much to our surprise,
phone calls were more than we bargained for.
Another
mini soap opera was Jeff's coordination with Mr. Navlika, our friend from
India. While planning the trip we each had the responsibility to organize
travel in our assigned countries. Jeff's responsibility was India.
Embracing his responsibility, he had contacted an Indian friend of his
roommate and planned our stay and route in India. Between them, they
planned for a fellow to meet us at the Nepal/India border and serve as a
tour guide/navigator. However, setting actual dates is problematic, as we
have steadily fallen behind our schedule. Jeff was doing his best to be
our go-between, trying to be appreciative of Mr. Navlika’s kindness, but
also trying to be flexible. It is hard to plan for surprises along the
way, such as a sick day. As it turns out, due to our late arrival, our
guide would not be available. We felt bad taking Mr. Navlika’s time to
plan something that didn't work out. So we opted for an alternative solution.
He made a hotel reservation for us in the mountain resort town of
Nainital, and we did not anticipate a problem until we were forced to
take this sick day. We need to be in Nainital in two days. I hope we can
make it.
Nepal is an
accordion-like country. It is long and skinny (about 800km long and
between 90 km and 230km wide) and is home to four mountain ranges. The
southern edge of the country is only about 100m in elevation, which is
called the Terai. Continuing to the north, you enter into the Chure hills,
which range in height between 900m and 1350m. Continuing north again you
will run into the next mountain range which is known as the Mahabharat
range, which rises to higher elevations varying between 1500-2700m. The
fertile valley between the Mahabharat and the Himalayas is home to the
three major Nepalese cities: Jumia, Pokhara, and the most famous --
Kathmandu.
Today's
driving took us out of the valley in which Kathmandu is situated, through
the two mountain ranges of southern Nepal and into the lowlands called
the Terai. After finally fixing the starter, eating lunch and sorting out
the hotel bills, we were ready to depart at the early hour of 2:00 p.m.
On our own and with no major cities in our path, we were able to try our
hand at navigating. Being our navigational leader, I was up to the
challenge using a combination of high- and low-tech material. I am
equipped with a GPS, Delorme software and a Sony laptop computer. If all
else fails, we have a compass. We stopped once to confer as a confusing Y
in the road came up, but I made the right decision and we continued
without incident.
The Rovers
and their crews climbed out of the fertile valley of Kathmandu and into
the surrounding mountains. We were hoping to get to the border but this
was not going to happen. The drive was beautiful as we passed terraced
farms, flowing rivers, sharp rocks and lush greenery. We were all very
excited to be fleeing the cold of Tibet. The road twisted and turned
through the mountains and for the first time in the trip, we had to pull
over and adjust the seat box in Alaska because too much heat was coming
in from the engine compartment. But man, it was nice to be warm!
Amidst the
turns, the climbs and descents, Hercules' passengers heard some rattling.
It sounded as though the magnet fix was not working and the retaining nut
was being shoved around by the flywheel. It certainly was not constant
clattering, but just enough to make us worry. After not hearing it for a
while, our fear abated. However, we were disturbed by a prolonged clatter
that ended in a clunk. As we continued, we watched the gauges but nothing
seemed to be amiss. Since then we have not heard any further sounds and
we continue to hope the problem has solved itself.
Doug began
to scar us as his patience for slow driving eroded with the afternoon. He
took a few too many chances in non-passing zones, but I am glad to say
these chances resulted only in non-impact humbling experiences. Doug's
impatience served us well that evening as it seems a bit of a fender-bender
slowed traffic to a halt. In true Pape form, Doug burst from the cab of
Hercules issuing a barrage of orders that quickly put us back in motion.
We were a bit embarrassed, but he seemed to find the proper antidote for
the problem.
As night
struck so did problems with Hercules' headlights. We were no strangers to
electrical problems, but we hoped we had left them all in China. Anyway,
the headlights seemed to dim. This was OK until one headlight gave out,
and then the other. We were forced to stop at Naryangat and figure out
what the problem was. We figured the cheap Chinese headlight switch was
the culprit, but soon realized that we had just blown two halogen
headlight bulbs. We were all puzzled at why they blew at the same time
and why they blew when they had only been slightly used. We replaced them
wondering how long they would last, but they seem to be going strong.
As we
continued driving, Chanda began reading to us. The most pertinent
literature came from the Lonely Planet book on Nepal. We read about the
area in which we were traveling through, focusing on the wildlife found
within the Nepalese borders. We were intrigued as she read about tigers,
elephants and rhinoceroses, that is until we lost Hercules. Hercules'
headlights were no longer in view. We pulled over to wait for them but
they never came. We were forced to circle back and found them pulled to
the side of the road. Apparently a fan belt broke sending the temp gauge
to its outer limits before they were able to shut the engine off. No harm
no foul as the fan belt was quickly repaired and we were on our way with
all limbs intact. However, after our wildlife review we decided camping
was not in our best interest.
The night
got darker and darker, but we pressed on. We need to get as far as
possible as we had a hotel reservation made for us the following night in
India. We know that the border closed at 6 p.m. and that was the deciding
factor. Wherever we stop for the night, we need to get from there to the
border by 6 p.m. tomorrow.
I don't
like driving at night for a variety of reasons. In farm-based societies,
livestock often migrate to the warmth of the pavement during the night.
Also, it is much harder to see people on the side of the road. Children
in a less motorized society are not as alert as those who are used to the
coming and going of traffic. Needless to say, they do not instinctively
get out of the way of traffic like city dwellers do. Furthermore,
breakdowns are more complicated in a nighttime situation.
We made it
as far Butwal. The Lonely Planet guide suggested the Kandara hotel as a
place to seek accommodations. We were all pleasantly surprised as we paid
$5 for a double complete with TV. I think Nick and Chanda took the
honeymoon suite for the same price.
We
concluded the evening at the restaurant next door where we were each
given an extensive menu. However, we quickly realized that although the
menu listings was quite diverse, our actual choices were not. We could
either order noodles or noodles. The noodles were very good as we
incessantly joked about the name of the town in which we were now
staying.
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