It was clear from all the traffic flying past our hostel that there wasn't a strike so we took the opportunity to head to Bandipur. I was disappointed at not being able to go to the lake at Begnas Tal but Bandipur was meant to be nice and was on the way to Kathmandu.
The bus to Dumre was pretty uneventful on the whole though, of course, was still the nail-biting, over-confined experience we were getting used to. It's nerve-wracking just watching the way that the young boys who work on the buses climb from the roof to inside the bus while it's in motion. Their job seems to be to secure the luggage, take payment and press their own horn when there's something the driver may not have seen, or if they think it's been too quiet for more than 3 seconds.
At Dumre we were lucky enough to run straight into the bus up the hill (more of a mountain) to Bandipur. Now, we are quite used to being too wide to fit in the seats but being too tall to stand on the bus was a bit of an experience for us. Matt had his head bent forward so far that the top of his spine was touching the ceiling. I was trying to half-squat but there were so many people standing that it meant I was taking up an unfair amount of room and so I had to bend my neck too.
As soon as the bus got away from the main road, they stopped it and herded all of the taller people on to the roof. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough and Matt very nearly wasn't either and so was only half way up the ladder at the back of the bus when it set off. The journey was much longer than I expected and every time we rounded a steep, narrow corner on the road, I craned my neck further to see if I could see Matt freefalling down the side of the mountain.
Matt arrived safely, a little pasty and pretty excited and had become more acquinted with a young English guy who was working in Bandipur teaching at the school and helping in an inn. He showed us to the main section of the town and had pointed out a cheap place to stay but they were already full. Bandipur looked a little like the Wild West. Most of the main buildings were arranged around a square and were wooden with porches and balconies. We managed to secure ourselves a room in a place on the square where each floor had a trapdoor and a drop-down set of wooden steps. The ceilings were so low we had to stoop (maybe people were just shorter around here?) and the bathroom was at the other side of the building but there was a window and a little balcony that we could sit on nearby and which over-looked the pretty 'library' in the square. It was nice to sit there, see people milling about and watch the kids try to flick elastic bands to see if they could get them to attach to the intricate light fittings.
We had lunch in cafe nearby where there was a beautiful view out across the hills and some guys playing wit a giant chess set on the staged area next door. We had a brief chat with a nice couple who had been on our bus and had kindly held one of my bags for me, and vowed that we were going to stop ordering chow mein and fried rice because, even though it's cheap, we're going to be sick of the stuff before we hit China.
Bandipur is also known for its walking opportunities and so we took one of the paths snaking further up the hill. The first person we came across was a tiny old lady with a pile of sticks and leaves 3 times her size strapped to her back. She was bare-footed but making her way across the loose stones and narrow pathways much better than we were. Another lady followed soon after and she stopped to say 'hello'. Even though we couldn't speak in the same language we managed to understand that the leaves were food for her goats and that she had to make the journey every day to be able to feed them. We also gathered that the next town along the path would be Ramtok but we suspected that there would not be enough time to walk there before it got too late.
The views along the path were pretty amazing and we stopped frequently to take in the beauty of the rice terraces and the mountain ranges. We made good progress in the time time that we had and I found a lovely stick to use for the walk. We made it to the top and round the other side of the hill before we decided that it was probaby wise to turn back. Some of the paths were quite dangerous and it would have been foolish to walk them in the dark.
On the way back we saw a line of girls in neat and perfect school uniform making their way home down the mountain paths. It was such a touching sight to see them all in single file, carrying traditional satchels and concentrating on where to place their feet.
We had read in our guidebook that it wasn't uncommon for kids to flap their arms at you as you pass because Bandipur is common launching point for paragliders. We'd seen a few bobbing through the air as we'd walked around the mountain but we passed two guys setting up on a flat plain as we made it closer to our starting point. We asked if they minded us watching for a short while and I was stupidly surprised by what a scary process it is. I'd never really thought about what it must take to set up the equipment needed and how much faith they have to have in their abilities and skill. The network of flimsy wires that can potentially get twisted broken is simply terrifying and trying to keep everything where it should be whilst standing on a windy hill is really quite a challenge. My heart was truly in my mouth as we watched the first guy run forward and launch himself off the cliff.
The second guy climbed into his suit just a few minutes after and was about to follow his friend when his parachute seemed to blow closed and he stopped himself right at the edge. He spent quite a while setting everything back up how it was and re-checking things and asked us if we didn't mind helping a little. He wanted us to drag his parachute back further inland but I think we may have picked it up too much because he had to faff around with it again for quite a while. His friend was circling above and we watched him as the guy in the ground got himself sorted. Eventually, he asked for our help again though and we stood terrified that we may have done something wrong as he ran forward and lifted off the edge and into the air. We were quite exhilerated as he shouted his goodbyes and floated away so he must have felt even better.
We stopped for a cup of tea at a nice restaurant and they happily let us use their internet connection for quite a while, which was really handy. On the way back to our hostel we watched a few foreigners giving piggy back rides to local kids and enjoyed the glowing ambience of the town. Matt was feeling rough though so he fell asleep at 7pm while I sat on the balcony, tried to catch up with some blog, and watched the town slowly close down and fall asleep too.
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