Transportation

Travelling back to Hanoi on our scheduled 'tourist' transport was a rather tempestuous experience, making us thankful we avoided the full three-day's on a package tour and being treated like dumb sheep. Baaaa! The group organiser had a severe lack of organisational skills and couldn't fathom why some of the paying guests were slightly miffed to find there wasn't enough room for them on the bus, and that no other bus was planned to accomodate. Tempers raised further when lunch was unappetising, bags got lost and buses got mixed up. Customer service is obviously not a phrase the Vietnamese tour operators care about. I think our bus driver sympathized with our pains, or was just fed up himself, but after much kerfuffle and high-pitched confrontation he just closed the doors and zoomed off... it didn't matter I was stuck in the middle of the aisle, perched on bags, I was just gald to be heading towards our destination. Our escape didn't last long, and the leader was soon ringing to make us stop. They caught up with us on the higway to shovel and squeeze another two sheepish tourists onto our very 'mini' bus. You've gotta laugh really, thats all we could do.

Back at Moped Central I'd like to say we explored the sprawling city further...but we just relished in the comforts of the Old Quarter, ate some great noodles, and watched HBO in the air conditioned hotel room. Our travelling days were closing in and we had to mentally prepare for Phase Two of the trip - Aussie Life. We had three full days of travel ahead so we gathered up our goods and stocked up on snacks. We realised it was Easter at home, and with no chocolate oeufs in site we settled for a big bar of Cadbury's to satisfy our craving, it didn't quite taste the same unfortunately.

We caught a flight to Kuala Lumpur where we had a few hours to peruse the markets before catching a night bus to Singapore. With barely a bit of beauty sleep we were quite frazzelled by the time we got into the civilised city, although there was still enough energy left to hit the malls! With interviews and 'normal' society ahead we had to shed our smelly, trekker style and smarten up. Back to the real world as they say!

The Quantus flight to Melbourne gave me a chance to catch up on the latest movies I've missed over the last few months, and before we knew it we had landed in our new home..... whooooooo!

Our overdue bus departure from Pokhara to Chitwan was both on-time and trouble-free....... until.... Da da daaaa!

Suddenly the road became empty and as we noticed a congregation of trucks by the side our bus made a sharp U-turn, halted by the other vehicles and deposited us and its passengers. Unsure exactly where we were or what was happening we gathered it was something to do with the strikes. We were told we were only 3km from the intended destination but as we started walking we realised it was a lot further. Rickshaw drivers were cashing in on the situation and we bartered for a ride down to the main bus station - although at the time we were unaware of where we were heading. As we clambered onto the wooden seat and balanced the heavy bags on our knees I cringed for the poor chap who was attempting to cycle with nearly 200kg of cargo. It seemed like the longest, slowest, cycle-ride in history and with every peddle the rickety seat cried out in pain.

I was not sure how long my legs, the seated contraption, or the driver could last but we were all relieved to finally arrive to somewhere with a street sign. Unfortunately, we were then able to establish that we were over 20km from our hotel in Sauraha Village and as midday approached the sun was hotting up, along with our tempers. We attracted a lot of attention and the atmosphere seemed a bit hectic so Andy called our lodge for backup, fat lot of help they were! Other guides from neighboring hotels came to rescue their stranded guests and we decided to just pay for another rickshaw so we could travel with them - safety in numbers after all. The road blocks were still in full force and although they were burning tyres of any motor vehicles that tried to pass they were allowing cycles and tourists to proceed. A large procession of protesters shouted and marched past us, with banners and sticks - but they seemed to be smiling and laughing so it was pretty tame. In fact, we were not met with any violence, and the only thing disrupted was transport, everyone else just got on with every day life.

Again the duration of the ride was crippling and we even broke the material strap which was carrying our heavy load. Andy surprised the driver by offering to take over at the helm, and he managed to help out peddling for a while before loosing control and carrearing into the ditch.. much to our amusement. "It's hard to steer" apparently! Ha!

Arriving at the Gorkha Hamlet Lodge two hours later was both a relief and a disappointment, because although lunch was immediately satisfying the 'welcome talk' was a bit disconcerting. Our guide Dilli, is a strange fellow, who can't be more than 25, and for some reason instantly unlikeable. Upon describing our activities for the next few days, with dramatic pauses and wry smiles, we surmised our 4-day-Jungle-Adventure comprised of only one 2-hr walk in the actual Chitwan Park and we had just spent the first day on a bumpy rickshaw which we had to pay extra for! According to our itinerary our first day was supposed to be a leisurely walk into the Tharu village and a museum trip, but Dillli insisted we had time for everything and we should rest after our tough journey! Although we had prepared ourselves for interruptions and disruptions we couldn't help but feel cheated and vowed this would be our first and last package deal!

Defying Dilli we took a stroll into the town ourselves and wandered to the river side and the visitors centre. The place was quiet and calming and we soon perked up when we saw three monstrous elephants grazing in their giant barns. After inquiring with other tourist agents about their excursions and prices we felt better about our itinerary and as we were tied to Gorkha Hamlet for the next few days we relented to sit it out and enjoy the ride.