Dumre...more like potential DOOOMre

Our last day in Kathmandu was relaxed, after getting our bus ticket in our hands, we ate lunch at the Third Eye restaurant. Very nice...here I would like to inform my Edinburgh buddies that our sacred 'Mountain Dew' has made it to Nepal!

Strolling through Thamel, we are starting to enjoy the torrents shouted at us "Namaste! Namaste!"
"I like your trousers."
"Magic bracelet?"
"Peacock feathers?" etc.

We had dinner in our guesthouse. Its cheaper and seems the most delicious of all the places we've eaten so far. Our rooftop discussions lead us to the topic of our return, according to The Lonely Planet

'The first thing many people do after a visit (to Nepal) is start planning the next one.'

We are clearly some of these 'many people'.
"I have to come back and climb Mt. Everest" I say with optimistic enthusiasm.
"Well it's either Everest or the moon," Alicia responds. "You can only really fit one into a lifetime and I'd rather do mount Everest'.
AGREED.

With these thoughts leaving smiles on our faces we spent the rest of the evening watching Nepalese television with the guesthouse family, it was one of the nicest things we have done so far. Then as we pack our backpacks to leave in the morning I get the sense that now is when the adventure will really start.

On the bus.

We caught the 6.30am bus easily enough, to Dumre, with the intention of heading straight to Bandipur. The bus ride through, what I think is part of the Eastern Terai, was breathtaking; views over the valleys were brilliant and the amount of different plants and trees we saw were of geeky interest to me. Even though I only have a tiny wildlife book (Alicia let me buy one) I was doing my utmost to identify them all. Bird sightings were also in abundance and we saw a close-up Kite, much excitement, and Vultures!! Maybe I could be Steve Backshall's bird and plant friend?

'A Carlsberg bus journey'

That pole is definitely bamboo

Cacti?

River

Due to the resident dog population and the 5.15am start we were rather sleepy...one thing we are definitely learning is that you NEED to sleep before doing anything remotely new. We arrived promptly in Dumre. Unprepared and stressed by the amount of people shouting, "Pokhara?Kathmandu?Bandipur?Pokhara?" at us, we checked in to the first guesthouse that looked vaguely ok. We regretted this almost immediately and spent the night concerned by the lack of tourists and the amount of noise the guesthouse family were making. In hindsight we think they were just having a merry party because they were singing and eating and being jolly but when you are exhausted, in a place where you can't understand a word, a room full of loud men appears pretty threatening. Cinema is my favourite form of escapism and I was glad to have the company of a television. In an over-paranoid state I watched Benjamin Button (a nice concept wasted) and Cold Mountain (yes, like many, this is the film that made me love Renee Zellweger). We fled on the first bus in the morning.

At least Jesus was watching over us

Although we didn't manage to get to Bandipur in the end, we did have a beautiful 2-3 hour walk along the road route to Bandipur.

Road Sign

We couldn't capture the beauty in pictures

Casual

We ate at CoCo highway restaurant they appeared to be newly opened and the two young guys serving us made an uber polite effort. With every 'Thankyou' came a devoted 'WELCOME'. The food was quick and ok. They came and asked us in appauling english but with a smile, where we were from and tried to make conversation, which is more than anyone else in this horrendous place did. It was also on a little ridge meaning there was a good view of the valley. Recommended if you are ever stupid enough to stop in the aptly named Dumre.

Alicia sat at CoCo,
thinking about the night ahead.

The place on the whole was a rubbish roadside bus stop, and the perfect setting for a thriller. Bandipur looked ok, we have heard since that it is well worth the visit, but we didnt have the energy to get there this time.

Elvis appears to be grumpy, he didn't want to fit everything back inside...probably annoyed because I accidentally called him Elton earlier. I also lost my socks this morning.