East Nepal Trip (Unfinished Blog)

This was just before Diwali, in Bangla Kali Pujo, in 2022 when I decided to go for a short visit. The reason was simple, I had leave in KPMG for 3 consecutive days and I have to go out. Thus, the quick plan and getting out. I wanted to go to Nepal again to explore the culture, food, drinks, scenery and also to find a rather colder place. The experience of Phikal pushed me to go to Nepal again. Hence, decided Nepal. Next question was which part of Nepal. The obvious one would be Kathmandu but I am always into the less obvious route and hence, the more countryside and more rough experience in East Nepal.

Rough Sketch of my Route (Biratnagar - Num)

In East Nepal, I wanted to take one single route from South in Biratnagar to north, wherever it leads to. It leads to Num, which is where the trek to Makalu Barun National Park and Makalu Base Camp trek starts. Decision taken, watched a few vlogs in Nepali, couldn't get a lot of content because of the language barrier, but what I could get is it's going to be rough and cheap. I love that challenge.

Pumped up me before getting out

I bought the train ticket for Kolkata-Jogbani Express for Friday night on Oct 21 and decided to go out after wrapping up my work.

Me at Kolkata Station and inside the train

Getting freshened in Sat Morning

View from the train in North Bihar

The night was windy and hence, have to use my jacket. Next morning, woke up, made the plan for that day.

Jogbani Train Station

I reached Biratnagar just before noon and the border town was very crowded with people. It is hard to walk and even move, you just get pushed by the crowd and on top of that, there were motorbikes, tuk tuk, cycles, cars and what not to make the rustic rush more inconvenient.

The Indian side was very crowded and the Nepali side was not so crowded. It's a shame on the infrastructure of Bihar, India. One Nepali scooter hit my ankle and made bruises. I am thankful that it wasn't worse. It's a pathetic way to cross the border.

Structure in front of Station

Sea of People in front of Nepal Gate (Bihar Side)

Biratnagar is a city in the plain Terai of Nepal and thus, it is a hot and dry city. My first hunt was to look for the old jute mill, called Biratnagar Jute Mill situated in 1936, which apparently triggered democratic revolution, worker's protest and trade union saga. Around 2 km of walk and you reach the mill, dilapidated and empty. However, it has the old charm and can be enjoyed in early morning or evening.

En route Biratnagar Jute Mill

Inside the Biratnagar Jute Mill, I spotted the old mill, surprising an army post and villagers walking past. There was a tram track which is not currently used. This is completely abandoned mill and there were very few people inside. One of the factories may be still producing jute.

Biratnagar Jute Mill

I headed to the central part of Biratnagar and en route, in the autorickshaw, some security personnel checked our bags. In Nepal, Deepavali is celebrated as Tihar which is a five day long festival.

I spotted a local apparel market for cheap clothes. Clothes were cheap import from China over there, bought an undergarment from there.

Due to Tihar, there were crowds in front of temples and they were selling rangolis (in Bangla, Abir)

The market has a few unique elements which I didn't spot before. For example, the black nut-like item is used for worship. There were selling red papad. Also, different types of earthenware were sold everywhere. I am guessing it might be something to do with Tihar.

One of the best aspects of traveling is local food. This is Chatpate for example (which is close to Bengali Jhalmuri). It was sour and spicy. Not the best item as per my tastebud but worth a try.

In Nepal, Bhat-Bhateni stores are very popular. They are departmental store which sells everything. I spotted a 5-storied Bhat-bhateni store and went to explore that. I bought nothing as it will increase the size of my backpack. Then, I had my lunch in a restaurant over the Bhat-Bhateni. I would have preferred to have something local but the lack of Nepali restaurant and hot weather make me try over there. I ordered a fish platter which was cheap but not that great in taste. Probably, the lack of vegetables and just fish and potato isn't that suitable for my tastebuds. However, I got wifi over there as I decided not to purchase sim in Nepal.

European instant tea granules were being sold in the market, I have never seen instant tea before.

I went to the Central Mall in Biratnagar after finishing my meal. The mall looked amazing for a small city. There were numerous apparel, leather store from international brands and even though I wanted to try the momo there, I did not as I have a lot food already.

A Hotel

Satya Narayan Temple

Sweet Store

While walking around the central market, I spotted a hotel with beautiful architecture, a sweet shop from where I purchased a sweet and a temple.

There was a bubble tea store 'Jammy's bubble tea' in front of the mall. I couldn't resist myself from trying a fancy drink. I had 'Japanese Taro Bubble'. That turned out to be a bad decision later on, as having too much food can make you sick.

Some School in Biratnagar

The view from the mall is of greenery which is captured in the left photo. After that, I left for Itahari. There are many buses plying to Itahari.

Fare Chart written in Nepal Bus

One of many rivers duting the bus journey

I reached Itahari in the evening. I spotted a fair in Itahari but couldn't go due to paucity of time and tiredness. I stepped out of the hotel at 7.30 pm but all the shops and the restaurants were closed. However, I wanted to try out at 'Mustang House Thakali' where I had Mutton thali. There were many new items like the staple dhindo (Buckwheat porridge), Mustang dal (Delicious, rich black dal), timur tomato chutney(timur is Sechuan pepper), Gundruk pickles, raddish pickle, moi (a form of buttermilk which tastes aweful, I couldn't finish it) etc. The ambience was amazing over there as well.

The thali looked amazing and one of the waitress explained all the items to me. But, I had too much food on that day and that led to indigestion. I really should refrain from having too much food, however provocative it may look. That ends my first day of the trip.

My plan for the next day was to go to Num by bus. However, I could not catch the bus at 5 because of tiredness as well as the indigestion. So, I got out at around 6.30 and went to Dharan. In Dharan, I saw the Clock Tower and had Sel roti and milk tea made by roadside women.

Sel Rori, specialty of Nepal

I took a Bolero to go to Khandbari which took around 1200 Nepali Rupees. I befriended two women there and they explained the road. People generally visit their homes during Tihar, so everyone is moving towards their home during that time. I took a few pictures during the journey.

We had a flat tyre during the journey and I clicked picture, roamed around and bought a few unique items.

A long crunchy choco wafer

Nepalese Son Papdi

Nepalese Biscuit, son papdi and choco-wafer

Tree-tomato plant

I took a few pictures of the surrounding while roaming around.

We started again, I got to know Tiktok is very popular in Nepal. The girl was a tiktoker and she helped me taking a few videos.

We stopped at Leguwa for the lunch. leguwa is a town beside Arun River. I had fish thali over there. The fish was very tasty. It is called 'Asala' in Nepali, which translates to Himalayan snow trout.

Arun River (Khola)

Fish Thali

Arun River Bridge

While on the road, I got the glimpse of Makalu a few times. Only the peak was visible clearly.

View from Tumlingtar

I reached Khandbari at around 12.30 pm and I was expecting to take the bus, but I got to know from the Sumo counter that the bus has already passed. I decide to move around and see the scenery. The natural scene is amazing over there.

After roaming a bit, I decided to take the Bolero to Num for 800 Nepali Rupees. The road was terribly bad. It's rather a trekking route than a route for bus or jeep. That was my worst road trip through a car. I had indigestion and this made it worse.

Loooong Wafer

We stopped for Thukpa after a while. There, I clicked a few pictures and on the way as well.

Nepali Thukpa

Beautiful view from the shack

While on the Bolero, I met a group of cousins heading home for Tihar. I finally reached Num at 6.30 pm and due to my tummy, I decided to rest at the nearest Hotel. It was dark and in a village, it's hard to find accomodations. I got a bed in a common room which took only 200 Nepali Rupees. This is the cheapest stay of my life.

Next day, on 24th Oct 2022, I decided to explore Num and Arun Village by feet. Num is a small village filled with dust. The dust is almost unbearable and it is probably happening due to the ongoing construction work. One can spot the tiny peak of Makalu from Num.

Peak of Makalu seen from Num

I didn't have a breakfast to let my tummy heal and I had a chat with a Dutch guy, named Tino. He was starting his trek for Makalu Base Camp. In the Arun river, a hydropower dam is built by India with electricity agreement between the two countries. Many times, along the route, Nepalese people thought that I have come to work in the Arun Hydro-project. I got to rectify every time. Anyhow, the road, which takes the jeep and buses, from Num to Arun is long, The shorter walking route is not marked in the Google Map. I started my journey at around 8.30 am. There are two ways from Num, one leads to Seduwa which goes towards Makalu Base camp and another goes to Arun dam.

This is the path where I turned to the wrong direction

I got to know from the locals that there is a short walking route to go to Arun Dam. But, while walking I could not get the route. Even I went in circles and came back to the same point. Then one old Nepali man helped me by pointing to a quite steep narrow route. I was scared to get down that route. But, the old man helped me by holding my hand to get down that route and after that I was on my own. It was a pleasant trek down to the dam.

While descending, I found workers who were going up in groups. Even under the sun, due to long trees, there was a respite from the sun. The trek was not a cakewalk and I was more worried because I was descending alone.

The sun was hot and I saw some boys catching fish with poles and I also spotted a few boys making sekuwa out of the caught fishes.

If one goes along this road, it goes towards Gola. I later learnt, this path leads to Kimathanka, a small village in the China-Nepal border. I decided to go back towards Num.

Camp of the Jaypee Group

The road was very tiring and I decided to take the long route. I spotted camps of JP group where Indians were spotted working for the Arun project. There were no water left on my bottle which made it worse. I decided to buy a small mango drink.

Residential Colony for the Engineers & Managers

Mud can be spotted along the road

The road was excruciating and there were around 10 loops which goes back and forth. So, I decided to take the short routes a few times. I was so thirsty, I asked one of the old men sitting in the porch of his house to give me water. He was wheel-chair bound but immediately asked his grandchildren to fill my bottle. He was a kind man.

I returned to Num at around 3 pm. I got to know that lunch is not available anywhere unless it is told earlier. So, I went to the hotel where I was staying and they made my lunch pork and rice. It was fine in taste and I was hungry as well. However, the last jeep was full and I could not get a seat to go back to Khandbari. So, I decided to explore Num.

This was the day of Diwali (Tihar) and I got to experience the village life during Tihar. I went to the small Num Market. There were only two 3-storey buildings in that village. I was waiting there to see the sunset. Almost everywhere, even in East Nepal, one can see squash plants everywhere.

The village on the distant hill is Seduwa

Indian lime-soda, I didn't see before

I decided to try a few local food items in the village

In Nepal, one can see many arts using beer bottles, perhaps because alcohol is not stigmatized in the society. I came back to the hotel and tried a few snacks I bought from Biratnagar.

At 7 pm, I went out to see the atmosphere. All the shops and houses were lit with bulbs or diyas. Besides, fire-crackers were also set off. There were rangolis in front of the houses. Children were dancing in the tune of Nepali traditional music. All in all, the night was quite unique to remember.

In the next morning, I missed the first Bolero because I was using the Indian time in mobile and I got confused with the Nepali time which is 15 minutes ahead of India. I roamed the market and clicked a few pictures in the morning.

Small sweet balls costing 5+5+10 Nepal Rupee

The view in the journey was amazing. One can spot the whole Makalu Himal in different hill tops. From Num, the view wasn't amazing. However, on the route the view was breathtaking. While I was enjoying the view, I got bitten on my left middle toe by a small honeybee artificially harvested. It was painful but I can not bother about it.

Here, the leftmost peak in the right set of mountains is Makalu. The left set of mountains is Chamlang

I reached Khandbari at around 12 and roamed through the beautiful market. I had bought a few items in the market and decided to have my lunch.

Steps downwards in Khandbari Market

In lunch, I had veg khana at Nepali Rupee 150 and there one waiter has been very helpful. He was a car mechanic and new to the province. I asked him about the route to Khandbari Pokhari and Fekma Lung.

Khandbari Pokhari

I decided to go back to Manebhanjyang to check Fekma Lung, an ancient rock which alludes to Mahabharata. There is also a tale of a healer lady who got disinterested about treating her patients in later life. I took a shared Maruti Omni to reach there which costed around Nepali Rupee 100.

Monastery on the walking route

Beautiful paddy fields and rocks, seen from Fekma Lung

Wooden swings are ubiquitous in rural Nepal

Dry fishes sold in Manebhanjyang market

I decided to get back to Khandbari and explore the local market. I bought ukhu (sugarcane) jaggery from there and it was black in color and mixed with molasses. Later, I found the amazing taste of it. It is made in a natural way without mixing any chemicals. It tastes slightly bitter due to the molasses.

Steep drop in height

I decided to get back to Tumlingtar after that. This was an amazing day with beautiful views. While I arrived in Tumlingtar, I spotted children of a local school performing on the occasion of Tihar. This is eye-catching. I quickly booked a hotel room and went to enjoy the performance.

This is the school whose students were performing

Runway of Tumlingtar Airport

Curving Arun river

Panoramic picture capturing runway on one side and Arun river on the other (Distorted)

Tumlingtar is a small airport town. I spotted a lot of Rudraksha there. I saw Chinese characters as well. Later, I researched and found that China imports those Rudraksha because it has Buddhist significance. Even I heard people speaking Chinese. Here, the view of the airport runway on one side and Arun river on the other side is marvelous. I had my first sekuwa (pork) in the evening. I had veg chowmein for dinner. To my surprise, they add chickpeas in noodles.

Small temple

I decided to roam around the town at 7.30. To my surprise, I found children dancing with traditional Nepali music to celebrate Tihar. I enjoyed it for a while and got back and called it a day.