Under Construction — This post is a work in progress. Thoughts, structure, and content may change.
Day 1 / 15 : Kathmandu to Machakhola¶
Date: 10/5/2025
The morning was a doozy. Woke up at 4:30 and started packing things.
I saw that shyam was awake too. We were done with packing and things by 5 am and we promptly exited the hotel. We had a bus to catch. Untill this point we were told that the bus is a first come first serve kinda thing so we would have to go there early to secure our sets. We accounted for some buffertime so that we could walk incase we didnt get cabs. Fortunately we got a cab which dropped us at the right location. What followed was a wild goose chase to find our guide who was also at the same place, we either of could not find the other.
Once we found out guide, we realized that the bus infact did have our seats reserved, which was a relief. The new bus stand looks very fancy and the facilities are adequate.
Soon the bus started and what followed was 2 hours of driving in the city and adjacent quarters. Then the bus stopped for breakfast. Me and Niranjan shared a mix of wai-wai and noodles, followed by an ice cream. All of this cost us 140 rupees.
The bus continued to drive on. The roads became progressively worse and worse. I was surprised with the skill of the driver who was able to drive the bus is such bad conditions.
At around 12 noon, after 5 hours of riding in the bus, we stopped for lunch. This was the beginning of our dal-bhat lunches. This meal cost is 250 rupees. Everything was looking normal and we were supposed to reach our destination by 5, however the universe has other plans.
About an hour into the bus ride, we heard a sound that can only be associated with a tyre puncture. This was just before the Arughat Bazar which used to be old trailhead for the Manaslu Circuit. Since there were no shops around, the bus kept moving and stopped at a tyre store nearby. It is here that we took about 30 mins to change the tyre. Once this was done, we assumed that the adventure was over, however, much to our surprise things were just getting started.
What followed was 2 hours of driving in some of the most horrid road conditions that I have ever come across. The bus would often lean from side to side which would cause us a lot of distress.
We reached the destination at 7. 2 hours after the scheduled arrival.
Our guide took us to a hotel and showed us our rooms. The rooms are cozy and sufficient. I came across a bunch of foreign tourists who were filtering the tap water. I decided that I will bring our the filter tomorrow. Today im sorted.
We had dinner which was quite expensive for dalhbhat at rupees 700 per plate. I also tasted the local liquor (rakshi) for 100. It was warm and potent. Somewhere in the middle of having dinner, the power went out and now we're fully reliant on solar lamps. It rained heavily for 30 mins or so. The weather doesn't look nice this time around. Im worried for my further plans. I hope that the monsoon doesn't arrive early this year. My best case plans ended by June 14th, but as it stands now, I might have wrap up early.
Our phones are not getting charged today.
Im at 24% and this is 21:47. Good night.