It should have been a painless transit back to Sunauli (the Nepali-Indian border), but the 5 hours of bus ride turned out to be a back-breaking ride in Siddharta Highway which was sinewy, tortuous at some part, and mystically beautiful. But no matter what beauty was revealed before me, I didn't expect to stay overnight in a Nepali town/city in the middle of dusty, craggy nowhere, just 3 kilometers from the Belahiya-Sunauli border.
It was too late to take my chances crossing the border. I may get stamped out of Nepal in a jiffy, but the Indian side is notorious fro being out-of-post way after 5PM - and I didn't wanna experience limbo travel - stamped out of Nepal, but can't get into India.
The day back in Pokhara started right. I was given a gift - a Nepal DVD Rom - by the waiters who served my breakfast. Then the manager personally saw me through the bus station, bought my ticket, took me to my seat, and even carried my 9kg backpack. If that isn't a rolled red carpet, I dunno what is.
It is 8:45 PM here as I write this. The net was connected by dial-up connection. I just survived another electricity outage, and I am staying in a hotel that I didn't wanna be. Earlier this afternoon, the rickshaw driver said he knew where Hotel Centaur is. After all, it is right at the heart of bustly Bank Road. He ended up taking me everywhere but my destination - the idiot! We finally ended the pseudo-journey in front of a washed-out white Hotel Shantanu right in front of dusty Siddhartha Highway. Unfortunately, I was too tired to look for any other hotel. So I succumbed to the charade and got a 1,000 rupee room that didn't even have an AC - in the middle of craggy limboland!
I shall be out of here tomorrow as early as possible - or I would get swallowed by the earth where I stand.
This is Bhairawa.
This is the Eye in the Sky.
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