Nepal by Bus

The bus ride from Rishikesh, India to Pokhara, Nepal was an epic journey. 

50 hours door-to-door. Rishikesh to Hardiwar with a kayak on top of a rickshaw.  8 hour trip to Mahendranagar (actually to the Indian border town), arrived at 2:00am to a shack with a TV pumping Bollywood music videos. Grabbed a few hrs of sleep on a yoga mat on the bag rack, up at 4:00am to a lot more people and much face-emptying and teeth cleaning going on at the sistern pump next to/onto me.  Packed our shit and for 1,100 rupees the 5 of us rented a horse-drawn carriage for the 15 km no mans land and through the border officialities. Few more hours of sleep and a meal at a guesthouse in Mahendranagar, then onto the next bus for a 22 hour marathon to Pokhara.

Traveling by bus in this part of the world is an incredible way to travel. It's cheap, buses can get you everywhere, and you will for sure have some full-on experiences along the way. We had everything from goats on the bus to a delay while they cleared a landslide over the road. Don't expect to be very comfortable, but that too is part of the experience.