Bhairahawa – Lumbini - 22km
I struggled to get the phone to work and couldn’t send SMSs.
Returning to the shop didn’t help either (language is always a
problem in a new country).
As Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, was a short ride away, I made
the diversion to see what the place entailed. One would think
Buddha’s birthplace, an important pilgrimage site, would be overrun
by tourists, but Lumbini came as a pleasant surprise. Instead, it was
a peaceful pilgrimage heritage spot.
Lumbini – Butwal - 44km
A flat, hot and dusty road ran between Lumbini and Butwal. Butwal
sits at a major junction and I stayed the night to decide which
direction to go. A road ran directly north, but once I laid eyes upon
what is known as the “hills”, I opted for the route via Chitwan
National Park. However, this choice only delayed the inevitable, as
eventually one would have to cross the hills to reach Kathmandu.
Still, my early stop was mainly due to needing to charge my many
electrical devices, as Nepal’s power was even more erratic than in
India. It appeared electricity was available approximately 16 hours a
day. The times vary from day to day and town to town. The previous
two nights, power was only available between midnight and six in the
morning. Thus, I never got around to charging my devices.