Day 2 - Kathmandu; International Guest House, Paknojol & Thamel

Early to rise.  That was my plan.  Unfortunately jet lag had other ideas for me.  Getting to sleep proved difficult as I have again shot 3 hours and 45 minutes into the future.  Yes. 3 Hours & 45 Minutes... Somehow Nepal falls between time zones, I guess.  I don't know why but I bet there is a very good reason.  So when midnight finally rolled around my body still thought it was 8:15pm - Cairo Time.  And consequently when 7am sprung its spritely head, my body felt that it was 3:15am.

I slept as long as I could.  My room was directly above the parking/dropoff/loading area, where trekkers were busily loading minivans with duffles and backpacks all morning.  Sleep was but an interpretation of the word.  More like jet lag laze.  When I heard the rumble of a Royal Enfield outside my window, my laze morphed to haze and I rolled myself down to the lobby.

Mr. Ganesh, the manager of the International Guesthouse, had promised that he would have his friend bring by a Royal Enfield Classic 350 that I might be interested in.  Before I'd come down to the lobby, I peeked out the curtains and saw the crew giving her a quick wash down.

Ganesh was very excited for me to see the bike, ushering me to the courtyard, proudly pointing to the now shining Enfield.  I looked the bike over.  Tires were surprisingly 75%, chain well lubed, and it was sure pretty.  But no luggage racks... and the biggest con... it was a 350UCE carbureted model.
I still had my mind set on the Classic 500EFI model.  George Rohn and Bob Koslick had promptly replied to my email inquiry for support on my gut feeling that the 500EFI was the right way to go.

Koslick gave me food for thought, pros and cons, but mostly leaning towards the EFI model.  His only real con was availability and cost of parts should I have a breakdown.

George's reply came via his electronic communicator, whose name I'll keep confidential, as she is not likely all over the internet, and may not wish to be so.  Simply put, she emailed, "George says 500EFI is the way to go."  And seeing as he is Fairbanks' Royal Enfield importer and service facility, and all around motorcycle guru, his word, however succinct, bears significant influence in my world.

Side Note:  I bought a vintage 1983 BMW R80GS from George a year ago.  I had been bugging him to sell me his for 2 years... He just kept telling me I was 19th in line, which might be similar to the 19th hole on the golf course.

When he found this rare motorcycle for me, I was a mere three weeks from leaving for Egypt for my first 6 month tour.  I told him, "George this couldn't have come up at a more terrible time for me."  He shrugged nonchalantly and said, "That's ok Justin, it won't be here when you get back," and walked away.  I wish I had that luxury when selling bikes!  George is a character, in the fullest sense of the word.  I barely know him, but I look up to him as a motorcycle icon.  I couldn't be prouder to be leading the way with the BMW franchise he started in 1963, the first BMW Motorcycles Dealer in the State of Alaska.  No short feat, Alaska had only achieved statehood a few years earlier!

With all of these feelings swirling around in my hazy mind, I told Ganesh I was going to take my breakfast in the sunny garden and think about it.  I spaced out snapping a picture of it, but I robbed this one from Google Images.

Breakfast was good and simple... Toast, butter, jam, a muffin, some scrambled eggs, mango juice, and weak coffee.  But the setting was delightful...

After breakfast, I sat down in Ganesh's office and had a chat about details with him.  I asked how much his friend wanted for rent on the 350UCE.  "$20/day," he responded without hesitation.

And he followed up with how it is much better to have a smaller bike in a crowded city like Kathmandu.  It was then that I made a terrible mistake, a mistake I've made before in this situation, and one I make nearly daily in other situations; I OPENED MY MOUTH AND BEGAN TO SPEAK!

I told him my plan to ride to Jomsom and beyond.  Oh stupid fool!

I spent the next half hour listening to how terrible the roads would be, how difficult the riding would be.  How if I were to even be able to find fuel, find the route, I'd certainly be driven clear off the road.

Funny.  I wanted to tell him how many dozens of people told me I couldn't ride a motorcycle to the bottom of South America.  Or even how many people, in whatever country I was in at the time, would tell me I'd never make it through the next country without being robbed, shot, put in jail, etc.

Want to be talked out of a grand adventure?  Tell someone your plans.  They'll be certain to tell you it's just not possible.

I told Ganesh I'd consider the 350UCE.  Yes, even though it was impossible, he was still willing broker the rental with his friend's personal bike.  

I spent the next few hours glued to my laptop with work.  Shuffling inventory, reading emails, writing emails, learning late about a training for the new BMW models this spring in Portugal, which lead to numerous hilarious emails with Outpost Alaska - Trail's End BMW kingpin John Haddad, my boss.  They went along these lines...

  

Justin:  "John, BMW is putting on an International Dealer Conference and Training on the new 2015 models in Portugal in March."

John:  "Yeah I know.  I was hoping to keep that email from ever getting to your inbox."

Enter a flurry of emails to New Jersey, Washington, Fairbanks, Emirates Airlines in Dubai...  This is going to be a freaking long shot.  But the thought of riding the brand new BMW S1000RR on a racetrack...

 and the new R1200RS...

 and let's not forget the new R1200R...

and of course the new F800R...

And most importantly for our region the new Sport-Adventure Hybrid... the S1000XR!

Seems like scrambling through some hasty emails might just be worth it...

But back to the journey at hand, Expedition Nepal.

My two other resources for Royal Enfields to pursue are BS Motorbikes in Thamel.  The name alone has me questioning.  And BikeMandu.com  Both have nice websites and BikeMandu.com has been johnny-on-the-spot responding to emails.

Ganesh informed me that the hotel is overbooked for today, so I need to move across the street to the Millennium Friendly Hotel.  Quick shower, pack up, luggage into storage and move 100 yards away to a less fancy but certainly manageable room.  The bonus:  saves me $12 bucks.

I made a quick tour of Thamel, getting lost of course, to check on BS Motorbikes.  Well, lives up to its name.  Dingy dirty shop with a guy sleeping on the stoop and not a Royal Enfield to be seen.  To their defense their website seems really geared towards tours with rentals a sideline.  So not to give them a bad rap, but they fall to the bottom of my list for now.

BikeMandu.com's A. Gurung emailed back some bad news.  The 2010 model 500EFI Classic he offered me for $45/day with a 20% discount for 21 days rental has now been booked.  I asked him what my options would be...

He responded that he only has one bike available.  It is a 2014 Royal Enfield 500EFI Classic complete with luggage racks.  It normally rents for $60/day.  Ugggghhhhh.

He said he would hold it for one day so I could think about it.

And so I would.  I had some pork fried rice at my favorite local restaurant Yling-Yling with some tasty ginger tea with lemon and honey and retired to my spartan room forcing myself to sleep rather than roam the seedy nighttime streets of Thamel.

Day 1 - Istanbul to Kathmandu

My flight from Cairo to Kathmandu required an overnight layover in Istanbul, Turkey.  Seeing as I spent a week there just last October, I knew exactly what I wanted to do:  Stay at Cheers Hostel, eat some Turkish köfte (meatballs) at my favorite old school joint across from the Hagia Sophia, and get a haircut and straight razor shave at the same barber shop I went to last year.  That's it.  No touristy stuff other than nab a couple photos of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque as I waltzed past them.  Easy Peasy.

Then the only thing left to do was jump on the tram, transfer to the metro and head into the airport, only to find out that my Kathmandu flight was delayed 4 hours...  time to wander around the airport, take in the scenery and kill time.

My flight finally got off the ground just after midnight.

And that's when it really hit me...  I'm going to Kathmandu!  Bob Seger tribute ringing in my ears...

Bob Seger Live - Going to Kathmandu  -Click the link to rock out!

The flight was uneventful... I was so jazzed I couldn't get to sleep.  I watched "No Country for Old Men" and by the end of that I finally dozed off.  When I woke up, I noticed that we were about to make our decent into Kathmandu.  

I slid the window shade up to see this:

Pretty amazing to lay eyes on the snowy Himalayas for the first time in real life.  It amazed me that the flight monitor said we were at an altitude of 30,000'.  That means we weren't even 1000' higher than the summit of Mt. Everest.  And sure enough felt like I was staring those massive peaks down on the level!

I've been pretty emotional leaving places that have left a mark on me, but this was the first time I was getting a little choked up flying into a place I'd never been before.  These mountains have held my imagination in intrigue for as long as I can remember.  The biggest peaks on our planet, and even though off in the distance, they certainly didn't fail to move me.  Fooking Awesome!

You can see in the third photo that is the dry season.  Those riverbeds must become a raging menace when spring hits and snow starts to melt in the highlands, followed by the beginning of the monsoon.

Oh and what have we here?  Yes that is a road.  Getting more and more excited by the minute.  A zigzagging road from the valley up onto a ridge and on and on and on...

At this point, sitting in that plane seat with my face glued to the window, I'm thinking, "I'm never going to want to leave here!"

Everything was pretty chill debarking the plane.  Because my trip originated in Africa, I needed to go through a special Ebola screening and fill out special paperwork.  That was a little weird.  They shot the thermometer gun at my forehead and for a second... I was ready to be like, "it was really hot in that airplane!"  I got a special card with a phone number in case I start to develop Ebola symptoms.  Pretty wild.

Um no sir... my eyes are always this color.

It took an hour to get through the visa and customs process.  Finally to baggage claim.  My duffel was there.  I was a bit nervous as it was checked all the way from Cairo, which meant it was in limbo during the 20+ hour layover.  

I booked a hotel with free airport transfer and sure enough there was a happy little Nepalese man waiting, holding a sign that read "Justin Lee Kleiter" in big black letters.  He greeted me with a smile, the customary Namaste, grabbed my bag, and like a seasoned mountain Sherpa, he through it up on his back and we hoofed it down the road to his minivan.

First thing I noticed was that I was getting into the wrong side of the van.  Oh snap, they drive on the left hand side of the road.  This will be interesting.  First time in my life to ride in a country that drives on the "wrong" side!  Traffic seemed similar to Cairo; chaos, honking, painted lines merely a suggestion, pull out in front of oncoming vehicles trusting they will stop for you, etc.  Pretty much everything I've come to know as normal outside of the USA and Canada.  The volume of traffic seemed much more manageable than Cairo and it was surprisingly sunny and warm.  Or was it?  Ebola?  (Yeah I know, not funny.)

I got settled into my room at the International Guest House, which seemed nice enough.  Took a little nap regardless of the noise in the street and the construction going on next door.  And then got up to go get lost in Thamel District.  I needed to find an ATM; easy.  And a SIM card for my phone; first guys tried to scam me for triple the price.  I got a bad feeling from them so decided to go eat first.

I found a little Tibetan restaurant on the second floor of a building and was the only foreigner in there.  I had some momos, traditional Nepalese dumplings stuffed with pork, and a banana lassi, which is a banana yogurt shake of sorts, and a bowl of mushroom vegetable soup.  Set me back $4.30 USD, which is probably a bit overpriced because I was in Thamel.

Thamel is the backpacker and trekking headquarters of Kathmandu and is the place that most of the tourist hassling takes place.  After the last 3 weeks of touring Egypt, I felt it was downright sleepy.  I found a SIM card with 1.25 GB of 3G Data and 60 min. Voice and a bunch of SMS for 1170 Nepalese Rupees, or $11.70.  And because it is my first month of service it is a bonus plan that is Unlimited Data.  Can you say Americans get screwed by BIG TELECOM!?!

So with that out of the way.  The only thing left to do was get lost.  And that I managed quite well.  All was well when it was light out, but damned if every road didn't look exactly the same in the dark. The hash salesman started popping up and the wanna be tour guides, etc.  But unlike in Egypt, when you tell these guys "No."  They apologize for bothering you and bug out immediately.  Shocking.

Most of the motorcycles I've seen around so far are 125cc Honda Heros and the Yamaha equivalents. I did see a KTM Duke 125cc.  And then I heard the Royal Enfields.  Those 350cc and 500cc single-cylinders produce some quality rumble compared to the buzzing scooters and mini-motos everywhere.  I managed to snap a really obscure photo from the restaurant window of an Enfield that was parked outside.

And here are a couple of random shots from my epic fail at navigating Thamel.  It did provide me the opportunity to see some cool stuff, get used to dodging bikes and cars everywhere, even on foot, and gave me the excuse to stop a very pretty Nepalese girl and ask for directions.  Since it was already dark and it took a minute of following to catch up to her, I thought there was no way in hell she'd stop to talk to me.  But she was more than happy to.  Of course I slaughtered every name of where I wanted to get to and she just looked at me dumbly.  I was beginning to think she didn't speak English but then when I said Thamel, she smiled and said, "You need to go straight down there and turn right and keep going up."

I smiled and thanked her graciously, trying to guess her age.  And she sweetly responded, "Welcome" in a light Asian accent.  I think I'm going to like Nepal.

Tomorrow:  Early rise, to try to get my schedule oriented to the sun... It gets dark at 5:30pm, so for moto purposes, I need to get on an early to bed early to rise and ride schedule.

Hope the jet lag cooperates.

Day 2 Agenda:  Early morning rally to Swayambhunath Stupa overlooking the city and then getting a motorcycle on lock-down.  Let the negotiations begin.  Can't wait to get rolling into the hills!

Namaste!

Nepal Recon Expedition by Royal Enfield

Trail's End BMW Manager Justin Kleiter is embarking upon a one month recon mission to the alpine mecca of the Republic of Nepal.

Justin has always been intrigued by Nepal.  As a mountain lover how can you not?  Nepal, home of the Himalaya mountain range, which host the highest mountains in the world, holds a special mystique and adventure that has long been on Justin's radar.

Life holds a magical way of rearranging itself.  As Justin's plan to spend the winter working remotely in Cairo lost its appeal, a new adventure was needed.  Enter Nepal...

The plan is to rent a motorcycle in Kathmandu.  Spend a day test running the bike around the midieval city getting his bearings and acclimating to the elevation and flow of traffic, before setting out.  Trail's End BMW overland client Frank Voelm has been instrumental in helping Justin sort out a loose itinerary.  According to Frank, it is possible to ride nearly two-thirds of the famous Annapurna trekking circuit, skirting the Mustang reserve and possibly making a dash on foot to the famous pass of Thorung-La to pay homage to the lost climbers caught in the rogue blizzard that hit the pass a month ago. (October 2014,  Washington Post report Thorung La trekking disaster. )

With a little research Justin found several companies renting motorcycles in Nepal.  The websites varied in quality and content and types of motorcycles available.  The overwhelming consistency among them all was the Royal Enfield.  Some had a handful of Honda XR250's and XR400's and others had a variety of small Yamaha bikes.  Each company had a variety of small chinese knock-off bikes as well.  But the overwhelming majority, in fact every company that had a website presence, offered the Royal Enfield.

Being a BMW Motorcycles dealer, the obvious desire would be to ride a BMW.  BMW makes the finest travel-enduro motorcycles known to mankind.  The BMW GS would be the perfect bike for exploring Nepal.  Unfortunately finding a BMW to rent in Nepal is nearly impossible.  Of course nothing is really impossible, but feasibility is a different story.

There is a connection to Royal Enfield for Trail's End BMW however.  The original founder of Trail's End BMW, George Rohn, began importing the Royal Enfield brand of motorcycles to Fairbanks after selling the BMW Motorcycles franchise to Outpost Alaska.  George loves the simplicity and serviceability of the Royal Enfield design.  These are motorcycles that can be worked on with basic tools and without the necessity of complicated computer diagnostic systems.  

It is this reason that the Royal Enfield seems to be the bike of choice in Nepal.  That and the proximity to the manufacturing plant in India.  So in consideration of what bike to pursue for this adventure, Justin weighed out the price and advantages of the Honda XR's, a brand that he sells at Outpost Alaska, with the price and advantages of the Royal Enfield.

In the end, the Royal Enfield held the greatest intrigue.  The idea of tooling around the country on a retro'esque, single-cylinder bike of a bygone era, seems perfectly fitting to Nepal.

So the next question was 500cc EFI or 350cc carbureted?  The price difference is significant: $45/day for the EFI model and $25/day for the carbureted model.

With the extreme elevations changes that will be encountered the EFI model seems to be the wise decision and it is the model that has been recommended by the rental companies as well.  Emails have been sent to trusty resources back in Alaska (Rohn, Coleman and Koslick). 

Justin flies out of Istanbul in 7 hours...  Let the adventure begin! 

GS Trophy Approach - Day 1 - Fairbanks, AK to Destruction Bay, YT

GS Trophy Approach - Day 1 Synopsis

I didn't get out of Fairbanks until 1 pm.  First thing in the morning I got an email that my BMW apparel order did go through successfully, which meant an added trip to work.  Not cool, but I knew I'd feel much better during the whole trip if I took the extra time at the shop.

The weather in Fairbanks was crisp and cool.  The sun was shining brightly and the autumn colors were kicking in full strength.  Strikingly similar to my departure last year and only a day or so off too!

The Spot beacon that David and Cee let me use was transmitting perfectly and updating to Spotwalla allowing people to follow me en route.  I took the scenic drive to work:  Farmer's Loop Rd.

It took an hour or so to get confirmation that my order was submitted properly.  I used that time to get the blog set up and to make a few posts on Facebook to let people know that I'm competing in the GS Qualifier.  Brian Lee snapped a couple token shots of me in front of the Trail's End BMW sign and I was off.  Sort of...  bank, lunch, hug and kisses from Laura and then back to Fred Meyer's to pick up a GoPro Hero2 Camera.  (All necessities before a big trip!)

The weather was great.  51°F and sunny.  Looking good.  The miles clicked by and soon I was sidetracking near Delta Jct. for some photos of the freshly snowed on Alaska Range.

And a token photo of my fresh Heidenau K60 Scout tire...  This way we can watch together as Canada's notorious chip seal eats away at my fresh rubber.

Quick fuel in Delta Jct. and off for Tok.  In Tok I fueled again and despite my concern for looking great, I donned the BMW ProRain Banana suit...  temps had dropped to a consistent 40°F and I was starting to get cold.  I hoped the neon yellow one-piece would keep some wind out and heat in.

Shortly later I was pulling up at the U.S.-Canada Border...

The sun was getting low on the horizon making for the most outstanding scenery!  Totally beautiful reflections of the alpenglow lit mountains in the still icy cold ponds and lakes.  I saw a pair of giant white swans but couldn't pull the brakes and go back.  I had way too many miles to go to get to Destruction Bay.  I was clocking my pace and watching the clock... if I was lucky I'd get there by 9'ish, hopefully get a room and maybe even some warm food and a cold beer.  I was getting really cold now. The temp was hovering right around 32°F and falling in the low spots.  Time to put the camera away and twist the wrist.

Notes from Talbot Arm Saloon, Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory, Canada:

-Arrived Destruction Bay 9:30pm YT time

-Left Fairbanks 1:15pm AK time

-Warmest Temperature 51.3°F (FAI)

-Coldest Temperature 31.1°F (10km before Destruction Bay)

-crossed border at Beaver Creek 6:05pm AK time

-roads good condition all day. suited up in prorain in Tok but only a handful of raindrops all day. Snow on roadsides from Beaver Creek on. Mountains loaded up and snowy white.  Really beautiful alpenglow and reflections. Wished I could stop more but I think I got a couple snaps that will convey the idea.  Made it to the Talbot Arm restaurant and motel in time for beers and a tasty burger and fries.  Stoked.  Thought I'd be eating cold chicken wings and pizza.  Got a room.  Worth every penny as it will bottom out way colder than my bag is rated for.  Doubt my hands would have even functioned to set up my tent.  Successful day.

2012 BMW GS TROPHY CHALLENGE

Trail's End BMW is sending me to Moab, Utah to take part in the 2012 GS Trophy Challenge West Coast Qualifier.  The GS Trophy is a biannual international event.  I am riding a 2012 BMW F800GS from our shop in Fairbanks, Alaska to Moab, Utah.

And the greatest part?   I AM LEAVING RIGHT NOW!  Stay Tuned...

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