Junket to Rasuwa Part I

A thing good about junket trip for journalist is you don’t have to worry about the expenditure. A thing bad about it is you sometime have to work hard for sending news.

When Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) invited me to be a part of the trip to Rasuwa for a cycling event to promote the Tamang Heritage Trail as the newest trekking route, I did everything possible to avoid it. Hadn’t I received repeated phone calls (or had I got anyone else for the trip) I would have avoided it for I was fearing that I may not get a chance to watch the Cricket World Cup final.

I had to go! The bus trip was smooth till we reached Trishuli and had a nice lunch. Thenafter, it was the daring travel – winding gravelled roads with curves and corners every now and then.

At Dhunche, the headquarters of Rasuwa, it looked nicer as there were people welcoming us. I trekked for about an hour from there until our bus picked up on the way. The daring road became even more dangerous with slopes extending maybe kilometers in height.

My first reaction to a big slope and the U-turn of the gravel road was to look at the driver. “Is he experienced enough to take us safely?” I asked myself. He was smiling amusingly thus I concluded unless the man is eccentric, he would take us safely. His one mistake was enough for our deaths deep down the slope where I could see the lining of the river.

At evening, we were at Syaphrubenshi (or Syaphru or Syafru or Syabru). It was the gateway for the trekkers treking to Langtang region. After receiving the traditional welcome from the Tamang girls (they give you a palmful of drink – mostly alcohol but here it was Coca Cola, and put a shawl around your neck), I went to the guys who were busy telling us the hotels.

“I need one with TV and cable,” I demanded. He said, “Shree Ganesh.” Other journalists went to other hotel designated for media while I started looking for mine. “Shree Ganesh?” A guy asked. “Yes.” He called me in and it turned out the hotel was without signboard and not very good.

“TV?”
“Yes. 21-inch color at the eating place.”
“Foreign channels?”
“Yes.”

Aha! That was a relief and through I felt like the passage of the hotel a little narrow, rooms smaller and the eating place with 21-inch color TV smelling alcohol, I was happy.

The hotel owner, Dawa, turned out to be the owner of the Langtang Cable TV and he proudly showed us the control room on the ground floor. And, I wouldn’t sleep much that night, because Sri Lanka was playing Australia in the final of the World Cup cricket. (To be continued)