DEL -> KTM -> PKR – Superman sleeps, pets a dog and saves us

29. + 30. July 2026

 

 

This taxi also drove through the narrow, strange streets of the neighborhood instead of taking the big, wide road. Once again, I marveled at what Delhi can also look like.

 

 

And then I arrived at the airport and everything went smoothly.

 

 

The flight was smooth as well, amazingly calm despite the small plane and the monsoon. In many places, it was even cloudless. Until we reached the Kathmandu Valley.

 

 

But even this bank of clouds wasn’t that bad, and the plane kept pushing lower and lower. Until…

 

 

..until suddenly it pulled back up again, flying higher and higher. My little bunny heart started pounding again, and my sweaty palms gripped the seat. And then, after a few minutes, came the soothing voice of the pilot. However, I wasn’t entirely sure what he said. Something had been reported down at the airport, which was why landing right now wasn’t a good idea. I thought he said “birds.” In any case, we flew another big, wide loop, and somehow I managed to calm down a bit again. I think the Air India pilots are actually pretty good.

 

 

And since we had such a nice view and the clouds weren’t quite as thick and dramatic, I was pretty amazed when I walked out of the airport building and it was raining. And then it rained more and more, and the monsoon was in full swing. I was safe inside the car, but many people weren’t. And the streets were gridlocked, making our progress very, very slow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just around the corner here, and then I had finally arrived and was thrilled to see Ute and Beate! And to get a nice room.

 

 

The next day we had bus tickets to Pokhara. We were able to walk to the bus stop. On the way, we already saw the sleeping Superman.

 

 

 

The bus was air-conditioned, relatively comfortable, and clean; the roads were better (and less crowded compared to peak season); and the rest stops were quite good, with a nice selection of coffee. Even the drive out of Kathmandu was okay—except for some minor trouble with the police.

 

 

 

At one rest stop, Superman played with the dogs. By the way, the frequency of the stops was completely sufficient for restroom breaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parts of the road were bumpy, and you could see several landslides caused by the monsoon and jolted over construction sites, but before Pokhara the road was really good, and the bus travel time had decreased to 7 hours compared to around 10 hours previously. Unfortunately, the route isn’t particularly scenic. And the bus ticket was well under 10 euros. Good decision.

 

 

However, stress set in as well. Under the new government, the permit regulations were handled much more strictly, and they insisted on proof of insurance covering helicopter rescue. We didn’t have that. In all my time in Nepal, I had always traveled without it, and my colleague had failed to point it out to us. We were under absolute stress, and I could already see the trip essentially going down the drain. No idea how it happened, but I have a suspicion that Superman helped out. By late afternoon, the permits were actually issued. We can continue traveling as planned. But the stress we had really took its toll on me.

 

Pokhara was hot, humid, and empty. But since no rain fell, we actually had a pretty good time. I finally visited the little island temple (quite nice, but not really worth it, though we did talk to a Nepalese Hitler supporter), looked at the empty shops and restaurants, the few Western faces, and the surprisingly high level of cleanliness. On the one hand, Nepal is making a much greater effort to be inviting to tourists. On the other hand, with all the permits and fees, it is also becoming more exhausting as a travel destination overall. But for now, we were just happy to be here and enjoy the comforts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we walked along the lakeside promenade for a bit, finally took a group photo, and then enjoyed some absolutely delicious food and drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

The accommodation impresses with a soft, clean bed, and so we drifted off to sleep happily, looking forward to starting our journey toward Mustang. We have already met our guide, gave her permission to bring her son along so he can learn more, and we also have a driver, but we reserved flexibility and haven’t targeted fixed locations for accommodations. It’s a kind of mix between an independent trip and a package tour.