Nainintal is called the Switzerland of India, infact alot of places claim such a title with pride in these parts that surely Switzerland is the Himalayan India of Europe, hardly important but the atmosphere of thriving to be European to be found in these parts is starting to get to me. It truely is a beautiful place and resembles the Alpine slopes of the Portes du soliel so much I was starting to get a little nostalgic on my 35km climb up here from the sweltering plains, that was until a troop of monkeys sauntered across the road which promptly reminded me I am very much in India. The road up here was great and passed large Colonial mountain resort hotels which reminded me of Kiplings India when the Raj did as I have just done and escaped the horrible heat of the plains to a more civil climate.

The road from Pokara took me 9 days and just over 800km mostly in heat that a pasty Irish lad has no right to be doing anything but sitting in an air con bar sipping on a guinness, but one has to do what one has to do and it was very enjoyable to be riding flat well paved roads again through national parks and remote vilages. It also provided me with a few mini adventures, the above swollen river barred the way of modern transport, but there is no obstacle too big or gushing for my Rocanante, laughing off the protests of the stranded passengers I removed my socks and shoes and ventured forth, having done so so many times in Tibet, this though was the deepest yet with water flowing to my waist and a couple of times I nearly had to wave goodbye to my trusty steed as the current was a little stronger then expected, despite a signal from a pesky Nepali that there was a crocodile behind me and having seen alot at past bridge crossings I managed to make it without adding extra soilage to my bicycle shorts. This animal fright was not reserved to river crossings, an illegal night camping in the national park renowned for its large bengali tiger presence proved I am not as brave as I thought and the things that go bump in the night contrived to me not having a single wink of sleep and being nothing short of petrified for most of it, will not be doing that again in a hurry. The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful, visited the birthplace of buddha, met two Nepalese on the last pass in Nepal and ended up staying in their house for a couple of days and been invited to countless meals and houses, only accepting a few. Travelling alone does have its drawbacks but its advantages far outweigh these.

It really is great to be back in India and being on a bike gives it other dimensions, for one people think you are so crazy and poor they tend not to try to rip you off which is a welcome change. There are a few downsides aswell, deafness, I fear is just around the corner for me with the Indians love of the airhorn, the heat and dust has given me an eye infection and the meandering cow is an obstacle not to be taken lightly! After here I shall be going further North in to the Himalyas to the source of the Ganga with the rest of the pilgrims and then follow it down to Rishikesh where I hope to meet some friends.