Moving on again today. We had booked for two nights, but decided we should cut our losses and check out a day early; the slightly grubby nature of the place (and our room in particular), plus the absence of a chef (and hence much in the way of a menu), meant there was little to keep us there. It did lead to a slightly awkward encounter with the owner, but ultimately this was resolved amicably enough.
We tackled the perilous descent (114 steep steps) and took a taxi to Baglung, further on along the route to Yogis. Val was unable to book a hotel there, but we figured we ought to be able to sort something out when we got there, and so it proved. In fact, it turned out very well indeed. Baglung was a small city, with bustling streets and the usual array of small, busy shops, but we rejected the hotels there – they had poor reviews and looked like so many city centre hotels in Nepal, in serious need of maintenance. Instead, we sought out the Sital Hotel and Party Palace, at the top of the town.
Which turned out to be excellent. It was either brand new or very nearly so, for it was absolutely spotless, 5 star hotel anywhere standard; everything was bright and shiny. We were shown a range of rooms, and chose the deluxe – air-con, fan, armchair, balcony, comfortable bed – once again, all brand new and sparkling – and such a change after a far less than satisfactory experience last night. This is turning into something from a Trip Advisor site, so I’ll stop.
In the afternoon, we took a tuk tuk to Gandaki Golden Bridge, Baglung’s major point of interest. It was built in 2020, and for a year or so was the longest footbridge in the world (before being supplanted by first Italy and then the Czech Republic.) It is 567 metres long, and spans the Kaligandaki river, 122 metres below. Val has something of an issue with bridges where you can see movement below (she even had a bit of a problem with one spanning the M62) so was not convinced she would be able to conquer her fears. But she gritted her teeth, and focused very much on the way ahead (and not down) so managed fine. There was the usual issue with a couple of lads trying to put some swing into it (trying to frighten a group of girls rather than us) but the girls yelled at them, and they stopped.
It was quite a hike across. What surprised me was the steepish ascent at the other end, though obviously a suspension bridge sags in the middle, so it should have been obvious. A young girl at the other end took our picture, directing us how to stand (so obviously well experienced in such things), and then we set off back. I was pretty much out of breath by the time we got there (but it does not do much to make me lose my breath nowadays), but then our friendly tuk tuk driver took us first to a café for some lassis. Then to a samosa shop for a takeaway lunch, and then back to the hotel.
So far as I can tell, we are the only guests in the whole hotel (and it’s a pretty sizeable place.) We watched from our balcony as they prepared some decorations for Divali, and did wonder whether we might have arrived in time for some celebration or other, but either that is taking place tomorrow, or the putting up of some lights and making a small decoration on the ground is the extent of their celebration.
We ate dinner almost alone, which was handy for Val as she was able to conduct an online staff meeting from the restaurant with scarcely no interruption. The food was as we had expected, a dhal baht, but was very nice. I had a couple of bottles of beer, while Val had two glasses of wine. Three really; it was the only time I have ever seen wine served in a wine glass filled to the brim.
After which we returned to our room; Val had more meetings. Besides, we are not really party animals any more. And I knocked off a couple more animal poems.
