How do I even start? Phoksundo Lake was on my bucket list for the past two years, but, well, life happens.
Finding the time to go? Impossible. Understanding the trek itinerary? Confusing at best.
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We’d heard stories about switching vehicles like musical chairs, taking two flights that might or might not even be available, and I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t postponed this trip a few times.
But finally, after two years, I reached out to a few friends.
In the end, it looked like it’d just be me and one other person going. Or so I thought-until two more calls came in, and suddenly our little duo had doubled!
Only hitch? We were three office colleagues and one was my college buddy.
Basically, I was the glue, and, naturally, I was already imagining the worst- what if they didn’t get along?
Because, let’s face it, a journey is only as good as the company, right? We didn’t need any “afnai cha para mero beglai cha ani bani” drama here.
So, I decided not to worry and kicked things off. Our journey began at Machhapokhari, Kathmandu.
After some serious Insta-FB research, I came to know there’s a direct bus from Kathmandu to Dolpa! Amazing, right?
Also, exhausting. A 30-hour bus ride! And, yes, I was naïve enough to pack a book (which I never got the chance to read!).
I downloaded audiobooks, filled my phone with Bollywood playlists, and thought, “Yep, we’re all going to bond over this!” Fingers crossed.
The bus took off on time — 11:15 a.m. sharp. We’d just reached Mugling around 3:30 p.m. when the first memorable moment happened (one I’m not proud of).
One of my friends, Mr. Ram, was still on his way from Sarlahi in a Hiace. We had to beg the driver and bus staff to wait.
Now, sure, they agreed, but two hours? If you’ve ever waited two hours like that, you’d know the pain. Of course, there was time for a quick plate of chowmein.
Eventually, we were back on the road, and the driver seemed determined to make up for lost time-Pokhara in two hours flat! I mean, I think we were practically flying.
Pokhara deserves a mention because we picked up two new friends there. Maybe “tauko ma lekhera aayeko thiyo” that we’d meet them!
We didn’t hit it off right away; it took some time.
The bus was speeding along, so Samundra and I pulled out our earbuds and queued up those Bollywood songs.
Let’s be real, we weren’t sleeping, but we could dance! So dance we did, like total pagals, until we finally managed to get some shut-eye.
Next thing I know, it’s morning, and we’ve arrived at Musikot. After a quick tea, the driver was off again, barely giving me time to, uh, properly freshen up.
After those two hours we lost in Mugling, we didn’t even feel like arguing with the driver anymore. We tried asking them to play our music, but one of the staff members was not having it.
So we just went, “Chal, apna hi speaker nikalte hain.” We, the “dhit ktas,” were blasting some Arijit Singh, probably annoying the two ladies in front. Safe to say, they weren’t going to be besties with us anytime soon.
The bus eventually stopped for lunch. Guess who made it even later? Not us this time; it was the food delay. “Sabar ka fal meetha hota hai,” right? Well, nothing was meetha about this wait.
Just then, we met two more travelers- soon-to-be doctors with a love for adventure. We gave them our number but somehow forgot to take theirs. We planned to meet up, but they were on a different bus, so for now, we went our separate ways.
Around 4:30 p.m., we reached Suligad. The original plan was to get to Dunai, but why not push a little extra today to save ourselves the walk tomorrow? Genius, right?
The best part? The two ladies actually joined us after all, turning our group from four to six.
Just as we were about to start the hike, our two soon-to-be doctor friends also joined us. The other two from their bus were eager to come along, but somewhere along the way, we lost them.
Never saw them again!
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