Day 1

December 23, 2017
 

Sanjay Ranjit
Our destination, Nuwakot Durbar was a place I always wanted to visit so I was very excited and could not wait to start our hike. As per the schedule, we had to leave office premises by 9:00 am and everyone was expected to be within office premises before the mentioned time. But due to my eagerness I reached office way ahead of time. Slowly everyone gathered and after Jeevan dai, hike coordinator made all the preparations, we left at around 9:30 am. Our journey to Nuwakot finally began. We took the route Deerwalk - Jhor - Shivapuri - Battar(Nuwakot). We experienced the clear climate contrast as we went downhill from Shivapuri. The winter time in Kathmandu was not so wintry in Nuwakot. The warm clothes all of us were wearing in the morning suffocated us during the ride so everyone was trying to get comfortable by removing some extra layers. The ride took us more than expected time because the road was all bumpy. So, we reached our destination for the day, Hotel Square Battar in Bidur, Nuwakot at 4:30 pm. Then we checked into the hotel and after freshen up we went for the city sightseeing. After that was the dinner time and all of us went to bed to rest for the next day hiking.

Day 2

December 24, 2017 Early morning everyone was looking forward for the hike to start. After breakfast and some rest, all of us tied our shoes and got ready. It was 11:00 am when we officially started our hike from the hotel itself. We asked the locals for directions and obviously GPS helped a lot. On the way, we took group pictures, captured scenic views, made some videos and pranked each other. It was awesome. I seldom go for a hike so I was very tired after just an hour of our hike that I had to stop once in a while and take rest. There was even a time when me and Niraj dai took different route following GPS and it turns out, the road was more difficult than the one others took. There was narrow road to walk and stiff cliffs to climb.

I was out of breath but Niraj dai was like a trooper. He was not tired at all even with the heaviest bag on his back. His pace was unmatched.

I was out of breath but Niraj dai was like a trooper. He was not tired at all even with the heaviest bag on his back. His pace was unmatched. The hiking route was very tiresome and all of us needed some rest. Just like that 3 more hours went by and after many twists, turns and cliff climbs, everybody decided to take rest and have some snacks which we stored in our baggage before hand. The resting place was awesome; gentle breeze and refreshing environment made us forget the tiredness and the scenery around made the long walk all worth it. After some time, we decided to go at it again but my back was killing me. I was not sure if I could complete the hike. Just then we got to know that the destination is just 20 - 30 mins far. That was all the push I needed to continue again. We took off with slow pace this time. After 20 minutes or so, we reached Nuwakot Durbar. There we were clicking pictures; solo and group with the Durbar in the background. Nearby Nuwakot Durbar area there is a Taleju temple. Only few of us took detour and went to visit the temple and some of us directly went to the hotel; Hotel Nuwakot View where we planned to stay. It was almost 4:30 pm then. I was all sweaty and tired so I was among those who directly went to the hotel to freshen up and take some rest. Some time later others also came to the hotel, then we ordered some food to eat. After the food, Pramod dai and Kapil dai suggested we take a small walk and go sightseeing. I was tired to the point that I did not want to go and Neeraj dai seconded. So we stayed at hotel whereas others left for the sightseeing. I was surprised that most of group members were still energetic. Later everyone returned and I saw the pictures Bibek dai and Niraj dai took during their sightseeing. They were simply awesome. I felt that I missed the chance to visit such a beautiful places. I regretted the decision I made to not go sightseeing. Swiftly evening was upon us and we were in fun mood. We played songs of different genre and there were songs that I have never ever heard before. Those random songs and those random dance moves were “EPIC”. We had a lot of fun that night. Even after dinner, we stayed late and had some more fun until everyone was sleepy. Just like that all of us went to bed for early start the next day.

Day 3

December 25, 2017 It was the day we hit the road again. Everybody got up early and wished each other “Merry Christmas”. We finished our breakfast and checked out of the hotel at around 10:30 am. On our way back we had to wait for sometime at places where roads were under construction. We even took small detour to Devighat where Tadi river meets Trishuli river. We had some fun there and clicked few pictures then again we were back on track to Kathmandu. We stopped at 35 Kilo, Jurethum for our lunch. After the lunch, we headed towards Kakani. During the ride, the road construction at some places stall us again for quite some time. Slowly the climate got chilly again and finally we reached Kakani where we bought some fresh and delicious strawberries there. We started wearing all the warm clothes back again. Playing Bibek dai’s playlist made the mood lively again. We were singing and sharing past fun experiences among us during the entire journey. At around 5:30 pm, we reached Balaju, Kathmandu but the traffic was what welcomed us. Everyone was tired and hungry by that time so we stopped by a place to have light snack. After that we departed from one another and headed for our home sweet home.