We boarded the bus in Chitwan at 9am for our six hour ride back to Kathmandu. The first three hours were smooth sailing and we were right on time. Then the bus stopped. Stopped for longer, then the motor switched off.
"Maoists have created a road block ahead, there's a 30km traffic jam. It's best you go get some food and water in the town we just passed" announced the bus attendant. Claire and I hopped off the bus in the middle of nowhere and quickly purchased a few samosas and bottles of water. The novel experience of being caught up in Nepal's political maelstrom was interesting for the first half-hour, but when the engine started again after 2.5 hours we were pleased to be on our way again.
The bus began to roll, and then stopped, again, 500m's down the road. Again the engine was switched off, I think I groaned as I wondered what'd happened to the negotiations that had opened the road for 5 minutes. But this time the problem was different. One of the lead buses, perhaps in a hurry to get to Kathmandu had knocked down a child, and whilst the kid was ok (so I was told) the villagers had formed a mob and trashed the bus which was now blocking the road. We again dismounted the bus for what turned out to be a second 2.5 hour wait.
Finally, the bus began to roll towards Kathmandu again, and as we passed the nearby town we could see the wreck of the bus - smashed windows and blackened insides and all.
As the entire day's traffic moved towards Kathmandu it was of course slowed and as night fell we were a long way from our guesthouse. About 8.30pm we finally got to our guesthouse, about 5.5 hours late. We relayed our story to the proprietors, who nodded and said "Yes, it happens all the time in Nepal."
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