Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Situation in Nepal Due to Maoist ...

December 24 2004
Hello All,
this is what happened to me yesterday.
Day before yesterday Roy ( a friend of mine whom is
traveling on a motorbike in India and Nepal) and I
left Katmandu to go to the Royal Chitwan National
Park, where we were planning to spend some days before
heading back to India. We left Katmandu at about 10
oclock and drove towards Hetauda (a village on the way
to the park), the drive was beautiful as from here we
could see the Himalayan Range from distance, at about
4 oclock i have a flat tyre ,so we lost 1 hour in reparing it and so
on, so we were obliged to sleep in a small house just
in the middle of nowhere. The morning after at about 9 we started driving again,
just 7 km away from were we slept the Maoist (the
rebel group fighiting the monarchy ) had put mines on
the street so we were obliged to stop and try to
understand what to do ... suddently 2 maoist came out
from the jungle, and in nepaly made us understand that
the road was blocked (we didnt need much explanation
for that) and then they told us to go back , we said
ok we sat on the bikes and suddenly they took out 2
granades (bombs) from a bag they were carring and told
us to get down from the bikes, we were confused and
got down from the bikes , then they told us to walk
back to Katmandu (100km) and wanted us to give them 1
liter of petrol, we were more confused. We hesitated
since we did not understand why they wanted the fuel
and of course we did not even think of leaving the
bikes and walk, but just then we realized that they
were trying to put the bikes on fire .. so we started
argueing and telling them what are u doing ?? Suddenly
they started threatening (sorry for the spelling) us
with the granades, but we still resisted from letting
our bikes put in fire .... then they told us to move
away and togheter with them we walked some 10 mt. form
the bikes, at this stage one of the guys opened one of
teh granades and throwed it to the bikes , the granade
landed about 4 mt. from the bikes and exploded, we
were unhurt but the bikes suffered some damage ... we
were now in compleate shock and started begging them
not to do it so lots of begging and they were shouting
and so on .,.. then the other guy opened and throw the
second granade which landed just few centimeters from
the bikes , we were speachless ,with our eyes full of
tears from the anger and waiting to see our bikes
compleaty destroyed.... but the granade did not
explode, and this point THEY were shocked and i dont
know for which reason they just left, maybe to go and
fetch more granades or fuel, but as they dissapered in
the jungle we runned to our bikes started them and
drove for 5 hours NON stop to Katmandu. We are not
hurt but very very ANGRY .... So Richard if u are
planning to come to Nepal with your AT, think twice,
seriously this guys are mad !!
Anyway we are now stucked in Katamandu as the rebel
blocked all the majour roads, the distroyed the main
bridge that takes to Pokara which takes also to India
, in Katmandu there is not much fuel (u see km long
lines), people dont know when this strike will end so
i dont know when to i can go back to india ..... is a
pitty becouse Nepali are really nice people and Nepal
is a wonderful country but the situation now is no
good , no good at all ... other tourist are flying
somehow out, but we (Roy, Neil another Guy with a
motorbike,) and i are stuk here.
Today i passed the day in a workshop to fix the bike,
and the nepali mechanic did a great job.
This was my x-mas in Nepal.

Mauro on a AT round the world ...