from july 2-10 i went around on a quick chakkar (round trip) to achham.. flying, driving and walking. it originated in kathmandu, and included a flight to banke, drive through bardiya, kailali, dadeldhura, doti to achham, and then back down from achham to dailekh, through to surkhet, back to banke and then the flight back to kathmandu.
monsoon is always a nice time to be in the hills of nepal.. the green of the fields and mountains, the white of the clouds and mist and the rushing mountain streams, and the clear blue of the occasional open skies. of course, there are leeches to contend with, but then that is part of social service to the suckers...
this time, however, during my trip i was basically playing hide and seek with the monsoon. was dry and hot in some places.. was wet and muddy in others. no rain in the hills and plains meant brown fields waiting to get flooded, whereas all over the countryside they should already have been a gentle green with the newly planted paddy .
we got drenched getting into a plane in kathmandu following a sudden cloudburst. the window of our atr plane with water still clinging to it
the clip is of the view from the window as we hurtled down the runway and took off northwards over bouddha. the camera on auto mode, focussed on the droplets of water on the window pane instead of the view, which thus got fuzzy until all the drops disappeared a while after we were airborne, after which we get a nice view of bouddha and taragaon regency hotel.
view of the crowded valley as our plane headed westwards. the clouds had yet to part...
it was a most unmonsoony weather from there onwards.. blue skies and patches of clouds instead of the greyish monsoon blanket
the clouds got even sparser further on
a view of the trishuli as it meets up with seti and then furter south with kali gandaki at devghat before flowing on as narayani . imagine such a clear view of the land below during monsoon!
the hills of dang deukhuri still brown, and most unmonsoon like
rapti yet to flood its basin as it heads west between the low hills. interesting corrugated hills of dang
rapti winding its way southwards.. yet to display her watery wrath...
close to nepalgunj airport.. dry fields surround a village, still waiting for waters to pour down from heavens to flood them...
next morning it rained just a bit. and this dirty puddle near our hotel seems to come alive with the mini ripples...
as we headed westwards through bardiya.. the skies became overcast and looked pregnant with rain
further on there were signs of paddy transplantation
by the side of the highway there were yellow frogs that were prancing about.. seemingly to woo their mates, as well as the rain...
quite a noisy bunch...
... we drove past slightly swollen rivers...
.. and then drove northwards to the hills of kailali.. 
.. some promise of rain to come with these clouds beginning to hug the hillsides...
the steep slopes of bhasuki bheer is swathed in clouds
clouds flirt with the steep hill sides of the dadeldhura highway. a bus can been seen plying these dangerous curves...
the spot (below the white vehicle) where a week earlier a mini bus had veered off the cliffs into the gorge below taking a dozen lives...
the further up we went the more clouded in we got.. this is in budhitola where we stopped by for lunch
monsoon is the season for mangoes... enticing mangoes, wet with rain at the shree pokhara shrestha hotel in budhitola
a wet and sleepy dog outside with paws crossed over gracefully!
as we headed further north we got into the fog again.. first the uttis trees
and then the salla (pine)
little rain meant no blockage of the highway in this perpetual landslip area...
heading eastwards from syauley we left the mountaintops, and thus the clouds. ropain (paddy plantation) had only taken place in the fields closest to the water source.. the river...
paddy saplings bunched up to be taken to fields for transplantation
the bright green beds of paddy saplings.. and the lighter green of the fields where they have been transplanted already...
... and the brown fields that still awaited water and paddy...
in doti we meet up with the bheri river.. still flowing at one third its monsoon strength...
these rocky bits would be flooded if bheri was in full spate...
this stretch of fields dotted with manure waiting for rain from the heavens for paddy transplantation, even though the river flows so close by...
what the rain brings down the gullies when it pours forth...
further east of silgadi.. and looking north towards khaptad area, it was more verdant..
these fields by the budi ganga in sanphe bagar (achham) were as green as all fields should have been in early july...
we were greeted with rain as we stopped by for lunch in sanphe
crossing jaigad we look towards more dry hills, scratched by village roads.. and rice growing only by the riverbeds
whatever clouds were there seemed to fade away by dusk, as seen from mangalsen bajar
our penchant for rain was answered in double dose the next morning as we headed up from mangalsen towards thulasain
it started to pour as we waiting to snack in thulasain
this rain harvesting pot at the eatery was spilling over in no time...
our vehicle tried to head south east towards binayak .. but the recently widened road (in preparation of being turned into the mid hills highway that will stretch from east to west nepal) , was in vulnerable state.. and trees fell across our path, forcing us to give up our vehicle... it meant trudging all the way to binayak.. about 8 hours away (for us!)
the trek was a fascinating one, mostly along the road. here is my husband's childhood hero, the phantom, the ghost who walks, half-buried in the sand!
where the slopes could not hold water, there were green terraces of makai (maize).. every turn on the trek was a fascinating one to see the play of the white clouds with the green hillsides
water rushes down the slopes
children off from school (classes run in the morning in the summers) herding their goats to graze
a health post staff heading to mangalsen to get vaccines for his village
it was a free mud and grit spa treatment for my feet!
there were earthworms everywhere.. each one marking their path on the soft mud
as we near gairi tand we leave the road and take a shortcut up to the bhanjyang from this water mill
looking eastwards from the mountain pass at gairi tand towards the hills of dailekh.. a patch of blue sky promising a respite to the rain
terraces carved down the hillsides.. lovely to look at.. but one hard life to live on and live off
we meet some children and their kukur-jhinga-infested mountain dog
ferny hillside
the first hint of sunshine of the day on a puddle
further eastwards we find a rocky avalanche that has created a road block
the day's rain had brought out may farmers to their fields.. the bauseys preparing and muddying the fields for transplantation
women plant paddy saplings in the fields prepared by the men ...
returning home after a hard day's work
other terraces below ready for plantation
that evening the skies cleared up quite a bit.. this view from binayak
the flagstones in the pancha dewal in binayak wet with rain the next day. the dewals had been renovated by the archaeological department recently
as we walked towards kucchi of kalikasthan early next morning clouds started rising from the valley below
a misted up house in kucchi
a chhaupadi goth used by menstruating women and girls of the neighbourhood on the side, next to a mango tree
rato maato chiplo baato (red mud, slippery path) as we traverse from ward # 8 to ward# 7 in the village
this was another site renovated by the archaeological department. this is supposed to be a bihar from the lichhavi era...
the first glimpse of karnali river from kucchi
a grass snake (hopefully!) on the side of the path as we too slither down towards the banks of the karnali
a recently carved out path in the middle of a young sal forest.. all wet with rain
the banks of the karnali getting greener with makai and dhaan
a boat by the banks of the karnali filled with rainwater too
there were many large wooden logs beams on the banks. it seems people swam into the river to retrieve logs driftwood for firewood or to use as timber. this one they said was part of a bridge that had been washed further upstream in the karnali
we finally arrive across rakam of dailekh. one of the few suspension bridges across the karnali between achham and dailekh
the pebbly banks of the karnali
paddy that had been transplanted a few days early. the mud in this field now drying and cracking up, crying for water...
further up, closer to a stream, a flooded transplanted field with the bhakari (the circle of luck) designed by leaving behind paddy saplings on the seedbed
ready for transplantation as rakam is promised rain as well as water from the stream
mist over the karnali next morning... a big banyan tree on the side that withstood the floods a couple of decades ago..
the rain still does not pour.. the clouds still wispy and light
the water from the stream now flooding the fields, means a lot of work for the rakam residents.. first taking out the paddy seedlings that are already way too tall
it means bunching them up so that it is easy to carry to the fields....
.. fields that are being ploughed and readied by men and oxen.. most men come back from india for the plantation season
holding the oxen by the tail to guide to them across the slush
the field ready for the paddy...
... rows and rows of women plant the paddy into the slush, their backs bent, their hands moving fast, and like clockwork!
ropain by the karnali ko teer
the mist over the karnali comes and goes..
boys on the side rush across a little rivulet by the banks to trap little fish
preparation for the jhari.. that is yet to come in full spate...
beauty amongst muck.. a forest of delicate mushroom....
as we drive away from rakam towards surkhet... the site where a bridge is being built over the karnali as part of the mid hills highway.. work still going on...
the ferry over the karnali between the two districts lying idle with the rise of water in the karnali
where there was dust till a few weeks ago at sange tada.. is now slush and mud that stops traffic for hours as vehicles get stuck..
a gentle spray down the rocky slopes
goats take to the road warming their bellies as the surface heats up with the sunshine
climbing up from tallo dungeshwor towards guransey
still no promise of rain from these clouds
the narrow road that climbs ever higher and higher
dailekh bajar in the distance.. and even the hills of kalikot further north
layers of hills now dwarfed in the distance
and finally surkhet valley in view
dusk sets in...
..a thunderhead (most unlike monsoon) rears its bright head to the east.. it brings in a thunderstorm an hour or so later in surkhet..
the storm leaves bamboo leaves fresh and wet the next morning...
driving down towards nepalgunj.. we see the babai river valley.. the clear blue sky accentuated with the surge of white clouds
nepalgunj was still dry when we reached there... still no plantation in the fields...flying out towards kathmandu the next day we saw that there was still no sign of thick monsoon clouds.. a very delayed monsoon.. wonder what it will mean for our staple crops
the himalaya popped their heads above the tufts of clouds as we flew towards kathmandu
annapurna II draped in snow... as she only is during the rainy season
so that was my hide and seek with monsoon in the trip to achham and back... my unmonsoony chakkar
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