Day 14 - I'm goin' to Ka-Ka-Ka-Kathmandu, It's what I really, really want to do ... (Bob Seager)

Today we left Tibet. Going through immigration and customs was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Although this is the first time that I have gone between countries by land instead of air. The Chinese officials were very strict about the paperwork. The original travel permit had something crossed off. The Chinese officer wanted to know who crossed the item off. Ten Zin informed him that this was the way it was sent to him. He had to back to the vehicle to get more paperwork. After that, we had our temperatures taken. They held a probe like object up to Jon's head. It took us a few seconds to figure out it was a thermometer. We then drove a few more miles to the Nepal border. Ten Zin got a local boy to escort us to the Nepal side. We said good-bye and followed the boy across the bridge.

On the Nepal side, it was something I have never seen before. We had to go from table to table to get the visa. There were several buildings along side a dirt road. We were walked through by the boy. We met out new guide, Sundeep. Our vehicle was a Isuzu. I didn't think that they made them anymore.

We only had a 150 Km drive to Kathmandu, but it took over five hours. For the first 50 Km, the road was so muddy that we could not go very fast. At times the ruts were a foot deep. Although our driver got us to Kathmandu safely, Sow Nang, our Tibetan Driver, would have driven circles around this Nepalese driver. The organization of the small villages, roads, and pollution all looked the same as on the Tibetan side. All we did was cross a short bridge. The houses went from whitewashed stone and mud brick homes to red brick and wood structures. The Tibetan dress was completely different than Nepalese dress. The women and men dressed more in an Indian-like fashion. Women now showed their arms and everyone wore open toed shoes or were bare foot. The people look more like Indians than Tibetans. The Tibetans had ruddy cheeks and similar shaped eyes and faces. Once we got to the cities, the differences were dramatic. In Tibet and China there were few imported items. All advertisement was for Chinese products. In Nepal, there were many advertisements for products from America and Europe. For those of you from western New York, we even came across a sign form Cummins.

On the Road to Kathmandu 

Nepal has a population of approximately 25 million. The country's capital, Kathmandu, has a population of about 2 million. The city looked a lot like many cities, it reminded me of a run down version of New York city without the sky scrappers. The traffic congestion and throngs of people looked familiar. However, cows, goats, ducks, and chickens don't usually roam New York's streets.

Our hotel was a extremely pleasant surprise. (Can you tell who's writing most of today's blog?) It is a large complex consisting of many buildings including at least five different restaurants, a casino and shopping mall, a beautiful swimming pool, tennis courts, and even a bowling alley. We were greeted by porters, doorman, (they salute to you every time you enter or leave the hotel- a little bit weird) and a hostess that passed out fresh glasses of juice. Our room has electricity, air conditioning, hot water, a shower, and last, but not least a TOILET! Life is so good!

We went to dinner at a Nepalese restaurant and was entertained by dancers and a group of musicians. One of the musicians tried to sell us their CD. He made a terrible face at me when I told him I wasn't interested. We thought this show was better than the Tibetan show. This program seemed to be more authentic. The Tibetan show didn't use live music. They played a tape which was prone to skipping. The food was traditional and pretty good. We had many courses, including spicy peanuts, curried chicken, wild boar, and fruit with curd. They offered us all of the "wine" we wanted. It was so strong I almost choked. It contained so much alcohol that a small bowl of the wine set on fire on the table burned for quite awhile. [Jon: The "wine" made me feel warm and fuzzy inside!]

Supper 

Traditional Dancing 

I got a Dot