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Published: December 30th 2005
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Hi,
After the trek I found myself without wheels to get to the border. My Land Cruiser carried on without me, and I had to hitch hike my way. The problem is that most cars in this region are full of tourists who paid money for their ride, and they are not happy for free travelers making their car packed. After waiting for a long while at the exit of the national park arrived a jeep that brought some people over and was about to return empty to the nearest town. For a small fee I got a ride with it, along with another Brazilian traveler. Just after dark we got to Shegar, another town on the Friendship Highway that connects Lhasa and Kathmandu. On the way we climbed Pang La pass (5120m) where we could see the entire mountain range with some of the highest mountains in the world just in front of us.
The night I share a room with the Brazilian is not an easy one - almost like sleeping in a carpenter's shop that is working all night. The guy was snoring like I have never heard before.
The next day was not easier. A few tourists
from Taiwan take me the 15 km from Shegar to the junction where they turn towards the Everest park. After a long wait there I catch a local tractor that takes me 15 km more in just a little longer than two hours! Sitting in the back and feeling every bump of the road (and there are many of them) practically got me injured. Luckily, when the driver stops for a snack a car full of Chinese passes by and agrees to stop. In that car I found the Brazilian guy again. They took us to Tingri, a town I knew from a few days before. There we met a couple of Swiss who were trying to find a lift since that morning. We tried to hire a car for the four of us, but the locals demanded too much money.
After yet another long wait we are desperate and willing to pay the high price because we don't want to spend another day in Tingri. While we were looking for the driver again a big bus entered the one street town and stopped there for a lunch break. apparently that was a direct bus from Lhasa to Kathmandu, and
for a very cheap price we can board it and cross the border with the rest of the passengers, and reach Kathmandu the next day on the same bus! Can it be that China decided to smile at me for my last day there?
The ride to the border is amazing. Crossing one last pass from which the mountains can be seen again - Everest, Cho Oyu, Shisha Pangma, and many many more. On top of the windy pass there are prayer wheels operated by the wind - Buddhism is a very lazy religion sometimes...
From that point the road goes steeply down towards the valleys of Nepal.
The town of Nyalam, 3750m, is only 30km from the border. From here, as the guide book describes it, the road drops like a stone off the Tibetan plateau into a gorge of waterfalls and cascades. It is also submerged in a sea of clouds that are formed by the high humidity - Nyalam means "gateway to hell" in Tibetan. But here I saw the first trees and the first green areas in a long time.
Next on the road is Zhangmu, 2300m(!), the border town. It is a one street town,
and this street looks like a very long snake down the hill. It is already in a green area, with trees all around, and the river flowing beneath it with a large volume of water as the rainy season has just ended.
Like any border town - it had a smell of the other country. Nepali people were all around, with their colorful trucks and their special food and smells. I couldn't wait to cross that border!
For the first time in a month I was in an altitude lower than 3000m. I felt as if I was flying - it was suddenly so easy to walk, and even climbing up the steep street (which was a scary task up until a day before) was very easy.
For celebrating our last night in China (well, actually celebrating the fact the we are finally LEAVING China) we had together, the four foreigners, a beer of relief.
The border crossing and a little summary of my time in China - next time,
R.
PS.
Due to the problems with my camera, and the fact that my memory card was full after a long time without a CD burner - I don't
Wheel of Life
A very important Buddhist painting that can be found in many monasteries and has many different details full of symbols and meanings. really have many pictures here. I need to scan some pictures that I took with my other camera (the non-digital one) and then I will add some more...
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