"Run! Run to the boarder and don't look back!"


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July 10th 2007
Published: July 10th 2007
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And that's what we did. We ran, and didn't look back. We were nine kilometers away with an expired Chinese Visa. What else could we do?
We had some great experiences in the 41 days we spent in China. Our first Visa was cut short when we entered Hong Kong, and our second Visa ran out before we could get to the boarder of Nepal. It's too bad that a country that insists on bureaucratic permits, guides, and detailed planning, doesn't realize when two foreigners with expired Visas' book a five day tour through Tibet. The supposedly hardest region to travel through in China!
I know it's our fault for not knowing when our Visas ran out; but we never planned on staying that long in China to begin with, so we never really took notice. Tibet is a great place though. I really wish I could have seen more of it. The Potala was breath-taking, the temples, monasteries, and scenery were all awe-inspiring. From the Sera monastery were monks congregate to debate with each other each day, to the Ronbuck monastery were monks live in the highest Tibetan monastery in the world at 5,000+ meters.
The five day tour through Tibet was a great experience. Our guide was a great English speaker with 14 years of study in India. He knew a lot, but when he didn't know something he would say it and then go ask monks or other guides to get an answer. He told us many stories about the abuse Tibetans take from their oppressive Chinese over-lords. It is hard for me to even believe some of the things he told me because of the world I grew up in is so much different then the one he endured. He lived in Tibet for 11 years before his parents sent him away to India, to get a better education and the opportunity to have a better life. But after 14 years he couldn't stay away from his people anymore, and came back to Lhasa to be a guide for our tour company.
We saw so many beautiful places on this trip it would be impossible to explain without the aid of digital photography (I will put up pictures as soon as I can). The Tibetan Plateau is so vast in it's scenery. It has sandune deserts, vast arid plains, desolate nomad inhabited foothills, and of course, the great Himalayas. We spent days driving though each of these landscapes, taking breaks for photo-ops at our discretion. We have photos of four of the highest mountains in the world in one picture! It's just unbelievable! To see these giants, looking over the endless other mountains that they themselves are masters of. Like the shepherds that look over their yak herds, these mountains look to control the others with unyielding domanice.
The most dramatic of the landscape would have to be the very edge of Tibet, coming to the boarder of Nepal. One minute we were at the top of a mountain pass, 5000 meters high, with nothing but dirt leading to snow-covered mountains, and the next we were diving along forested cliffs on a decrepit road, inches away from a foggy obis. Such a change is unknown everywhere else I have been.
On the third day of our tour Randy and I came to the realization that our Visa was for 30 days from issue date, and it had been 29. We were not that worried, because we knew we were heading for that boarder, and would probably just be faced with a fine. So we decided to do nothing about it. But things of this magnitude don't stay quite for long. First our travel companions from Holland found out, and finally our guide had to bare the brunt of this unstoppable storm. For him, I could see that it was not a problem that would just go away with a simple fine at the boarder. I guess the Tour company is suppose to be very thorough when it comes to this kind of thing, and if we were to get caught at one of the many Chinese check-points, he could say goodbye to his already very limited freedom.
He spent hours on the phone the next few days. Talking to everyone and anyone that could have possibly been of any use. I think at one point he even called his mother (everyone knows mothers have the solution to all of life's problems). But there was no solution to be had. We were going to have to face the punishment.
The Dutch couple we had been spending our torment with the past few days offered their time, money, and overall, once-in-a-life-time opportunity, to help two lost Americans. They offered to end the tour a day early, and instead of spending another day at Mt. Everest or another great Tibetan town, we would drive non-stop (well except for the photo-ops of course) to the Nepalese boarder. I couldn't believe the heart of these people. There home is in the heart of Amsterdam, and they both worked for international companies, therefore they spoke impeccable English. We have been to Amsterdam, and knew that it was not just full of Hippies and prostitutes. But this was better than we could have ever hoped for!
So our fate was set. The next day we left the highest mountain in the World, to head for a boarder town than had nothing but over-crowded streets, full of Land Cruisers and import-export trucks. A town surrounded by beautiful forest, but un-seen due to the high rotten buildings, that sprung from the cliff face like weeded vines. The drive to this town was a great feat in its own right. There is only one road, and it is being smashed into the side of the mountain by hundreds, if not thousands, of imported Chinese workers everyday from 8am to 8pm. But we arrived before 8pm. Which meant we got to witness what this horde of workers are able to accomplish in a relatively very short time. But with a 1.3 billion horde to work with, mustering up a few thousand to build a new road is of little mind.
"Run! Run to the boarder and don't look back!" This is the last thing I remember our guide yelling to us before I woke up. It was a dream. A dream I had in Zanmund, the boarder town next to Nepal. Our Visa's did expire, but the Chinese passport checker gave it no attention. He stamped our exit placement and sent us on our way. It was quite the relief, and I will be sure not to have that experience again. We are now in Kathmandu planning a six day tour full of white-watter rafting, elephant-back riding, and trekking through the jungle. I am so excited. It was not cheap though, but trying to find our way in this country on our own was not something I felt like dealing with at our current state-of-mind. I'd rather shell out the money and have the maximum amount of experiences for our short amount of time. After our tour we fly to India, and have no idea where we will be from there. I probably won't write for the next couple days, but I will do my best to get an update at my earliest convenience.

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