Day 40 Varanasi to Lumbini

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Day 40 Varanasi to Lumbini (12th Aug)

So today was another early start, as we have a border crossing into Nepal. We are all ready for a change now, too. Hoping for a bit of R&R in Nepal.

So as we were about to leave Varanasi at 0700, LJ (our tour leader, for those who forgot) jumps onto the coach and in the space of less than 2 minutes, informs us that he has a family emergency and will be leaving us today, we will be met at the Nepal border by our Nepal Guide and have to otherwise manage by ourselves in Nepal, that Ozbus will be in touch with us, nice to meet you and goodbye. It was so sudden that everyone was in shock. We all sort of looked at each other as the coach departed and it took a few minutes for talk to start. Stephen (who had spoken to LJ the night before) explained in a bit more detail and we sent a text message to Ozbus in London to find out what was going on.

It was just so very unexpected that we were left a little unsure what to think. Or do.

After a couple of conversations with the office in London, we discovered that they were taken by surprise as well. They weren’t even aware that LJ had left us until we contacted them. Now there is a rush to get us a replacement tour leader before we leave Nepal. That gives them 10 days...

We did, however, still have a border to cross. Unfortunately at 1630, we got stuck about 30km from the border by an accident with 2 fatalities which blocked the road. At first we were all very alarmed as we had been told the border closed at 1800. However we discovered (or rather our driver found out for us) that the gates would be open until 2100, so we all breathed a sigh of relief at that. We had to wait an hour for the police to move the bodies and vehicles from the road and we were on our way before 1800.

The coach could not drive right up to the border, so we collected all our luggage and walked about 200m around the corner. Fortunately our Nepal guide met us here and we had help sorting things out. First we had to get our exit stamps for India. The ‘Immigration Office’ was a ramshackle shed on the side of the road. It was rather dodgy looking, but it is what it is. We had to fill in our departure forms and they took down our information. And yes, they did it all by hand again...

Fortunately they weren’t quite so slow this time! On the Nepal side of the gate (no double and triple checks on this border!) we walked into an office and those who had visas got them stamped while those of us who didn’t (yes, that includes me) just had to fill in an extra form, pay a €25 fee and that was that. Simplest crossing yet.

By this time it was getting on for 1900, so it was nice to know that our hotel was only about 5 minutes down the road. This hotel was quite nice, though the rooms were small. It was nice and clean and had working air conditioning. What more could we ask for? We divided into pairs for the rooms, and we would stay with this particular room mate until Kathmandu, as it was just too much effort to change around without someone in charge. Jana and I figured we could get on fine for the rest of the week, without feeling any urge to strangle each other.

First things first we decided to go down the road to get some cash. The exchange places were closed so we were going to the ATM. Unfortunately the power went out in the area as we were about to set off. Not much point stumbling about in the dark when the ATM doesn’t work when the power is out anyway... Fortunately we only had to wait about 20minutes before heading out. And then of course we had dinner - Nepal is great. Even 5 minutes from the border you can see the difference. It was wonderful to be able to walk down the street without being accosted, even in the dark!

All the girls are just excited by the prospect of being able to simply go for a walk without having to arrange for company beforehand.

Cheers to Nepal - and a bit of freedom!

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Photos

On the Road
Yes, there are still cow's in the middle of every road.