Ep9- Morning in Kathmandu (pt.2)

  Kathmandu, Nepal
Friday, February 2, 2007

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(continued from previous)

Watch this episode here.

From Kathmandu to Khodari

We three travelers had an itch that had not yet been fully scratched.... we would rent motorcycles again and explore the country! Finally Justin learned how to drive a manual bike, and he, Jen and I took off for the north. Our final destination was a small village on the border of Nepal and Tibet called Khodari, about 120km away through the mountains. One tank of gas would just make it there and back w/o refueling.... we hoped.

We set off early in the morning on our bikes. As soon as we left our little tourist haven, the traffic turned ugly. Most normal, sensible rules of the roads were ignored as an incredible number of motorbikes, rickshaws, cars and buses packed the inadequate roadways. Stoplights seemed more like a suggestion than a rule, and Nepalis didn't even bother with things like lane dividers. To pass a slow moving rickshaw, you would dart in to oncoming traffic and hope they saw you coming. At first we kind of just followed the people in front of us, but became more and more comfortable and aggressive (crazy!) quickly. Once we made it outside Kathmandu, the navigation became easy- there was only a single road for the rest of the journey. The road would wind and switchback through the mountains all the way to Khodari. Thousand foot drop offs loomed on one side, and a deathtrap of a monsoon flood sewer guarded the other side of the road. If these were the only obstacles, it would have been OK, but then add in giant potholes, mudslides that washed out huge sections of road, buses flying around corners, buses passing other buses flying around corners, and suicide chickens crossing the road at our wheels (why do they cross the road?!), and the whole situation just gets nasty. With all that said, the drive was stunning. The mountain views were dramatic, the tiny villages we drove through were interesting, and we followed a raging river much of the way to the north, spotting dozens of beautiful waterfalls spurting from the mountainside. The terraced farming technique covered much of the landscape, with their farmers' houses stuck at impossible locations along the walls of the mountains. We had ascended over 2,000 meters throughout the day and the last 20km was all distended dirt road and was a difficult end for a long ride.

We arrived in Khodari safe and sound just before sundown. Finding ourselves way, way off the tourist track, few people spoke english and there was little accommodation for tourists. I asked an old man about a place to say, and he chattered at me in a language that seemed language unlike anything I had ever heard. Catching a wiff of his breath, I realized he was stone face drunk. He stumbled up a few flights of stairs and offered for me to stay on his roof for 100 rupees. The temperature rapidly falling in the mountains, we politely declined. We checked in to the best room we could find (maybe the mold covering the walls and ceiling would help insulate) and were asleep in no time.

I awoke in the middle of the night and knew there was a big problem. I ran to the bathroom- a squat toilet reeking of ammonia- and threw up my last few meals. I spent the next 30 hours in bed or squatted over that rank toilet, ejecting everything I tried stuff down my throat from one orifice or another. Justin had overcome a similar bug in Delhi a few weeks earlier and Jen was bragging about her Iron stomach. Being so close to the Karmic pull of Tibet, we think the Buddha heard her, as she became ill as well. Needless to say, we did very little exploring in and around Khodari.

The border of Tibet was literally 300 feet away from our guesthouse, and we wanted to say we had been. The night before we were leaving, we dragged ourselves out of bed and shuffled to the security checkpoint. They let us walk right through the customs line and across this bridge over the river. A huge gate on the other side with Chinese writing, flying the communist Chinese flag probably signaled Tibet. About 2/3rds across the bridge, a Chinese soldier comes running at us waving his arms and pointing. We look around, and realize we had walked a few steps over a large red line painted on the center of the bridge. We quickly jump back to the Nepal side and realize we had just spent 7 seconds in Tibet. Only 7 seconds in Tibet, and we were already harassed by the military.

We awoke the 3rd morning of our journey in higher spirits and health. The road home would be downhill and much faster. We stopped along the way for pictures, and had a quick lunch in one of the towns. The shop owner spoke no English and we just pointed at the various ingredients for dishes we wanted to eat and he cooked them over the small stove right in front of us. We successfully navigated the final leg through downtown Kathmandu and were back in our comfortable hostel by 4pm.

Jen's last day was filled with last second gift shopping, airport ticket confirmation, general preparation for her long journey home alone and frequent trips to the pot expelling the last of the stomach bug that plagued us in northern Nepal. Our stomaches not being able to handle a proper goodbye over a pint of beer and a fancy meal, we dined on sprite and chocolate bars and stayed up late talking about the events of the past month. We are very sad to see her go and traveling won't be the same without her. Have a safe journey home, Jen!

When she gets home and has a chance to examine the past month of traveling, she wants to add a blog on her "final impressions" of the subcontinent. Look forward to that.