Bridging the Gap
Crossing the Friendship Bridge between Tibet and Nepal was a journey unto itself. For nearly two weeks Kevin, Matt and I had toured Tibet with our guide Phuntsok. We had a strict itinerary, a driver and our ultimate destination (Everest) always in sight. After reaching Base Camp and saying our prayers at the foot of the world’s highest peak, we began our journey back down the mountain.
Zhangmu Sunset
We spent most of the day driving to the border town of Zhangmu and spent a brief night there before waking up to wait in line to cross over to Nepal. Phuntsok dropped us off at the Chinese immigration station and we were on our own. The three of us left Tibet at 10:30 in the morning to walk cross a pedestrian bridge and arrive in Nepal at 7:15 in the morning. (Gotta love those time zone shifts!)
Upon arriving in Nepal, we were mobbed by taxi drivers offering to drive us to Kathmandu and by ladies selling trinkets. We struggled to find the Nepalese immigration office before being swept away in the crowd. Long story short, we got our entry visas, found a driver and set off for Nagarkot with our hopes set on seeing the brilliant view of the Himalayas from Nepal’s most famous viewing point.
On the road
Nagarkot was a cute mountain town with many fabulous viewing points of the Kathmandu valley, rice paddies and of course, through brief glimpses between the clouds, the amazing peaks of the “Snow Mountains.”
Rice Paddies
After settling into the hotel, we went out to explore the area. It was a quick walk downhill through small alleys of hotels and shops to reach the main area of town. I saw lots of little stalls selling handmade knit goods and briefly fancied a life here selling woolen hats, scarves and socks.
A stupa
Those folks on top of the bus have the best view!
The next morning was foggy and the whole valley was blanketed in a thick white haze.
Not quite the view we'd hoped for...
Eventually the fog eased and we caught passing glimpses of the mighty giants.
The peaks loomed high above the horizon even from this distance
This is why I bought such an expensive new camera for this trip
After our morning view, our time in Nagarkot was coming to a close. We trekked back down the hillside to catch a bus to our next destination, Bhaktapur.
Good-Bye rice paddies
See more photos of Nepal here.
Visit more posts from my Asian Winter Odyssey here.
