10 January 2009, Kathmandu, Nepal

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

A lot has happened since our last blog but the most important thing to report is that after a very painful and frustrating five days in Kathmandu spent mostly in travel agencies and in internet cafes (rather than exploring this staggering city) we FINALLY managed to arrange a private overland trip through Tibet to Lhasa, from where we will take the famous Sky Train across China to Hong Kong. Once there, we apply for a new Chinese Visa (very complicated, but basically, the visas you can get in Kathmandu are very time limited - usually max 21 days - which is not enough to travel through Tibet, then cycle any great distance into China) valid for a further 30 days, then take a train West once more to Yunnan Province where we get back on the bikes to cycle down the Mekong Delta all the way through Laos and Cambodia to Vietnam.

What was impossible to achieve when we left the UK due to restrictions on Tibet, has now become possible - we will travel the whole way across Asia by land (even though the section from the Nepal/Tibet border to Hong Kong will not be by bicycle). For us, this is a dream come true and we are childishly over-excited about it! It's costing a jar full of 2 pence pieces, but worth it. The political situation in both Nepal and Tibet, let alone China, is a fragile thing - so while all these places are accessible, we are making the most of it! We leave on Tuesday 13th January (Happy Birthday Fi!) and are not sure if our next communication will be from Lhasa (6-8 days later) or Hong Kong - (4 days later still), but be ready for what we hope will be some fascinating tales and fab photos of Tibet.

So - apart from this enormous hurdle - what have we been up to?
We left Pokhara on Boxing Day and cycled the main arterial road between Pokhara and Kathmandu - a road that has a fearsome reputation for bus crashes, but was nothing to hardened cyclists coming from India! At the end of the first day we cut South up an incredibly steep 8km climb to the beautiful village of Bandipur that sits on a saddle, high above the valley. As promised by the guide book, it is a beautiful Newari (tribal Nepali) town with a single paved road (no vehicles allowed) lined with lovely old houses and shops, many of which have been restored. The townsfolk have been very clever about their approach to tourism - there are many little, charming guesthouses to stay in, and a few eateries, but no touting, no gift shops, no hassle. It remains utterly unspoilt and though there may be the feel of a 'living museum', it isn't artificial - the people are genuine and going about their daily business. Tourists are few and come here for both the lovely architecture and the stunning views of the Annapurna Range when weather is clear. I could have stayed here for a very long time with a good book or 5! It was simply lovely.

Nevertheless, after taking a rest day here to relax and gawp at the views, we headed off once more in the direction of Kathmandu. That night we found ourselves in a little town, just like any other town, and at separate times BOTH had that confusing experience of suddenly wondering where the hell we were! India? Pakistan?.........home?.......oh yes! Nepal! SO strange that it happened to both of us on the same night - it must have been because the power was out (a constant problem throughout Asia) so very dark, food was cooking on a gas stove, it was indistinguishable from so many places we have been on this journey.

One more day took us up a cripplingly steep climb and over the top into the Kathmandu valley. Here we hooked up with several faces we met before - Andy the British biker who we first met in Pakistan, then again in Orchha, India (see photos) and by prior arrangement, here in Kathmandu in time for New Year; Jeremy - another Brit we met only a couple of days prior in Bandipur; 2 Dutch girls we met between Pokhara and Kathmandu also on bikes and astonishingly, Alvaro - the Spanish clown we met in Kashgar, and followed only 2 hours behind him for about 3 days in the Karakorum - never catching him up! So New Year was a fun evening, although Andrew and I didn't technically see it in - foreign towns at night, particularly when filled with revellers, can be dangerous places to be - so we skulked home to the safety of our beds after dinner. The next day we also finally met an infamous cyclist we first heard about in Osh (and repeatedly since) - Etsuke - a Japanese guy who has been on the road for 10 years, cycled through 121 countries and over 141,000 kilometres.....we are not worthy!

It took 5 stressful days to work out how to make Tibet/China happen - but as soon as we paid the agent our deposit and had handed in our visa applications to the Chinese Embassy we set off on the bikes once more to see more of Nepal while the admin process took place. We continued our cycle to the border with Tibet in order to travel as far East as we possibly can by bicycle- a gruelling climb at times on rough road subject to landslides - as Andrew said "it's quite tough cycling in the Himalaya" - "yep", said I - "hilly"! Once at the border we were cheerfully encouraged by the border guards right onto the bridge that crosses the gorge that divides Nepal and China. Here we touched our toes against the red line painted halfway across the bridge and smiled sweetly at the 2 Chinese guards there before asking if we could take a photo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we were refused (not sweet enough!) but we took a couple of minutes to absorb the fact that we have cycled this far! Then we turned around and whizzed back down the 19km that had taken us 4 hours to cycle up that morning!!

We headed all the way BACK to Kathmandu where we have 3 days in which to buy extra socks (Tibet will be even colder than Nepal), send a backlog of emails and load blog and photos, buy food supplies (we're not sure what to expect in Tibet) and collect our visas (we hope!). On Tuesday we set off for Tibet by jeep - back all the way to the border, then into Tibet where we will be met and escorted by private jeep driver and guide. This may sound (and is) rather luxurious - but it is the only way you can travel in Tibet - with official guide. Our accommodation will be basic as usual though. We cannae wait!!!

On our way back to Kathmandu we stopped off for a day off (2 nights) in the town of Bhaktepur - a World Heritage site filled with more Newali houses and masses of temples. See the photos for some images of this. Bhaktepur is memorable for not only the amazing architecture, but also for the bell ringing at the little temple in the courtyard where our guesthouse was located, which is visited by hoards of worshippers every morning from about 4.30am - various bells are enthusiastically rung by each and every one of them as they offer their prayers - to make sure their god is listening....with all that bell ringing, he's find it hard not to!

Politically, Nepal is at a critical junction in its recent history. After many years of Maoist rebels fighting a guerilla war in the mountains, they have now been voted into government and have inherited much of the destruction their actions over the past few years have created. The prime minister himself said only last week that fighting in the mountains was easier than trying to run a government. Yeah? Surprised?? The situation now for the Nepalese is one of thankfully less violence, but a chronic situation for their economy caused by massive power shortage. There are complicated stories about hydro-electric power plants being either out of action or not producing to capacity - the net result is something they call 'load-shedding'. This involves a rotation of power cuts throughout the country. Until tomorrow the power runs for 6 hours on, 6 hours off. The schedule in any one area is different every day, so it's difficult to know if and when the power will be on. This is understandably proving devastating for industry and businesses - many of which have had to lay off staff or close up shop altogether.

It's not just lighting and power though that is effected - much of the water supplies to towns are provided by pumped systems - no power, no pump.....no water! That means no toilet flushing, no clothes washing - nothing. From tomorrow, indefinitely, the power will be provided for just 4 hours on, 8 off! The internet cafe where I am sitting now will close their doors from tomorrow - there's no longer any point in staying open. 3 of their 6 computers have been wrecked by the power surges as power comes on and off. The situation for the Nepalese people is desperate and frustrating - but they remain cheerful, well tempered and a pleasure to be with. So, as I have suggested to a friend in an email earlier today - please do something for me, right now............walk into your bathroom or kitchen and turn on the hot tap - put your fingers under the hot running water and say a little prayer of thanks for the simple things we take so easily for granted.

The situation in Nepal is the worst we have seen yet - but power cuts have been a constant daily issue throughout our journey in every single country apart from China. In Kyrgyzstan the lack of water has reduced the productivity of their hydroelectric plants causing power shortages and scheduled cuts. In Pakistan, the country is all but bankrupt, causing power cuts there of one hour on, one hour off as we experienced in Lahore (presumably the situation is worsening as winter sets in). In India - who knows - massive overpopulation straining the power provision to breaking point? I'm not sure, but power cuts were daily, though not necessarily scheduled. And now here. Water shortages being tied in directly to the power problem. It's a desperate situation and is constantly undermining the economies of these countries.

So - on that rather gloomy note, I feel we need something a little more upbeat to end on. So I'm going to load a couple of diary entries as usual for your bedtime reading. Happy Reading!


Tracy and Andy