The 7 am start was delayed by close to
an hour. I had detailed route instructions from Prashanth Raunial who had come
over last evening to wish us luck on our way. The young man had piloted us to
the flat when we came into the city on the 22nd. He had been to
Kodari, the border post, about two months earlier with the hope that he would
be able to get across to the Chinese city, Zhangmu, with his passport. That was
not to be; his residence permit is what the Chinese wanted. Prior to discussing
with him we had variable estimates of time to reach the border town from
Kathmandu ranging from 7 to 5 hours. Prashanth, with his first hand experience
put it down to 4 hours. I informed Mirus that I would get to the border between
11 am and noon. The Chinese guide was to be available accordingly. As it turned
out we took less than 4 hours despite many stoppages for police verification
and check and bad road on the last 20 kilometer stretch. I also logged the
first fine outside India – 200 NPR for driving at 68 kmph instead of the
permitted 60; there was no indication of the speed limit anywhere on the way.
Within an hour of leaving Kathmandu we stopped for breakfast which consisted of
chow mein with chana. It was incredibly tasty and stayed with us till we
reached Zhangmu. At the border post on the Nepal side there was a huge pile up
of trucks going to China. But the queue moved reasonably fast. While waiting in
the queue I was approached by a couple of young guys who agreed to facilitate
us through the two borders for USD 50. They did a remarkably good job with a
smile. The carnet was filled up and the passport stamped. Man Bahadur Gurung
and his friends helped us through customs and immigration on the Chinese side
too.
We were told clearly that photography
is totally banned once we roll out of the Nepal side gate on to the Friendship
Bridge. We were asked to wait on the Nepal side of the bridge – a red line in
the centre of the bridge demarcates the territory of the two countries.
Yingchu, our Chinese guide deputed by Navo Tours, was busy completing paperwork
on the Chinese side. Once that was done we drove to the Chinese immigration and
Customs. It was my first experience driving on the right side of the road.
Though I was a bit apprehensive I am sure I will gain in confidence with more
mileage under my belt. We had to unload all bags and produce them for scan at
the Immigration and Customs post. That did not take very long as all the
paperwork was in order. Then I was asked to drive the car into the fumigation
cum examination point, where the car was sprayed with water. Then the Customs
guys got into the act. Every piece in the car was examined and cleared. The
only thing they took away were promotional CDs given by the Kerala Tourism
department for distribution along the way. To a query I mentioned that we are
travelling for tourism purposes; pat came another question: if you are, why do
you carry so many CDs? I showed him the God’s Own Country sticker and told him
that we were sponsored by them and the CDs were part of their publicity
material. I thought I had seen the last of the CDs; with the final clearance to
leave the Customs station the CDs were returned! The examination had been
thorough and efficient. Each and every material was gone through – books were
fipped through and gift material opened to satisfy themselves. The toughest
part was to put the luggage back into the car. Moreover, we had to accommodate
the guide and her kit too. Somehow we managed.
When I informed the agent that we
would get to the border by noon I had forgotten to factor in the Chinese local
time, which is +8 GMT; a clear 2 hours and 15 minutes ahead of the Nepal time.
Yingchu had informed me that the Chinese Customs would be closed for lunch between
1 and 2.30 pm. However, by the time we got to the Chinese side it was already 3
pm local time. All the formalities were done by 5 pm. Yingchu took us to Zhang
Mu town where we checked into the comfortable Zhang Mu Hotel. The hotel also
provided the guide with a free room. After checking in we went to a restaurant
next door for lunch cum dinner. The fare consisted of chicken mushroom bamboo
shoot rice, yak momo, chappati, chilli chicken, omlette and jasmine tea. The
food was quite tasty. During the meal we told Yingchu that we would like to
taste local cuisine wherever we went in China. She promised us a Hot Pot meal
in Lhasa as her gift. We took a short tour of the town after the meal. The food
items on display in the stores took my breath away. Price of items is mentioned
in Yuan while the currency is referred to as Reminbi (RMB).
When we got back to the Hotel, Yingchu
presented us with a set of chopsticks, which she promised to teach us how to
use, brochures of the Company and Postcards. Before retiring for the night we
decided to meet for breakfast at 7 am and hit the road a half hour later.
Yingchu also got paperwork done for visiting Mt. Everest Base Camp.
As I was driving from Kathmandu I went
through my observations and impressions of Nepal. While the country sides are
quaint and beautiful Kathmandu, the capital city is a dust bowl. Most people
masked their faces in some manner to avoid bronchial and ocular problems. The
city roads are being widened and buildings renovated. The people are, by and and
large simple folks, as exemplified by Chatur, who drove us to Thamel and Sunil
Chhetri who guided us to the Indian Embassy. Both confessed that making ends
meet was a Herculean task in view of the fewer jobs on offer. The proliferation
of taxis cut into their earnings. Sunil felt that it did not matter who is in
power; all of them were busy making fun and enjoying life – the betterment of
society and its people were farthest from their interest. Sunil was on the
verge of leaving for Qatar to ‘bring home some food’, as he put it.
Hopelessness among the young does not augur well for the country. Bhaktapur has
been declared as ‘Open Defecation Free’ District. Mobile toilets and public use
latrines can be seen everywhere. In Pokhara I read a new item that crimes
against women were on the rise due to non-availability of private toilets;
women are attacked when they go out at night to relieve themselves in the open.
Nepal has started in right earnest to address this issue. Power supply is the
single most important reason why industries have not flourished in Nepal
despite the availability of employable manpower and a low wage regime. The
shortage leads to absence of power supply for almost half the day. It is
understood that hydel project shave been planned; they are way too behind in
developing power projects. In the meanwhile a generation of young hopefuls
turns hopeless.
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