From southern Tibet to Northern India

From where I last left off we were just approaching Kathmandu after spending over two months crossing the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of North West China, Aksai Chin and of course Tibet.

As I mentioned before, the descent from Tibet down across the China/Nepal border was one of the most awe-inspiring day’s cycling I have been lucky enough to experience. Never had I imagined that in one days cycling, so many changes in regards to natural scenery, climate and people could be seen. From the high altitude dry and parched brown grasslands of Zhigatse province in Tibet to the lush cloud forest of northern Nepal. After many months of wide open spaces it was quite a feeling to be among the trees and diversity of the forest, but somewhat overwhelming. Clear streams tumbled down from high cloud covered peaks dissecting the lush carpet of greenery. Wherever we looked we saw these beautiful waterfalls emptying into the River Indravati which later becomes the famous Sun Kosi. To think we woke to ice covered tents and struggled to get the stove going to brew some hot morning coffee. Now we cycled in T-shirts and shorts amidst smiling and waving Nepalis, with the possibility of stopping at any number of small tea houses to drink tea or coffee and eat some proper food that wasn’t Tsampa or instant noodles of some description.

Johannes and Nils’ visas are running out today so we had no choice but to get through the Nepal/Chinese border. We had been a little worried in the previous days as time was running a little low to cover the remaining km’s. Jo and Nils had pushed ahead while Hayato and I carried on at a slightly slower pace. The day before the border we caught the others and cycled down to the border together reaching there around lunch time. I can safely say this border was the busiest I have had the pleasure to cross. Situated on a series of mountain side switchbacks, the road is narrow and steep and extremely congested. For kilometres the road is lined with shops, small hotels and long queues of trucks that ferry goods away from the border.

People were swarming everywhere, many Chinese, Tibetans and Nepalese. The Nepalese seemed to be in China to load up with cheap goods to sell back in Kathmandu. Just before the border we saw a huge Chinese ‘supermarket’ stuck on the side of the mountainside, complete with huge gold lettering on the front. People flocked to the doors to buy anything they needed from fans to fridges. To and through the border porters carried all goods as it seemed very few vehicles ever passed through from one side of the border to the other. Everything is off loaded on one side and then lugged the 3 km or so through no mans land to the other side. We saw some amazing feats of strength and as you can guess usually from Nepali Sherpas. We passed through the Chinese border fast although they didn’t seem too happy with us dropping mud on their shiny marble floor!

We were literally covered in crap by the time we reached the border. The road for the last 30km was being repaired and made ready for asphalt. It was difficult to make more than 10kph due to deep mud, rocks, ruts and river crossings. Luckily there was no need to cover the distance too quickly so we enjoyed the hard terrain and the stunning views. Our bikes took a beating and later I found my front axle had snapped. With just the skewer holding my wheel I managed to limp to Kathmandu. For the length of the repairs, Chinese and Tibetans live in linear campsites between the road and the cliff. We passed workers spraying cliffs with concrete, guys hanging from cliffs with huge jackhammers and gangs bodging scaffolding together to make a mould for a new tunnel. It will certainly be lovely road when its finished but who knows how many lives it will cost.

We were welcomed at the Nepalese border post and each given a two month visa. We went in a small tea shop opposite and tried to order some food but were just giggled at by three Nepalese girls. After 20 minutes I managed to extract some milk tea and two fried eggs from them! What a dismal result after our visions of a huge meal. The tea was bloody good though, the first milk tea of the trip (excluding yak butter tea!). we all decided on a move so went down the road and found a new eating house where we stuffed ourselves with momos and fried rice.


Outside the restaurant we met a Nepalese guy (whos name I forget) who suggested we cycle another 7 km from the border to the village of Tatopani (meaning hot water in nepalese), where there was hot springs and comfortable guesthouses. We were there as quickly as possible and were soon scrubbing nearly a months worth of dirt and sweat from our bodies. After a lovely dinner of curry washed down with some cold beers we slept long and soundly before rising and making our way through the lush green landscape to Kathmandu.


We flew down the winding mountain roads stopping every five minutes to gawk at another amazing view. Rice paddies clinging to the mountain sides, and people could be spotted working far above villages in small fields, getting ready to bring in the seasons crops as harvest time was fast approaching. The hills were alive with Nepalis, collecting fodder for cattle and donkeys, threshing rice and tending the rich variety of crops found in this fertile region. Hard work compared to their lowland countrymen who have flatland and even more fertile soil down on the Terai.

For the days to Katmandu, neither Nils, Jo, Hayato or I could stop smiling and babbling away about the joys of being in Nepal. What a change it made to the Tibet…. Tibet was a challenge and we thoroughly enjoyed it but we couldn’t argue that it was nice to be warm for a change and cycle on a road without corrugations. There was also the added bonus of having a little more oxygen to suck up! The nights before reaching Kathmandu we slept on white sand beaches under huge trees next to the beautiful Sun Kosi river.

I fished a little hoping to maybe hook my first Nepalese mahseer but it wasn’t to be. We did however see the locals having more success with an ingenious method. Along the length of a thick piece of line measuring maybe three metres, hundreds of small loops of line are fixed on either side. These loops of thinner line with diameters of perhaps 2 inches, touch the next loop leaving no gaps in the length of the trap. Before dusk the fisherman creeps down to his favourite spots, ties a large rock to the end of each line and slings them into the slacks for collection early in the morning. I assumed the lines would be tied to the bank in some way but there are no attachments, just the rock to act as an anchor. I had my doubts whether the guy would catch anything so I was up at first light waiting to see how he would get his lines back and whether he would have fish. As the mists gently rolled downstream the fisherman appeared carrying a long bamboo pole which he expertly dipped at each spot quickly hooking his lines. And sure enough he had some fish, little gleaming catfish, wriggling intently to escape their nooses, but to no avail. Not many but enough for a meal of fish curry and rice for lunch!
The cycling down to Kathmandu from the border was perfect. High on the thick air we enjoyed standing up into the hills and speeding to the top, hardly breaking into a sweat. Butterflies flitted through the trees visiting lantana bushes while golden cockerels fled the road squawking loudly and angrily. All the way there were smiling children shouting their repertoire of English questions “what is your name” “how are you” and “which country” one kid shouted for us to watch his “monkey dance” as he jumped about in the road. Bicycles were scarce but rounding one corner a young cyclist saw us coming and broke into a race, his friends cheered him on and I must admit he was leading the way before we heard a hiss of air. The race was over as suddenly as it started but after helping him pump his tyre, we carried on, but very quickly the young racer’s tyre went flat again and this time there was nothing we could do.

As we neared Kathmandu the excitement grew and we began to cycle faster and faster! Looking back now I’m not quite sure what we were so excited about but at the time big city lights and pizza seemed quite inviting! During the last day before reaching Kathmandu we had a long climb of around 30km before we could descend into the city. It was novel to be sweating heavily after being layered up against the cold for so long. Climbing higher and higher, the patch-work quilt of fields and valleys gradually spread out beneath us. Coloured by dozens of different greens, hundreds of small irregularly shaped fields holding many different crops spread into the distance, occasionally cut by a rapidly flowing river carrying its cold water in the direction of the Bay of Bengal. Every ten kilometres or so a small roadside shop presented itself and a break would be made to down a cold coke. While sitting and resting most of the local kids would come over to investigate the strange foreigners and question us about our marital status. Shy at first they would whoop with joy when they discovered we could speak a few words of Nepali!

When we finally reached the top of the hill we stopped for lunch at what was apparently the best restaurant in town. The vegetable fried rice turned out to be ok but when Nils chicken curry arrived we all wondered what the thimble sized dish could hold. Nils argued with the owner who declared that chickens are extremely expensive in Nepal. We left our money and went back outside for a chai and cigarette but it wasn’t long before the restaurant owner was hanging out of his window shouting that Nils hadn’t paid. After a heated argument we climbed back on our bikes and left the irate owner to ponder the size of his chicken curries!

With just thirty or so kilometres to Kathmandu we cycled full speed dodging vehicles, people and animals on the increasingly busy roads. It was a shock to suddenly be in such a frenetic place but at the same time we enjoyed the cycling as full concentration was needed to avoid becoming road kill! Belching buses, rickshaws, motorbikes, cyclists, people, dogs and donkeys filled the road and kept us busy. The closer we came to the city the worse the traffic became until we swerved traffic jams and jumped red lights. With no map to help us find the tourist scrum known as Thamel we shouted through taxi windows as we passed looking for a nod to see if we were still heading in the right direction. Nils and I arrived first having lost Jo and Hayato sometime back. Hayato was still struggling with one gear so was having to push up some of the hills but still kept good speed and soon arrived, just after Jo.

And soon after arriving in Thamel the shock set in. Hundreds of thousands of useless shops selling crap, line the streets. There are hundreds more people trying to sell even more useless crap to tourists. The streets are so narrow and busy that acute claustrophobia quickly sets in and the innocent visitor who came here merely to get an Indian visa just wants to escape to the tranquillity of Varanasi. Sir!, eucalyptus oil, postcards, charas, massage, hotel, taxi, money change, trek, giant pencil, dead rat? Hmm I’ll pass I think! Hayato and I decided to hightail it to India as quickly as possible and leave the rest of Nepal for a future trip. The plan was to visit Varanasi for a few days before taking a train to Mumbai and then cycling down the coast to Goa for Christmas.

After three trips to the Indian embassy we were issued six month visas, so said farewell to Jo and Nils and took a bus to Varanasi. Jo and Nils planned to spend the next month in Nepal before coming down to meet us for Christmas in Goa. In Kathmandu we met Brian for the second time, the first being back up on a pass in Tibet. Brian was on a bicycle tour from Lhasa to Kathmandu and now planned to go backpacking for a while. He quickly decided to join us so bought a second-hand bike and jumped on the bus with us. Hayato also bought a new bike as his $200 Giant from kashgar wasn’t really looking too good after his sortie in Tibet! Definitely ready for the scrap heap!