It was foggy and raining when I got up this morning...so no biking over to Nepal. We decided to drive to the border since the road was wet and the last 8km didn't look as nice as the previous day's ride. The border area is crazy and busy with traders of all sorts. People were just about selling everything from rice to electronics from China into Nepal or vice versa. Going through Chinese immigration was fairly painless, except they kept going to the back room with my passport. I guess having "Kim" as a last name and U.S. Passport seemed odd to them. Most Tibetans seemed baffled when I told them I'm from the U.S. Just outside of the Chinese immigration building our Nepali guide was waiting for us to cross the bridge and into to Nepal. Immediately the surrounding and the mood changed, it felt so much more relaxed and people seemed more friendly. After getting a Nepali Visa, we're now free to travel throughout Nepal without a guide. Oh oh, there's a snag - we're told there are several landslides between the border and The Last Resort (and Kathmandu too) with a 3-4 hour delay, and we'll need to bike about 2-3 km from the landslide to The Resort. Thank god I still have my bike! When we got to the first landslide, there's a traffic jam full of trucks and jeeps waiting for the landslide to be cleared away. Biking over pile of rocks was a blast while cars and trucks were stuck waiting for the bulldozers to clear the road! At last, I see The Last Resort sign and their famous bridge (I'll be bungy jumping off this bridge tomorrow)! As I ride over the bridge (that was fun too!) and see the resort, I start to feel completely relaxed and quickly forget that I just cycled 800 km, climbed five passes over 5000 meters in elevation and reached/biked up to Everest Base Camp in 2 1/2 weeks.
Mat doesn't know if he'll get to Kathmandu this afternoon since he has to wait for the driver to get to the resort, and also hope the road from the resort to Kathmandu is also clear...he's told "maybe 4 hours?" He makes the best of the situation and decides to stay for lunch and possibly overnight.
Classic monsoon season in Nepal, it rains on and off throughout the afternoon (and into the evening). I actually don't mind it after a semi-arid weather condition in Tibet, it's nice to see lush green plants and trees and hear various birds and insects. The only downside is I can't do a much needed laundry since the air is so damp.
Right on time, the driver shows up after lunch (approximately 4 hours after he dropped us off) and informs Mat the road is clear to travel. I say my good-bye to my cycle buddy of 3 weeks, who helped me climb steep passes, encouraged me to continue riding on the damn dirt the road, and pulled me on windy days. I'm glad I'll get to reunite with Mat in NYC in early September (assuming I'm back by then).
Now as Mat is loading his bike into the car, the driver is very interested in his bike and looks like he might want to buy Mat's bike. We mention that my bike is up for sale and I'm looking sell it at a good price. He asked what I'm asking, I quickly say 7000 rupees (that's only US$100) - he hesitates but is still very interested and ask if he can call me if he can get the money. Next thing I know, his friend who works at the resort is walking back to the resort to check out the bike. Now another guy (the driver's friend's friend) offers me 5000 rupees and tells me that he's buying it on behalf of his friend (at this point I really don't know who's buying it) and he only has 5000 rupees. I hold firm at 7000 rupees...he comes back in few minutes and offer 5500 rupees. I say "let's meet in the middle and make it 6000 rupees"...he says he only has 5500 rupees. We finally come to terms at 5500 rupees and 2 bottles of beer! I got to sell my bike, maybe at a slight loss, but at least I don't have to worry about trying to sell it in Kathmandu.
The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling and drinking the "free" beers with new friends (Giles and Trisha) I met here at the resort. Giles is a high school teacher escorting 4 students on a school trip to Nepal from Singapore. Trisha had just finished volunteering at a hospital in Pokara for a month and came to The Last Resort to relax and bungy jump before heading back to UK. After 3 weeks of high altitude and cycling, this was the perfect way to relax and rejuvenate my body!
For the next four nights, my "home" will be tent #7. By NYC standards, my tent is almost the size of a large bedroom - it has a double and a single bed. I'm using the double as my bed and the single as my afternoon chaise lounge...living the life of luxury!
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