Memories on My shoestring : Tibet & Nepal : Part 8

On Sept 8, I woke up at 5.30am because it was so cold. The fire died in the night. I could hear some voices outside the tent. I threw away my covers, and put on my trekking shoes. My clothes still stay the same. No one changes their clothes in a cold place. The tent owner told us she bathes once in 6 months when it's the cold season! I walked out from the tent with my headlamp, and saw SNOW! I am looking and feeling snow for the first time in my life! I was so happy I danced around. I shined my headlamp up to the sky and saw little snowballs falling. Brushed my teeth with very cold water. And waited for light to set in. Crossing our fingers hoping to see Mount Everest.

We couldn't see the sunrise because of the thick clouds. But I didn't care. I am looking at Mount Everest right in front of me. The highest mountain in the world. The magnificent creation of God. I wondered if I will attempt to do Mount Everest. I never thought I will hike and trek because I am such a passive student in school. And here I am, hiking and trekking to places that I never possibly imagined.

For breakfast, the tent owner prepared for us pancakes. We didn't ask for it, but they prepared it anyway. We thought it was part of the price but it turned out otherwise when the tent owner told us the price. The tour guide did mention to us that breakfast is not provided, so it was quite surprising to see the pancakes.

There is a bus that sends the campers to the real Everest Base Camp, where the military base camp is located. One can actually opt to walk there. We thought of taking the bus there, and then walking back down. But we decided otherwise when we saw the dusty rocky roads. We paid for the bus tickets for the to-and-fro ride. The buses start their ride at 8am. And there are 2 buses.

And here we are, at Everest Base Camp. Notice the tents below? Those are the camps of the military officers. It was a tough climb up this short slope. On an normal altitude, it would have been a piece of cake. But it was so tiring at 5200metre above sea level. From the top of the slope, one can get a good view of Mount Everest. And also there were trinkets being sold at the top of the slope.

And the highlight of the trip ended in about 2 hours. Snapped photos to our hearts' contents.

Then, it was a ride to Zhangmu, the border of Tibet-Nepal. Stopped for a late lunch, where I had my first momo yak meat. Momo is dumpling in Tibetan language.

We know we are almost at the border of Tibet-Nepal when we saw this sign. - Enjoy the sights of Nepal at Nyalam Port.

We reached our final accommodation in Tibet - Sherpa Hotel. Where we thought we were going to get our attached bathroom as per the signed contract for 6 nights of attached bathroom. But it didn't happen, and my friend called the China agent, and we got refunded the difference for not having an attached bathroom room!

On 9 September, we were ready to move to Nepal. This is the view of Zhangmu. I could smell the toilet from here. Well, the toilet is just 10 steps away.

The banner is by the Government. I can't read Chinese. So, I relied on my friend's interpretation. And the conclusion was to support the Government.

We had 2 Spanish girls in our trip. Her name is Irene (pronounced as Yi-Ri-Na). She has a white board where she ask someone what makes them happy, and they are suppose to write the answer. She is an astronomer in Canary Islands.

This is our awesome driver! He is an amazing driver. Able to drive through massive jams. Look at the below photos. He managed to squeeze through, of course, after the cars made way. On our journey to Tibet-Nepal border, we got stuck in a jam. These are all Nepal trucks. They are so colourful! I was so happy looking at the colours!

Since this is the only route to Tibet-Nepal border, it was congested with trucks from Nepal going to Tibet to export and import goods.

We could not proceed further. Stopped at about 500metres before the border. We were surrounded by willing locals to be our porters. But we didn't want to pay. So, we walked to the border with our luggages.

That is the 65m Friendship Bridge that connects Tibet and Nepal. Nepal is on the left, and Tibet is on the right. In the middle of the bridge is a red line where you cross it, and you are in Nepal. And the time difference change to 2hr 15 minutes earlier. How funny. And you can see the change of military officers. Before the red line, officers were dressed in green. Cross the red line, and the officers are dressed in blue. No photos allowed on the Friendship Bridge. The Tibet side of the bridge is called Zhangmu Bridge. The Nepal side of the bridge is called Kodari Bridge. And the river belongs to neither countries.