Nov. 4, 2014. Kathmandu to Lhasa. Day 1.

A recreation, since my digital daily notes were lost.   At least I have maps and daily diary notes to recreate the daily blog entry.  This blog will be updated over the next two weeks with pics and text.

Met Biju at 7 AM, then had tea across the street from the Pashmina Store and iTrekNepal's office.  After tea, I rode on the back of Biju's motorcycle down through Bhaktapour, wearing my Tibet bound 15 kilo backpack and holding my daysack, down to the main road from downtown Kathmandu - to meet the bus with the Tibet Trip travelers.

Waited 45 minutes with Biju, then boarded the bus with the 9 other Kathmandu to Lhasa travelers.

About 2 hrs out, while still in Nepal,  we encountered a giant landslide.

It was a massive landslide that occured earlier this year and killed 150 people. 

The bus slowly traversed along the road that had recently been cut through the landslide by bulldozers.   Tires spun on the bus as we went upward through the loose rock, dust and boulders of the landslide.  At times, the clutch on the bus smoked and smelled, but we continued to slowly, methodically, plow uphill over pure rockgravel and deep dust.  At times in over 6" of fine, dry dust.  

I looked out my window - almost straight down 900 feet - directly below my bus window.  The road was not paved, there were no guardrails.  It was the most basic road imaginable through a landslide over 3/4 mile wide that allowed millions of tons of earth to move thousands of yards downhill.  It was straight down 2 feet from where tne bus tires were.  My seat was about 8 feet ahead of the rear tires.

It scared the shit out of everyone, except the driver and the guide.  

I thoiught we should get out and push.  Others had the same thougts.  My notes say "Would roll 100's of times over 700 feet almost straight down through rock. Big, big rocks."

We made it through, but it scared the shit out of me.  

We got to the Chinese border,  had lunch and had to carry our bags 500 meters uphill.  We then crossed the Chinese border on foot and changed busses, drivers and guides.  We left the Nepali guide behind and met our new Tibetan guide who I will call Mr. Mao. As in Tse Tung. He did not want his name used.

There is nothing quite like crossing an international border on foot.  Airport country entry has no comparison to overland border crossing. 

Explicity, " Do not take photos of police".  So I did.

In Nepal, making a few notes over lunch and beer before walking across the border to Tibet and China.

Upon entry to Tibet, I immediately noticed a dramatic improvement in the roads.  Concrete, smooth pavement, guard rails,  60+ kph on straight stretches of the road, but most of the first afternoon in Tibet was uphill and slow.

Mt Everest in distance.