Marilyn's Odyssey: Xegar to Kathmandu

Today October 23rd we left Xegar to head towards our last stop in Tibet which is Kyirong. Today was mostly travelling but we did go up a very long switch back to cross the Gongtang La pass at 17,400 feet and gave us spectacular views. We got our last looks at Everest as well as many lush farms and spectacular peaks and the beautiful blue waters of Peigutso Lake. From the top of the pass we started down a rather steep and sometimes scary descent to the town of Kyirong which in Tibetan means Valley of Happiness and sitting at 9185 feet and surrounded by high snow covered peaks this city has quite the picturesque setting. Like other Tibetan cities there is a lot of construction going on as the Chinese try and move more of the Chinese population into the area though lots of the buildings are sitting empty.

After our night in Kyirong it was time to say goodbye to Tibet and enter Nepal. Little did we know what the day held in store. We drove to the border where we all had to get out once before at a checkpoint to clear our passports. Once we reached the border we had to walk through with our luggage which was put through security and we went through border control. Once cleared of Chinese customs we then had to walk along a dirt road that was literally jammed with Nepalese trucks trying to clear customs,towards the Nepal customs. Once we got to the Nepal customs our guide took all our passports in to clear customs which took over an hour and a half. Meanwhile we were settling in the vehicles which would take us to Kathmandu. We had been told the road was rough and dusty in spots but that was a major under statement. The vehicles were 4x4s but were in less than optimal shape. Many lacked seatbelts,etc. Finally we got going only to be stopped at another check point soon after where we had to get out and open all our suitcases for the police. We are so lucky to live where we do. The dirt road we drove on for over eight hours was the worst I have ever been on. It was steep up and down the mountains with big drop offs and parts of it were washed away. Pot holes does not even begin to describe the bumps.The plus was that the scenery during daylight was beautiful and was a welcome distraction from the ride itself. As we were at a lower elevation the mountains were lush with greenery and we passed through many interesting villages. The ride got a lot scarier after dark as the road seemed to get even worse and our driver seemed to speed up plus he started to take calls while careening up the mountain. Not acceptable and we finally told him so as we really wanted to make it in one piece. Seeing the lights of Kathmandu was quite the relief but of course our driver decided to take a detour and go get gas instead of taking us to the hotel first. Not cool after eleven hours on the road. Never so glad to exit a vehicle in my life.