First day in Nepal

Nepal and China are separated by the Bhote Kosi river. To reach the other side, immigrants must pass the 15 meter Friendship bridge, which must be the longest 50ft in the world. Nepal and China are so different, it is shocking they even share a border. Chinese customs involved x-rays and passport scans and more men armed with AK-47's. Nepal had a man in a Nike hat, the fat, Nepali, Tiger Woods, handing us out our visa forms. The people in Nepal smiled and laughed. People waiting in queues and everyone spoke English. For a less civilized looking group, they definitely acted more civilized than the Chinese.

We hired a jeep after immigration for the four hour drive to Kathmandu; it took eight hours. The road was in terrible shape; some sections were still washed out fro mthe prior four month's wet monsoon. Large chunks of highway were squeezed to one lane, resulting in 45 minute stoppages. A flat tire in the wrong place could close traffic for a long time.

On the way, we continued along the Bhote Kosi, watched a man take a plunge into the canyon below in the world's second largest bungy jump. The countryside was incredible. Rice fields, rain forests, and mountains surrounded us on all sides. Motorbikes seemed the most popular way of transport. Men zoomed passed the constant traffic jams with their wives riding sidesaddle behind. A bus in front of us pulled over, then a man emptied two live goats from the luggage compartment.

The colors were more vivid, loudly painted semis from India lined the road, each with little sayings on the bumper like "Drive slow, Live Long", "Please Honk", and "stop the hate." 50 ft tall statues of Shiva overlooked the valley. The music was bubbly and frantic, for sure not like the slow and boring love ballads of China. everything was just more intense sensorily in all ways.

Kathmandu was even more crazy than the drive, particularly in Thamel where I was staying for the night. Thamel is a six by four block area dedicated to tourism. It was the everclear of tourist areas. Hotels were atop of bars, which were on top of stores. No inch was spared to suck a foreigner's rupee. The streets were narrow, yet everyone, cars, pedestrians, motorbikes, buses, men selling food from off of their heads, and random cows all found a way to share. Merely standing around required vigilance. Strangely, I loved it. there was so much energy, I couldn't help but absorb it.

We calmed down with a relaxing and delicious meal. Jackie was leaving for India that night, so Wen treated us to a great Nepali meal. We had chicken curry, some grilled chicken dripping in lemon juice with large pieces of garlic and cilantro. for the vitamins, we had paneer and pea curry which was merely ok, but the bubbly naan made up for this.

Jackie took off, so Wen and I wandered the streets to see the city at night. Every corner bar had a live band playing covers of Jimi Hendrix or the Kings of Leon. Seemed like a hip town. In a few short hours, i had already spent $50, a true show of the magic abilities of Thamel. Even though I enjoyed it and will return, I was happy to leave.