Nepal At Last!

Today was the last day of our long overland driving trip.  We started our day with an hour long drive over another 5,200 meter pass where we hoped to have amazing views.  Sadly, it was foggy and misty so we had no visibility.  Outside and inside of the non-heated bus, it was crazily cold, so Melissa and I got inside our sleeping bags and were warm as worms.  We journeyed down the far side of the pass, and the weather started to clear up.  The landscape remained completely barren until suddenly everything changed.

We turned onto a road that lead us in to the depths of a gorge.  We were leaving the Tibetan plateau, dropping 2000 meters in elevation.  The road had many switchbacks and gave us a great view of a torrential river at the bottom of the gorge.  From a kayaker’s point of view, the river was continuous class 4-6 water and most sections were unrunable.  There was amazing vegetation, with a jungle like appearance. We soon entered the small Chinese border town on the hill.  All the buildings were literally built into the hill.  The people wore mostly Nepalese attire, which looks like a combination of Indian and Tibetan clothing.  We arrived at Chinese customs and had to go through an annoying departure process that was not as bad as we all had expected.  Also, getting our Nepalese visa was quicker than excepted, and we were all soon official Nepalese tourists. 

My parents, Melissa, Blair and Elise, and I were picked up by a bus going to the Last Resort, where we will be staying for the next two nights.  Nepal is amazing and exotic.  From the window of the bus, we saw chickens and goats running around the streets, and people wearing traditional Nepalese attire. The chaotic streets are covered with garbage, the air is humid, and the buildings are run down.   We arrived the Last Resort, but this is no ordinary hotel. On this large piece of land, there are tents for sleeping, a dining room, a plunge pool and a sauna.  There are also opportunities to bungie jump, canyon swing, take a high rope course, repel off cliffs, and explore canyons. 

I am excited to be away from the controlling Chinese government, and think I will have a nice relaxing night here at the adventure resort.

Thank you for reading Rohan Geographic!