Everest impresses you with its majesty. In contrast, the 25 mile ride from Nyelam to the border takes your breath away with it's beauty approaching perfection. Every turn reveals countless waterfalls, tall glacier covered peaks partially hidden by mist, and deep valleys cut by torrents of water. This is probably the most beautiful place that I have ever seen. The descent almost made every uphill pedal stroke worth it.
In a stretch of 35 miles, we have gone from alpine tundra to tropics due to a loss of around 8000 feet in elevation. At the end of the day, I was sitting next to a roaring river surrounded by bamboo, hibiscus, and bougainvillea.
The border crossing was uneventful and surprisingly efficient for all of us except Jim. His red, white, and blue cycling jersey emblazoned with stars apparently offended the Chinese who delayed him for several minutes. We were also not permitted to stop and read the sign telling about the Friendship Bridge as we crossed the border. We never saw an immigration official upon entering Nepal. Ang gathered up our passports and paperwork and everything was taken care of while we ate lunch.
The Achilles heal of the Chinese government is their love of bureaucracy. Forms seem to be required for the sake of having a form. People sit around idle either waiting for forms or filling out forms.
We continued riding for about 12 miles after crossing the border. Differences were immediately obvious. Driving on the left, a higher level of poverty, chickens everywhere, private satellite dishes, and an abundance of water. People were bathing and doing laundry on the sides of the street, trucks were parked at stream crossings to be washed, and terraced fields were growing rice.
It seemed a little surreal as we rode down the drive to the Borderlands Resort. The bicycle had become a part if our lives over the last two weeks and now would be set aside for the next phase of the trip. The first showers in several days felt wonderful.
We met some interesting travelers at the resort. Marcos, a German IT manager, was doing a several thousand mile self supported ride. He managed to cross Tibet without a travel permit. Also, we met a couple who had just moved to Katmandu. The were escaping the festival going on there now. He is a physician working for the WHO and they had spent 11 years living in Bangladesh. She spent her time there organizing activities for the expats.
