Zangmu cross border to Nepal and drive to Kathmandu

After a very basic breakfast at our hotel, which had mainly German, French, and other European tour groups coming back from Tibet, we packed all our gear into our backpacks so that we could carry them long distances if necessary. This was lucky as we discovered the road had been cut by a landslide a couple of kilometers short of the border, with about 10 foot high rubble, mud, and trees covering the road. We were able to climb over the rubble with the help of our guide carrying Leslie's backpack, and were able walk down the road a mile or so to reach the border post. After waiting a while for the post to open, we were finally processed out of China and bade farewell to our guide Sonam, who had been such a help. We then carried our stuff a few hundred yards to the Nepali immigration offices, filled out the visa forms, paid $50 for our two visas, and exited to bargain with the various taxi services for the 4-hour trip to Kathmandu. After rejecting some outrageous demands, we settled with a fellow who had an Indian Mahindra jeep for the equivalent of about $80, somewhat more than the usual rate but we wanted a jeep as we had seen the road conditions were precarious.

The road was very wet and muddy, with our jeep crossing streams of water that coursed across the track from the steep mountains above. After several potty stops, we finally arrived in crowded Kathmandu in the late afternoon and negotiated for a wonderful air conditioned suite with TV and wireless Internet at the old Shanker Hotel, which had been converted some time ago from a palace. We figured it was well worth the $150 per night and would give us a chance to rest up and get healthy again.

That night we were getting ready to bathe and retire and Leslie was on the phone with T-Mobile complaining about not receiving emails when we felt an earthquake shake the building for a minute or so. By the time I convinced Leslie to get off the phone and got partially dressed and out the door and down a floor or two, the shocks had stopped, and we returned to our room before we actually made it outside. There was no information at first, but within a half hour Internet sources indicated it was a quake 6.8 on the Richter Scale but centered in Sikkim, about half way between our present location in Kathmandu and our next location, Bhutan. News reports here said it was the worst quake in 50 years, 5 people died in Kathmandu and about 50 were injured, with higher casualties in the Sikkim area. several deaths resulted when an outer wall of the British Embassy collapsed outward onto the road. We were told our old building was much stronger than the new ones, which is probably true. after contacting our travel agent in Bhutan, we learned there has been some damage to roads and bridges there, but hopefully it will not affect our visit too much.
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