TIBETAN BORDER TO KATHMANDU

The five hour ride from the Tibet/Nepal border to Kathmandu was one of the most exciting parts of my travels. It was a straight drop from the Himalayas to the Kathmandu valley with a river on my right, unadulterated wilderness on both sides, landslide remnants blocking the roads, and streams that we had to cross. Of course, getting stopped by Maoist Rebels and paying a ransom ("contribution to the cause", as they called it) will make for excitement any day. There was even a receipt book for our payment, but the tears in the eyes of our driver showed it was no joke (initially we were refusing to pay).