Day 40: 25th Mar – Lumini
Many of us were happy with what was to come today – our next country, Nepal. With a new country comes the dreaded border crossing. Seeing how the country has left us with an unorganised and hectic impression, we all knew that today was going to be tough. Despite this, our spirits were high and eager to take on the next country on our list. Little did we know how difficult –and painstakingly slow – it was going to be.
As we all load onto the coach, the tiredness as prominent as ever, we head towards the border. Once at the border, we’re faced with a very busy and crowded border control. Before we even get off the coach, our driver and guide tell us that they are unable to take us all the way to the border and that we must get rickshaws the rest of the distance. Our leader, Lana, thinks (as we all did) this was nonsense and a ploy for us to spend some more money. A few exchanges of words and the coach reluctantly took us the rest of the way. We haul our bags through the hustle to a hole in the wall known as the border control office. Here, things start to get a lot more interesting.
Upon leaving the coach, we had a guy come up to us and guide us to the office. No one really knew who he was, but he seemed willing and able to assist. Organising our exit visas took a while, and the staff didn’t seem to be in a rush. There were a few snags; I had misplaced all of my passport photos, which were needed in order to get the visa and Liam didn’t actually have a stamp for getting into the country, meaning he wasn’t allowed a stamp to get out of the country. The heat was uncomfortable and the pressure of the border crossing was adding more stress. I managed to take a photocopy of my passport for the photo, which seemed to be sufficient. Liam, on the advice of our mystery helper, had to “donate” towards the border control officers in order to get his stamp. Dodgy would be an understatement, but after all of the hassle we were allowed to leave India.
On contrast, once crossing the border, Nepal was as calm as a still lake; quiet, slow, hardly any security and sparsely populated. The border – simply a tall arch over the road – seemed to have no form of restriction, with only a simple pole stretched across the road. The border control office, despite its rundown and dark look, was a lot calmer and laid back compared to our previous stop, putting the group at ease.
Our bus for this stretch of the trip was exactly like the bus in Pakistan, bringing back positive memories for the entire group. Our hotel, called Yeti Hotel, was a short drive away. Daylight was fading fast, so after checking in and dropping off the bags, Liam and I go for a wander to see what the tiny town had to offer and to get some money. After walking for just under an hour, the light faded and we were forced to retreat back to the hotel. The hotel restaurant was our destination for dinner and the only place we could find to have a few drinks. Tomorrow is a nice short 3 hour drive to our next stop – Chitwan.
Tags: 1, Travel
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