AFVOA Newsletters of Year 2012

Page 77 of 80 The dates ex Kathmandu are fixed and cannot be changed. So one has to be a part of one of the groups commencing from a specific date. These dates are generally from Apr to late Sept only. After you have decided on your tour operator and date you wish to start ex Kathmandu, you book your tickets to reach Kathmandu on the date specified. Point to note. Indian currency above Rs.100/- is not legal tender in Nepal though some foreign exchange dealers accept the same. You can also carry foreign exchange (Chinese Yuan) from India itself but you get a better deal in Nepal for the same Indian currency. There are any number of foreign exchange dealers in Kathmandu and it is better to make a round of a few of them before exchanging your rupees. Hard bargaining pays. At current level of expenditure you will require about 2200 Yuan in your hand when you enter Tibet. You can also exchange on both sides of the border. In Nepal, Indian currency up to Rs.100/- is readily accepted and a Rupee is converted to Rs.1.6 Nepali Rupee. 2200 Yuan is worked on the basis that a porter alone costs 600 Yuan for 3 days and a horse /pony will cost another1400 Yuan if you avail the same for parikrama (Mt Kailash for 3 days), 200 Yuan additional for tipping etc. On the first day you are taken around Kathmandu to visit temples and other places of interest. The following day is for acclimatisation and for trekking up a nearby hill (500 metres) which is about the only acclimatisation we did on our yatra. Government sponsored trips I understand spend more time doing this. On third day, you go by luxury bus (not Volvo) up to Nepal border (Kodari) and cross over to Tibet. On the Chinese side transportation is by 4x4 Toyota land cruisers with max of 4 yatris in a vehicle. Our convoy was 24 vehicles. Initially, you are taken to a place called Nylam on the Tibetan side for the first night halt. Though the distance covered was hardly 200 km, roads are none to good and at the check post it can take up to 3 hours to clear everyone. You have to wait till the last man since the permit is on one paper and not stamped on your passport. Incidentally the bridge linking Nepal and Tibet is called Friendship Bridge. The last outpost on the Nepali side is called Kodari and on the Chinese side is called Zangmu. Nylam in Tibet is approx 38 km from the international border. It's a small town with just one street with shops on either side of the road. There are a number of so called lodges or hotels. The street is neat and clean generally, though there is no awareness regarding environmental pollution anywhere in Tibet. Locals and tourists alike, throw bio degradable and non degradable left overs all over the place, which is swept into the nearest stream and finally reaching the nearest river. There is a team of workers constantly cleaning the road. Most of the lodges have rooms having not less than 4 beds and up to about 8 or even ten. This is perhaps because most yatris come in very large groups. There was one from Gujarat which had 175 yatris just a few days ahead of us. So it is practically impossible to cater for tourists with single or double bedroom. Besides, the yatras take place only between April and Sep. The concept of attached bath and toilet does not exist and anyway, bathrooms don't seem to exist. . This is the last place where you come across wet sanitation till you return to Nylam after you complete the yatra. So be sure you are carrying your toilet roll. Altitude of Nylam is around 14000 ft. You may have already been warned that bathing till you return is out of