Finally today, after five long yet relaxing days at Kathmandu, we are leaving in a small bus to spend a night at Kodari, our entry point to Tibet.
“Kodari is a border crossing on the Nepal-China border. It’s located in Sindhupalchok District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. The other side of the border is variously referred to as Zhangmu, Dram or Khasa.
In ancient times, it was the starting point of a trans-Himalayan caravan route. Newar traders headed north from Kodari and after crossing Kuti pass turned east to continue their journey across the Tibetan Plateau to Lhasa.
China built the 115 kilometres (71 mi) Kathmandu-Kodari Road, since named Araniko Highway, during the 1963-67 period. As of 2011, Nepal is planning to convert the two lane highway to a six lane metalled highway.It connects across the Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge at the border to Friendshp Highway in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
China started building a railway in 2008 connecting Lhasa with Zhangmu on the Nepal-China border. It is an extension of the 1,956 kilometres (1,215 mi) Qinghai-Tibet Railway.”
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodari
My initial understanding is that we’ll be transferred from Kathmandu to the border early in the morning, getting our visa stamped, and spending our first night at Zhangmu. But the plan now is to have a more relaxed schedule so that we can deal with all formalities in the border, which this years seem to be a pain on the butt. We are leaving around 10am, sleeping at a guest house in Kodari, and waking up early to be the second team crossing the border this year. The first team is crossing this morning. Lets see what happens to them and if we can make it through with no more delays :S
We are meeting all of our Sherpas tonight. Very exciting getting to know the True Heroes of this Adventure!
Unlimited Potential, Up to 8000m 