Border crossing at night
We wanted to get to Nepal asap as some of the trekking rules were about to change, forcing independent travellers to hire either a guide or porter. So we set off to Nepal early on the morning of 16 October 2006.
The Indian railways impressed us tremendously - very organised and on time - easy to book and to find your train. We were on the 6am fast train to Lucknow - various meals were included and served together with the daily newspaper. We read that the Indian police were unable to find someone who could translate the Afrikaans used in their recordings of Hansie Cronje's conversations with Hershell Gibbs in the match-fixing scandal. The "case was lost in the translations". Johan is still considering offering his services for a small fee of course. The train ride was surprisingly fast. The rails are much wider apart than that in South Africa, allowing greater speeds.
We saw the most amazing bird life as we sped over some swampy lands towards Lucknow. Lucknow was also very crowded, but we quickly managed to find a taxi for the 5-6hour drive to the border at Nepalganj for only US$20. India is a land with stunning natural beauty amidst the overcrowding. We loved the ride and scenery while the drive drove well into the night without using his headlights...
Upon arrival at the border town around 8pm, we hopped onto a rickshaw for the ride to the immigration offices. The rickshaw driver woke the immigration officers who helped us through at 9pm(!) and then cycled us the last 6km to the 1st Nepali town of Nepalganj where we stayed for the night. Both immigration offices seemed quite surprised to see us as this border post had seen fewer and fewer tourists since Maoist bombings earlier in the year. Fortunately there has been a ceasefire since May 2006. Nepal was instantly quieter and more tranquil that the Indian side of the border.
The Indian railways impressed us tremendously - very organised and on time - easy to book and to find your train. We were on the 6am fast train to Lucknow - various meals were included and served together with the daily newspaper. We read that the Indian police were unable to find someone who could translate the Afrikaans used in their recordings of Hansie Cronje's conversations with Hershell Gibbs in the match-fixing scandal. The "case was lost in the translations". Johan is still considering offering his services for a small fee of course. The train ride was surprisingly fast. The rails are much wider apart than that in South Africa, allowing greater speeds.
We saw the most amazing bird life as we sped over some swampy lands towards Lucknow. Lucknow was also very crowded, but we quickly managed to find a taxi for the 5-6hour drive to the border at Nepalganj for only US$20. India is a land with stunning natural beauty amidst the overcrowding. We loved the ride and scenery while the drive drove well into the night without using his headlights...
Upon arrival at the border town around 8pm, we hopped onto a rickshaw for the ride to the immigration offices. The rickshaw driver woke the immigration officers who helped us through at 9pm(!) and then cycled us the last 6km to the 1st Nepali town of Nepalganj where we stayed for the night. Both immigration offices seemed quite surprised to see us as this border post had seen fewer and fewer tourists since Maoist bombings earlier in the year. Fortunately there has been a ceasefire since May 2006. Nepal was instantly quieter and more tranquil that the Indian side of the border.
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