Friendship Bridge
Around noon we leave for the Friendship Bridge. The highway to Tibet was built in the 60s by the Chinese to promote trade. The Highway has clearly missed his target. Seen by the state of the road there will never be a lot of trade here. Chinese merchandise is still being shipped to Kolkata and then transported to Nepal. This we already red, and now we understand why. Once again we enjoyed a very nice drive through the mountains with views over the Himalaya.
Views over the Himalaya
When we arrive at the bridge it turns out that we are out of Nepal, in No Ones Land, but nobody asked or told us anything! Lets hope were allowed back in Nepal.
Friendship Viewpoint but no Bridge to be Seen
On the bridge and the road towards it, chaos reigns. Trucks are blocking the road and old ladies with huge luggage on their back wriggled their path over the bridge. When we are finally on the bridge, it turns out that we are not even allowed to take a picture. We secretly take a photo but get caught by a Chinese officer, who has no problems interfering even though we are still on the Nepalese side of the border. For the rest, there is not so much to be seen here, so we decide to return. Our next destination is Chitwan, two days drive from here. We spend the night in a nice small hotel, just outside Kathmandu, with a beautiful view of the valley.
View over the Valley from our Balcony
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