After two days on the highway, I'm driving on a kind of provincial two-lane road today. Not too busy in terms of traffic, but a lot of activity on and next to the roads and the road goes straight through villages and towns. So there is a lot to see and that makes this travel day a real pleasure.
Last night I made a reservation by phone at a hotel that is located on the main road and inquired whether I can safely park my motorcycle there. The manager immediately sent pictures of foreigners, including Dutch people, who were once in his hotel, so that is apparently quite special. When I arrive at the hotel at the agreed time, he is waiting in the lobby with a bunch of flowers to welcome me! Well!
Immediately he shows me the whole hotel and three free cups of coffee with whole stories later I retreat to the room to recover. The next morning he is ready to wave me goodbye and I set course for the Nepalese border.
After saying goodbye to the busy hotel manager, a short route of 120 km to the Nepalese border is planned today. It is another beautiful route with green fields and a lot of activity next to the road. Every 100 meters I could stop for beautiful pictures but I drive slowly and take it all in.
Kilometers before the border village of Soumali, the trucks are waiting in a long traffic jam until they can enter Nepal. In the middle of the village, under a stone gate, customs officers check passports. They see in my passport that I have not yet been stamped from India and show me where to go. I missed customs and immigration! Both are, apparently, between the dozens of shops in the street and I just drove past them. I drive back to customs where my Carnet de Passage for the motorcycle is filled in and I walk a few hundred meters back in the shopping street to get the stamp for my passport at Customs and have something to eat at a street food stall.
With the necessary stamps and completed papers I can pass under the gate. My luggage is not checked, but the drug dog has to sniff my motorcycle and bags. Just behind the gate is also the Nepalese immigration office and to my great surprise there is a motorcycle with Dutch license plate parked. The Yamaha Tenneree turns out to belong to Rik Heiligers from Beesel and a little later I'm actually talking dialect with this fellow Limburger who has had about the same journey as me.
After having arranged the paperwork, visa, money exchange and telephone card, we decide to drive together to the first town, where I have booked a guesthouse for 2 nights. There is also a room available for him and the rest of the evening is quickly filled with our travel experiences and a large bottle of beer. I'm in Nepal! Cheers!
