We caught a taxi down from Gangtok to the Stupa at Salagura and spent the night in Dolkar’s new Guest House. The next morning the Lamas took us to the border of Nepal. The Nepali taxi driver cleverly avoided a strike and our tiny plane bumped along, the towering white peaks of the mightiest mountains on earth winking at us all the way. Below, the land sang with it’s own powerful rhythms. It was an incredible journey.
Flying Over the Himalayan Mountains
The towering spire of the Salagura Stupa welcomed us once again.
Khenpo Thinly and Sherab decided to accompany us to the border.
Sherab was eager to show us this photo he had....can you see the buddha in the clouds?
In the old days they used to wash elephants like this.
These fellows passed us as we inched down the congested road.
This has to be one of my favorite immigration check points. Goodbye India, Hello Nepal.
We were the only ones there but it takes a long time to write all that information down in those enormous, dusty ledgers.
Nepal is on the other side of that gate.
Local trucking....
Our Nepal taxi had driven about ten minutes when he slowed at a crosswalk and hailed a policeman. I heard their muttered exchange in Nepali and understood that there was a strike ahead
This could be a disaster, there was only one road to the airport. Suddenly our driver made a sharp left, through the back streets of the village, flying down gravel roads into the countryside.
The gravel road turned into a mud path along this river where the locals were bathing and washing their clothes
Then the road disappeared into the river. Our driver drove right in, no hesitation. Kutira, Robin and I were hanging on for dear life.
Another mud path, and then a gravel road. Local traffic slowed us down a bit but our driver was committed to getting us to the airport on time.
Eventually a small village appeared and we flew through. The “airport” is tiny, one runway, a small hut where tickets are taken and baggage checked.
This young woman joined us in the waiting room. Love those shoes......
The plane sat 16 people.
And then we were launched, looking down at the countryside we had just driven through.
Ten minutes in the air and the breathtaking view of the Himalayan Mountains appeared. Yes, our airline was Buddha Air
This incredible view of the mountains accompanied us all the way to Kathmandu. It was one of the clearest days I have ever experienced in that area
Below the land offered it’s song of beauty, rhythm and grace
These are the foothills, covered with terraced farming plots
Notice the plane just below us, we are entering the Kathmandu Valley
There it is, Kathmandu, we were ready for another adventure.
