Well the last 24 hours have certainly seen our trip turned on it's head somewhat. We received the news last night that it was not going to be possible for any of the group to receive a Tibetan visa, due to the ongoing problems in the country revolving around China and the Dali Lama.
For those of you who are unaware, the Chinese government actually control the issuing of visas for Tibet, although Tibet are adamant that they should be a country in their own right. The Dali Lama (as the country's spiritual leader) is associated with being the lead figure in Tibet's fight for independence and so the Chinese government, who want to retain control of China, are naturally against anybody showing any audience to the Dali Lama. As you may be aware, the Dali Lama was very recently in the UK to meet David Cameron, along with visiting several other western countries as well. The Chinese have as a backlash stopped accepting visa applications from citizens of those countries, leaving us high and dry with nowhere to go from Nepal (going through Bhutan is far too complicated and expensive to consider).
There are a couple of implications as a result of this. The first is having to pay extra to fly between Nepal and China, where we have chosen Beijing as the destination for the group to fly to.
Note: As a plus point we will now see in China several things we wanted to see that we would have otherwise missed; The Great Wall, The Terracotta Warriors and the Giant Pandas.
The second implication is that the truck will be stranded in Nepal, as Adam, the only person who has the correct paperwork to drive the truck, is also British and will not be able to drive the truck through. Without the truck we will have to carry all of our bags and equipment all of the time (time to lighten the load I think!). Until we reach Australia we will not be able to camp anymore, and so will be using hostels and hotels the rest of the way. Along with this we will not be able to safely cook our own food any more, which means we have to rely on buying all our food everyday which heightens the risk of us getting ill as well as being more expensive.
Finally, all of our travel now will have to be done on public transport, using buses, trains and ferries. No lockers to safely lock our bags away, so we will have to chain our bags to our seats and try not to fall asleep for too long!
However on the plus side the adventure carries on! In 2 days time we begin a 2 week break from travelling, where we will be stationed in Kathmandu. Check back soon for the first proper installment of our time so far in Nepal.
For those of you who are unaware, the Chinese government actually control the issuing of visas for Tibet, although Tibet are adamant that they should be a country in their own right. The Dali Lama (as the country's spiritual leader) is associated with being the lead figure in Tibet's fight for independence and so the Chinese government, who want to retain control of China, are naturally against anybody showing any audience to the Dali Lama. As you may be aware, the Dali Lama was very recently in the UK to meet David Cameron, along with visiting several other western countries as well. The Chinese have as a backlash stopped accepting visa applications from citizens of those countries, leaving us high and dry with nowhere to go from Nepal (going through Bhutan is far too complicated and expensive to consider).
There are a couple of implications as a result of this. The first is having to pay extra to fly between Nepal and China, where we have chosen Beijing as the destination for the group to fly to.
Note: As a plus point we will now see in China several things we wanted to see that we would have otherwise missed; The Great Wall, The Terracotta Warriors and the Giant Pandas.
The second implication is that the truck will be stranded in Nepal, as Adam, the only person who has the correct paperwork to drive the truck, is also British and will not be able to drive the truck through. Without the truck we will have to carry all of our bags and equipment all of the time (time to lighten the load I think!). Until we reach Australia we will not be able to camp anymore, and so will be using hostels and hotels the rest of the way. Along with this we will not be able to safely cook our own food any more, which means we have to rely on buying all our food everyday which heightens the risk of us getting ill as well as being more expensive.
Finally, all of our travel now will have to be done on public transport, using buses, trains and ferries. No lockers to safely lock our bags away, so we will have to chain our bags to our seats and try not to fall asleep for too long!
However on the plus side the adventure carries on! In 2 days time we begin a 2 week break from travelling, where we will be stationed in Kathmandu. Check back soon for the first proper installment of our time so far in Nepal.
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