India

So a little peruse (not to say hog-wrestle) of the Indian railways website throws up the following intriguing possibility.

Dhaka-Kolkata on the Maitree Express (after perhaps a little arsing around in Bangladesh - I for one would like to travel to the banks of the Jamuna a little to the south of Dhaka, which is pretty much the Tropic of Cancer). Cost $20 for a sleeper.

Kolkata I have heard is basically Dhaka with pubs. An experience to have but have quickly, perhaps.

Kolkata to Delhi (and you wanna try beating the difference between Delhi and New Delhi out of indianrailways.gov.in - Delhi alone has 7 different stations). Overnight, about 24 hours, cost £48 for an express in an AC1 seat (according to our friend in Seat 61).

Then train from Delhi to Gorakhpur, $55 says Seat 61, mixing his currencies. Takes about 13 or 14 hours.

Then a bus ('or jeep'!) from Gorakhpur to the Nepali frontier (and incidentally, we should no longer talk about borders on this trip but frontiers. Manifest destiny, bet your ass). $1, 3 hours, to a town which the Indians call Sunauli and the Nepalis call Bhairawa, except when they call it Sunauli.

Walk across the border. Bus or jeep from Bhairawa to Kathmandu 12 hours, $2.

That way we see the landscape change beneath our feet. Or beneath someone else's wheels.

Though Delhi isn't by any means mandatory - we could stop at Allahabad, or actually stop at Gorakhpur (probably need a branch line to do that, but no biggie).

So. Depending on whether we want to to Delhi, we're looking at £100 tops to get from Dhaka to Kathmandu via India.

LIKE IT

For your perusal

Some things

Well, looky looky...

Look what I found.

The Economist's Correspondent's Diary in Lhasa. Good stuff.

How brave do you feel?

After this Kashmir and Telmand province could be a breeze: http://www.ssqq.com/ARCHIVE/vinlin27d.htm

China... home of Walls, Forbidden Palaces... and PANDAS!

Yeah, that's right, Pandas. Lhasa-Xi'an VIA Chendu? Then we can go to Wolong National Park (official site) I'm going to take a Faberge egg, just to please Ellie Bailey.

Kathmandu - Tibet

Right, at the moment it looks like we can only cross Kathmandu - Tibet, and the Chinese only allow you in on an organised tour. So, just for a brief idea, I emailed one comapny that does the trips. Here is there email:

Dear Mr Ollie Jones,

Greetings from Kathmandu and Lhasa.

Thank you for your interest in the 8-Day Kathmandu to Lhasa overland tour.

We have budget tour that start every Saturday from Kathmandu from March to November. From December to February tours are available on request. Please note that you have to book in advance and arrive in Kathmandu two days before tour date.

Please find the details of the 8-day Kathmandu-Lhasa tour in a file attached with this message (in PDF format). Do let us know if you have difficulty opening, saving or printing the document.

We are happy to offer the following special price list for the 8-day tour as listed below.

Prices shown below will apply for you – not the ones listed in the attached pdf document.

----- o0o -----

08-Day KATHMANDU-LHASA Overland Tour - 2010

BUDGET GROUP TOUR (Group Tour with Budget Hotels):

Every Saturday Departure Ex Kathmandu (March to November, 2010)

Transport by comfortable 10 to 20-seat bus depending on group size.

Minimum 8 persons required for Group Tour to operate.

Budget Tour Cost: US$ 460 per person (share basis).

Single Room Supplement: US$ 150 per person

Single rooms are available in Shigatse, Gyantse and Lhasa only.

--- 0 ---

China/Tibet Group Visa:

USA National: US$ 200 per person

Other Nationals: US$ 120 per person

For those who want to continue travel in China:

Surcharge for 15-day Individual Visa good for Mainland China: US$ 50 per person

(15 days total for Tibet and Mainland China)

--- 0 ---

Note: All passengers need to have confirmed plane/train tickets to travel out of Lhasa on the last day of the tour.

Airfare Extra (as applicable):

We can arrange a flight out of Lhasa for you at the end of the tour.

- Lhasa/Kathmandu: US$ 380 (subject to change)

- Lhasa/Chengdu: US$ 250 (subject to change)

- Lhasa/Beijing: US$ 420 (subject to change)

Train Fare (includes booking agent's fees):

We can arrange train tickets out of Lhasa for you at the end of the tour.

- Lhasa-Beijing soft sleeper (48 hours): US$ 290 per person

- Lhasa-Chengdu soft sleeper (48 hours): US$ 290 per person

- Lhasa-Xian soft sleeper (40 hours): US$ 250 per person

----- o0o -----

We will arrange the China Visa, Tibet Permit and Lhasa-Kathmandu flight. You will have to arrange the flights up to Kathmandu and back to your country once the tour ends.

We require an advance deposit of US$ 100 per person (plus Lhasa airfare), in order to confirm a place on the tour. As soon as you are ready to confirm your place/s we will email you instruction to send in your advance deposit. The balance to be paid on your arrival in Kathmandu.

We can assist you with hotel accommodation and other services you may require in Nepal. Our trekking groups stay at 3 star hotel with all amenities located centrally in Kathmandu called Nirvana Garden Hotel. Special offer: US$ 50 per night. Complementary airport pickup is included in this cost. Many other luxury to budget accommodation is available in Kathmandu. Please let us know your preference.

Hope that this is of interest to you and as soon as we hear from you again we will be happy to e-mail further details and answer your questions. We look forward to hear from you again soon.

'Namaste' and best wishes.

Devendra Basnet

for Getaway! Himalayan Eco-Trekking

www.Trekking-in-Nepal.com

Masonry

So it turns out that 'The Great Wall Of China' is actually incredibly extensive network of walls covering several thousand miles. My ignorance aside, I'm gobsmacked that at one point there damn near actually was an actual wall around the actual country. Incredible.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Map_of_the_Great_Wall_of_China.jpg

Not so much use as a navigational aid, that, but it shows where it is. It depends which dynasty's work we want to see, to be honest, but there are routes between Xian and the western border which take in 3 or so of them. No Ming, which for the first time indicates something regrettable, but still some imposing work. Then on to the Jade Gate and Uzbekia. So we'd go out of Tibet, down to Xian, double back and start with the heading west.

With appropriate digressions, diversions and, um, dispepsias, of course. Haven't got a big vision for getting lost in China at this point tbh, but let me do some reading and I'm sure I'll acquire one. Gonna have to hide my bible tho ;)