Go Edward Go!

The latest on our cyclist adventurer and vagabond Edward had him traveling across a certain region of China without a permit, employing a maximum risk and minimum cost strategy. He's braver than I am, that's for sure! This part of China starts with T and I BET you that he will make it successfully across right now. Get it? I thought so.

So I received an update from his blog saying that he passed the checkpoint to Mt Everest Base Camp, and potentially went there for an adventure. Not sure yet. I also got an update saying he made it to a town called Nyalam which is barely 30km from the Nepal border. The final town is Zhangmu which is unknown if he reached it there. Of course, there is a checkpoint between the two towns, but this one is easy to cross -- based on travelers reports.

Edward's blog updates don't have any text or photos, they are just place holders. But the fact that the updates occured can mean one of two things

1. He managed to find internet access in some border town
2. He actually crossed into Nepal and is updating the blog from there.

I'm leaning towards #2 because I also saw lengthy text and photo updates from past portions of his blog that he said he would update once in Nepal, and he had to hurry scurry due to the fact his Chinese visa would expire on May 31

Regardless of which outcome occured, we can conclude *for sure* that he must have passed all the checkpoints along the last 300km to the Nepal border which is the most challenging part of the trip. He even posted a placeholder about visiting the Everest Base Camp, so he must have passed that checkpoint too. Any way you look at it, this is astonishing and I'm super curious to find out how he actually pulled this off without a permit in recent months. Mainly because in August, I'm going to be replicating what he did, with slightly less risk mind you --- I'm actually going for the permit.

That all being said, if it's indeed #1 and he hasn't passed the Nepal border, then there is no reason to celebrate just yet. They will quite likely check permits when exiting China through this border, and that's a key reason why I'd want to get one. The time to celebrate and say 'I did it' is when exiting Nepal immigration, going to the nearest restaurant, and ordering a round of beers.