DJ - It's 7:00 AM in Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountain Range. Good morning to you from this part of the world, although it's approximately 11 hours and 15 minutes time difference, depending on if you're in North America or if you're in Europe, it's a considerably different time than that.

It's Tuesday here and we're about to depart and begin the second phase of the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge. The first phase being Peking to Katmandu. It was felt that if the cars could reach this point of the journey, the cars would be proven and now the task becomes that of the drivers and the navigators as we begin to enter what we have chosen to refer to as the 3 H's. We'll explain the 3 H's in a moment.

The very first cars to ever come to Katmandu, Nepal were hauled in piece by piece before there were roads here. The very first 200 cars came in carried in by parts and were put together and some of those cars are still around here in Katmandu. Although today there are motorcycles, putt-putts, 3 wheel motorscooters, a lot of cars, a lot of trucks, a lot of mechanical transportation is favored here today. It's a very active city - Katmandu. The people are very friendly and it's a place that having visited, I would recommend that you come and see for yourself. There's a lot to do here, it's very affordable and it's very much a different slice of life.

Well were off here in one hour and a half headed for the divide between Asia and Europe in two weeks, the second phase of this journey. That destination ultimately, in two weeks, is Istanbul. That's the channel of the Bosphorous, the waterway, which is the official separation of the Asian and European continents. We have a lot of ground to cover before we get there. We begin today to descend down to the Indian subcontinent. Katmandu is sort of like Denver, at an elevation of 4,000 - 5,000 feet. Today we start down to sea level and the 3 H's, which are Heat, Humidity and Humanity. Our journey this day is expected to take 14-16 hours to a site called Nainital which is just short of the border of Nepal and India. Nainital is a camping site and we will be camping once again tonight using mosquito netting as we begin our attentiveness to the prospects of malaria. Having just left China, it's been verified that the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge of 1997 is the first group of westerners to drive their own cars in Tibet and the first group of westerners to cross the Freedom Bridge, a very remote and obscure bridge across a gorge that separates Tibet/China from Nepal. So some history is being made as a result of this journey. Certain aspects of the journey are intended to be placed into the Guinness World Book of Records.

The repairs to the 1954 Packard have been completed. For two days four mechanics from Nepal worked on the car. We thought that you would find it interesting, as we did, that the total cost was $170. A number major improvements to the undercarriage were made - the brake drums had to be replaced, spark plugs replaced - just a whole lot of little details to keep the car solid and road worthy. So $170 was the cost to mend and restore the 1954 Packard. Today the cars that had been retired from the competition, having been hauled or towed to Katmandu are expected to be back, restored and made ready for the next phase of the trip. It will be interesting to see through the tenacity and determination the way the drivers are going to re-enter the motor challenge and the next phase of competition.

The next series of locations that you will be hearing about as we go forward: We'll be going to places like Kohalpur, which is in the Nepal Himalayas and we'll be going through jungles where there are parrots, monkeys, elephants and tiger warning signs. We'll be heading to the resort area of Nainital which is in the Corbett Tiger Reserve of the Northern Indian Plain. Over the next few days we'll be heading to Delhi and then from Delhi to the Indian Pakistan frontier and the city of Amritsar and an overnight stay in the Pakistan city of Lahore. We'll be spending a few days in Multan and Quetta in Pakistan and then an extensive seven days in Iran. That promises to be really quite both historical, interesting and informative - all sorts of things. And the fact that there are three automobiles with 16 members from Iran in the event, gives everybody a sense of confidence that being in Iran will in fact be a very pleasurable experience.

We're going to keep today's report short. In the past some of the reports haven gotten quite lengthy because of events and information. We'll just assure you that Carl and Don are in good health. By in large most of the drivers and navigators are in good health. There have been a few personal health incidents. On the matter of health, we want to report that the Chinese truck driver who was brushed by a car as he stepped onto the highway is reported to have been given a leave of absence and is on the mend and is expected to return. The Rally doctor and the paramedics are credited with giving faster and better medical treatment to that person than he might have otherwise received in most parts of Tibet as that person was, in a matter of minutes, given care and then taken to a medical facility. So good news to report on the condition of the Chinese truck driver who walked into the path of one of the passing cars on the travel through Tibet.

As in a journey like this, people are anxious after a few days of rest to get on down the road and it's going to be a long, long day today. The length of the travel is expected to extend an average of 500 - 700 kilometers. In the past it's been very difficult to go 100 - 300 kilometers in a day given the road conditions. It will not be without excitement and challenges. Over the last three years, there have been 20+ bridges washed out by the monsoons from the Himalayan washoff and many of those bridges are still out and so diversions will have to be taken. The cars are expected to be waterproofed and to be taken through at least 12 - 14 of these temporary waterways or rivers in order to get down the highway.

So we're off this morning leaving Katmandu headed for the border of India and Nepal with the expectation over the next couple of days we'll be entering India at sea level and with it comes Heat, Humidity and Humanity. We'll be pleased to share with you our experiences in our next report and update. So long until the next time and good-bye to Katmandu, Nepal.