Back to Kathmandu, then to Nagarkot, then back to Kathmandu, then on to Delhi (10.31 – 11.1.07):
The bus trip from The Last Resort was LONG, but uneventful - long, dusty, narrow & windy bus trip packed with other foreign rafters – many from Israel, Germany, Denmark, etc. But Kirst & I arrived safely back in Kathmandu – dropped off on a busy, dark street about ½ mile from our “Hotel Ganesh Himal.” Kirst was so helpful carrying my heavy bag to the taxi stand (I was still feeling a bit weary & weak…from rafting)
It was so comforting to get back to our room & order room service ($12/night hotel) of veg-soup, momos, curd (yogurt), fresh lemon soda, & tea! The shower felt great (the water was quite rusty, so even when you think your hair or body is clean, your body & especially hair still feels a bit sticky).
Next afternoon, Gyanu (Kirsty’s trekking guide/friend) took us to Bodhnath (Boudha), home to one of the world’s largest stupas or bell-shaped Buddhist religious structure originally designed to hold the relics of the Buddha. The village, pronounced boe-da, is the religious center for Nepal’s considerable population of Tibetan exiles. The side streets are full of maroon-robed Tibetan (& foreign) monks, gleaming monastery roofs & shop fronts full of Tibetan texts & yak butter.
Late afternoon was the perfect time to visit, as the tours depart & the community turns out to circumambulate the stupa turning the prayer wheels as they go – such cute older men, women, & children!
Next day, Kirst & I hired a taxi to take us up the mountain to Nagarkot (32km) on the edge of the Kathmandu Valley to hopefully catch Himalayan mountain views! By noon the clouds/mist had pretty much covered the mountains, so we got up at 5:30 the next morning, along with many other tourists scattered throughout the hotels that we could see from our Hotel View Point – the highest. As we watched the sunrise, we did get a fair view the Himalayan range – quite impressive! We read on our balcony & then took a walk thru the village – hoping to catch a better glimpse of the mountains, but instead had a GREAT cup of hot tea overlooking the amazing valley! Back down to Kathmandu with our driver who toured us around the beautiful rural rice terraces & showed us a different part of the city. This is our last night in Kathmandu – before we head to Delhi.
To Delhi - I thought this short trip was going to be a ‘piece of cake!’ A BIG mistake in traveling is to go with your own WESTERN expectations! I had imagined that as our flight was only 1 ½ hrs, the this traveling day would be fairly easy. We would arrive in time to really settle in before Chuck came later that night – he actually arrived to the hotel the next morning about 4am!
In short, Kathmandu must have outgrown their airport about a decade ago, or else they appear to lack any type of leadership to direct people to where they need to go…there are no lines, just about 1000 people trying to get thru 1 door - no signs to airlines, gates, or times – NOTHING!!! Even our ticket said that our plane was boarding 2 hours before we got to the ticket counter??? It made me & Kirst a little TESTY!!! We had to tell a few people to STAND BACK & “Don’t tell us what to do!!” The plane actually left the time we thought it was…how we actually got on board after about a dozen checkpoints, I have NO idea! We just kept asking where…when…got boarded & even got a meal! Go figure!
