29th Sept. Arrived in Kathmandu International Airport. It felt like we have time traveled back to the 70s. The amount of time and paperwork to get through Immigration was ridiculous. Not a good first impression. Our transportation to the hotel (Ganesh Himal) had to be pushed to get started. Funnily, I felt very comfortable, the city reminds me of my home town (Malaysia) when I was a kid, and Andrew doesn't think it has changed in 22 years.
Tho a poor country, the streets are surprisingly cleaner than I expected. There is no nasty smell and the locals look harmless and tidy. Very pleasant. Very noisy traffic, but it doesn't bother me at the slightest.
After unpacking our bags, we went out for a walk and tried to sort out trekking permits. There is a Chinese Agency who speak mandarin but we ended up in another agency that offered a lower service fee. Again, I could have blended in as one of the locals, so the agent Mr. Rajendra said. (ps. I was mistaken as Thai in Bangkok)
Chatted up with two girls, very cheerful people, we were gonna join them for dinner but ended up in the hotel restaurant. Had a pleasant local cuisine, candle lit dinner in the garden, but avoided the uncooked stuff.
The people here speak very good English. Hotel is very clean and even comes with a bathtub. It's 5min walk from the hectic part of the town. Very pleasant. I would give it a 4star rating for Nepal's standard.
30th Sept, OK sleep last night. Got up at 6am and the city is so qiuet. The view from the roof top garden is amazing. Looking forward to exploring the city more today.
Taken a few photos but they don't have memory card reader. So gotta wait longer for the photos. :)
Next trip : 3th Oct Bus to Pokara to start trekking.
