Tim and Sam... ...will be out of the office until further notice.

Kathmandu Valley

NEPAL | Wednesday, 10 October 2007 | Views [747] | Comments [2]

We've been in the Kathmandu for five days now, so probably time for a second installment. Kathmandu is extremely polluted, has the most insane traffic system (or lack of) I have ever come across and you are constantly hassled by people who want to sell you stuff, guide you round the temples, book you a trekking tour etc. It's lovely though once you get used to the fact that it's bonkers.

Interesting things that we have done so far:

- Went to the monkey temple for sunset on the top of a very big hill with lots of steps where there were (unsuprisingly) lots of monkeys, monkeying around. Tim saw one doing something that he shouldn't have been, when the monkey clocked him he covered himself up and looked very sheepish.
- Went to the opticians and bought some new glasses for 18 pounds (no pound sign on this keyboard). Bargain.
- Went for a nice Indian dinner in Kathmandu where a Nepali guy started talking to us, he asked where we were from and when we said England, he told us the story of how he was badly beaten by hooligans while staying in England. Nice.
- After that dinner we went to the Rum Doodle bar in Kathmandu which seems to be a favourite with mountaineering groups. A large group of Britishers and their sherpas/guides were having dinner celebrating their summit of Everest. They looked a little shell shocked. I guess I probably would too.
- Took rickshaws and a couple of local buses out to a village called Dhulikhel a few hours out of Kathmandu and a little higher. The bus conductor boy was clearly having a laugh with us as not only did he overcharge us by almost double (about 40p), but he also made us sit on the roof. Once I'd got over the fear of falling off the roof and down into the enormous valley from the windy mountain roads and the rather uncomfortable seating of metal rods it was pretty fun. Not so hot as inside the bus and amazing views.
- From Dhulikhel we did a 5:30 hour trek around the surrounding villages where we saw the NamoBuddha (another temple) and quite a lot of goats, chickens, holy cows etc. We stayed in Dhulikhel last night and had Dal Bhat for dinner for 40Rs (about 30p). Was very tasty.

That's about it for now. We start our trek on Friday so updates for the next few weeks will probably be scarce.

Sam.

Tags: Mountains

Comments

1

Hey Tim & Sam,

Sounds like your having an amazing time.

As i think Damian said before you flew out that we may come to india and see you guys for a week over New Year. Damian forgot which area he said you will be staying at - what's it called so we can see about flights and accomodation? Is this the only place to contact you guys?

Well hopefully you will get this message - and have fun trekking round the mountains.

Take Care,
Hana x x x

Hana Oct 10, 2007 11:11 PM

2

Although sitting on the roof may seem bonkers/taking the piss it is actually the way to go because:

1) Nepalese people don't travel very often, so when they do, they are invariably very sick. And usually projectile. So it's best to be in the open air, sans vom

2) If they're still using those shitty Leyland buses (the ones we had during WW2!), then it is also safer to be on the roof, as if the brakes fail and it trundles off down the himalayas, you get thrown clear, rather than squished inside

3) When you sit inside, somebody will ALWAYS give you a chicken or child to hold, or sometimes both. Both of whom tend to get travel sick......

So enjoy the fresh air. Am loving the wanking monkey, trust Tim :)

K x0x0x0x0x0

Kate Oct 11, 2007 6:48 AM