my trip to nepal

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I recently got home from a 18 day excursion to Nepal.... 6 of them were spent going and coming. This was actually 1 day longer than I anticipated. I had bought my round trip tickets thru Qatar Airways. United Airways covers their flights in the USA. The connection time was only 53 minutes. I was a little skeptical, but the United agents assured me this was enought time. WRONG! The United flight took too long to take off and was late arriving into Washington. I was running as fast as possible thru the airport. I got to the Qatar gate 16 minutes before takeoff. Too late for an international flight. So I got stuck in Washington for 24 hours. Due to differing flight schedules with the next day's flights, I ended up losing about 32 hours of visitation in Kathmandu. My next stop was Doha, Qatar. This is a nice airport. lots of great duty free shops. 24 hour food service in the Transit section of the airport. Prayer rooms for those that feel the need. Quiet rooms for those who want to sleep. 2 coffee bars. Qatar Airways has a deluxe section for the business/first class ......not me 😊 I was there for a 14 hour layover. Lots of wondering around. a few trips to the quiet room...... i had to leave when 2 guys with deep voices wouldn't shut up!!!! lots of trying to lay down with my arms and legs entertwined with my carryon luggage and propped over the non moving seat arms.. I did crash after a while. BTW.....The view from the airport was very, very hazy/dusty. I couldn't see anything.

When I first got to Kathmandu and made it thru the lines to get my visa, I headed toward luggage.... And of course,,, it was lost. I took a cab ride to my guest house. A cab ride at night in rush hour traffic in Kathmandu is rather exciting. 5 lanes of vehicles suddenly merging into one. People honking, yelling, refusing to yield..... LOL it was great. At one point, the car in front of us got backed into by a large van. the drivers got out and started yelling at one another. Then the van driver got in his van and left. the other guy left his car in the middle of the street, blocking 3 lanes that were merging and started chasing the van! My driver was yelling out of the window and shaking his fist at the driver. Finally, he came back and traffic started crawling forward again.

Finally, we arrived at my hotel for the evening.... the International Guest House ... it is in walking distance of Thamel. Which means it is quieter. I couldn't say nicer things about the hotel and the service. Fantastic. The food at the restaurant was great. The decor of the hotel is warm, clean, and pleasing. The manager, Mugaye, was very nice and helpful. He arranged my airline tickets. If you are ever in Kathmandu.... give them a try.

I went to Durbar Square, but only in the early morning.. way before the crowds and excitement. There were only a handful of people here and there. I did see the home of the Living Goddess, but didn't notice the Karma/Sutra house???? Actually I didn't even know there was one until another trekker mentioned it later on in my trip. I took some photos...... I do wish I had been there to photograph throngs of people. I went to Durbar Sqaure via a Ricksaw. Had to try one at least once. Actually, it was nice, because you actually got to pay attention to the buildings as you pass. Too often when walking I get absorbed in paying attention to where I am stepping/going that I miss the stuff going on above me and off side streets. After Durbar Square, it was back to the IGH and off to the airport to locate my missing luggage and fly to Pokhara. I was fortunate to meet a fellow American who was staying at the same hotel. Ken and I rode with our hotel's 'airport rep' to the airport. Ken is a retired nurse who was doing a prelim trip to Kathmandu. He is planning to go back and do some volunteer work in an AIDs hospice for several weeks. He was a very nice soul.... I was glad I got to meet him that morning!


I really wish I had that extra day to explore Kathmandu.


On the drive, we noticed alot of military police out and about. Apparently, the Sri Lankan president was visiting Kathmandu that day.

The domestic airport was rather small and informal. I was flying on Buddha Airlines to Pokara, the jumping off point of a lot of treks in the Annapurna region.

I ended up waiting at the airport for about 2 hours. But, spent the time chatting with Enge, a Dutch aid worker. She had just spend 2 months working in the Bhutanese refugee camps in eastern Nepal. This was part of her master's degree in nutrition. About 100k people were thrown out of their homes and country by a new government in Bhutan 17 years ago.

Ultimately, my reason for going to Nepal was to trek. In particular, I went to do the Jomsom/Muktinath trek from Nayapul.

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