Arriving in Kathmandu

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I arrived in Kathmandu after a longish flight at about midday as I planned to spend a few days sightseeing here before heading off for some serious trekking. My friend would be meeting me in 2 days time to trek. My nepalese trekking company had kindly arranged a guide for us for Kathmandu so I had him all to myself which was great as we could do whatever I felt like. We visited the beautiful Swayambunath on a high hill in Kathmandu which was my first experience of a Buddhist stupa. We approached the main stupa from the steep stone stairs in gorgeous sunshine. Several monkey families bounded about the stairway and I kept a hand on my water as I could see them eyeing it up! The stairs were flanked with religious statues of peacocks and mythical beasts. All sorts of people were scaling these stairs, some who looked improbably elderly but then as my guide explained, most things are uphill in Nepal. Oh how true that turned out to be! Swayambunath is a beautiful, magically atmospheric first place to visit in the Kathmandu Valley. The smells of burning incense and the butter candles infused the air which was still and cool. All the while the gentle sounds of 'Om Mani Padmi Hum' were being chanted musically in a rhythmic way. What is special about this place is that it is still a living place of worship where locals spins prayer wheels, light candles and visit shrines. I was glad that the Nepali people there outnumbered the tourists who steadily increased in numbers after the quiet early morning. As I looked out from the balcony at the edge over the whole of Kathmandu city, it felt amazing to feel as if I was in another world.

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