Day #2 - Kathmandu Arrival

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Despite getting on a plane that was boarding at Gate 13, the flight to Kathmandu was decent and most importantly landed without incident. Immediately you can see the difference in the people on the plane, which was mostly occupied with what looked to me to be real Nepalese.....so exciting. Lots of smiles, friendly faces, but with a perceptible granite interior. I can see now why the Ghurkas are a feared fighting troop. A few were taking panoramic video shots of the passengers. I smiled as he panned past my seat - maybe I will now be immortalised on a Nepalese warrior’s home move I muse.

I settled myself down into the window seat next to the Emergency exit. At least I would be first out the plane then if it crashed!! I do my dutiful bit and listen to the flight briefing. As always, I wonder what the point of the life vests are.

Having only had about 5 hours sleep in the last 36 hours, I was becoming more and more fatigued. Attempting to sleep was proving to be more difficult than I expected. Dozing off into a semi conscious state, my brain would then wake me again engaging my vocal cords into some kind of random grunt or shout each time. My fellow passengers in the seats to my left were getting somewhat alarmed at my bizarre behavior. It was no good, I would just have to stay awake for every body’s sake. Time to put on some tunes...with Tenacious D being the best tunes to keep me awake.

As the darkness descended outside the plane we began our final approach to Kathmandu. I had wondered for years what Nepal would be like, and was finally going to find out. The landing proved somewhat unnerving, as the closer to the ground we got, there didn’t seem to be any sign of the airport instructure you normally see outside the window as you touchdown. Then we landed - phew. Nothing to worry about.

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