Rupees, rafting and rooftops.

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25/9
Stepping off the plane onto the tarmac at Kathmandu was a relief, there at last. The airport is very unflattering, small brick building, stiffling hot amd no air-con. Adam and I join the que for or visas. An hour and a half later and a dozen different counters we are on the way. It seems it takes 6 people to organise a visa. Pay one, another sticks it in your passport, another signs it and another stamps it.

We collect our bags and make for customs, what customs? Walk straight out the terminal into a multitude of taxi drivers joustling for our business. We settle on the airport service to save being fleeced and make our way to Thamel, our home for the next few days. Our taxi is a snall clapped out old van, but it does the job and provides a humerous journey throught the Kathmandu traffic.

Like any good traveller the first thing on the agenda is beer, we make ourselves confortable in Pub Maya, order an Everest beer on the balcony and look over the Lonely Planet for a hotel. A canadian makes conversation and recommends his hotel as cheap and cheerful. As the rain drizzles down we head off to get a room. No luck at his hotel, the rooms are pretty bad. We end up at the Happy Home Guest House, it will do.

7pm we meet with Drew at Tom and Jerry's Pub, he has been travelling through India and Iran, he will be joing us for Nepal. After another beer we head out for dinner and a taste of the local food. In bed by 9 tonight.

26/9
Adam and I set off early for the Indian Embassy, have decided to get our visas now to save coming back to Kathmandu later. Have to go back on the 1st of October.
Meet Drew for lunch then head off on a walk to Patan's Durbar Square, just outside of Kathmandu.
The walk takes a few hours (we got lost a few times, not bad with the tourist map though!) but we see the streets of Kathmandu up close and personal, not from the window of a stuffy cab.
The streets are pretty filthy and the river stinks but the walk is none the less enjoyable.

Sat on a roof top over looking Durbar Square and had tea before heading back to Thamel and all the touts trying to sell us something, taxi and rickshaw rides, marijuana, trinkets and food.

27/9
Hired bikes and rode to Boudhanath Stupa, traffic wasn't to bad to navigate, but they are certainly interesting, unsealed and bumby in sections, shared with cows and plenty of taxis. The Stupa was quiet niceand spenmt time walking around it. There were 2 dwarf monks running around a prayer wheel and laughing much to everyones amusement.

We then rode cross town to the Swoyambhunath Stupa (monkey temple) and watched the monkies play before tackling the enourmous staircase for a veiw over Kathmandu. Checked out Freak St for dinner which was the hippie haunt of the 70's, then went to the Thamel Tourist Festival which was full of drunk Nepalese guys and noone else so we left.

28/9
Found out Hawks won!
Checked out Kathmandu's Durbar Square.
Took a walk to Pashupatinath, a hindu temple, could only look at it from the outside as non hindus can't enter, there is a giant gold bull in the gate way with his balls exposed to the people on the outside! Saw a body being cremated on the Bagmati River behind the temple.

It rained all afternoon and night.

29/9
Left Kathmandu for our rafting trip on the Bhote Kosi.
It was great to get out of the city and see some mountains, our first veiw of the Himalaya!
Drew fell in the river before the trip had even began!
Had a great day paddling with some awesome rapids.
Stayed at Borderlands Eco Resort, very beautiful, with nice gardens and awesome food.
A school group of young nepalese kids were staying there too and were going off singing and dancing to Shakira and Avril.

30/9
Beautiful clear day, blue skies and perfect rafting conditions.
Sat on bus roof back to Kathmandu and had great panaoramic veiws of Himalayas.
Road was washed out at one stage and bus just fit over!
Passed truck down a ditch ans saw a bus back into another one and take it's windows out.
Found cheap place for dinner.

01/10
Collected Indian Visa, had to go there in moring to hand on forms, then back in the arvo to collect.

02/10
Caught public bus to Pokhara at 6.40am. Sat on roof for trip but had to get down for every police check. Took 2 1/2 hours just to get out of Kathmandu, had to get off the bus at one stage and walk half way down the hill, not sure why.
Had lunch in roadside shanty, am sure it wasn't clean but no one got sick!
Ended up with goat next to me for half the trip, some buses had their roof and back section of the bus full of goats, glad we were not on one of those!

Arrived in Pokhara 10 hours later, not bad for a 203km trip.

03/10
Organised trekking permits from ACAP and bus to Besisahar for the start of the trek.

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