Kathmandu Valley

I arrived at Kathmandu airport - Nepal's only international one - in the early afternoon. After I paid the visa fee (US$ 30, passport photo required) at the immigration desk I was allowed to proceed to the luggage belt to find out whether my luggage had arrived. Despite the chaos at Delhi airport where I had boarded the flight my luggage had actually made it. I left the airport and took a taxi into Kathmandu.

The Last Resort

It was only a few hours earlier that I could study my Lonely Planet Nepal guidebook. There was one article which sparked my interest: it described various sport activities at a place called The Last Resort, some 100km away from Kathmandu. Hence, I asked the taxi driver to drop me off at The Last Resort's booking office in Kathmandu, located in Thamel. Once there, I was pleased to find out that a 2 day trip to The Last Resort was scheduled to leave the next morning. I booked the trip and found a nearby, cheap place to stay the night (Luna Hotel, US$ 5).

At 6am the next day I met a group of fellow travellers at the Last Resort's booking office. We climbed into a minibus which took us to The Last Resort, located just 12km south from the Tibetan border. Climbing uphill on a rather dangerous bended road it took us the best part of 3 hours to get there. The Last Resort sits on a dramatic ridge above the Bhote Kosi river and we had to cross a dramatic suspension foot bridge to get there. My accommodation at the resort was a simple but comfortable safari tent; hot showers were just around the corner in a separate building and both plunge pool and sauna were also available.

After lunch we met for an initial briefing on the equipment and techniques used for abseiling. We put on our protection gear and left the resort on foot. After walking some 10 minutes we arrived at a small stream which led into the Panglang Khola canyon. Here, one of our two guides demonstrated how to abseil down a large boulder and some small cascades. We followed one by one and everybody found it rather easy but nonetheless quite exciting. However, it should become much more exciting when we arrived at the last rock. Here, the water cascade vanished into a vertical nothingness. When it was my turn I shuffled backwards to the drop-off and leant right back until my feet were at 90 degrees from the rock face. However, this did not prevent me from slipping on the mossy, water-polished surface whilst icy water crashed onto my helmet and into my face. I was surprised to arrive at the bottom of this final, 45m deep drop mostly unscathed. As everybody else, I felt quite thrilled by this experience. We had to climb up a steep path out of the gorge and arrived back at the resort in the late afternoon. After chilling out for a few hours we were served a buffet dinner in the well-kept gardens of The Last Resort.

The next morning I had an early breakfast before attending the briefing for both bungee and swing. My weight was taken and noted down - and I wished I had not eaten so much for breakfast.

The 'ultimate bungee' straddles a mighty 160m drop into the gorge of the Bhote Kosi river. It's one of the world's longest bungee jumps and the roars and squeals of free falling tourists echo up and down the valley for miles.
Lonely Planet, Nepal

So just after 8am on a Thursday morning I found myself in a tight harness on the middle of a narrow suspension bridge in northern Nepal, shuffling forward to the end of a platform. Some real joker had written "Do you really want to do this?" on its edge. However, I had left my brain at the end of the bridge (as recommended by the bungee staff) so luckily I couldn't think about it. I looked down into the deep gorge, took an even deeper breath and - jumped. I fell for what felt like ages, in fact it must have been only some 4 or 5 seconds before the elastic bungee rope tightened. It was interesting to feel my eyeballs wanting to continue their way down when I was actually pulled up again. I reached the highest point somewhere under the suspension bridge and became weightless for a few moments before gravity took control and I fell down again. I went up and down like a yo-yo for a few times before I eventually stopped and could be lowered to the ground next to the river. Here, two more bungee staff helped me out of my harness and sent me up a steep path leading back to the bridge, now 160m above my head.

When I got back to the bridge I was asked to put on a different type of harness, this time one designed for the swing. Other than bungee, the swing allowed me to remain in an upright position throughout the fall.

As if the tallest Bungee in Asia wasn't enough, the fiendish minds at The Last Resort have devised the 'swing', a stomach-loosening eight-second free fall, followed by a Tarzan-like swing and then three or four pendulum swings back up and then down the length of the gorge. We feel ill just writing about it.
Lonely Planet, Nepal

It was a mere half an hour after my bungee jump that I found myself standing at the edge of the platform again. This time I jumped feet first. After free falling for a few seconds the rope tightened and I was pulled forward at an enormous speed, reaching a top speed of 150kph at the bottom point. I could see the trees flying past on either side when I went up the other side, completing the 240m long arch. I did a number of truly giant swings before I came to rest on a recovery rope some 40m above the river. From here, I had to pull myself to a recovery platform on the side of the gorge. I actually found the swing even more enjoyable than the bungee.

Around 10am we checked out of the resort and boarded a bus which took us to a quiet spot on the Bhote Kosi river. Here, we changed into rafting gear and did some basic training before we boarded our white-water raft. When we pushed ourselves in the middle of the river, the current quickly took the raft downstream into the first rapids. We had to follow a variety of commands, from "Paddle forward" to "Hold on" when it got a bit hairy. For the next three hours phases of white-knuckle rides changed with calm phases of drifting along on the river surface, watching the beauty of the surrounding green slopes. Our rafting tour ended on a picturesque river bend where we pulled the rafts ashore and changed into dry clothes. A late lunch was served on the banks of the river before we boarded our bus. We drove for another two hours before we arrived back in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu

As most first-time visitors I stayed in Thamel, the biggest tourist quarter of Kathmandu (if not of the whole country). Although full of tourists it has a certain attraction due to its unique atmosphere, at least if you're staying for a few days only. Thamel is home to a large number of different hotels and hostels, shops, internet cafés and restaurants. Probably one of the best is Thamel House restaurant. I went there one evening and enjoyed a delicious set menu with traditional delicacies in a beautiful dining space just under the wooden roof.

Kathmandu's Durbar Square is well within walking distance from Thamel. However, it is easy - and truly enjoyable - to get lost in the maze of bustling and fascinating backstreets. The Kathesimbhu stupa was only the first of many interesting places I stumbled across. Wandering through the streets I came across a number of old shrines, temples, colourful markets, Buddha statues, street hawkers selling all sorts of things and a lot of magnificently carved wooden windows. Eventually, I arrived at Durbar Square (Rs 200), a complex of beautiful temples and shrines. Most of them were built between the 12th and 18th century. Durbar Square was actually the king's residence until the early 20th century.

Bodhnath is 6km from Thamel and home to Bodhnath stupa (Rs 50), one of the world’s largest stupas and at the same time one of the holiest Buddhist sites. Here, I had breakfast in the Saturday Café rooftop restaurant, offering a splendid of the large stupa, decorated with an endless number of prayer flags and busy with both monks and tourists.

Patan is separated from Kathmandu by the Bagmati river which is the only visible division between the two cities.Patan’s Durbar Square is full of temples … Moreover, more than 600 stupas and 185 bahals are scattered throughout the fascinating backstreets.
Lonely Planet Nepal

I decided to follow a walking tour described in my Lonely Planet guidebook and was truly impressed by what this city had to offer. It took me nearly half a day to complete the rather short walk. Winding its way through interlinked courtyards, dusty side streets, markets and temples, it gave a great insight into the lifestyle and culture of the local people. I spent more than one hour in the Golden

Nyokha street market
Kathmandu

Temple, tucked away behind a small wooden archway in a small courtyard. Another impressive sight was the five-storey Kumbeshwar Temple, dating back to 1392 and dominating the surrounding streets. Nearby, women collected drinking water from one of the wells and a butcher prepared and sold meat whilst ignoring even the most basic hygienic standards.

On Patan’s Durbar Square I was taken aback by the concentrated mass of temples whichis undoubtedly the most visual stunning display of Newari architecture to be seen in Nepal.
Lonely Planet Nepal

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