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Published: January 23rd 2009
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I was lucky enough to have 3 seats to myself on the flight to Kathmandu so I curled up and tried to sleep in between my coughing fits. The chill hit me as I stepped off the plane and I hoped it wouldn’t be long until I was tucked up in bed. I had to get my visa on arrival. Thankfully I had USD and skipped through the queue fairly quickly (can you imagine, they won’t let you pay for a Nepal visa with Nepali Rupees!). A sign with my name on was a welcome sight as I exited the airport. As we drove through the dark quiet streets to the guesthouse the driver asked where I had come from. He then said ‘Well you’re safely in Nepal now’, as he said that I looked out the window to see an army platoon patrolling the blacked out city streets closely followed by a UN jeep. I felt like I was in Bagdad. I wondered what I had let myself in for.
The staff at the Guesthouse explained that the country was experiencing some issues with power. With low water levels the hydro electric stations couldn’t produce enough power. Many industries have
had to close for lack of power. This explained why the city was in almost total black out at night. Power is out for 16 hours a day over the whole country. When the power will come on or go off is anyone’s guess. The Guesthouse had backup lights fed from a battery and solar powered showers (only hot after lunchtime) and to their credit they produced hot drinks and hot meals at any time.
I was feeling awful (I’ll spare you the gory details). The lack of heating, electricity and home comforts (like soft mattress and pillows) made me feel even sorrier for myself. The first few days in Kathmandu are a bit of a blur. I slept mostly, waking only to take a layer off if I was sweating or put one on (more likely) if still shivering under a pile of blankets and layers of clothes.
My foot began protesting at the cold. The Kathmandu valley is pretty high up and although it can be warm during the day it’s pretty cold at nights. I began to realize that my room at the Guesthouse was probably the coldest part of Kathmandu, even during the day.
It probably didn’t do me any good hibernating in it for a few days. I decided to get out and see a little.
First was the Everest flight. Since my foot wasn’t going to allow any trekking it was the only way I was going to get to see the peak. A one hour flight with Yeti Airlines in a Jetstream aircraft, window seat and the best views of the Himalayas. Sounds good eh? It was. As the plane lifted above the mist at the airport a spectacular line of snow topped mountains came into view. Snow capped craggy peak after snow capped craggy peak. Truly spectacular. The air hostess pointed out the different peaks and we followed along with the help of a leaflet. We flew down the side of the Himalayas and eventually Everest appeared. A perfect view of a perfect triangular peak. I was face to face with the highest point on earth. Something I’ll never forget. We flew back over Kathmandu airport, and onwards. Ten minutes later the captain casually announced that Kathmandu airport was now closed and we would land at Pokhara instead. Pokhara is over 200k away from Kathmandu! There were a few
concerned voices from the other passengers; some had international flights to catch. We landed and were reassured we would only be there for a short time. I browsed the airport stall while I waited. The selection of reading material was interesting; maps of Nepal, climbing books, folk tales, Tin Tin in Tibet and the Karma Sutra. What an eclectic mix. After half an hour we boarded the plane again and set off for Kathmandu. The little diversion turned out to be an added bonus, we had an amazing view of another famous mountain, Machhapuchhare or Fish Tail Mountain, a perfect pyramid on the skyline just north of Pokhara.
On my second little trip I hired a car and driver for the day as I’m not brave enough to experience Kathmandu public transport. We had 3 stops on the itinerary. First was the old city of Bhaktapur; a pretty old town with cobbled streets, elaborately carved wooden windows, no traffic, temples and old palace buildings. A major earthquake in 1934 caused extensive damage to the city but it’s been restored beautifully. Bhaktapur was a welcome change to the noise and squalor of Kathmandu.
My driver was exceptional; he looked
17 but told me he was 27! The roads in and around Kathmandu are pot holed, crowded with brightly painted trucks, pedestrians (pavements are a rarity) and the odd sacred cow wandering around (killing a cow in Nepal carries a 2 year jail sentence) and he negotiated them without scraping the car or indeed a person! Even though these sacred cows have their freedom many are in the city, grazing on whatever is available namely the piles of rotting rubbish that line the streets, plastic bags and all. I’m not sure where they drink from as even the main river through the city is a swirl of black sewerage rather than a flowing river of water. The women were mostly wearing beautiful saris or colourful flowing tunic and trousers with matching scarf and the red tika dotted on their foreheads. The men of all ages seemed to be wearing ‘North Face’ jackets. Also it was incredible watching the locals carry immensely heavy loads along the streets, balanced on their backs with a strap over their head taking the strain. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we passed a very old man carrying a full size wardrobe in this manner.
Second stop was Patan on the outskirts of Kathmandu and its Durbar Square. The square is filled with temples dedicated to various Hindu gods and goddesses. I hired a guide who talked me through each one in turn and explained some of the ritual ceremonies (pointing out some entrails that were still hanging above a doorway).
Last on the list was Swayambhunath also known as the Monkey Temple, probably the best known symbol of Kathmandu. It‘s a Buddhist temple on top of a hill in West Kathmandu that’s had religious significance for at least 2000 years. The monkeys that live on the hill have become part of the attraction to the site for tourists. I walked to the top of the hill and gazed out over Kathmandu. As the city stretched before me, what caught my eye was the number of birds of prey circling the skies. Dozens of them. I rounded a corner and found a whole colony (30+) all perched in the trees looking out over the city.
That night I made the short walk to Thamel, the tourist centre of Kathmandu. I’d found some redeeming features that day of a city that I didn’t think
would have a chance at winning me over. Thamel main street was lit up like Christmas, full of tourist shops selling embroidered clothes and bags, wooly hats, paper lanterns, books, jewellery, handmade paper, and a host of outdoor clothing shops for trekkers (Susan shopping heaven). I even had pizza instead of the local Daal Bhaat. It was all very civilized compared to my first encounter with Kathmandu, until I turned the corner to make my way back to the Guesthouse. The streets returned to blackout, the smell of rotting rubbish filled the air and I fumbled my way along the pitch black alley to my ice-box room.
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