Nepal - Kathmandu


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May 17th 2012
Published: May 17th 2012
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Nepal:

After a month in China I was looking forward to getting to a new country. My attempt to go to Tibet was not to be. I wasn't able to find 3 other Americans to sign up for a tour group (a new law that went into effect that week). I did fly though Lhasa, so I was able to see a bit of Tibet. Getting off the plane to switch to my connecting flight, I could feel the elevation difference. The land looked arid until the snow capped mountains.

Kathmandu - One of the main reasons I came to Nepal was because I wasn't able to get a visa for India in China, due to time restrictions I had in Beijing. It was also on the way to India and made for a good stop off. Landing in Kathmandu and exiting to find my driver was chaotic. The first thing I noticed were trucks carrying United Nation soldiers. There were a lot of people waiting outside for travelers and taxi drivers. Apparently, there was a strike that day as well. I wasn't able to find my driver so I ended up taking a taxi to my hotel. I ended up paying too much and I knew it as soon as I made the deal.

I stayed at a hotel that a friend in China recommended. The accommodations were ok, but they turned the electricity off for half the day - everyday! Apparently the hotel uses solar power during the day and a diesel generator for the rest of the day. The outlets are only on the diesel generator grid. There is a load schedule that's written on a wall. I tired to plan my internet time around it so I could charge my phone and computer.

Priority #1 was to apply for the Indian visa. In China it would have taken 7 business days. In Nepal, it was only 5. I figured this would give me enough time to see the city, go on a hike, and relax. Kathmandu is very much a hippie town. There are definitely a lot more westerners here than what I saw in China. It also seems like all the shops here sell camping equipment, souvenirs, travel services, or food.

The first few days I took it easy in Kathmandu. After a month of hard-core traveling through China, I was ready for a break. I ruled out climbing Mt. Everest for a variety of reasons. First, I have no business climbing Mt. Everest. Second, it costs about $25,000 for the permit. Third, it's all the way back on the Chinese border. Fourth, I really have no business climbing Mt. Everest. It's definitly for experienced climbers only. There are about 120 bodies still on the mountain that can't be recovered. I did meet some people who went to base camp. Apparently, if you do climb Mt. Everest, you need to acclimate to the elevation at the base camps for a few days before continuing.

Since I ruled out that I figured I would go on a hike instead in the Himalayan foothills. I got a guide and headed 2 hours outside of Kathmandu for the 3.5-hour hike. Apparently, this guy's friend wanted to come along for fun. We took a bus to the top of the hill and went to a restaurant to see the view. The day was hazy and by the time we got to the lookout point I could only barely see 2 of the major peaks. Apparently, Nepal has 8 of the world's 10 tallest mountains. Their peaks are all within a few hundred meters of Mt. Everest. The hike was mostly downhill, but on a hot sunny day it didn't matter. We walked through small villages and right by people's homes, dodging chickens and dogs. Eventually, we got to the main temple in the area. Lastly we went to the old Dunbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There isn’t much to talk about what I did in Nepal. This was very much a laid back couple of days for me. Since I wasn't going on a multi-day trek, I read a book called, "Oil On the Brain". The book focused on how oil goes from the ground to the gas tank. The first page and last pages of the book spoke about oil's origins in the US and mentioned my hometown of Oil City, PA. I did do a lot of walking around my hotel too and consumed an unusual amount of Italian food while I was here. I saw Dunbar Square here and the "Freak Street" part, though I didn't see too many freaks. I saw the main temple in Kathmandu. It had a lot of monkeys running around it like in Bali. Kathmandu is one of the dirtiest cities I've been too. The streets and sidewalks are one in the same. There is a constant sound of motorcycles and honking. Motorcycles are constantly dodging pedestrians and viceversa.

Nepal is a very poor country. I'd put it on par with what I saw in Cambodia and Myanmar. I've started judging countries on the quality of their cows. The cows in Nepal are pretty weak looking. They also seem to have free rain over where they go, as I saw many cows walking or even laying down in the middle of major streets. There is no shortage of beggars in Nepal. However, I did notice a lot more children asking for money than what I saw in other places in Asia. The Nepalese people were all very nice to me. The people at the hotel knew me by name.

I was able to get my India visa on my last day in Kathmandu. Luckily there was no problem. I spent my last day reading a new book I got called, "Liars Poker". I spent my last Nepalese Rupees and got a good night's rest.

Next stop - India!


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View of the mountiansView of the mountians
View of the mountians

Hard to see but they're there


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