http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Nepal , Kathmandu , Thamel en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:11:11 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:11:11 UTC Only photos for now...but we will blog later http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-349333.html All excited about our boarder crossing untill we had to trapse with our back packs for like half and hour to get there.... Went through ok and made it onto the Friendship Bridge. Here there is a red line painted half way along it signifying the boarder.... as we crossed a Nepali guy shouted to us 'Leaving China and waved his hands.... Probably how most of us felt.... It was bizzare it actually d http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-347125.html The trip here was 'interesting'. The flight to Bahrain was fine. When I got to Bahrain airport the connecting flight to Kathmandu wasn't on the board. After speaking to a group of OAPs on an Exodus walking holiday it turned out that Exodus had called them the day before to say it had been cancelled and they would have to wait to get one 7 hours later at 1645. So I tagged along with them t http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-345551.html I'm off to Royal Chitwan National Park in the morning for three days It should be a great way to end a fantastic trip 'll be back in Kathmandu on Friday afternoon 15 Nov 2008 and I leave the next morning for home. I'm not sure if I'll have internet access again for not but no worries I'm fine Fingers crossed for rhino and tiger sitings in the park http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-343932.html Don't know if I'll be abe to email you on the fourth so I'm going to say it nowHappy BirthdayHave a great day eat lots of cake and know that I'm going to be thinking about you.I'll give you your present in New ZealandLoving and missing youKatePS Will someone please show this to Mum if she's still suffering from internet illiteracy. http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-340822.html Sorry I haven't been updating there's been too many distractions and not enough internet terminals along the way but I'll start filling in the blanks soon. Too save time entries will now be listed by different places not day by day which works well as we're staying longer in the same places now.Missing you allKate http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-340186.html My favorite time to walk in Kathmandu is in the morning. Thamel the tourist area of Kathmandu gets up late. I like to be up early. I come out of my hotel room and walk down the streets to the few cafes that are open early. On the streets I meet the women that are sweeping the road the dogs that will soon go back to sleep and this morning I even saw a cow that was eating some white powder http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-338153.html I can't believe that we've been married and out of the country for more than two months now. It's been two months since I've worn heels or carried a purse used a cell phone seen friends or family though the new friends we've made have helped immensely slept in the same place more than two nights in a row cooked a meal myself had more than three outfits to choose fromHowever those are sm http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-336091.html The flight was quite exhausting because it was overnight and the board entertainment lsquoSex and the city Moviersquo and lsquoIndiana Jonesrsquo was far too interesting to just sleep. We arrived in Kathmandu in the afternoon around 4 and fortunately the pick up service from our hotel which we had booked in advance was there. Otherwise it can be hell at arrival as there are hundreds of http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-335302.html I left from Vancouver at 130 am on October 6th. I had layovers in Taipai Hong Kong and Bangkok before finaly getting to Kathmandu late last night. My last plane Bangkok to Kathmandu was VERY delayed. The flight was with Royal Nepal Airlines which since arriving I have heard many people discourage. No wonder it was so cheap Even if the planes aren't the most reliable they had a very unique http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-332530.html Starting at the station in Arnhem many thanks dad we boarded the nice smooth ICE train to Dusseldorf. Getting into he right carriage No. 24 was no problem finding seats 111 113 was Try walking the train one end to the other with it travelling 152kmhr and with backpacks on your back Just like Jan always says You never get lost when you're with me you just see a lot more I missed http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-330440.html 259Stepping 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 aircon. 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 ano http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-329379.html Day 197200 23th26th SeptemberWe arrived back from Tibet so today Raj picked us up and we toured the old historical part of town in Kathmandu. We never knew it existed previously and luckily we saw it as it was beautiful We saw the old Royal Palace which is now simply a monument to the Dead Royal Family the Kumari house and numerous Hindu temples Nepalese style of courseFYI The Nepalese R http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-329318.html Nepal to be completely honest we were overwhelmed with the beauty of Nepal. It's definitely a destination that Kico and I will return to one day to partake in some serious mountain trekking.We loved Nepal alot and of course this is always due to the people we met and is helped by the breathtaking scenery we encountered along the way too. Day 183 9 SeptemberINDIA After spending the day faffin http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-328571.html It's been a while since I wrote a blog... Not that I had nothing to say The day I landed in Asia again I had so much to say but it's been a couple weeks now and I probably forgot a lot of what I wanted to say. About being in the airport in Addis Ababa looking at all the different people from everywhere in the world except probably Canada dressed in their traditional clothes. About being http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-327789.html NamasteWe arrived safely in Kathmandu after a monster flight. 28c on arrival hotter than we expected.After getting our visas and bags we were picked up at the airport by Rishi our hotel manager Hotel Potala. The drive to the hotel was mental. Cars buses motorbikes and people just everywhere everyone beeping and being so close to each other I am surprised we didn't kill someone Kath http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-324984.html As is usually the case i am chasing my tail again Cardiff university wants some forms filled in i have been sent only one and apparently the rest are needed ASAP. Bugger my bus leaves Kathmandu at 5.30am and i have to be on it.Am trying to figure out if i can trek an extra couple of hours a day to make up for one more day in kathmandu to sort this.....anyway such is the normal pattern of my li http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-321981.html Hi guys just updating my blog from my time in Katmandu but it will be rather short because it has been a while since we where there and the crazy party place of Bangkok has made me extremely tied and lazy getting a flight to Hanoi today to chill out and drink some 10p beer.Anyway we went rafting on our way to Katmandu which was amazing there was a kid in our rafting who was annoyingly screaming w http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-320330.html To the west of Thamel is the Monkey temple if ever there was a good reason to leave the oppressiveness of Thamel this is it. On top of a hillside with an unending number of steps lies one of the most famous temples in the region. The first and most striking thing about the place is the wonderful views afforded all those that can manage these steps and still have the energy to look aroud. Again http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-316460.html Words like life character and energy push their way to my consciousness as I focus my efforts towards absorbing the controlled disorder of Kathmandu being hammered at all 5 of my senses at once. Relaxing holiday Nope. Less than an hour into my first trip to a thirdworld country and I was hardly expecting it to so outrageously redefine my perspective of life.Finding my feet quick smart for fear http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-315910.html Yesterday was a surreal experience the highest commercial bungy in the world certainly pulls no punches. I was the first to go i think because i was the heaviest the remit being if it can hold me then it can hold everyone else. In the few minutes leading up to the jump it's best not to contemplate what is to come for fear of questioning the your own sanity.166 metres was a long way down i wa http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-315592.html Today was interesting i wanted to know how i would deal with the heat the steep hills the sudden downpours and anything else unexpected. True to form i pointed myself in one direction and walked. 3 hours later i was going off my map so i had to turn around but what a walk i had gone past a forest reserve where the government in their haste had not considered the locals' need to collect firewo http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-315052.html Living in Thamel isn't pleasant so it was off to Patan Durbar square today. Although this is a tourist hotspot in fact a guy didn't even wait for me to get out of the taxi before he started to ply his waresit is well worth the visit. I used one of the guides vying for my business and was given a really comprehensive 1 hour tour. What a great place so much to see and so much information.The exp http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-314512.html DAY 2.....Well day 1 didn't go well although i packed it well i cut myself on a scalpel i had brought in my medical bag. I spent the first hour of my arrival suturing my right index finger with my left hand...not the best of starts.I didn't really know what to expect from Kathmandu and certainly i don't think Thamel is in any way representative of the city itself but I find the ubiquitous trad http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-313810.html Namaste Is hello in Nepali. So far I have been in Nepal for about 10 days now and what a break it is from India although the two countries are very similar. There are not as many people though the cities are still crowded the people are friendly and not always trying to rip you off but you have to be on your guardI completed a 6 day trek with several Koreans I met to Annapurna Base Camp near http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-310367.html August 1st 2008Waiting in queue to check in for our flight Bangkok to Kathmandu we had our first taste of Nepal. Every cart was loaded with at least 10 tiny bags or 3 oversized ones. Bags were created out of tape. I want a tape bag next time. Also no real line was formed Closest to the counter wins. Flying into Kathmandu was not what I was expecting. It was very flat even once we began our http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-307401.html Saturday August 18 2007 at 507am So it is my final day here in Thamel I am really looking forward to coming home as am finding Kathmandu really touristy loud and boring. I wish now I had spent a couple of days longer at the orphanage home. There is nothing Nepali about Thamel it is like being in the airport arrivals lounge rather than the actual country.Saying that had a really good nigh http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-306886.html Wednesday August 15 2007 at 1133am So there were lots of tears at the orphan home this mornin and only a few of them mine. Laxmi was inconsolable she kept saying you my daughter you lot of lovely other volunteers not lot of lovely... but I bet she says that to all of the girls The kiddies all drew me pictures and wrote me letters I was so sad to leave but very glad to get to a hotel http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-306880.html Tuesday July 24 2007 at 240pm Well I bloody made it can you believe it With only my amazing common sense and razor sharp wit as my guides I have arrived in one piece Have booked into a little hotel in Thamel for the night then shall start the long journey to Chitwan tomorrow morning. This place is amazing what a culture shock though. Everything in the city is just buzzing and everyone i http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/Thamel/blog-306872.html