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Published: March 30th 2013
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We arrived in Kathmandu late last night and today has been quite full of activities so this is the first chance I've had to get on a computer. The group was 11 in size leaving the UK with 2 more joining us in Kathmandu.
We flew from Heathrow to Kathmandu via Abu Dhabi with Etihad airways. Both flights were on time but we had a 7 hour stopover in Abu Dhabi so 5 of us decided to try and go into Abu Dhabi city centre to pass some time and to have a general look around. In fact it turned out to be quite easy to leave the airport plus you get the extra entry and exit stamps in your passport for the United Arab Emirates. There is a shuttle bus just outside terminal 3 which leaves every half hour and takes half an hour to get to the Abu Dhabi central bus station. After changing 10 pounds into UAE Dirhams we caught the bus. The fare is 4 dirhams which is about 80p.
It was fairly cool as we set off (which was only about 8am) but by the time we got off the bus in the city
Abu Dhabi Mosque
sorry for the green hue - photo taken from inside the airport shuttle bus centre it was already quite hot. After wandering around for a while we came to the conclusion that Abu Dhabi was a pretty new city consisting of mainly fairly new concrete buildings. Before finding anything that looked traditional we were already weary of wandering this in the heat. A large proportion of the population are emigrant workers from various other Asian countries and when we eventually found a cafe that was open it turned out to be a cafe catering primarily to the the Filipino expat community. We enjoyed a pleasant coffee and cakes there before heading back to the bus station. By the time we got back to the airport, 5 of the 7 hours had passed so although there was not much to see, I was glad I had taken the opportunity to get out for a while.
It has been 4 years since my previous visit to Kathmandu but it looked as though very little had changed in the airport arrivals. We spent and hour and a half queueing to get the obligatory visa and finally left the airport at about 9:15pm from a flight that landed on time at 7:30. The representatives from the travel
Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu
taken from the rooftop restaurant of the Hotel Tibet company were there waiting for us however and we were quickly tranferred to the Hotel Tibet International near the Boudhanath stupa.
After dumping our bags in our rooms we had a meal in the restaurant then pretty much went straight to bed after being on the move for well over 24 hours. I slept very well and woke up about 6:30. After a shower it was up to the roof-top restaurant for a lazy relaxing breakfast.
At 9am we had a whistle-stop tour of some of Kathmandu's main sites - The Pashupatinath Hindu temple area, the Swayambunath Buddhist/Hindu temples and then a walk through Durbar Square and a visit to the main ex-imperial palace museums. We then took cycle rickshaws to a restaurant in the Thamel area for lunch. Some of us had ordered sleeping bags and/or duvet jackets some weeks earlier so the next stop was to Shona's outdoor gear shop in Thamel to collect and pay for these. This shop is run by an ex-Brummie and his Tibetan wife and is well known for selling good quality trekking gear including their own brand which was what we had gone there for. After spending a bit more
Pashu Patinath Temple
Kathmandu's primary Hindu site on the holy Bagmati river - preparations are made for a cremation time wandering around the shops in the Thamel area we took a taxi back to the hotel for an evening meal.
Tomorrow morning we are booked on the second flight of the day from Kathmandu to Lukla to start the trek proper. This requires us to be at the airport for 7:30am so we need to be ready for breakfast at 6:00am. Hopefully I will get chance to update this blog again from an internet cafe on the trek ...
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Dorothy
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Hi Dad!
Sounds like you've already managed to pack a lot in before you even got to Kathmandu! It's cool you were allowed out to see Abu Dhabi on your stopover. Even better that you met a Brummie! Hope landing at Lukla wasn't too nerve-wracking!! Dorothy