What to Do - Kathmandu!!!!!

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After a really great send off in England and Sweden I set off on my long journey for Nepal. I had to fly via Hong Kong so had to go way past Nepal to then fly 5 hours back in the opposite direction. Due to a change in the flights it was a really tight connection and although I made it my bags didn't 😞 I am now reunited with my backpack but it took a few days and meant that I had to hang out here in Kathmandu for a bit longer than expected.

It was all a bit of a shock to the system to be honest being thrown back into the whole travelling thing after a good few months in Europe. I guess I had got used to home comforts again but it didn't take long to get back into the swing of things. Once I had cleared customs and the swine flu checks(!!) and got over the fact that I was leaving the airport without my backpack I got into the taxi and automatically went to put the seatbelt on. How silly!!! No one wears seat belts in asia - in fact you are lucky if there even is one. As soon as we went round our first round about leaving the airport my door flew open so I had to hold it shut for the rest of the trip!! Welcome back to Asia!!

Kathmandu is full on! I would have left after just one night or maybe two if it was not for my bag as it was difficult for me to handle but now I have got used to being back in Asia it is really growing on me.

It is a hectic, humid, very smoggy asian city that has lots of energy and I guess the closest comparison I can make is to Bangkok but here as it is based in central asia it is a melting pot for many different cultures and religions. It is nestled inbetween India and Tibet and is heavily influenced by both cultures. The 2 main religions here are hinduism and buddhist but people here are fairly liberal and there is a big mix between the two.

There is a lot of poverty and the pollution is terrible here as they use some type of petrol that is really cheap but really bad for the environment and awful for your lungs. Most people walk around with facemasks for the pollution.

I am staying in Thamel which is a tourist ghetto - every time you walk down the street people are trying to get you into taxis, ontoi rickshaws and into their shops and tour offices so after a few days enough is enough and time to move on!!

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