Blogs from Thamal, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia - page 2

Hi all - the wanderer has eventually made it to Kathmandu - still no flights from Lukla today so an exciting chopper ride over the mountains brought us down. Don't really know why they don't just use choppers all the time but I guess it's a cost thing. Flight(s) to Delhi and then London are now tomorrow (21st) morning so back on schedule merely a day later than expected but all good. Now to exploit the delights of the lowlands just enough to allow the wanderer to rise early enough to make it back to the airport tomorrow morning...... read more

The complete lack of road signs in Nepal has definately kept this trip interesting, if at times a little frustrating. Pulling up next to some poor local and exclaiming "Butawal! Butawal?!" and waving my hand in the general direction I'm travelling. And a reply of "Yes, ahh!" didn't always mean I was going the right way, just that they thought it was. And to be honest, some of the wrong turns and long ways round have led to some amazingly beautiful places, fantastic riding roads and always been worth the detour. Such was my ride to Lumbini. The guy from the night before at the hotel had advised me to take a back road. "Main road too busy, many buses, maybe 3 hours. This road quiet, maybe take two hours." I mentally added an hour to ... read more

At 5:20pmwe finally boarded the bus to Kathmandu. It didn't look too bad at first, until I realized that whoever had designed it had forgotten about one fundamental point: legs. The generally shorter Nepalese had enough trouble fitting in, and it certainly wasn't designed for a six foot westerner with a strapping pair of thighs (if I do say so myself). Surprisingly though, almost as soon as I sat down and fired up "The Hunting of the Snark" on my IPod, I fell blissfully, soundly asleep. This was a mistake. I woke up an hour later to excruciating pain in my right knee. Jammed against the seat in front of me it was getting a real hammering every time we hit a bump or pothole, of which there were plenty. My left leg had escaped most ... read more

The departure lounge was a little bit more modern than the flight booking lobby – but only just. Checking the flight board for our flight to determine the take off time didn’t improve my worries at all. Whilst I could find several Tara Air flights to Lukla, Flight 113 was shown, and more worrying were the numerous flights who destination was listed as “Mountain”. I hoped our flight was one of those. After some 50 minutes of waiting our flight was called over the tannoy and we proceeded outside and onto a waiting bus. The feeling in my stomach intensified, in a not dissimilar way when queuing for a rollercoaster at a Theme Park, where each step closer to the front of the queue makes you feel more and more nervous. The bus we were on ... read more

Early start today for a spot of World Heritage sightseeing in Kathmandu. Heading out to the eastern part of Kathmandu, we trundle through busy streets to the never-ending sound of honking horns and suicidal bike riders. First on the list is Pasupatinath Temple which is one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world, located on the banks of the Bagmati River. The temple served as the seat of the national deity, Lord Pashupatinath didnt you know. The temple is one of two sites close by which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The walk down the path to the temple is through a selection of stalls and hawkers selling anything from singling bowls to some kind of fiddle. Politely refusing all kinds of offers of goods, I make my way ... read more