Kathmandu - preparing for our trek

---

We arrived on Saturday at lunch time after spending hours at the Kathmandu international airport awaiting a visa. If we'd know, we would have organised our visa prior to arrival...



Kathmandu is a messy city. Messy in the sense that it feels as though roads and buildings have been constructed without greater planning. Also it is definitely evident that Nepal is very much a developing country. The tallest buildings are approximately 5 stories tall and are guesthouses or apartments. The roads are very dusty and the traffic can be described as organised chaos however it appears like there is very little organised about it. Around Thamel, the tourist district, the roads are narrow with no footpaths and touristy trekking shops and souvenir shops spill onto the road. Pedestrians are forced to share the space with shop vendors, motorbikes, cars, rikshaws and the occasional dog. Still, it feels safe and very exciting.

Meg's first impressions were of the shear number of people walking around the main roads as we drove in from the airport - the poverty is very apparent but people still have a sense of personal pride in what they wear, what they sell and the cleanliness of their homes. We were relieved to check in to a room with an attached bathroom that had a western toilet. Meg was a little dismayed at the squatter toilets that are the local favourite. Meg is honing her squatting technique.



We spent our first full day in Kathmandu exploring the historical Durbar Square (city centre with old hindu temples and the now redundant royal palace) and obtaining trekking permits, flights and national park passes. The Durbar Square is beautiful and very touristy. The temples are in the pagoda style with every storey consisting of a terraced level that sticks out. This architectural style originated in Nepal and is replicated all around eastern Asia in various Buddhist pagodas.



By the end of the day we were fairly organised for our trek in the Sagarmartha National Park up to Everest Base Camp. We would fly on 11/03 to Lukla and begin our 2 week trek from there. The following day we did some last minute organising, chilled out and ate various foods suited to the tourist palate. Meg was still coming around to the idea of eating meat but she soon got over her fears when she saw that I didn't keel over with the first Buff Momo (buffalo tibetan dumpling).

---