Blogs from Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia - page 7

So there it was… It was time to say goodbye to Nepal… Not that I wanted to as I really got to love this country and its people. But then new countries waited to be explored and I was actually ready for new adventures as well! Especially the last week was a little bit emotional as I was on my own once again – all my buddies from Annapurna eventually had to go back to their lives, their Nepali adventure finished earlier than mine… The only thing that was keeping me in Kathmandu this last week was my Chinese visa really (it takes 4 days to issue it there usually but due to bank holidays it took a bit longer than expected)... Actually thinking about going on my own to China was a bit of a ... read more

Returning to Kathmandu, I checked into the Khangsar Guest House in Thamel. I got my own room with en suite bathroom, because, well, a shared bathroom in the state I was in just wouldn't have done. I stayed in the room all afternoon, feeling sorry for myself, and then decided to venture out and find an ATM. I was also in need of food, and craving Korean food from the restaurant opposite my guest house. So, I set out. The nearest ATM refused to give me money (blaming my bank, no less!) so I walked on to find another, winding up lost. I eventually found an ATM, but was still lost. I walked on. I bought some phone credit, but was still lost. "Hey, why not top up your phone and ring Ram for directions?" I ... read more

Leg one: Goa to Mumbai, 6:15pm. After saying my goodbyes, I was picked up by my taxi driver at 2:30pm and driven to Goa airport. I found the airport very strange. It's quite organised but in a very chaotic way, if that makes sense. There was plenty of seating, though, so I was happy. I got chatting to a kindly old Indian man (who lives in the UK) at the departure gate. He offered me a mango, but was very shady in the way he gave it to me, like he was handing me drugs. I tried to refuse but he looked offended, so I accepted it, making a mental note to ditch it on the plane. I'm sure there was nothing untoward about the fruit, but I did worry the whole way that maybe it ... read more

I love to walk the streets of Thamel. It gave me joy to see a street full of life where tourists throng to this very place for shopping, food and a round trip sightseeing by trishaws. Narrow lanes and roads with hundreds of shops of many choices to haggle from one end to another can be quite tiresome but fun. Shops here usually opens around 11.00am, people busily displaying their products, some yawn the minute they lift up the shutters, Oh what a day to start! But soon the streets began bee-busy a whole new person is born. Tibetan music filled the streets, trishaw men cling-cling their bells to call on customers, flute players playing their tune asking if you would buy one…sorry, I don’t blow. Walking Cowboy hat seller, stacked up of a few hats ... read more

I was very positively surprised when I found out that I would have a chance to witness Holi festival while I was here! Since there is no fixed date for the festival as it follows the lunar calendar, I was pretty lucky that it was happening at the time I was in Kathmandu! Now it kind of made sense why people (well I’m assuming they were kids actually practicing for the festival) threw water at me the day before when I was coming back from Swayambhunath – I have to say I wasn’t too happy about that at the time as a full bag of water splashed right on top of my head (don’t really mind the water on me, but my camera was in danger!). So when I found out about Holi suddenly the water ... read more