Hello From Kathmandu

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Travelling to Nepal is quite a feat. The first plane ride from Los Angeles to Bangkok was 18 hours in complete darkness. Lilia slept the first half of the flight, and spent the remainder of the time watching cartoons on her tv screen and working on her school homework.

We had 5 hours in the new Bangkok airport during which time we had plenty of opportunity to dislike it. The interior design is a sort of futuristic industrial gray with cavernous ceilings, and concrete walls. Every now and then the cold decor is broken up by some enormous Thai wood carving, oddly protuding from the rest of the surroundings. Ultra trendy and overpriced, it offers nothing but endless corridors filled with designer clothing, bag, and cosmetic stores. Worst of all there is hardly any place to sit, despite the fact that thousands of travellers are forced to stop there on the way to other destinations. We were all very glad to take our leave of there and make our final journey to Kathmandu.

Flying to Nepal is always amazing. From the flat stark Gangetic plains, we can observe the precipitous ascent into the Himalayas. Even the foothills around Kathmandu are steep, with narrow ravines carved out by grey swirling rivers. Etched into the hills, are rows and rows of rice terraces, occasionally flanked by a few lone trees. It is interesting to see the landscape of Nepal from the air. The toil of life in a village is visible mainly in those endless terraces, and the characteristic orange mud houses that make up the rural areas here.

The Kathmandu airport makes a nice contrast to the one in Bangkok. Small and dark and extremely disorderly, it offers a brief glimpse into the lack of systems and infrastructure that plagues the country as a whole. After waiting in for over an hour in 4 different lines for passport services we finally made it out of the airport.

In the past several years the population of the kathmandu valley has grown enormously due to the Maoist insurgency. The outside of the airport was swarming with young men from the villages. Some were there hoping to get a few rupees carrying someone's bag, others were there with a beatup old vehicle hoping to take people into the city. Eventually we got into a jeep and began to make our way home....

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Photos

18 hours of fun
18 hours on the airplane

Thailand airport
Churning the ocean at the beginning of time.

Thailand airport temple
Oops, someone didn't notice that if you actually look up at the temple you get a beautiful view of ventilation fans

View from plane
The tallest moutains in the world viewed from the airplane. It is hard to believe how quickly the plains of India rise to become the Himalayas. Lilia was asleep so she didn't see them.

Kathmandu Valley
Once one of the most fertile agricultural areas in the world, the Kathmandu Valley is now a chaotic sea of brick, concrete, and motor vehicles.

Comments

[Edy & Family]

We're so glad you are blogging your trip!
Lilia and family: this is great. . thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us. We look forward to learning about Nepal from your blog.

[Sani ma]

Love from Pomona
Hi Lilia. I love your blog. I am going to share it with my nephew Victor tomorrow. Please give your mom and dad a hug for me. And remember, you promised that you would teach me a Nepali song and dance when you return.