I´ve been to Kathmandu

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So I decided that Lily and I should write about our travels. We´ve been in Vietnam for 6 months now, and we finally have a break. It took a lot of arguing to decide where to go and what to do: beach and diving, temples and rice fields, mountains and trekking, what to choose? Finally, we decided that, since we´re in the middle of the moonsoon, we´d go somewhere drier.
First odd thing about the trip: smoking is allowed on Nepal Airlines! Wow...I don´t think I´ve smelled cigarettes on a plane since 10 years ago.
We got our visas at the airport (I now have an inverted swastika on my passport), and off we went to the city. A few minutes of driving is enough to realize how poor the country is...the suburbs are muddy and filthy, and the center has the worst smog I have ever seen--which is hardly surprising, given the number of tuk-tuks spurting thick pollution from their exhaust. Electricty, which is bought from India, is only intermittent, even in the capital, so people also use diesel generators.
After dropping our stuff at the hotel, we went off to Durbar Square, the equivalent of DC´s Mall in Kathmandu. On our way, we were constantly approached by women carrying their babies and begging for some milk, and shady men, asking "hashish? hotel? club?" without bothering to whisper. Most of the streets were unpaved, puddles of mud now and then, and the occasional stench of a butcher displaying his goodies in the sun (better to avoid meat in restaurants, I think!).
Durbar Square was very pretty. We hired a guide for a couple of bucks who explained us a couple of things that weren´t in our Lonely Planet, and snapped quite a few pictures.
Tomorrow, we´ll visit a bit more, and then try to find some agency who can advise us on the best treks. Can´t wait to meet the Himalayas!

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