Blogs from Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia

Alles thuis opgeruimd, ingepakt, dus klaar om te vertrekken! We vertrokken goed op tijd (uiteraard, we gingen met de Beyensen 😊) en kwamen dus goed op tijd aan. Nog genoeg tijd voor een drankje en uit te zoeken waar we moesten opstappen. Uiteidelijk gevonden, namen we afscheid van mijn schoonouders (nu kan ik het ECHT zeggen) en gingen we wachten. We waren als eerste aan de incheckbalie en ik speelde er wat op mijn Nintendo Switch en Karen las op haar splinternieuwe e-reader. Verder ging alles hier vlot en was het vooral wachten. Aan de gate speelden we nog enkele spelletjes Clever. We vlogen met Etihad Airways en niet met KLM zoals gedacht. Gelukkig hadden ze even goede films en kon ik detective Pikachu nog zien en nog een comedy. Weliswaar een gecensureerde versie want 'duck' ... read more

Woke up at 05:45 to pack the duffel bags for our 06:30 pick-up. A bit of confusion on check-out which I had half expected in regards to the lunch and dinners on the first day. Rusha had confirmed the company would pay for the first day’s meals, but the hotel did not know about it, so Mitch paid for them and will deduct the costs from the money owed for the bungee jumps. The same guy who picked us up from the airport took us to the bus station and had our tickets and seats organized. It was just a 15 minute drive to the bus station which was near the airport so we had a 30 minute wait before the bus left on time at 07:30. It was pretty hairy ride with only a 2 ... read more

Today we were given a tour of 3 of the 7 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kathmandu. Our guide was so knowledgeable on both the history of the land and how it connected back to Nepalese culture. In order to not fully butcher all the information he provided, here are my favorite pieces that I took from each site: Bhaktapur Durbar Square: Nyatapola Temple is a representation to women's wisdom and is a 5 story Hindu temple built from 1702 to 1703. It has survived all earthquakes in Nepal since with minimal damage (even the 1934 earthquake which destroyed 1/3 of the temples in Bhaktapur Durbar Square). There are 5 levels to the temple each protected by a guardian ten times stronger than the guardian below it. This area is famous for its wood carvings in ... read more

First Days in Kathmandu After two hectic weeks of travelling to meet friends and family and the incessant political/religious turmoil going on in Kerala I was relieved to get back on the plane and leave it all to the locals to suffer. As a person who has escaped from the clutches of faith It is unbelievable what is going on in "Gods on Country" or indeed in the wider India. It appears that we are turning the clock around and instead of marching into the 21st century we are going back to the early 19th or even the 16th century. The Islamic ferver is now followed by militant Hinduism and devotional Christianity. The loser in all this is the Individual who has no status in the society except as a member of a religious or political ... read more