The incredible adventure of Sonia and Mel - Day 1

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Sonia wants noted first and foremost before anything else is expressed about the city of Kathmandu or the extraordinary country of Nepal that she is in fact the proud owner of, a rather grubby, woolly incredibly “sexy” (all in the eye of the beholder there!) Mickey Mouse Beanie…good now that is out the way let me tell you about our adventures of Day 1.



Sonia arrived several hours earlier than I did and was tasked with scoping out the area…instead she scoped out the back of her eyelids after a serious bout of jet lag…she did get the wifi sorted and turned the TV…and thankfully had a shower…so she did have some achievements before my arrival. Unfortunately it was dark when I arrived so I didn’t get to see Mount Everest but Sonia was able to see it when she got in, lucky bugger…never fear I will see it before my trip is over… My flight arrived an hour early so my transfer vehicle was nowhere to be seen…now I don’t know if you have ever visited a country like Nepal but the last thing you want to be doing after dark alone is standing aimlessly in the airport carpark – many offers of taxis and rides and what is your name where are you from I can take you where you are going the hotel will pay no worries…I had a crowd of people around me and security watched on…but at least there was security!...then my saviour in a 1980 corolla arrived…he knew my name he knew the company I was travelling with and he whisked me away from the craziness…well that craziness anyway. There is nothing like Kathmandu traffic – the constant sound of horns, there are no traffic lights or road rules it is just go and hope that you make it – car coming towards you? Never fear your driver will pull out in front of them and miss a collision by less than a bees sting…pedestrians, tuk-tuks, bicycles, cars, busses you name it we nearly collided with it – but then again they were all nearly colliding with each other too, that is just how the traffic works here. I made it to the hotel and it was like an oasis. After nearly 24 hours in transit I was looking forward to getting into the room…we knocked on the door…there was silence…we knocked again…more silence…we knocked a third time and the hotel staff were about to go and hunt down a key to let me in when the door was opened by Sonia…and her gravity defying hair…that’s what you get for going to sleep with wet hair Sonia!!!!



After checking out the room – much nicer than expected!!!..two beds? – check, ensuite bathroom? – check, western toilet? – major check, Shower – bonus check, Clean sheets on the bed? -check and check…so my bags were put down and Sonia and I had caught up – I let her wake up then dragged her out onto the streets of Kathmandu. We braved the traffic – footpath what is that? Dodging cars and motorbikes and refusing the offers of tuk tuk assistance we took to the street…it didn’t take us long to find some dark stairs steep stairs which led to a balcony restaurant. We sat ourselves on the balcony looking out at the street below…we stuck to a vegetarian menu…I will be craving a good steak by the end of this trip! We stuck into some vegetable soup, garlic naan and vegetable momos (love my momos!!)…we also enjoyed several bottles of the local Everest beer…we requested two beers and the staff looked at us strangely…we insisted on our two beers…then they brought out two 650ml beers…lucky we are Australian and can drink that much beer!! We waved at pedestrians below – it seems a 6’2” female is a rarity in these parts and most men reach my armpit if they are lucky…so I am a giant here…a serious giant!!!! It was a balcony dinner for two and then the power went out and the candles were lit – the romance increased and only became more uncomfortable when the female on the table next door gave me a sensual wink on the way out…sorry lady I’m with Sonia!!! Oh dear…we did have some locals from the ground shout up at us that we looked beautiful from there…not sure if they were saying we were pretty from a distance or they had seen us earlier and preferred the view now!!! (Sonia was still sporting her gravity defying hairdo so it is anyones guess)…We found our way back to the hotel for a good nights sleep…



At least I thought I would get a good nights sleep…hello 3am wake up and jet lag my old friend…I stayed in bed willing myself to sleep until a reasonable hour arrived and Sonia was awake…then we rose and took on the city of Kathmandu!!



We found a coffee shop…with real coffee…the omelettes weren’t as good but what do you expect really? But the coffee was amazing – again we got ourselves a balcony steat and watched the goings on below us before we headed back out to take on the city…I got my sense of direction switched on and took Sonia on a walk…a long long long walk…we made it all the way down to Dubar Square…once upon a time this square was impressive with ancient monuments and buildings of grandeur…then the earthquake hit and these monuments crumbled…today stand several buildings held up with wood beams and foundations surrounded by broken bricks…it was sad to see the history destroyed but the tourists (including us) continue to come and the people continue to use the spaces for their worship. We hit the road again and headed back up towards the area of our hotel. The traffic had not changed and there were several close calls with vehicles and my feet/legs but we managed to come out unharmed in the end…we entered several stores and we managed to find ourselves some very spunky, very sexy, very warm, puffer pants and I scored myself a puffer shoes…for those who are unsure what I am talking about it is like a puffer jacket, being goose down, only in pant and shoe form…we are excited and can’t wait to use our new purchases!!



We had a quick break at the New Orleans Café…yes that’s right the New Orleans Café…because I couldn’t leave the city behind!!! It was a really nice place to sit and chill out but I can’t say it was anything like the real thing…we enjoyed lunch and a beer (what can I say we have to try all the local beers!!!) then we hit the road and tried to stay out of harms way again…



We found and Everest t-shirt and “same same but different” t-shirt (because who doesn’t need one of those in their lives?!) We then spent a lovely late afternoon sitting in the hotel courtyard writing our journals and blog posts and watching a man care stone monuments…tap tap tap tap tap!!!



We now understand why the majority of locals wear masks…from early in the day the air is dirty and smoggy there is dust everywhere and the cars kick up even worse…when we got back to the room our noses deposited the smog right back out…nothing that colour should come out of a persons nose!!!...wearing face coverings from now on…thank you buffs!

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