Sept 29,2008: Thamel
Today the weather was not great.
I got caught in a downpour and for a while, this held up business all around Thamel. No grand notions of seeing the tops sites of Kathmandu, but it didn’t keep me from walking around. This led to me making ten observations about Thamel and the Nepali culture. (more…)
Arriving in Kathmandu airport, it’s all about filling in forms for immigration and paying a fee for an on-arrival visa. I collect my bags and my hotel has sent a 4WD truck to pick me up.
I’m staying at a hotel that’s a five minute drive outside of Thamel. My hotel taxi is 200Rs (around $2.50). The drive down is very jagged and
bouncy, but my eyes are wide, careful to catch every site. The truck kicks up dust from unpaved roads. It must have great shock suspension. The potholes in the road are large, deep and many.
After the budget hotels in India, I wasn’t sure what Nepal had in store for me. But what a surprise!
It stood like a fortress overlooking Thamel. Tucked away, soothing and sophisticated, Hotel Vajra has a charm, which removes itself from the rest of Kathmandu and backpacker’s Thamel. It’s like the secret that travelers whisper to each other so that everyone doesn’t go running.
You can get lost in its old world design and the artisan skills of the Nepalese community. It’s windows, doors and furniture are all finely crafted, (more…)
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