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View of Kathmandu
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.
You would not BELIEVE the size of potholes in the streets!
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.
The potholes in Kathmandu streets
Driving into Kathmandu
Headless chickens for sale
woman working
laundry in Thamel
motorcycle traffic in Kathmandu
I feel a new excitement building. The landscape here, in comparison to India, is more tranquil, lush, settling. Basically, it has more green and though there’s still a feeling of poverty, which accompanies any developing country, somehow, it feels softer. People seem softer and more serene.
I want quiet activity . I want to explore a simpler and gentler life, be removed from the madness of life and society as I know. I want to meet people. I want to feel human again. I feel like I might just like it here…
Night Market
Night life in Thamel
At night, after dinner at the hotel, I take a taxi down to Thamel. It’s late and many stores are closed, but the streets are still aglow with open bars and restaurants. It’s a city for the traveler and the nightlife is for the tourist. There’s only a short time for some sightseeing and the main activity is to get to find an internet cafe to write off some emails to my family to let them know I’m okay.
Tomorrow, I’ll return to Thamel to meet Theo, the manager Le Chobhar Village Resort, where I’ve booked a stay for a few days. I can’t wait to do my own exploring without feeling the rush or compromise. I feel safe here in Nepal, maybe because the faces here are like looking at my own.
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