Trip to Nepal
October 2006
Day 1 - Arrival

I came to Nepal primarily for the Annapurna Circuit trail, which was the right length of time for me (about 18-21 days) and a different enough experience from my first world sensibilities to qualify as a vacation.  Also, I liked the sound of Kathmandu; once I go to Timbuktu in Mali I can check this off my list.

From the moment I entered the international airport in Kathmandu (Tribhuvan), I realized I was in for culture shock.  After getting my backpack, I was accosted by many touts for hotels and treks in the short distance to the airport exit.  There I met Babu and three cohorts; I had arranged for a guide/porter with a company named Unique Path Trekking. They took my backpack and daypack and then one of them stood there with his hand out.  Another one said he was waiting for me with the sign and he needed something for his work.  I gave him $1 and he seemed happy.  And off we went.

The odd thing, to me, about this is that I had made arrangements with them and with the hotel for a room ($8/night) without any credit card or confirmation numbers getting into the picture - it was all done via handshake type of agreement.

This is from the Thamel area of Kathmandu, an area greatly frequented by tourists as it has anything a tourist might need, including lodging, restaurants, travel arranging, internet service and craft/gift items.  Broadband internet service was about 20Rs/hour ($0.30USD) in Thamel, but as you got further out into the hinterlands, the price went up to about 200Rs/10 minutes of 28.8K dialup.

I stayed nearby, but not directly in this area as I valued my sleep and was concerned about noise levels.

One oddity, to me, of Kathmandu was its absence of street signs.  Not a dirth, but an absence.  As in None.  So when you were trying to find a place, you would go to the neighborhood and then look around or ask for a specific place by name, not by address.

On the plus side, there were no parking meters; no parking regulations either, it seemed.

Motorcyles and small cars in profusion, horns constantly honking, cattle in the streets, people lying on the sides of the road, extremely aggressive driving, pedestrians look out.

Kathmandu itself is a city of some 2 million souls, living in a valley which needs more pollution controls and less vehicles.  This picture was taken from a hill in the valley.  It's hard to see very far, as the air pollution clouds everything.  I saw a number of people wearing masks over their nose and mouths as part of their daily get-up.

I stayed two nights at the Tibet Peace Guest House a bit north of Thamel; basically quiet except for barking dogs.  The back yard was indeed a garden.