IN KATHMANDU!! Dee arrived on 9 December and I the following day. We spent only a couple days in the city, gathering gear, buying permits, and becoming acclimated to our new and very different surroundings. Kathmandu was unlike any place either of us had travelled to before. For example, on my way in from the airport, the taxi was caught in a traffic jam caused by a herd of cattle on the highway. We also walked by a pig being slaughtered on the side of the road when we were out shopping one day. In an email, I noted the following as some of my first impressions:
- very, very poor, but didn't see much begging
- dirty, but not as dirty as I had anticipated
- great deals on gear for trek - every store has an embroiderer next to it, so I'm decked out in what looks like hundreds of dollars of North Face
- had the best veg curry of my life
- feels more crowded for a city of less than a million - maybe because there are no sidewalks
- more stray dogs than I have seen in my entire life - not the cute sad kind, but the disgusting mangy kind
- there are bulls, goats, and chickens all over the city, just wandering around - I think I like this the most
- the people are helpful, kind, inquisitive, and beautiful
The Hill - Everest from the airplane
Quiet street in Thamel - the backpacker/trekker area of Kathmandu.
Traffic light.
Bull-evard.
Parliament.
From Kathmandu, we headed to Besisahar, where the real adventure began!!
