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After staying one night in Sonauli we took the bus to Kathmandu. We'd heard that Golden Travels would be a good bus company but it really impress me. But it would take us to Kathmandu.
The first thing we meet when we board the bus is a pale Westerner shouting at some locals, going on about his ticket, his luggage and his need to get on this bus. Oh my... He sounded like a madman and even looked worse. After some more arguing with the locals he ends up in the seat behind us. I suspected he was Danish and it turned out to be right. Apparently he was worked with retards back home in Denmark, although he could easily be mistaken for one. He was on a five months tour around Asia and went on how he didn't like Nepal (how long could he have been there, we were still on the border!?), the people were difficult and the standard was low, all the time shouting to us as if we were on the other side of a valley. We were wondering how he had managed to get this far and why anyone let him out of the country in the first place. When he asked me where I was from I even said England, just to avoid any potential Scandinavian bonding. We tried to ignore him as best we could but it wasn't really easy when he was shouting everytime he opened his mouth. Crazy man.
Except for that stupid Dane the trip went allright. The roads and the driving is as crazy as the rest of the area here but we're used to that now. The trip took about 10 hours, taking about an hour to get from the city border to the bus station. And another hour getting from the bus station to the hotel. Crazy traffic.
The traffic and the horns are sources for madness in Kathmandu but the beggars and guys on the streets trying to sell trekking tours, flutes, hashish and whatnot are actually worse. You can't walk 10 meters down the street without being approached by someone and you can't even stop for a sneeze without hearing "Namaste! Welcome to my shop". But in Thamel where we stayed you can get almost anything you like to eat and drink, a huge variety of souvenirs and as much North Face stuff your heart desires. You just have to bargain for it first. Thamel is a very touristy area and therefore not the most charming. But I liked it. Nice to have a steak, some wine, good coffee and cakes again!
I had three whole days in Kathmandu but I didn't really do very much. Some admin stuff on Saturday and sightseeing on Sunday and Monday. We went walking around in the old town of Kathmandu down to Durbar Sq and to the Monkey Temple one day and to Durbar Sq in Patan the next. It was interesting to see the different religious buildings all around Kathmandu but I must admit that we didn't spend too much time on it.
Kathmandu was the final destination for this trip. We had two days with most of the group and it was fun seeing them again for the last time. But six weeks of travelling is now over and it's back to reality for my part. What is left now is three flights and 10 and 12 hours waiting in Delhi and Moscow. Hurray...
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