Kathmandu (Namaste Nepal)!

Our sleeper train to Gorakhpur, a town near the India-Nepal border, passed by without too much trouble, although there was some confusion at the station when everyone suddenly ran across the train tracks to another platform and we realised we had to follow them, albeit using the overpass!! After running up and down the length of the train shouting our carriage number we finally located our seats and shared an upper side berth which was snug to say the least, with our bags also squished in with us! We received our normal quota of strange looks and chuckles from people. We stayed in Gorakhpur that night so as not to cross the border in the dark, which can be a bit dangerous, in some kind of Fawlty Towers style hotel, with a very strange porter guy who reminded us of Frankenstein's Monster!

Early next morning we got a public bus to the border crossing at Sinauli which proved relatively straight forward. Immediately on crossing into the Nepalese side we noticed a difference in the politeness and helpfulness of people, the lack of stares, and a much better attitude towards women - this was going to be a much needed breath of fresh air!! We managed to book a "private" bus from here to Kathmandu, which when we got on we weren't allowed to sit in the front seats that the tourist agency had allocated for us (cue some shouting between us and the conductor with the rest of the bus in silence until we finally gave up and loped off to the back of the bus, where the seats had enough leg room for a 2 year old child). The bus proved not to be private, stopping at every opportunity to pick random people up, but after a long 10 hours we finally arrived at a Kathmandu 'bus station' which was just on the side of a deserted road. We should mention now that whilst Indian bus drivers are pretty reckless, Nepalese drivers aren't much better; coupled with driving around winding mountain roads with sheer drops and overtaking on blind corners, we were lucky to get there with clean underwear, and that wasn't as a result of Delhi belly!! On being dropped off we managed to get a taxi, around some scary, shifty, pitch black roads to the "Marco Polo Guesthouse" (stopping briefly on the way when a drunken guy kicked our taxi and the driver got out for an awkward stand-off while we cowered in the car). After about 40 minutes of asking lots of people and driving up and down the same roads, we finally found that the guesthouse had closed 6 months ago so regrettably checked into the Student Guesthouse next door.

On our first day in Kathmandu we decided to abandon our vegetarianism and indulged in a chicken salad wrap and then headed to try and find 'Laxman', a travel agent that had been recommended to us. However he wasn't in at first so after speaking with him on the phone to let us know he would be along in an hour, we headed to the 'Garden of Dreams', just outside the Thamel area of Kathmandu. Full of young canoodling Nepalese couples (as this is often frowned upon in public) the garden itself was a peaceful oasis, filled with lounger cushions to relax on and escape the hustle and bustle of the city for a while. On our return to Laxman we were offered our first Nepalese tea, which you could liken to a white English tea with 6 sugars in, and between him answering phone calls and speaking to a number of visitors, he gave us some good advice and options for trekking, rafting and safaris in Nepal. After getting some figures from him we went and explored Thamel more, at which point it started raining - our first rain since being away, to try and find better alternative accommodation. After being unable to find anything cheaper, and lurking around the Marco Polo Guesthouse further, not quite believing it had shut, we admitted defeat and checked back into the Student Guesthouse. That afternoon Sophie started to suddenly feel really faint and dizzy with blurry vision - after wholly believing that Laxman had drugged her tea, we still managed to head out for dinner that evening…for more meat. We ate at the highly recommended 'Yak Restaurant' and wolfed down half fried buffalo momos and thukpa, a buffalo noodle soup with large dumplings to dip in - this was one of the best meals we've had since being away.

The next morning we enjoyed a chocolate croissant from the Pumpernickel Bakery and did a Lonely Planet self-guided walking tour from Thamel to Durbar Square, which involved walking past various temples, stupas, street markets, dogs with flower chains around their necks (as part of the Diwali celebrations) and general day-to-day goings on, proving to be an interesting and cultural way to see the city. On arrival at Durbar Square, the historic centre of Old Kathmandu once home to the Royal Family and now to the 'living goddess' and more markets, we had to pay an extortionate 750rps each to enter, although this did include entry to the world's most boring and confusingly laid out museum. We managed to see the living goddess momentarily as part of the festival celebrations; a young girl who has passed a number of strange tests and has all the correct features and personality traits to prove that she is the living form of the goddess - 'The Kumari Devi'. As soon as she has her first period however, she becomes mortal again and another young girl is chosen…..each to their own! On a side note, whilst walking around the square, Trevor's previously repaired flip-flops broke again but strangely enough within 5 metres there was a cobbler sitting waiting to repair them…suspicious!!

On our return to Thamel we investigated prices of trips with another travel agent and after returning to Laxman who said that he couldn't beat these, we went and booked a 3 day Kaligandaki white-water rafting trip, and a 3 day Chitwan National Park visit with 'Alternative Nepal', totaling 180GBP each. Having agreed to this price we decided that we would do the Poon Hill 4 day trek by ourselves without a guide, having been told that it was a reasonably popular and simple trek to follow. After trying every single cash machine in Nepal to get the money out to pay for our trips, and with Trevor about to kill himself (or die of hunger), we finally succeeded and headed off for dinner. Just to mention that Trevor's flip flop broke yet again that afternoon, and with Sophie in hysterics Trevor loped around town trying to find a new pair, but to no avail. That evening we ate at Himalaya Café and had the popular Nepalese dish of 'Dal Bhat' which consists of lentil soup, chicken / mutton curry, rice, various pickles and curd, which can all be topped up for free - Trevor took full advantage of this fact! Probably a bad idea, as the next morning our stomachs felt dodgy to say the least - not ideal as we had to travel an hour away to the town of Bhaktapur. That night the Diwali celebrations began to start, with parades weaving through the streets, led by a scary red masked figure and beating drums.

Although some people find Kathmandu chaotic and polluted, after spending the last three weeks in India, we found it a lot more manageable, filled with friendly and polite people despite Nepal being such a poor country. Meanwhile we likened the Thamel district to Koh San Road in Bangkok, filled with as many restaurants, travel agents, and shops as possible, and if anything welcomed some of the familiarity and a few days of easy backpacking!