Kathmandu

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Wednesday, November 7—Tuesday, November 13: Nepal

We arrived at the airport just outside Kathmandu, Nepal and took a taxi to our hostel located in the current backpacker area of the city, known as Thamel. The former backpacker area, called Freak Street, has been in decline since its peak in the 70s. A haven for trekkers, outdoor enthusiasts, hippies, and everything in-between, Thamel is jam-packed with whitewater rafting companies, trekking companies, run of the mill tourist operators, Nepalese handicrafts stores, restaurants of every kind, bars with live bands playing 60’s, 70’s, and reggae music, and hostels. The streets are narrow and overflowing with tourists, hawkers, locals, bicycle rickshaws, and cars.

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After arriving here, it quickly became clear that most people stay for weeks if not months. We immediately went to the Thai Airways office (our carrier for the next leg of our journey on to China) and were informed that all flights to Beijing were booked for the next few months. Alas, extending our stay in Nepal was not to be. We would have to make the most of our short stay here. Not a problem, since this is one of my specialties. Before you know it, I had us signed up for a 2 day whitewater rafting trip down the Bote Khoshi followed by a 2 day trekking trip through the Shivapuri National Park to Chisapani and ending in Nagankut.

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The only thing holding us back from our outdoor expeditions was the fact that our next stop was China and we had yet to procure a Chinese Visa. Not to worry-for a fee of $10 an agent will drop-off and pick-up your passport and Visa application. The whitewater rafting/trekking outfitters assured us that the passport and Visa would be ready and waiting for us when we returned Tuesday evening from our trekking expedition just in time for our departure the following day.

Our whitewater rafting trip didn’t leave for 2 days, so we had some time to explore Kathmandu. We roamed the streets of Thamel, ate vegetable and buffalo momo (the local dish of handmade dumplings) and took a cycle rickshaw to Durbar Square. As our visit to Nepal coincided with the Diwali Festival (or Festival of Lights celebrating the Hindu New Year), the streets were congested and we were stuck at a stand still in our cycle rickshaw for about 20 minutes before traffic started moving again. I didn’t mind as the rickshaw is about 4 feet off the ground and provides a great view of all the activities going on nearby. We finally made it to Durbar Square shortly after sunset and walked around the bustling square and streets accented by beautiful, old temples and pagodas built between the 12^th and 18^th centuries. We stumbled upon a sweets shop and had to join the festivities by buying some local Nepali sweets and eating them on the steps of one of the ancient buildings in the area. As the electricity goes out at least once every evening, we ate our sweets by candle and firelight in the ancient part of the city. The crowd thinned a little and we walked back to our hostel.

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My fourth rabies shot was due in a few days so we spent some time scooping out a pharmacy where we could not only get the vaccine, but also had someone who could administer the shot. After talking to a few pharmacies, it appeared that we had found one. Having to trust the pharmacist when he told us he would only be open in the morning from 8-9 due to the Diwali Festival, we were happily surprised to see that he was indeed the only pharmacist open on the day I needed the shot.

At around 5 am on the third day of our visit in Nepal, John and I woke up, got ready, stowed our luggage, and met our group for the beginning of our whitewater-rafting trip. After a three-hour bus ride that left the congestion, pollution, and garbage of Kathmandu behind in exchange for green hillsides, small villages, and countless chickens and goats, we arrived at the Bhote Kosi. The first day was more of a warm up of about three hours of whitewater rafting in preparation for the bigger and more technical rapids of the following day. The weather the first day was overcast which made the water feel all the colder, but we were given a beautiful, clear, sunny day for our second day of rafting. The rapids mostly ranged from class II to class III rapids, with a few class IV thrown in the second day. After our first day of rafting, we spent the evening at an awesome resort called The Last Resort. They have a wood burning sauna and dipping pool to ease any aches away, hot food buffet, full bar (I rewarded myself with an Irish coffee), a lounge area open to the outdoors, and safari-style tents with beds and thick comforters to ward off the night chills. The entire resort is strewn throughout a large area and has been built to blend in with the natural surroundings where wooded pathways lead from one tent or area to the next. I would definitely come back to this resort. Due to the Diwali Festival, locals congregated in an area of the resort singing songs and dancing all through the night. They were still singing and dancing when we got up for breakfast.

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After our 2 days of rafting, we returned to Kathmandu by bus. The next morning, we met our trekking guide and started our 45-minute drive outside of Kathmandu to the Shivapuri National Park. The three regions people go for trekking in Nepal are the Annapurna, Langtang, and Everest. Even to get to the Everest trekking area is a feat. There are two ways to get to the Everest base camp: (1) you can take a bus from Kathmandu to Jeri, hike 10 days to Namche Bazaar, and hike another 3-4 days of to Everest; or (2) fly from Kathmandu to Lukla, a 2-3 day hike to Namche Bazaar, and a 3-4 day hike to Everest. Needless to say, hiking to Everest Base Camp was out of the question. Trekking in the Annapurna or Langtang areas requires at least 7 days and many people go for as many as 20 or more days. All of the areas contain a smattering of villages with accommodations and restaurants catering to the trekkers, so it is not necessary to camp in the majority of the places. Because we only had 2 days, our only option was to go the Shivapuri National Park, a park located about 45 minutes to the northeast of Kathmandu.

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Our trek began with an intense hour hike up steps to the Sundarijal entrance of the Shivapuri National Park. Just reaching the entrance to the Park was exhausting and required a ten-minute break before continuing. After paying the foreign entrance fee (which was over 20 times the fee for a local), we continued the upward climb for the next four to five hours. We were above 2000 meters above sea level about halfway through the hike and even though the temperature was crisp, John and I were sweating up a storm and were not wearing our jackets. The trail was dotted with farms and small villages each with some goats and water buffalo tied up outside and chickens running around. We had lunch at a small shack and were invited to watch the ceremony going on where the brothers of a family were given flower necklaces, a multi-colored tikka (forehead decoration with colored powders), fruit, nuts and other food and in return they would give money to their sisters. After being given our own tikkas, flower necklaces, and food, we proceeded further up the mountain. We reached our destination, a small village called Chisapani, at around 3:30 in the afternoon. The elevation of this village is approximately 2200 meters above sea level and the temperature was a bit above freezing. Luckily I had brought my sleeping bag so I had an extra layer to insulate myself with. Our accommodation cost 50 rupees (60 rupees equals $1) and was a small concrete room with two cots, two quilts, and a candle. The village does not have electricity or hot water. I slept in my pants, two shirts, winter coat with my hood on, and kept my head inside my sleeping bag most of the night. It was not the most comfortable night of my life, but it was an experience.

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Getting out of my cocoon in the morning was a bit like torture, but I did finally pull myself out. After a breakfast of a banana pancake, an omelet, and tea, we were on our way again. Most of the trekking today was downhill with a few uphill portions thrown in for good measure. We began hiking at 7:30 am and reached our final destination of Nagarkot (2175 meters above sea level) at around 1:30 pm. By the time we made it to the local bus stop to take a bus back to Kathmandu, everything below my waist hurt. My knees, hips, and toes were throbbing and all I could think about was getting a seat to sit down on the two buses we had to take to get back to Kathmandu. Luckily, my prayers were answered and I was lucky enough to get a seat on both buses.

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Arriving back in Nepal’s capital, John and I relished the thought and experience of taking a hot shower in our hotel room that 2 days ago had seemed adequate but now was looking like a five-star accommodation. After showering, we had a traditional Nepalese meal and called it a day.