The final adventure we would share with our tour group was travelling to Kathmandu to see the many beautiful temples in the capital of Nepal. The road we took to Kathmandu is the only road that runs from Chitwan to Kathmandu,and is therefore heavily traveled. The not-quite-two-lane road has a mountain on one side, a precipitous drop to the river below on the other, and is in constant need of maintenance. Work to widen and pave the road has apparently been ongoing for years now, but the fact that the road is never closed and is populated by huge shipping trucks day and night has seriously hindered the pace. When we travelled it, one lane was closed for nearly the entire length of the road due to construction, so traffic was left to squeeze into the outside lane.
Steel cable bridges spanned the canyon at regular intervals to allow people to cross over to the huts clinging to the mountain on the other side, and we got to get out and stretch our legs on one of these bridges. The whole area felt decidedly Indiana Jones-esque.
After this nail-biting six hour drive (which passed in a blink thanks to a lively game of charades), we topped the last hill to see Kathmandu stretched out below us. The sea of low colorful buildings was covered in a thick haze of smog and dust, and the hills on the other side of the city were just barely visible through the pollution. Our hotel was in the Thamel district, which is the central downtown area where most of the tourism is located. The traffic-clogged streets are just barely more negotiable in this area, where hundreds of pedestrians clog the throughways, but you still have to be constantly ready to leap out of the way of a speeding motorbike or overly friendly tout.
There’s a heady sense of adventure permeating everything in Kathmandu, owing to the fact that this is the jumping-off point for most treks and climbs in the Himalayas. The shops lining the streets are a little unusual; alongside the elephant carvings and gaudy t-shirts you’ll find North Face parkas, trekking poles, bags, tents, and plenty of other gear designed to handle the worst the fierce mountains can throw at you. The food options are equally varied. Mexican, French, Italian, American, Japanese, Chinese, you name it you can find it. We stuck mostly to Nepalese food, because it was delicious, and of course the cheapest. The star of the show was definitely the mo:mos (Why is there a colon in this word? Who knows, but that’s how all the restaurants spelled it.)
We woke up early to catch a flight up to see Everest. It was a bit more than our budget allowed, but we figured how many chances in our life will we get to see this? We didn’t get as close Everest as we had hoped, but it was still an absolutely spectacular view. These mountains are so much bigger than anything we’ve ever seen before…they make the Rockies look like tiny little hills.
We spent the rest of the day touring three temples, or as they’re called, Stupas.
That evening we said a regretful goodbye to our tour group. We were so lucky to have found such a fun group to travel with, a trip like this is so much better when you have great people to experience everything with. We had one final party which may have culminated in a bed being broken in our room. We leave the explanation to your imagination, dear reader.
The two of us stayed on in the city for another few days, exploring the dusty streets, catching up on some much-needed rest, and eating as many mo:mos as we could get our hands on!
We really loved our time in Nepal; the people are lovely, the scenery is breathtaking, and the food is delicious. We met a Kathmandu native on our flight out who was disappointed we hadn’t been trekking in the mountains on our trip. He told us in no uncertain terms that we need to come back, and this time see more of the country. We agree wholeheartedly.
