Day 1 in Kathmandu

First day in Kathmandu. The ride from the airport was crazy. Vehicles and pedestrians of every description weaving in an out. Amazingly, we saw no accidents. I wouldn’t last two minutes in the traffic. It’s tough enough as a pedestrian.

Kathmandu is a pretty dirty city. There’s a lot of pollution and trash and rubble everywhere. It’s dusty and smelly. Very third world, but just what I wanted to experience.

The Hotel Shanker is a classic, old hotel. A little warn, but still not too bad. It has “character”. They have a very nice garden area with a pool. The pool was invaded by German tourists this afternoon. Gerry loved it.

After a couple hours sleep, we dodged the traffic to get to Thamel, a commercial area about a half mile from the hotel. Got some rupies at the ATM (the debit card works!). Passed by an Irish pub about a half block from the hotel. That’s bad news with Gerry.

The bustling and commotion along the streets is hard to describe. Crowds of people, buses, taxis tuks-tuks, rickshaws, and scooters all competing for the same narrow space. . Everyone beeps their horns constantly. The motor bikes go buzzing through the narrow alleys; it seems like you’ll get whacked anytime. It’s really nuts.

It’s really funny seeing the school children. They are all dressed in their uniforms with jumpers for the girls and ties for the boys. Very British but very cute.

Anything that you want to buy can be found in Thamel. There are a lot of trekker hotels, gear stores, travel agencies, electronics shops and restaurants. You see so much counterfeit North Face and Mountain Hardware, it’s unbelievable. I bought a topo map of the Everest region so we won’t get lost when we go into the mountains.

Stopped at the Irish pub on the way back to hotel for a quick pint. A sign on the wall said that it was under German management. So much for authenticity.

Back at the Shanker, a big party was going on in the garden. We thought about crashing it, but we would have been too conspicuous -- it was all Nepalis.

Here’s a couple of photos from the first day.