Day Two

Kathmandu greeted us with sunshine, warm hot sunshine. We saw some mountain ranges as we descended. Our suitcases made it! Yes, there was a shuttle to take us to our hotel and no, he did not charge us.

The drive to our hotel was an overload in every sense of the word. The van was overloaded with all our heavy luggage. My senses were filled to capacity. The streets were small but packed with cars, buses, vans and motorcycles. The road was as often loose rock as it was; lots of people weaving in between traffic. I needed my mask on. The dust was a little much. I wiped my finger across my forehead and my finger was gray with dirt. Many buildings being torn down, others falling apart but still being used. New buildings in various construction stages. Lots of stray dogs napping along side the road. Cows, regarded as sacred, wandered through the streets, settling down in the middle of traffic, oblivious to the cars swerving around them.

Our hotel was luxurious compared to the hotel in Guangzhou, and compared to so much of the living conditions around Kathmandu. After resting and showering, we headed out for dinner. The Mint Cafe had a great selection of food from all over the world. Mo-mo’s are the Nepali equivalent of gyoza and they are delicious. I ordered falafel, but it was more salad than falafel.

The restaurant owner was so kind and helpful. He called two rickshaws to take us up to Swayambhunath Temple (monkey temple). He said we could walk it in about 30 minutes: right at the end of the road, and the next left over the bridge. Not quite. It took our rickshaw drivers at least 30 minutes, and there were many left