I would love to know what Bob Seger was thinking when he really really wanted to go to Kathmandu. At the Kuala Lumpur airport when I said aloud where I was headed, I caught myself a little off guard. Not until the idea of trekking in Nepal came up did I ever think I would end up in Kathmandu.
Interestingly, there are only three places in the world that have 15-minute offsets from GMT; Nepal is one of those, so it's 9h45m ahead of new York City. I stepping out of the very basic KTM airport and onto the loud, dusty streets full of polluting buses. One thing was clear, this is not a pedestrian-friendly city.
The Kathmandu Post I was reading over my coffee one morning lamented, "the city is openly hostile to pedestrians," and walking is "a distinctly unpleasant experience...Pavements are narrow and the tiling uneven and full of holes, unnatural flora often bar the way, doorways and driveways emerge onto sidewalks, walking space is earmarked for parking, and all too often, the pavement just disappears." I couldn't have said it better.
I wouldn't call it a "nice" city, but once you see through the dust and smog, it's a loud, colorful, lively place. Streets are overrun by cars, buses, trucks, taxis, rickshaws, motorbikes, and a few crazies who try to navigate bicycles through it all. I felt excitement in the air with trekkers stocking up on gear before heading into the mountains. Colorful shops stockedbknockoff North Faces, guided tours, pashmina and cashmere scarves, handicrafts, and vendors so certain they're selling exactly what you want, so "come take a look."
In the backpacker neighborhood of Thamel, they surprisingly limit it to pedestrians in the evening with a few rogue rickshaws going through. This makes for pleasant strolling in relative peace and quiet, aside from vendors relentlessly trying to sell their goods.
Interestingly, there are only three places in the world that have 15-minute offsets from GMT; Nepal is one of those, so it's 9h45m ahead of new York City. I stepping out of the very basic KTM airport and onto the loud, dusty streets full of polluting buses. One thing was clear, this is not a pedestrian-friendly city.
I wouldn't call it a "nice" city, but once you see through the dust and smog, it's a loud, colorful, lively place. Streets are overrun by cars, buses, trucks, taxis, rickshaws, motorbikes, and a few crazies who try to navigate bicycles through it all. I felt excitement in the air with trekkers stocking up on gear before heading into the mountains. Colorful shops stockedbknockoff North Faces, guided tours, pashmina and cashmere scarves, handicrafts, and vendors so certain they're selling exactly what you want, so "come take a look."
In the backpacker neighborhood of Thamel, they surprisingly limit it to pedestrians in the evening with a few rogue rickshaws going through. This makes for pleasant strolling in relative peace and quiet, aside from vendors relentlessly trying to sell their goods.
Dashain is the biggest Nepali festival of the year, seven days during which everyone heads back to their village/hometown, many government offices and business shut down, and restaurants that remain open trim down their menus. Hundreds found themselves stranded in Kathmandu, unable to trek as the permit office was shuttered for the whole week. I arrived two days after the official end of the festival, and despite what seemed to be a bustling, traffic-jammed city, was told things were still relatively quiet as only about 30% of residents are from Kathmandu, and most of the others were still travelling back from their hometowns.
In northeastern Laos I met a retired Englishman travelling the world. He had spent a couple months in Kathmandu and swore their rock music scene was second to none. Huh, not the first place I'd guess, but I'll have to check it out, I thought. Well I asked the owner of my hostel, and sure enough, they took a few of us out to Purple Haze, a true live music venue with a real stage and lights that didn't at all fit in with the street scene outside. The band was pumping out classic covers, from AC/DC to the White Stripes, along with some Nepali tunes. These guys rocked, and the crowd loved it.
What really made my time in Kathmandu was the hostel I stayed at. Founded almost by accident and ran by two brothers, this was a basic place in Thamel. $4 got me a bed and a whole lot more. The brothers were interested in helping guests out however they could and showing off local spots. They took us out for good, local food and then to a lake south of town where we were the only foreigners. We walked around, grabbed some tea, and had a couple games of pool at the local snooker hall. It was a cramped space, but a few holes in the sheet metal walls allowed full extension of the cue.
I ended up with some extra days so I took a couple side trips. Each was a one hour local bus ride, a breeze compared to the 8-10 hour endeavors I'd had in the mountains.
Nagarkot is known for views of the distant Himalayas. An early morning hike by headlamp brought us to a lookout tower with panoramic views as the sun came up. I thought I had picked out Everest until I was told it's really just a hardly visible spec.
The ancient city of Bhaktapur has more impressive ruins and cleaner air than Kathmandu, making it a pleasant place to meander narrow alleyways and scenic streets. While heavily damaged by the 2015 earthquake, these are still some of the best preserved ruins in the country.
Kathmandu was such a lively, one of a kind place, I'm glad my travels unexpectedly brought me here.
In northeastern Laos I met a retired Englishman travelling the world. He had spent a couple months in Kathmandu and swore their rock music scene was second to none. Huh, not the first place I'd guess, but I'll have to check it out, I thought. Well I asked the owner of my hostel, and sure enough, they took a few of us out to Purple Haze, a true live music venue with a real stage and lights that didn't at all fit in with the street scene outside. The band was pumping out classic covers, from AC/DC to the White Stripes, along with some Nepali tunes. These guys rocked, and the crowd loved it.
What really made my time in Kathmandu was the hostel I stayed at. Founded almost by accident and ran by two brothers, this was a basic place in Thamel. $4 got me a bed and a whole lot more. The brothers were interested in helping guests out however they could and showing off local spots. They took us out for good, local food and then to a lake south of town where we were the only foreigners. We walked around, grabbed some tea, and had a couple games of pool at the local snooker hall. It was a cramped space, but a few holes in the sheet metal walls allowed full extension of the cue.
I ended up with some extra days so I took a couple side trips. Each was a one hour local bus ride, a breeze compared to the 8-10 hour endeavors I'd had in the mountains.
Nagarkot is known for views of the distant Himalayas. An early morning hike by headlamp brought us to a lookout tower with panoramic views as the sun came up. I thought I had picked out Everest until I was told it's really just a hardly visible spec.
The ancient city of Bhaktapur has more impressive ruins and cleaner air than Kathmandu, making it a pleasant place to meander narrow alleyways and scenic streets. While heavily damaged by the 2015 earthquake, these are still some of the best preserved ruins in the country.
Kathmandu was such a lively, one of a kind place, I'm glad my travels unexpectedly brought me here.