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| Kathmandu and surrounding Valley |
1. Overwhelming feeling of disorientation and confusion derived from extreme differences when exposed to a culture, way of life and/or set of values that you are unfamiliar with or is not your own.
OR
2. Nepal
I dont really know where to begin to be honest. There is just so much about this place that is note worthy.
Landing in Nepal we came out of the clouds basically on top of the city, I wasn't sure we were landing on a runway because the houses were so close to the bottom of the plane. As I came out of the airport I got my first taste of Nepali 'hospitality' when I was offered about 15 taxis within 4 steps of the door. I literally had a wake of drivers behind me bartering themselves down to pennies for the trip to Thamel. I was rather disappointed with Kathmandu, nothing is very far away in the city and the surrounding valley, but it takes ages to get anywhere. The roads are shocking beyond anything I would have imagined and the traffic is horrendous, it doesn't help that there are literally no rules. Technically they drive on the left side of the road but really that is only abided by when there is a median separating the sides. Having just come out of the monsoon season, the roads were muddy, and full of pot holes, but the worst part was the garbage. According to a local paper there was 300 tons of garbage piled throughout the streets rotting in the humid wet weather. I found out later there was a strike which was why the garbage had gotten so out of control. But nonetheless I've basically become a vegetarian, depending on how grungy the restaurant feels because in all the piles of garbage you will find cats, dogs, chickens, cows, and/or water buffalo 'grazing', and you can't believe that they don't end up on your plate. It gives free range a new meaning...
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| The dump |
The food is amazing though, and you can get whatever you want, most restaurants serve any Asian dish as well as Italian, Mexican, German, Swiss, and Many others. Two Nepali kids who were training to become trekking guides (but also worked for a trekking company and tried to sell me a tour, surprise surprise) showed me a little hole in the wall restaurant that has great food and for a fraction of the price out on the main street, so that became a staple for me while in Kathmandu.
Thamel is the touristy area and is completely overrun by rickshaw drivers, taxis, trekking and gear shops, souvenir shops and beggars. As in any developing nation, everyone is blinded by dollar signs, and try to grasp whatever piece if the tourist pie they can, and as a result prices skyrocket and no matter how pleasant a person seems, in the end all they want is your money. It's quite disheartening actually because until you experience otherwise, it really ruins the appeal of an entire country. There is some novelty to it all but in Thamel that wears off in a real hurry.
My main goal upon arrival was to figure out how and who to hire a guide through and where to buy all the gear I'll need. That turned into a very overwhelming experience. You are hassled from every angle, and literally every second shop is selling the same gear. I went to numerous shops comparing prices and quality trying to find the best of both worlds.
Basically, for vendors selling gear revolves around the concept of "ya, same same...but different" and buying gear revolves around the 'degree of fake.' It is very important to assure them that you know everything in their store falls within this 'degree of fake', because they tend to forget at first even when quality is noticeably crap, branding is sloppy, fraying, uneven, and far more often than you would think, on the wrong side. And material is clearly different. Generally the Nepalese are incredibly honest tho, and after reminding them that it is indeed fake, they say "yes, but good fake!" one guy actually looked at me like I was an idiot and said "this Nepal, of course fake!"
Good fakes however, can be very good, they're often made in the same shops as the real ones yet they're still a fraction of the cost. I just bought a soft shell North Face jacket for $40 bucks! Needless to say i think im going to be using the services of FedEx before I leave, even though I'm well aware that I can't afford anything, I just can't help it. Anybody want anything?!?
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| Stolen |
Within the Kathmandu valley, there are 6 UNESCO World Heritage sites, so a lot of places to see. The first was the monkey Temple, which was perched on a hill top at the end of a seriously steep and arduous set of stairs. Climbing is free but you gotta pay at the top. It's called the monkey temple for obvious reason, it has been overrun by hundreds of rhesus monkeys. Cheeky bastards too, if they want what you're eating they will have some one way or another. They can be very crafty and fun to watch their tactics, as long as they've targeted someone other than you.
Bhaktapur temples
The best site was Durbar Square in Bahktapur, it is the biggest, quietest and best preserved temple. Ross (Scotland) who I met at the guest house had a travel bible so we made the most of miserable weather and did a rainy walking tour around the town and temple. It had a much more authentic feel to it which was nice, and far less hasseling from people trying to sell you things. It seemed as tho it was a place where people went about their daily lives, but just so happened to have a beautiful temple in the middle. I am pretty sick of Kathmandu and honestly it was somewhat of a let down. Basically it has everything you don't want in a city; pollution, bad traffic, very noisy, awful smell, piles of garbage, and people harassing you. That being said, there are a lot of beautiful sites and things to do around the city, you just have to go find them. The culture is amazing, it is so vibrant and deeply ingrained in everyday life, but it's hard to believe that something so colourful and vibrant can be derived from such a filthy place.
Heading to Pokhara tomorrow, which will be an adventure in itself. Anywhere from 6 to 10 hours to go a little under 200km...
Take care everyone, chat soon!
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