Sunday 21st March 2010 - Touring Kathmandu

Sunday 21st March 2010 - Touring Kathmandu

Today starts off a much better today for me personally. We are finally here and waking up in Kathmandu is almost surreal. The day began at 07.00am after a great nights sleep for me. Some of the group were not so fortunate and got hardly any sleep, thankfully for most of the trip getting some sleep would not be a problem for me. After a breakfast of muesli, toast and a fresh omelet we head off out on our coach for a day touring around Kathmandu. Our first site of the day was Swayambhunath Temple (also known as the Monkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in parts of the temple) at the centre of which lies a large Stupa. The word 'Stupa' literally means "heap", Stupas are mound-like structures and contain Buddhist relics.

The site has two access points: a long stairway, claimed to have 365 steps, leading directly to the main platform of the temple, which is from the top of the hill to the east; and a car road around the hill from the south leading to the southwest entrance. We fortunately or unfortunately (I am still not sure) took the road entrance in. We were under time pressure due to quite a lot of traffic built up as a result of the death of the former prime minister who had died the day before, his funeral was today so the crowds are gathering for it. We did manage to walk down and back up maybe a hundred steps or so just to experience it. Those steps were quite tiring, especially in the heat of Kathmandu. They seem to get steeper and steeper the higher you get so by the time you get near the top it is near vertical (maybe a slight exaggeration).

One thing that becomes quite obvious about the day in the city is the level of poverty. I had been to Cairo before and experienced something similar. The streets are dirty, the air heavy with pollution, people try to sell you anything they can get their hands on, and the smells are something you can only experience for yourself. The people don't pester you too much here however, once you are polite and say no thank you they will generally leave you alone. It becomes apparent to me that I cannot wait to get out of the city and into the mountains, into the clear air of the Himalayas. While I like seeing the sites here I came to trek. From the Monkey Temple we moved onto Pashupatinath. One of the most revered Hindu temples on the Indian subcontinent.

The temple situated along The Bagmati river is the site of perhaps the most morbid of tourist sites, cremations of recently deceased Hindus. The smell of burning bodies is something I don't think I will forget in a hurry. Non Hindus are not allowed within the main temple which is a shame but respect must be given to the local cultures and religions. The cremation site is bustling, all Hindus in the city come here to get cremated. We are standing across the River looking across at a new fire being lit when a cow just wanders past us, nobody appears to own this animal but its a free spirit, cows of course being sacred to the Hindu people. Our next stop on the tour was Patan. once a separate state it is now a suburb of Kathmandu. We stopped here to get some lunch before touring Patan city itself. Lunch seemed to take an eternity, however our watering hole for the day was chosen for us in what seemed like a cosy arrangement between our guide and the restaurant owner but when in Rome. That is a part of this culture that I do not like I must admit, it seems that everyone is after your money.

By the time we got back to our hotel I was in desperate need of a shower. Yes I do like my home comforts, what will I do while trekking, I will worry about that when it comes but for now I will get as many showers as I can. We were given about an hour to freshen up, change etc. before meeting with Prackash in the lobby. As tonight is our last night before setting off on trek we are all heading out together for dinner. The plan is to walk to Thamel, the main shopping district of Kathmandu and spend some time walking around there, getting any last minute trekking items we might need and then meeting up at the restaurant. Thamel is a crazy place. The streets are so narrow that you almost feel that by stretching out your arms you could reach across and touch both sides at the same time. Rickshaws, motorbikes, cyclists all whiz past you at suicidal speeds and once it gets dark all bets are off. The street lights dont work which means you are flying blind, only for the dim light from the shops and the headlights of passing traffic you would be in complete darkness.

Of all places you could imagine yourself ending up whilst having dinner in Kathmandu, an Irish bar and restaurant was not it. However Kilroy's is the setting for our "last meal" in Kathmandu before flying out tomorrow morning. Everyone (except for Ebrahim and Asif who had gone to a Halal restaurant elsewhere) were at dinner. I took the opportunity after dinner to go to use a phone so I could call home. It was great to talk to Laura at home, it has been hard being away from home this time. Normally I do not suffer from home sickness but on this trip I have it bad.