Kathmandu - Days 117-120
We all had late night/early morning flights from Colombo to Kathmandu so to save paying for a night in a hostel, we thought we'd spend the night in the priority lounge at the Colombo airport. Brilliant budget travel pro idea, in my opinion. However, we were supremely disappointed to learn that we couldn't get through customs until 3 hrs before our flight. Which meant that we had to set up shop in some weird airport cafe for many many hours before we could check in (Ben and I for 4 hrs, poor Ty for close to 6). Around midnight, Ben and I were finally able to get in so we bid a [temporary] farewell to Ty and got about an hour of sleep in the lounge before our flights. Colombo-> Mumbai->Delhi->Kathmandu. Rough. We were very short on time for the flight from Delhi to Kathmandu and I had to sprint to the gate. Delhi is a huge airport so I was sprinting for a solid 7 minutes. Very red and sweaty, very out of shape.
Kathmandu airport is straight out of the 70s. Wood paneling, reddish orange carpet, just overall old looking (sorry, mom). And supremely small for an international airport. The baggage claim belt was so tiny that they had to unload all of our luggage and pile them on the floor. We had planned our flights so that Ty and Tay would land only 15 minutes after us but due some torrential rain in Mumbai, both of their flights were canceled. Their stories on their own journeys into Kathmandu are both adventurous and frustrating so I advise those interested to chat with them. Anyway, Ben and I found Bhuwan (owner of our trekking company, Authentic Adventures) outside of the terminal and were welcomed with big smiles, a hug, and marigold garlands to don. Quick plug: I highly recommend Bhuwan and Authentic Adventures to anyone who wants to trek in Nepal. Amazing company.
First impression while exploring Kathmandu that evening: crowded and dirty. Dirt roads, no traffic lights, power line madness, and swarms of people. Don't worry, the city eventually grew on us. We ended up finding a pizza joint, Fire and Ice, for dinner and it quickly became a favorite. One of the best wood-fired pizzas I've ever had (during our short time in Kathmandu, we'd end up here 5 times). Plus, someone was filming what was probably a documentary while we were there and we strategically chose to sit at the table in the background. Look for us on the big screen!
Taylor was able to get on a flight to arrive later that night so we packed up our few remaining pizza slices for him and went back to welcome him to Nepal. Yay!
After two flight cancellations and an extra two nights in Sri Lanka, Tyler finally made it to Nepal the following afternoon. The gangs all here! We gathered all of our travel documents and went to Bhuwans office to finalize our plan. Hearing the actual itinerary and what we should expect ("tough and long trek", "primitive living conditions") was super scary. Can I still change my mind? Too late, already handed over my credit card. We went out to celebrate/convince ourselves that this is a good idea. Tasty momos at Yang Ling followed by drinks at Sam's bar where we met two Nepalis who were patient with us as we struggled to learn a few Nepalese phrases.
Since Tyler had just arrived the night before, we spent the day exploring around Kathmandu and looking at all of the little shops. Blocks and blocks of alternating knockoff outdoor gear shops and cheap souvenir shops. We did lots and lots of looking, but little buying. Everyone was waiting to do our practice pack before buying anything extra we might want. Back to Fire and Ice at some point throughout the day, of course.
We met our wonderful guide, Buddhi, this morning! He was all smiles, as would become his norm on the trek. Looking back, I couldn't have imagined a better guide for us.
Figured we have a bit more of a touristy morning, starting with a visit to Durbar square. We successfully navigated an entrance fee scam and got into the main park area. The temples and buildings were neat, but they were still undergoing a lot of construction from
nearly being demolished in the earthquake years back. Lots and lots of people though. Our next stop - Monkey Temple - was much less crowded, set up on a hill so we had a great view and, as alluded to in the title, full of monkeys! Pretty neat to explore in the morning. Got insanely delicious chicken kebabs at Thamel Doner for lunch then went back out to the shops to actually buy the things we needed - down jackets, water bottles, gloves, etc. Then to the nerve wracking part - packing. Ahh! It's scary to pack for a whole month when you aren't quite sure what you're getting yourself into. We had a bunch of space leftover in our duffle bags but had already paid to have two porters. Ended up bringing a few more clothing items than was probably necessary but mostly filled the remaining space with snacks. Especially, snickers. If we ended up being miserable for the next month, at least we'd have some tasty treats.
Treated ourselves to a Fire and Ice pizza dinner for some last chance good food. The other three may remember otherwise but I thought that everyone was a bit quiet that evening. Nerves, no doubt. At least on my end. Back to the hostel to finalize packing and then attempt to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we're going into the Himalayas!
