Kathmandu

Kathmandu - the capital city of Nepal, busy and noisy and very dusty. The main tourist area is Thamel where you find many shops, resturants and bars. You will find a wide range of shops catering to the trekking trade with cheap imitations of branded gear for those who decide to travel without it. Many of the tourists who come to Nepal undertake one of the many treks that are available in the Himalayan mountains which you will experience nowhere else in the world.

Before I departed there was a major incident on one of the major treks which the tourists often undertake on the Annapurna trail where several sherpa's and clients were either badly injured or died. However this hasn't detracted the tourists from undertaking these treks. Earlier this year there was the worst incident on Everest which left many sherpa's dead and disputes about pay and safety amoungst area's which needed to be addressed. Whilst the western world can be critical about these issues they should be helping to educate those who need it. 

Anyway that's a slight tangent - during the few days we spent in Kathmandu we were able to rest and also eat some good and some okay food. Although I do like eating Dal Bhat - rice and lentils - I do like to have a variety of food and take advantage of the times where I can do this. Even if it's just bacon and eggs in the morning it makes me feel a little happier - rather than Dal Bhat power three times a day. 

We also had the oppourtunity to visit the monkey temple with Joe and Lewis from the trip - the temple was up a million stairs - maybe a slight exaggeration but it seems like it's the highest place in Kathmandu overlooking the whole city. 

The temple was nice with a range of shops selling everything you could imagine from earrings to nice artwork. Foreigners expect to pay to enter whilst Nepali's get in for free. 

And of course there was the monkeys, doing monkey business - from laying in the sun, fighting with each other or eating food. 

We weren't staying long here though which was good as although it's relatively cheep compared to western standards it was eating into our budget and we would be heading back to the trisuli with the bus which was running a kayak clinic for a couple of girls.