Arrival in Kathmandu

Last time we heard from our intrepid adventures they had survived their second day in the  city of Hong Kong and were resting up for their first steps in the country of Nepal. Will they wake up from their food coma in time to catch their flight? How will they order breakfast without help from a local? What new and exciting experiences await them in their next country? Find out all this and more on today’s instalment of Stupid White People stumbling around Asia!

After sleeping a few extra hours to allow the previous day's gluttony to settle we immediately ventured outside in search of more food. Our next task was to carry our 45kg of assorted trekking gear from the hotel to the airport check-in. Lucky for us, there was a check-in station at Howloong station which was only a 5 minute stroll away. 30 minutes later we collapsed onto the station floor and said a not-too-tearful goodbye to our luggage (could you imagine having to carry bags for a living!) The afternoon was still ours so we wandered the streets of Hong Kong in the blazing sun before stopping at certain vegetarian restaurant and finally making our way to the airport. Our second flight also went smoothly, except for an unexpected trip to Bangladesh (by which I mean unexpected for us; the plane knew exactly where it was going. We were just surprised by our sudden trip to Dhaka.)

We arrived in the great country of Nepal at around 10:00pm local time and followed the stream of people headed towards customs, wisely choosing the line labelled “Without VISA.” About the line I must say this: smoothest bureaucratic experience ever! First came the man with scissors and a stapler down the line ready to cut our your passport photo to size and secure it to your application. Next was a series of friendly but efficient gentlemen who took all of your papers, documents and money; sliding everything down the counter as you followed along answering simple questions. By the time we reached the end of the succession we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had be granted access to the country and each has a very official looking VISA in hand. Nepal! We'd made it!

We had made around half a dozen cautious steps outside of the airport before being pulled aside and sold a taxi ticket to our hotel. Taxi? That sounds safe. The free shuttle bus was nowhere to be seen and at this time of night we sure as hell weren't walking. We spent a few anxious minutes being questioned by the locals and trying not to make eye contact (“How long you stay?” “10 weeks?” "You go trekking?” “Island peak?” “Have a guide?” “Asian Trekking?” “Oh! Good choice!”) when our cab finally pulled into view. And what a cab it was. Coloured a comforting shade of brown, the unmarked taxi looked to be on the order of 30 years old and held together with a combination of rust and staples. Being unable to locate a seat belt, we hung on to our packs for dear life as the cab shot off into the night. At least the floor looked solid?

We immediately reached an uncomfortably high rate of speed as we careened around corners and bounced from pothole to pothole. The horn went off every few seconds as we ploughed our way through groups of pedestrians, in between motorcycles and narrowly avoided other vehicles. At least we know they drive on the left side of the road here... more so than the right. Well they pass on the left! Unless there's motorcycle or rickshaw in the way, then they just go wherever there's more room.

The cars headlights only reached a few meters ahead of the speeding vehicle, making each new obstacle that sprang out of the darkness that much more thrilling. “Only power 10 hours a day.” explained our driver. At least that explains that group of people standing around that barrel fire back there. Maybe we were still in the less developed outskirts of town? “This is Thamel, central tourist district. Your Hotel is right up here.” Awesome.

As we pulled up to the hotel we were more than a little relieved to see a guard standing in front of a large imposing sliding gate. A compound? As long as we're on the inside! Our bags were brought inside and carried up to our room. Our door swung shut and was immediately bolted from the inside. We collapsed into bed and lay there staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before anyone spoke. “Sure is different here!” “Yup!”