The city of Kathmandu (or maybe just Thamel)

Perhaps arriving in a new city in a new country late in the evening doesn't give one the best first impression. Luckily for us, Kathmandu turned out to have lots or redeeming qualities, and in no time at all we had ventured outside the tall pointy walls of our hotel compound. Now I can't vouch for the city of Kathmandu proper, since we have yet to really leave the central tourist area of Thamel (or at least not on purpose), but once you get used to the noise and the people it's a very entertaining place to be!

The first word the comes to mind when trying to describe the city would still have to be... chaos. The streets are incredibly narrow and the traffic moves at an alarming rate. The mix of cars, pedestrians, motorcycles, rickshaws and bikes (not to mention the occasional rouge cow) almost blend together into a large honking screeching mass. The only way to get around without having a constant anxiety attack is to locate that small part of your brain that tells you to be afraid of cars or dying in traffic and to shut it off. Just pick a side of the street, watch where you step and dodge the occasional motorcycle or two.

The shops in the Thamel area are, not surprisingly, completely devoted to tourists. Souvenirs, trekking supplies, trekking companies, maps and books, laundry, internet, and enough Gore-Tex jackets to build yourself a decent sized boat. The streets are packed beyond all reason with shop after shop blending into one another. Every sidewalk, every alleyway, every canopy, every square inch of usable space is taken up either by merchandise or by a sign pointing you off in another direction to someone elses merchandise (sort of like Las Vegas, but without the electricity!). It's all but impossible to tell where one shop ends and another begins. We actually discovered one of our favourite restaurants hidden in the back of a gigantic maze like book store (for some strange reason, it's never very busy.)

The people on the street are very... interesting. You can usually make it a dozen or so steps before someone comes up to you trying to sell you one of their strange violins, a singing bowl or a container of tiger balm. All of the trekking companies have people out walking around flinging their business cards at you trying to convince you that their company is far better than whichever one you decided to go with (although they seem to give up if you answer “Asian Trekking”). The taxis and rickshaws seem to think the best way of getting your attention/business is by driving straight into you with their horn blaring, virtually blocking your escape route. You have to be very careful about pulling out a map too, or the number of taxis will instantly double in the area around you.

If it's starting to sound like it might be hard to find your way around, you'd be right. There are no street signs simply because there are no addresses or even street names. Our first morning we found a great rooftop restaurant about a 5 minute walk from the hotel. After we were done eating it took us only 3 hours, the help of a local and a postcard to find our way back home.

Our home in Kathmandu is currently the Kathmandu Guest House. The aforementioned compound was quite smartly designed for the aforementioned frightened tourist suffering from an acute case of sensory overload. Located safely within the high, guarded walls of the Guest House are the usual amenities like restaurant and wireless internet but also (-deep breath-) multiple coffee shops, several souvenir shops, laundry service, hairdresser, massage parlour, ATM, taxi stand, book store, post office, a bank, at least three jewelry stores, two travel agents, a mountain bike rental service, art gallery, and (last but not least) a quiet secluded garden complete with lawn chairs and swing. Saying you'd never have to leave is a gross understatement!

The weather has been decent. It rather hot and humid most of the day/nigh but is very cool in the morning. The clouds take a long time to roll in, so you have ample warning to prepare for the rain. Once it's here, however, you'd better be ready. It could be perfectly dry one moment, but waiting around the next street corner could be a massive down poor ready to soak you to your skin in minutes. The thunder and lightening shows at night are particularly entertaining and light up the entire sky for hours. Too much rain does make getting around a little messy though. The drainage on the streets is rather sporadic and certain streets flood with several inches of water. It's a little entertaining to watch as the motorcycles all attempt to pass through the massive puddle going the exact right speed; just slow enough not to soak themselves up the back while still fast enough to make it the entire distance without having to put their foot down and immersing their foot up to their ankle. On most of these occasions, however, it's the hidden potholes that ends up winning...