Kathmandu – Wild West in the Wild East!

If you want your senses overloaded then this is the town. The roads are narrow, the traffic is rampant with motor bikes, no pavements so as a pedestrian you weave in and out of motor bikes, cycle driven rickshaws and taxis as they struggle to avoid each other. The road surfaces are mostly very difficult, the noise is intense and the heat and humidity are high. Everybody hoots their horns, even the rickshaws, and wild dogs sleep during the day and roam around after night. One hospital here treats 150 dog bites a day. And the dogs are protected by the Hindu religion, which covers 80% of the population. Bite me or Jet and I’ll kick you to death you rabid bastards. 

But it’s manic and marvellous. The dust drifts and tourists like us are constantly harassed by taxi drivers, shopkeepers and buskers playing Jews’ harps and single string violins. It’s just exhausting that’s all. 

We slept well, breakfasted and a ‘fixer’ turned up at 11am, pre-arranged by our trekking company, and we were accompanied to a money change shop, which doubled as a trekking equipment emporium. We brought dollars, paid the trekking company in cash and exchanged most of the rest into rupees. We then bought some water bottles from the emporium and took a photo of the shop assistant, money changer and fixer, in that sequence from left to right.

The money changer has a smug little smile as we discovered that he ripped us off for 6 quid. More fool us.

Lunch was outstanding. Vegetable stir fry for Jetty and Dal Bhat for me, with Local beer. For £12. Brilliant.

Then back through the mental, historical and spiritual streets to the hotel where we got our gear ready and packed it for tomorrow.

The shops here are full of wonderful stuff, but largely mass produced. 

We met again with the trekking company manager this evening and talked through the next three weeks. We’ll trek in very warm and very cold weather, stay a couple of days in Pokhara to relax in a nice, and very cheap, hotel and then come back for some time in mental and manic Kathmandu. Excellent. Don’t beam me up Scotty, I’m loving it. I’ll reflect on this photo for a while.

I know. You want a photo of Jet. Not on her life without make up. Well, maybe.

Night night.