So What did u du in Kathmandu today Dave? Close Encounter of the Third Blog.

Woke up, fell out of bed – but didn’t need Paul McCartney’s comb across my head. Breakfast in the hotel and then spent two hours deciding what I would leave in Kathmandu and what I would take on’t trek. Changed money, at the best price in town, picked up my bus ticket to Pokhara and went for a long walk. Lovely day. No monsoon.

This place is very eastern, but it’s difficult here in Thamel to work out what is traditional and what is for the tourists. Fifty fifty would be my assessment. This is a hotel reception. I didn’t realise that I’d capture myself on film, and yes they are swastikas above the door. Ancient symbols round here.

The roads are blooming awful. Blooming – I’m refraining from vile and abusive language. But not as bad as the electrics.

There aren’t many tourists at the moment, which is one of the reasons I chose now. The other one being that I’ll get back in time for the Liverpool home match. COYRAWW, meaning come on you red and white wizaaards! However the lack of targets means that I’m seen as one of the few cash cows for the local entrepreneurs and literally can’t walk ten seconds without being accosted. And they’re persistent. Two followed me for at least 15 minutes, trying to engage me in conversation. I was polite but in the end got so frustrated that I shouted at them ‘get lost if you don’t want to see me get nasty’. They went, no doubt with some amusement.

These shops are great but they have to be for tourists. Would a local buy a funny wooden mask?

Lunch was a burger with fries and then I worked my way back through bedlam to my hotel for a late afternoon snooze. The little box on the floor to the left in the photo below is a Hindu shrine. Lightly battered.

I know it’s indelibly tainted but the swastika does look good in some, more pleasant, contexts.

The fruit van’s here mum.

I thought we had a knife problem but there’s strange blokes with knives here too.

I had a great hour’s kip and up for dindins.

The roads were quieter for a while and I had hot and sour veg soup, tandoori chicken, flatbread stuffed with mashed potatoes and chilli, and a pint of Everest. Nine quid.

Then the walk back to the hotel. Dark and deserted but not creepy. Kathmandu feels safe. Love it.

Night night.