The hussle and bussle of Kathmandu

I have finally arrived in the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu.  After 24 hours of airports, airplanes and snoring seat companions I made it to Kathmandu airport. It was not quite what I expected. Nepal, at least in my imagination is a touristy place that has had lots of UN involvement so I was imagining something more than a third world airport. Not a computer in sight and back to a rubber stamp society. I had prearranged my visa before coming which turned out to be a very wise move as I later meet up with someone on my flight you had not and she told me it took two and a half hours and when she made it to the baggage claim "area" her bags had been thrown in a heap in the corner.

The journey into Kathmandu reminded me of Indonesia and Congo. Busy and with road rules that no westerner could ever comprehend and while the cars are a bit knocked about I have not seen a crash. There is lots of rubbish on the streets and most are either cobbled stoned or with numerous potholes in the sparse bitumen. Again I am in the land on tooting horns and motorbikes. For those who think it sounds like Thailand, it is a bit more primitive than that. It reminds me of Congo because we have had three power blackouts which apparently is the norm in dry season as the hydro dams get low and the turn off the power stations to conserve power.

The people are nice as are most in Buddist countries. The philosophical basis of not doing any wrong to living things is definitely a plus when you are sharing roads with cars and motorbikes. Also petty crime to seems fairly non existent so it is safe to travel around on my own.

Yesterday I hired a guide and visited a monkey temple and while to mere fact that they had managed to lumber all stone up to the top of a hill is fairly amazing the view was even better. Thankfully the Nepalese are not as cunning as their Indonesian counterparts who have trained their monkeys to steal from tourist so that the tourist has to pay to get their possessions back.

The town seem littered with three storey buildings that look ready to fall down in the next earthquake. I also got told by a guide that they are due for their one in a hundred year earthquake which was not that reassuring. In Dunbar square many of the buildings were destroyed in the last earthquake but have been restored.

Lunch was with my guide and was very spicy which burnt a bit on the inside. 20 hours later I have had no ill effects so here's hoping it was ok.

Today is a relaxing day and sorting through some of the shops and maybe heading out of the valley to see what is out there.