Guest House Kathmandu

Amazing view of the Himalayas and guess what ! Everest ! It was fog in the valley so we were diverted to Dakar where we spent an uncomfortable time on the runway didn't think Bangladesh would be included as well ! I know after one day that its going to be an imperative to return to Nepal ! Am staying at the Kathmandu Guest House where the Beatles stayed and I don't think it's been decorated since then however lovely tranquil garden with lotus pool and my room has a little balcony overlooking ...

I made it out of India in one piece and a much stronger person. My second to last night I was sad about leaving, but let me assure you, it was nothing that a 12 hour turned 16 hour Indian bus ride won't cure. I got to Delhi tired and dirtier than I remember being in a long time. I paid for a hotel for 5 hours so that I could shower and sleep for a few hours before I had to go to the airport. What a welcoming sight the airport was! I went straight to Duty Free and bought a bottle of wine to ce...

FRI. 05 JAN. 2007 (GMT +5h45m) And I thought the Indians were being awkward with their GMT +5h30m! Seemingly the Nepalese have this time zone to show their independence (i.e. They're not India and they're not China!) Leaving Delhi, on advice from the Lonely Planet, I requested a window seat on the left of the plane and was rewarded with some of the most spectacular views of the Himilayas peaking above the clouds for most of the 1h20m flight. Having eased myself gently through the whole cultur...

The Last Resort - a little piece of heaven in the Kathmandu Valley en route to the Chinese/Tibetan border. Well at this stage I had been with my overland group for about 3 days. So far, so good. There were a total of 22 of us - the size of this group was the only thing that alarmed me. I loathe large groups and whilst individually they were nice folks a collection of 22 was a bit much for me. The group itself consisted of two different "factions" - those hardy souls who had joined the trip wa...

The Guide dropped us off at the border bridge, this morning then we had to cross the Friend-ship Bridge cross the border by ourselves.

Zhangmu is a very cute border town at around 2400m above sea level,after haveing breakfast, our guide will accompany you to China Exit Border Office in Zhangmu to regisiter and stamp your leaving. then drive you towards to border bridge.our vehicle will stop at 50m away from border bridge where the China side border check office is, you are kindly requ...

We made it!!! After 26 hours! With the afternoon heat and sun bearing down on us and all the other stranded locals, decision making was not optimal. We thought of heading 45km back to the border town by rickshaw (which would take 5 hours and involve Matt sharing the pedaling duties...). But with the heat and the gossip, we kept stalling. It turns out that the blockades were a country wide effort organised by the Maoist supporters to protest a recent government arms purchase from Israel/India....

First of the country from the plane, half asleep and still jet lagged. The landing was uneventful and the visa process comical, although it took ages. I was missing the required ID photos (I knew there was a reason why I had spare ones in London!) and the cash in the acceptable currencies (Nepalese Rupees not being one of them). So, there I was in the airport, paying outrageous amount for ID photos (well, translated in pounds it really isn't that bad). the next step was to get cash, and the m...

Kathmandu! Kaos. Kraziness. Killer Koffee. Komfortable Klimate. Okay, I'll stop with the K's, but it's hard because KMD is it. Everything I couldn't get my hands on in China and Tibet, it's here in KMD. In excess. Warm weather. Coffee. Baked goods. Fresh veggies. (well, I'll explain about that later) Western music. Movies. Cable TV, in English. A James Bond movie marathon was on in the hotel and most of us, feeling so deprived from our travels through China, could barely tear ourselves away f...

I'm now in country number four on my travels. I've just landed in Kathmandu from Delhi. Now in the home of eight out of ten of the biggest peaks on the planet! Staying at the Kathmandu Guest house tonight which is in the Thamel district. This guest house was the first to be build in Thamel and everything else just sprung up around it when the masses of tourists began to flow in. It's in a great location and it's probably the best place I've stayed in Asia so far. First impressions about Thame...