Himalaya Patan (Lalitpur)

... right ways....i found it all very enticing.  The hustle and bustle, the daily happenings of the locals is soo normal to them yet so captivating to me (as with most places).  I enjoyed 'getting lost' very much all the while not getting lost....there is nothing better.<br><br>A rooftop restaurant and an Everest beer was calling my name for my own personal Nepali farewell.  It overlooked the Durbar square, many buildings of homes, some market sellers, the mountains in ...

... the fridge and poured it before we could say anything!<br><br>We were up as usual by 6am and Krishna decided that we would not eat breakfast with the monks. I figured if he thought it was bad then I would not argue with him! So off we went on the long hike downhill towards Panauti. Except of course it wasn&#8217;t all downhill! It never is I have discovered. But we found another odd little place serving tea (Nepali style) and as we sat drinking it a man on a bike with 2 ...

... agreed to take my 500 Indian Rupee bills as they are not widely accepted here. I had to seriously sweettalk the money changer into "helping a girl out" in order for the money changer to exchange Rupees for Rupees as he did not want to take my 500 Rupee bills....hmmm what is wrong with this picture??? After sorting the money situation out I was swarmed by taxi drivers trying to take me to Kathmandu. I couldnt remember the name of the place I ...

... why!<br><br>I met a couple of characters whilst I was shopping. As it is low tourist season, all the shopkeepers are desperate to talk to you, buy you tea....out of boredom more than anything. Yesterday I managed to get a free necklace, bindi, two purses and 3 cups of tea....just by sitting and chatting to people. I also got proposed to....I said no.<br><br>So to sum up my time here. It has been fantastic, more than I ever ...

... and crannies and on sidewalks there was dried peas and lentils being gambled in games of Ludo, cards and chess being played by men squatting around in circles, oblivious to the world outside their current game. We visited the toothache god which is basically a lump of wood that people make offerings of coins to before they visit the dentist. We met cotton workers and met five children smoking a joint in a cycle rickshaw as well as many other people on the street going about their ...

... rhino in Royal Chitwan National Park.<br><br><br><br><br> When to goNepal has a typical monsoonal, two-season year. The dry season runs from October to May and there's the wet (monsoon) season from June to September. Autumn (September to November) and spring (March to May) bring almost perfect weather and are definitely the best times ...

... like it takes 10 minutes to get to me anyway. It is nice though, the roads are empty apart from few random trucks and it&#8217;s an India I rarely see &#8211; alone and quiet. A lot of the motorways in India are like building sites, and signs, warnings and health and safety doesn&#8217;t exist. Some roads I just don&#8217;t know if I am meant to be on them or not, and the road I am on now feels the same. I think the rule here is if it can be done it shall be done, as the ...

... for this alone.<br><br>Other highlights were Kathmandu zoo (in Patan), a surprisingly good zoo and a fantastic Chance for Mela to take some cool photo's. The low-lite, without a doubt was a local delicacy (pictured) which was one of the driest, spiciest dishes I have ever eaten. Pattan is well worth the visit but don't expect any culinary delights.

... Of course there were lots of cute animals! There was also a mini lake where we were able to rent a pedal boat! yay! Shortly thereafter it started pouring, so we hung out under shelter waiting for the rain to subside. After the zoo, we made our way back to Kathmandu. -- INDIA, Nepal, and China http://playinginasia.blogspot.com Cycling around http://littlegirlonabike.blogspot.com