Kathmandu-In-It
Trip Start
Sep 15, 2008
1
79
122
Trip End
Jan 01, 2009
Kathmandu,
Nepal
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
3 hours later we arrived at the Nepali border town of Sunali, where we stopped to do the usual paperwork and put up with the usual hassle. Walking from the India side to the Nepali side and dealing with the mostly Nepali touts felt like a breath of fresh air. They seemed more honest, vehicles honked less, and the air smelled slightly better (read: less like piss)
Relative Paradise
.Instead of catching the "local" 11 hour bus to Kathmandu we opted for the Micro-van (think minivan) that would only take 5-6 hours... We bought 2 tickets and got ready to leave. Then we found out there was a strike, so our 6pm van woulnd't leave until 8pm. At 8pm we started on of the weirdest bus / taxi ride of our lives. First off the drivers stopped to try and squeeze extra locals into the van (most likely without their boss knowing) at some roadside lot. Us and the other passengers, who had all been jaded by India, we not having any of that. After saying no 100 times we finally got on the highway towards Kathmandu. One hour later we stopped for tea. Then it was another hour and they needed dinner, then more tea, then we don't even know what they were stopping for, but it continued. With all the stops, our expected arrival of 12pm ended up being 4am. They did drop us off right at the hotel, so we waddled to our room and crashed. We woke up rested but a bit confused, even though we were in one of the busiest areas of all Nepal it was peacfully quiet, only bird songs and freshair coming through the windows...the first time since arriving in Asia. Well the desert was quiet at night as well, but we were usually woken up by farting and groaning camels, or the camel driver Baba stuffing hot chai, chai, chai in our face. We had only been in Nepal for 12 hours and we already started to like it
The streets of Thamel
.Today was the day we would be heading to the Godawari Children's Home, in a village south of Kathmandu, to volunteer. Before catching a taxi to the home we walked around Thamel, the tourist centre of Kathmandu. Dehli has a tourist ghetto and Kathmandu has a tourist area. The subtle difference in the descriptions gives a strong hint as to which one is nicer to visit. Counterfeit trekking gear, book stores, cheap internet, and an amazing aray of nice looking local and international cuisine make up the core of Thamel. After a egg and cheese bagel, and some great coffee we called Brother Nepal (the Orphanage leader) for directions to the home and caught a cab.
The next 11 days we will be at the orphanage working with the kids and helping those who run the home. After taking a group of 13 youth to Mexico last year to volunteer at an orphanage, which was heartwarming, challenging, eye-opening, amazing, and unforgettable, we are very excited to have another opportunity like this on the other side of the world.
