Escape from Kathmandu

Trip Start Jun 29, 2008
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Trip End Nov 27, 2008


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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Kathmandu has become a bit of a topic to joke about amongst our tour group.  Definitely of all the places we have visited in the Himalayas it has had the least charm.  Moreover, we just kept ending up back there.  Kathmandu was our original point of entry and first place we toured, we stopped by again on route to Tibet, and then we returned to spend an extra couple of days there before continuing on to Bhutan.  But apparently, entering Kathmandu three times wasn't enough.
 
The day for finally leaving Kathmandu for good arrived, and first of all there was an organized protest outside our hotel which resulted in our gates being closed and the bus unable to get down the street.  The people were protesting about the recent government crack-down on gambling in Casinos.  Luckily, however, the protest only delayed our departure from our hotel by half an hour, and we arrived at the airport in plenty of time.
 
After going through all the airport procedures (which I can assure you I will not miss), including an attempt by the security staff to get half of our group to pay them a bribe, we sat around waiting for hours with a flight delay.  Finally we were advised that it was raining in Bhutan - now rain might not usually be a problem for flying, but the Bhutanese planes do not use instruments to land, but rely on direct vision and the airstrip lies in a valley between some impressive mountains.  The flight was cancelled and it was time to return to Kathmandu city yet again... Kathmandu déjà vu.
 
The following day, despite the ongoing hurricane in the Bay of Bengal, the weather was fine in Bhutan.  We returned to the airport and repeated the rigmarole.  Thankfully, our escape was successful on this occasion, and we were on our way to Bhutan.  Yeah!!
 
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