Getting Settled in Nepal: Kathmandu & Himalayan Trek Prep

View of the clouds & Himalayas from the plane

After a marathon travel day that included a lot of wandering around airports (and, sleep-deprived though we were, furiously uploading a bunch of pictures with the best WiFi ever in the Dubai airport), we concluded with a sunset landing over Kathmandu, Nepal.  It was incredible to see the Himalayas framed by the multicolored clouds that looked as though they were threatening to downpour on us at any minute.  The pictures (of course) didn’t do the reality justice.  We deplaned on the tarmac, boarded a rickety bus, and drove (I kid you not) about 100 meters to the international terminal.  To this day, I still haven’t figured out the purpose of that bus ride, but the hospitality sure was nice.  =)
 

A busy daytime street in Thamel

Our hotel was called Karma Travelers (fitting, we thought, given the blog name) and they offered a free transfer from the airport to the hotel, which was in an area of Kathmandu called Thamel.  Now, Nepal and India are of course close in proximity, and we would discover that they share many things in common, but that there are many differences as well.  Our ride from the airport to the hotel would be something that they would have in common.  We stepped out into the heat of the evening after having purchased our 90-day visas at immigration (we weren’t sure how l0ng we were actually going to spend in Nepal) and began the search for whomever was supposed to be there to pick us up.  We were tired, having been awake now for about 36 hours, and coming to any new city, especially at night, can be a bit jolting.  This feeling is not helped by being instantly bombarded by taxi drivers, hotel representatives pushing their places, and all the other tired souls looking for their respective rides in the midst of the chaos.  

Our corner late at night -- nice & quiet =)

We didn’t see anyone with a sign from the hotel, or a sign with our names on it, so we divided and conquered.  I stayed put, and Matt began to walk to length of the pick-up area to assess the situation further down.  Thankfully, within a few minutes (though it felt like longer!), someone approached me with the correct information.  After summoning Matt, we walked to the long line of taxis, the only outlier being a beat-up tiny old red car in the middle.  Matt and I briefly exchanged knowing glances – the beater was going to be our "taxi" – the rest were simply too nice for the evolving situation.  Sure enough, we were led straight to it, my bag thrown into the "trunk," and Matt’s situated in the front seat.  

Matt with one of the stupas in Thamel

We climbed in, hugged our remaining belongings, noted the absence of any seat belts but the presence of plenty of dust, and looked at each other again, silently communicating a bidirectional "at least we’ve been through this before" thought, and got ready for an interesting ride.  Four years earlier, we played out almost exactly the same scenario upon our arrival in New Delhi, India, so at least we weren’t too shocked to enjoy the ride and chaotic surroundings. =)  As we zipped toward Thamel we were very much reminded of India.  There were so many different smells and sounds.  Motorcycles were everywhere, in addition to pedestrians, rickshaws, cows, dogs and chickens.  Storefronts were brightly illuminated showcasing their wares, the evening meal was being consumed in countless three to four table little shops, men with their portable fruit juice carts were offering their concoctions to passersby.  It was a cacophony of car horns, which, to us, sounded mostly just like honking, but to everyone around us the different meanings seemed to be easy to discern – "look out, I’m behind you," or "move out of the way, there's a cow trying to cross the road," or "go ahead, I see you," or "I’m turning left now."  It was incredible how much was communicated this way.  After arriving safely at the hotel, we retired for the night around 11PM along with the rest of the city.  For as loud as Kathmandu can be during the day, it is surprisingly quiet for a city of 2.5 million inhabitants at night (with the exception of the dogs which I will get to in a later post).
 

The bakery where we had our breakfast every morning

We awoke in the morning a bit jet-lagged, but excited to go exploring.  We had 5 days to complete our remaining tasks before our three-week long excursion into the Himalayas.  The night before we had briefly met "Mr. Funny" who was associated with our hotel (his real name is Funindra, but he goes by the aforementioned nickname) and we instantly liked him.  He runs a wonderful tour company based out of Kathmandu called Funny Nepal Treks and over the course of our nearly 7 week time in Nepal, we would come to know him well.  The first order of business was to decide whether or not we should hire a porter +/- a guide for our trek.  

Sights along our walk to the Nepal Tourism Board

We had done some pretty extensive research into the trek and had been back and forth on this question several times.  Most people join an organized trek or at the very least hire a porter (someone who carries the majority of the pack weight and has a fair knowledge of the trails and lodges), but some choose to hike independently.  Mr. Funny himself had started as a porter and had worked his way up over the years to now owning his own company.  He provided us with some great unbiased information and plenty of good advice.  We ultimately decided to trek the Khumbu region independently, which meant carrying all of our own gear, finding lodging/food/water on our own, and of course, finding the trail on our own as well.  =)  We had been in contact with a few bloggers who had hiked the trail on their own and we felt confident we could do the same.  Mr. Funny was kind enough to arrange our flights to and from the town of Lukla, where we would be starting our trek in just a few days time (more on Lukla in future posts).

Inside Kathmandu's lovely Garden of Dreams

Once that was settled, we began pricing out the remaining pieces of gear we needed for the trek.  Thamel is a backpackers (in every sense of the word) haven; you cannot walk 10 feet without turning into a sporting goods store selling "Northface" or "Marmot" or "Mountain Hardware" anything.  The best part was asking for something in a different size and getting an entirely different product in its place (though, of course, shopkeepers insisted that it was the "same.")  It made for an entertaining couple of days.  We bartered for hiking poles, rain pants, socks, water bladders, gloves, etc, and met a couple of great shopkeepers in the process.  In Thamel the rule of thumb is never pay full price (well, maybe for groceries) and bartering is expected.  It is both a challenging and humbling experience to haggle over a few bucks, and it can sometimes cause one to feel a bit awkward in these situations.

Matt working on some TIMS card paperwork at NTB

We also paid a visit to the Nepal Tourism Board office to obtain our required TIMS (Trekker’s Information Management System) cards, a must for anyone hiking anywhere in the Nepalese Himalaya.  The system is part bureaucratic (it costs money, you need passport photos and phone numbers and a complete itinerary for them, etc.), but it’s also a type of safety net as the TIMS cards are checked at certain points along the trails, serving as a record for who ends up where and at what time, which can be especially important in the case of natural disaster, severe weather, or the need to locate someone way out in the middle of nowhere.

Lunch in the Garden of Dreams

Over the course of our "preparation days" we squeezed in a visit to the lovely (and quiet) Garden of Dreams.  It was an oasis from the horns, animals, dust and dirt.  The Garden was built as a private landscape in the early 1920’s for Sir Kaiser Rana, a field marshall in the Royal Nepalese Army, adjacent to what is now the former Royal Palace.  It eventually fell into disrepair and was almost forgotten until a collaboration between the Austrian government and the Nepal Ministry of Education began restorations in 2000.  We dined in peace at the delicious Kaiser Café and joined the others strolling amongst the beautifully restored buildings.  It was a fantastic way to pass the afternoon.

Serenity in the Garden of Dreams

Just a few of Durbar Square's stunning temples & pagodas

We also wandered down to the southern edge of Thamel to an area of temples (50 of them!) called Durbar Square, literally translated as "place of palaces".  It was a sea of people, guides, rickshaws, motorbikes, pigeons, and offerings – Nepal at its best (or worst if you don’t like crowds).  We purchased an entrance ticket for the length of our visas as we knew we would visit again after our return from the trek (more photos to come in later posts!).

Some of the intricate workmanship on display in Durbar Square

Last burger & beer for 3 weeks at Funky Buddha

As our initial time in Kathmandu came to a close, we headed out to one of our new "locals," a place called The Funky Buddha (a little overpriced but a great garden location, quiet, near our hotel, and it served something called "The Best Burger in Thamel.")  We knew that there wasn’t going to be much meat available up high (and what is available is often questionable in terms of food safety), so we feasted on "Best Burgers" and local Gorkha beers late into the evening.  We were nervous, but we were ready.  We had scored the first flight out in the morning at 0615 (well, Mr, Funny had scored it for us), almost ensuring that we would have decent visibility, which is what you want when heading into the Himalayas in a Twin Otter and landing at Lukla Airport, now renamed Tenzing-Hillary Airport.  Check out this link if you would like to become as scared as we were that morning.  =)  Everest Base Camp, here we come!

Check out the rest of our pictures from our first days in the fantastic city of Kathmandu!