Exploring Kathmandu

As I write this I am reclining in ‘Butterfly Lodge’, our new guesthouse nestled between flower-filled greenery by the stunning Phewa Tal (lake) in Pokhara. We spent a few days exploring Kathmandu, and have now made our way here. Its 35 degrees and so humid I am dripping with sweat, but Butterfly Lodge is a shady little haven away from the bustle of the main drag and it feels like a home from home already. I’ve already been bitten to death by mosquitos but haven’t begun to take any antimalarials…I’m not entirely sure if we need them where we are.

From the roof of our guesthouse we can see the Annapurna range, and in particular Fishtail peak which looms at a rather terrifying 8000meters. I never realised seeing a mountain of that scale in the…flesh…would have such an impact on me, but the first time Myke called me up to the roof to see it it completely blew my mind, it’s just incredible. The Pokhara valley is tropical and lush, but snow capped peaks loom above the rain forested mountains. The journey here was the most epic experience I've ever had, and took about 8 by coach from Kathmandu.

The coach teetered along sheer cliff faces as we passed paddy fields, jungle and mountain passes. It was the most unbearable heat and would have driven me mad had I not been hanging out of the window most of the way. At some points I was genuinely clinging onto the window frame, fearing we might all plummet to our deaths the coach roared along potholed roads and breakneck speed, flying round corners as we all got thrown out of our seats and missing head on collisions with armoured lorries by inches.

The valleys spread out hundreds of meters below us and some of the roads we were careering down did not seem as if they were fit for vehicles of our proportion in the slightest. When we stopped for breaks at tiny fly-filled roadside café’s we all sat trembling over our cups of chai. Then we would pile back on and into the heat before being whisked up another mountain side. The only reason I wasn’t praying to whatever god I believe in was that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the view. It was the most stunning view of green I have ever seen. Just green and green and green as far as the eye could see. Jungle and forest and paddy fields that stood perfectly tiered for hundreds of meters below us, like mirrors reflecting the sky. Crashing rivers cutting huge gorges through the landscape that we rumbled along beside. Tiny villages nestled on hillsides, rope bridges swinging above precipices. It was just amazing

But I need to bring you up to speed on Kathmandu, right?

Well, we moved from Hotel Ganesh Himal to Freak Street, which in it’s hayday was the epicentre for hippies in the north. The guesthouse we found, Annapura Lodge was more of a fleabitten hostel, but definitely had the atmosphere we were looking for. Freak Street was in Old Kathmandu which was much less touristy than Thamel, although that is where we spent a lot of time. It’s basically a huge jumble of tourist shops, market stands, bustling crowds, endless alleyways and towering buildings. There are back-backers and tourists everywhere and you can barely walk five paces without being accosted by a street trader of some sort. It isn’t as tiring as everybody warned it would be and I found the bustling crowds really exciting. But the noise and pollution of Thamel was unbelievable, cars are constantly beeping and the roads have absolutely no laws. Old Town was much more like the 'real' Kathmandu, with shrines and temples filled with Nepali people all around. Freak street still has that traveller feel but is much more laid back. Our hostel was just off the ancient Durbar Square and we had a favourite restaurant on a rooftop nearby where we whiled away many an hour looking over the city, eating curry and enjoying a cold beer after a day of exploring all the craziness below.

One day we walked out of the old town to try and find the Swayambhu temple, but ended up getting completely lost in a non-touristy part of town which was quite intense. There were street kids sniffing glue and everybody was staring at us as we walked down the silent shady alleyways. Eventually we managed to find a taxi who took us to the right place; the driver cackling all the way; laughing at our dreads. The Nepali are amazing.

The Swayambhu temple was magical. We had to climb about a million steps surrounded by monkeys, pilgrims and monks, the buddhist prayer flags covered all the trees and we panted in the heat, sitting a while in the shade to check out some cute baby monkeys we found :) When we reached the top, we had the most epic 360 degree view of the Kathmandu valley. We spent most of the day up there. it was so peaceful, the monks padded around quietly and insense and candles flickered in the ancient shrines. The temple bells tinkled in the breeze and chanting came from the monastery. We sat with some monks who seemed to be about a hundred years old, and I was invited into a Nepali mans singing bowl shop where we spent an hour having an amazing conversation about Buddhism. He did some resonance therapy on me with loads of different singing bowls, before I left to sit and contemplate the temple again. It was so peaceful, I could have stayed there forever.

Another day we travelled outside the city to the msot important site in Nepal for Buddhists, the Boudah. This was a huge huge temple stood in a stunning square. We were taken on a tour by a monk who lead us three times around the ancient grounds on a pilgrimage. He taught us a mantra, got us to write our names on the prayer flags so they would bless us in their morning prayers, we burnt insense with him then prayed together in a little garden. There was so much love in the air it was amazing, and he blessed me with a lotus flower and tied a piece of lucky string round our necks. Afterwards I tied it round my wrist with my mum‘s St Christopher tied to it. When we were on that crazy bus ride yesterday I was clinging onto it for my life!

Now we are in Pokhara. In a minute we are heading out to the lake to take a boat out and have a swim. Everywhere we have been so far has just taken my breath away and Pokhara is no exception. It’s a sleepy little tourist town nestled at the side of the most stunning clear lake. The main drag that follows the lake around is a long street of touristy shops and little cafes, and the further you walk down here the more Nepali the place becomes. There are always cows wandering in the middle of the road and hill people herding Water Bison along. The people are so friendly and there’s so many smells and colours everywhere, I feel like a child walking around in the street with my eyes wide and my mouth open.

My Nepali is coming along slightly better than I had expected but my bartering skills are still with much room for improvement! Luckily our hotel owner is so kind, he has helped us to plan our trek and to find out the best prices for guides. We are planning on taking a trek up to Mount Panchasse, a slightly easier route than Anapura Base camp (slightly!) which takes us up through jungle to breathtaking views of the Annapurna range. Right now, we are going to take it easy with a curry and another amble between the little café’s on the waterfront. The pace of life is so relaxed here, I’m going to make the most of it.