when we arrived the airport seemed really small and quiet.the only people in the arrival terminal were the ones that had arrived on our plane.it still took an age to clear immigration though.although not as long as it took the people who had no visas.perhaps it had been worth all the hastle in Bangkok after all.
as we hadn't booked any accommodation in advance we went to the hotel booking desk.they made us a booking in a deal which also included transport to the hotel.they didn't achually make any phone calls though which was a little worrying,but he was absolutely certain that there would be vacancies there.as we walked out of the airport suddenly all hell broke loose.there were representatives from every hotel and hostel in Kathmandu all touting for business.they were behind barriers to our left,and to the right were hundreds of of taxi and tuk tuk drivers.the noise was deafening and at one point afew of the taxi drivers broke free of the barriers only to be beaten back by baton wielding policemen.because we had pre booked a taxi we just had to show our tickets and a driver was found for us.as we made our way to our car three men suddenly surrounded us offering to carry our bags.we insisted we were fine but they followed us anyway,and when we reached the car,before we could stop them they lifted our bags into the boot.sure enough this now made them into porters and each one of them now wanted paying.they were very insistent, had we been new travelers we would probably have been quite intimidated by them.as it was ,we were a bit long in the tooth for that by now,besides,we had other things on our mind by this stage.
Our taxi wasn't achually a taxi at all,just a man driving his own private car.it would be the equivalent of you or me getting in our car and driving down to the local taxi rank.we had been caught out like this before and each time it had happened we swore that we wouldn't get caught out again.as if this wasn't bad enough we also had an extra passenger in the car with us who the driver said was his friend.so we were now traveling in a car that wasn't a taxi,with two strange men,heading to who knows where and with no one expecting us.i must admit to afew feelings of apprehension to say the least.the drive to the hotel took ages,although that could have just been my imagination.
The roads leading from the airport were terrible,nothing more than dusty lanes in most places with pot holes the size of trenches..we were staying in Thamel,and when we arrived at our hotel we were greeted by the owner,and despite the fact that we had booked and paid for a room he was not expecting us.this wasn't a problem though because as with many of the places we were to stay in Nepal,we had the impression that we were the only people staying there.
The hotel was pretty grotty and very over priced so we decided to stay for one night then find somewhere else.The owner took us into his 'tour office', which was just a little room with some posters on the walls.He explained all the trips he could arrange for us and what 'good deals' he could get.My first impression of the Nepalese men we have come into contact with is that they've all been rather shifty,especially the younger men.they have a slightly Latin look about them which gives them a rather dangerous feel.
as soon as we had settled in we went exploring.on the streets the touts were waiting to meet us.these are usually young boys who are selling tiger balm,although there wares can vary from daggers[just the ornamental kind] to violins,and then after dark hash.the shops though are amazing.there are hundreds of jewelry shops,where big bright jem stones are the order of the day.the variety of precious stones is fantastic and not really what you expect to find in such a poor place.the next highest concentration of shops are those selling silks and pashminas in every conceivable colour,and if the shop you're in hasn't got the colour you want someone will run up the road and find someone who has.as you walk around all the store owners sit outside their shops on little plastic stools playing tiddlywinks or draughts in between trying to entice the tourists in with the promise of a good deal.there are also hundreds of places here to eat and each restaurant has a menu that caters for all tastes,although it's amazing how similar the food all tastes no matter what you order.in one restaurant we actually wait for nearly an hour and a half for our food.in normal circumstances of course you wouldn't do this,but here you know that if you get up and go somewhere else you would just have to wait all over again.we came to the conclusion that there is only one kitchen in the whole of Kathmandu with one little man doing the cooking for everyone.all the restaurants here play films throughout the day and evening,so while we were waiting we watched most of 'pearl harbour',which was the latest block buster out at the time.
The following day, after we have moved hotels,much to the disgust of our hotel manager we decide to take a walk to Drubber square.Along the way we search for the foreign post office but when we find it it's nothing more than a derelict building.In the square itself though we come across a small office which is actually the front room of someones house.Inside four men are playing tiddlywinks and drinking tea.To get their attention we have to stick our heads through the open front window.Then in the square itself we climb to the top of the Maju Deval,or the Shrive temple,as much to get away from the sellers as anything else.The temple dates back to 1690,which is amazing when you consider the amount of people who have climbed over it in that time.We sit at the top and dangle our legs over the edge for an hour,just watching the world go by.The square is reasonably quiet and there are very few tourists there.Lins read in the paper that the number of tourists visiting Nepal has dropped from 25.000 to 10.000 since the massacre of the royal family.when you hear figures like that you can understand why shop owners and touts are so persistant,they must be finding it hard to make any sort of living.As we watch people come and go, we are struck again by the way young men walk around hand in hand or with their arms around each other.There is no embarrassment or unease in these gestures,they come completely naturally to them and only seem strange to us tourists.
as we hadn't booked any accommodation in advance we went to the hotel booking desk.they made us a booking in a deal which also included transport to the hotel.they didn't achually make any phone calls though which was a little worrying,but he was absolutely certain that there would be vacancies there.as we walked out of the airport suddenly all hell broke loose.there were representatives from every hotel and hostel in Kathmandu all touting for business.they were behind barriers to our left,and to the right were hundreds of of taxi and tuk tuk drivers.the noise was deafening and at one point afew of the taxi drivers broke free of the barriers only to be beaten back by baton wielding policemen.because we had pre booked a taxi we just had to show our tickets and a driver was found for us.as we made our way to our car three men suddenly surrounded us offering to carry our bags.we insisted we were fine but they followed us anyway,and when we reached the car,before we could stop them they lifted our bags into the boot.sure enough this now made them into porters and each one of them now wanted paying.they were very insistent, had we been new travelers we would probably have been quite intimidated by them.as it was ,we were a bit long in the tooth for that by now,besides,we had other things on our mind by this stage.
Our taxi wasn't achually a taxi at all,just a man driving his own private car.it would be the equivalent of you or me getting in our car and driving down to the local taxi rank.we had been caught out like this before and each time it had happened we swore that we wouldn't get caught out again.as if this wasn't bad enough we also had an extra passenger in the car with us who the driver said was his friend.so we were now traveling in a car that wasn't a taxi,with two strange men,heading to who knows where and with no one expecting us.i must admit to afew feelings of apprehension to say the least.the drive to the hotel took ages,although that could have just been my imagination.
The roads leading from the airport were terrible,nothing more than dusty lanes in most places with pot holes the size of trenches..we were staying in Thamel,and when we arrived at our hotel we were greeted by the owner,and despite the fact that we had booked and paid for a room he was not expecting us.this wasn't a problem though because as with many of the places we were to stay in Nepal,we had the impression that we were the only people staying there.
The hotel was pretty grotty and very over priced so we decided to stay for one night then find somewhere else.The owner took us into his 'tour office', which was just a little room with some posters on the walls.He explained all the trips he could arrange for us and what 'good deals' he could get.My first impression of the Nepalese men we have come into contact with is that they've all been rather shifty,especially the younger men.they have a slightly Latin look about them which gives them a rather dangerous feel.
as soon as we had settled in we went exploring.on the streets the touts were waiting to meet us.these are usually young boys who are selling tiger balm,although there wares can vary from daggers[just the ornamental kind] to violins,and then after dark hash.the shops though are amazing.there are hundreds of jewelry shops,where big bright jem stones are the order of the day.the variety of precious stones is fantastic and not really what you expect to find in such a poor place.the next highest concentration of shops are those selling silks and pashminas in every conceivable colour,and if the shop you're in hasn't got the colour you want someone will run up the road and find someone who has.as you walk around all the store owners sit outside their shops on little plastic stools playing tiddlywinks or draughts in between trying to entice the tourists in with the promise of a good deal.there are also hundreds of places here to eat and each restaurant has a menu that caters for all tastes,although it's amazing how similar the food all tastes no matter what you order.in one restaurant we actually wait for nearly an hour and a half for our food.in normal circumstances of course you wouldn't do this,but here you know that if you get up and go somewhere else you would just have to wait all over again.we came to the conclusion that there is only one kitchen in the whole of Kathmandu with one little man doing the cooking for everyone.all the restaurants here play films throughout the day and evening,so while we were waiting we watched most of 'pearl harbour',which was the latest block buster out at the time.
The following day, after we have moved hotels,much to the disgust of our hotel manager we decide to take a walk to Drubber square.Along the way we search for the foreign post office but when we find it it's nothing more than a derelict building.In the square itself though we come across a small office which is actually the front room of someones house.Inside four men are playing tiddlywinks and drinking tea.To get their attention we have to stick our heads through the open front window.Then in the square itself we climb to the top of the Maju Deval,or the Shrive temple,as much to get away from the sellers as anything else.The temple dates back to 1690,which is amazing when you consider the amount of people who have climbed over it in that time.We sit at the top and dangle our legs over the edge for an hour,just watching the world go by.The square is reasonably quiet and there are very few tourists there.Lins read in the paper that the number of tourists visiting Nepal has dropped from 25.000 to 10.000 since the massacre of the royal family.when you hear figures like that you can understand why shop owners and touts are so persistant,they must be finding it hard to make any sort of living.As we watch people come and go, we are struck again by the way young men walk around hand in hand or with their arms around each other.There is no embarrassment or unease in these gestures,they come completely naturally to them and only seem strange to us tourists.
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