Kathmandu & byebye
The bus journey to Kathmandu was uneventful (a good thing for Nepal) except that we were dropped off really in the middle of nowhere. Our taxi dropped us off at our hotel and after Johan had bargained down the price for our very comfy room we hit the streets. While Thamel (the very touristy bit where we stayed) in Kathmandu does not compare to a place like Delhi, Johan predicted within two days we would be sick of the craziness - which we were.
One amazing thing about our stay here though was the ease with which we were able to get thing done - more so even than at home! Within moments of thinking to do it we had air tickets to India, Janine had been to an excellent dentist, we had shopped, mailed, claimed for the dentist from our travel insurance, blogged, backed up photos, printed photos, done laundry, posted a really big box of old gear and shopping home (!!), posted post cards and letters, eaten great food and did I mention shop?
We walked a bit around the old part of the city - it is a very quirky place. One interesting alley has a few dental practices which make for must-take photos. They are all closely situated to the toothache god - a bit of twisted wood with coins nailed to it. The city is peppered with artifacts - some incredibly old. There are shrines and temples and ancient buildings everywhere. Most of these are used by children as playthings, or to hang washing. While there are many weird and wonderful things to see in Kathmandu we did not do much more on the touristy side than the odd walk about. Today we head off to Varanasi, India and bid Nepal a fond farewell.
Culture shock: The local people are completely fascinated with the fact that we are married - once they know, they can't stop referring back to this fact. The people here are masters of upselling - everywhere we have been any person can offer you almost any service (eg the laundry guy wants to get us air tickets or a massage or send parcels home!).
One amazing thing about our stay here though was the ease with which we were able to get thing done - more so even than at home! Within moments of thinking to do it we had air tickets to India, Janine had been to an excellent dentist, we had shopped, mailed, claimed for the dentist from our travel insurance, blogged, backed up photos, printed photos, done laundry, posted a really big box of old gear and shopping home (!!), posted post cards and letters, eaten great food and did I mention shop?
We walked a bit around the old part of the city - it is a very quirky place. One interesting alley has a few dental practices which make for must-take photos. They are all closely situated to the toothache god - a bit of twisted wood with coins nailed to it. The city is peppered with artifacts - some incredibly old. There are shrines and temples and ancient buildings everywhere. Most of these are used by children as playthings, or to hang washing. While there are many weird and wonderful things to see in Kathmandu we did not do much more on the touristy side than the odd walk about. Today we head off to Varanasi, India and bid Nepal a fond farewell.
Culture shock: The local people are completely fascinated with the fact that we are married - once they know, they can't stop referring back to this fact. The people here are masters of upselling - everywhere we have been any person can offer you almost any service (eg the laundry guy wants to get us air tickets or a massage or send parcels home!).
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