Leaving Kathmandu (Nov. 6)

"When you left town,
time stood still..."

-The Brakemen

The trip out of Kathmandu deserves its own post. Mark kindly took me to the airport in the hotel's van. On the way we passed the riverside ghats where bodies are cremated. No smell this time.

At the airport, it was chaos. The trip from front step to jetway took nearly two hours and included two bag x-rays, one manual bag search, and three different pat downs. None of this redundant security provided any sense of comfort as each search was done my disinterested guards half-heartedly. Once asked me if I was carrying a knife in my bag (no, just a few machetes).

Took my place in the goodness of business class (amidst the wealthy Thai holidaymakers) and soaked up the great food and wines.

Arrived in Bangkok to familiar, reliable comfort of a place I have been many times. Adjusted my watch ahead 1:15 mins (yes, Nepal is ahead of GMT by a 45 minute increment!) and trained into the city and straight to Cherry and Patrick's place without incident.

Kathmandu (Nov. 4-5)

Caught the bus back to Kathmandu marked by a gradual increase in the traffic and intense air pollution. Stopped by a fair trade shop and then hung out with a group of Mark's mates, mostly Nepalese hotel owners in the same area. I learned a lot about the industry from the operator's perspective. They regularly encounter guests who do not pay, who do not honour reservations and who complain about practically everything. They often relax the rules for travellers who "seem nice" (like the girl who rented a bike without making any deposit) and reneg on the agreement (she returned the bike, sans payment, outside the guesthouse in the middle of the night).

Ate a terrific meal of soup and crispy rice. After finishing the soup I learned that it was made from a "forest chicken" (grouse?) that had been hunted illegally in the nearby nature reserve.

Spent the next day visiting several temples/shrines in Durbar Square, and eating chat, a mishmash of leftover samosas, onions and veggies. Hard to describe but tasty.

The highlight of the visit may have been a visit to a Nepalese home for traditional dinner (dhal bhat). There were lentils, peas and cheese (mattar paneer) and the ubiquitous fried potatoes (these ones coated in crunchy hemp seeds). Most guests ate with their hands, but I refrained on the grounds I might embarrass myself.

PS: photo is Mark's illustrious guesthouse in Kathmandu!

Trekking (Nov. 2-3)

"I'm drinking Chivas Regal in a two dollar room..."

-Tom Waits


Caught the bus to Nagarkot with the locals. The bus kept getting more and more full. I said to Mark that we would never hear the Nepalese words for "We are full"! We didn't.

Along the way we stopped for some momo, a steamed Tibetan dumpling filled with meat (or veg) and covered in a delicious spicy sauce. Checked into a lovely place on a hill and waited for the cloud cover to clear. Never happened. But we met a nice Aussie biking through Nepal and had a delicious curry for dinner.

After a cold night (tucked warmly under thick duvets) we headed out on foot toward Dhulikhel. Again, the cloud cover prevented any real views, but we passed by some of the nicest little mountain villages I have yet seen. They build a brick house with wooden roof that is most aesthetically-pleasing to the eye. Everywhere people were friendly and helpful, which was good as we lost our way a few times.

Arrived 6 hours later in the small town of Dhulikel and stayed at an art hotel. Ok, it was more like a small guest house in which the owner showed you his friend's art for sale. Not pushy so it was fun.

PS: the opening quote refers to a similar experience Mark and I had. In Dhulikhel we found a yak cheese vendor, and got a bottle of red wine which we enjoyed in our $7 room! Very yummy.

Bhoktapur (Nov. 1-2)

Mark and I caught a taxi out to nearby Bhokatpur, the former capital of ancient Nepal (from the 15th century), now a world heritage site. Deservedly so.

The central part of town features a vast collection of temples, pagodas and traditional 3-4 storey brick buildings with the unique style of wooden lattice-work widows. But more impressive than anything are the streets: narrow and winding until they open up without warning into irregular squares and open spaces. One cannot walk more than 5 minutes without encountering some new, interesting space: a plaza, a water tank or well, an open area with piles of rice being dried. Sometimes it's just a gap in the steet network. Never a boring moment.

PS: pictures soon...

Kathmandu (Oct. 31-Nov. 1)

"Tom Kelly's bike rumbles down..."

-Bruce Cockburn


Awoke early, as expected, in my Bangkok airport dayroom, and emerged to the slowly-stirring airport. Found the lounge and got a shoulder massage before boarding and doing the last 3 hours of my hour journey to Nepal. We peered down at the water soaked fields of Thailand and I realized that the farmers too will suffer from spoiled crops due to this flooding.

Mark picked me up at the airport with his friend Hem, a local Nepali who presented me with a traditional silk scarf to welcome me.

Got a nice curry with them at a rooftop place that only locals would know about. Soft landing.

Pictures to be uploaded soon.

Back in the air

There is something about flyinhg business that engenders in me a sense of justice. I am inclined to conclude: no-one should ever have to fly any other way! It's just that civilised in front of the curtain.

The flight from Vancouver to Seoul was as good as it gets: great food and consistent service. Plus lotsa legroom in a flat bed.

Next, I fly to Taipai, where, while dozing in tyhe lounge I see three people handcuffed together. Great, this is a Con-Air flight returning suspects to Bankok!

I land in Bangkok and womder if the airport is surrounded by floodwaters. It's dark and impossible to know. I am too tired to find out and I check into my transit hotel to get some much-delayed sleep.

End of Year, End of Trip

So the trip is over with my blogging falling off precipitously after my dog, Angus, died. Suffice to say that put a damper on my blogging ambitions.

I can mention that I had a lovely New Years celebration in Bangkok with several friends I now have there. The pivotal moment of the evening was watching the fireworks from River Mansion, which surprisingly was slightly mansion-ish at 7 storeys, and was directly on the river. In fact it had this view of the Rama VIII Bridge. Stunning place to start the year.

The next morning, at a civilised hour, I made my way back to Suvarhnabhumi Airport for the final flights of the trip. Home in 14 hours -possibly a record.

Jetlag? Well, I'm up at 1:30 am writing this...