Our flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu went smoothly. Reasonably clear skies gave us good views of the Himalayas from the plane. We thought we saw Everest, at least that's what we are claiming. On approach to Kathmandu, the hills were covered with little villages, terraced rice fields and windy dirt roads. It is amazing to see the locations of the villages, high in the hills, narrow, winding roads down into the valleys. Lots of 3-5 story building blocks where an extended family might live. Not many single story dwellings.
Visas at Kathmandu were easy to get, just a long process. You pay first, then go to a different counter to get the visa. That took about 1 1/2 hours, so patience was needed. Customs was more interested that we had the right bags, rather than what was in them. There were the green and red signs at customs, but they both went the same way and no body seemed all that interested in looking into anyone's bag. Not the same restrictions as NZ.
We were met by Purnam, one of the pastors here. He organised transport for us. A half hour van ride delivered us to Samsara Resort, our accommodation for most of our time, through the narrow streets. Plenty to see, streets are pretty clean, dogs lie on the roads, road rules don't mean much and there are plenty of people driving, riding, walking in all directions.
The hotel is great. With no elevator, Fiona and I will get plenty of exercise. We are the only ones from our group on the 4th floor of the 5 story hotel. We rested for a little, cleaned up, and then went for a walk through the streets near the hotel. The area we are staying in, Thamel, is the main tourist area. Narrow shops selling just about anything. Lots and lots of outdoor equipment shops, trinkets and tea shops. It's best just to look and keep moving, unless you really want to buy something. The shop workers are hard sellers! People on the streets selling items as well. One shop, called the Bong Shop, sells pipes for smoking. I'm not sure we would get one of those back into New Zealand!
Tomorrow is another day off, then we fly to Dhanghadi in the northwest of Nepal, on the Indian boarder.
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