DAY 1 : NEPAL : Kathmandu

Weather : hot and humid, 30o

We left Darjeeling at 6.30 to head down to the plains. The hotel provided a packed a breakfast. Dawa and his driver were booked to drive us the 5 hour trip to Bhadrapur.

We stopped half way down the mountain at a little cafe perched on the ridge for ginger tea. All the life of the towns from Darjeeling down the mountain is on the roadside where the houses and shops are situated. People congregate, children play, families wash clothes, dishes, hair and cars all in public view.

We passed numerous tea plantations.

 

 

Then when we hit the plains life changed into the tropical atmosphere and the manic traffic.

 

 

It took us many miles on bumpy roads and much patience by Dawa and our driver to find the appropriate checkpoints for Indian immigation, then Nepali immigration.

 

 

 Then another police stop to organise a temporary handwritten number plate so that it was in Nepali script (as our car had a West Bengali number plate in English).

 

 

We passed rice paddies and corn fields.

 

 

and very colourfully decorated houses - unlike in India, just a few kilometres away.

 

Locals catching a ride oblivious to the appalling state of the road.

Eventually we arrive in Bhadrapur - a small town with the lowest altitude in Nepal. The airport seemed to be staffed by more security police than passengers travelling.

 

 

We would have like access to the VIP lounge but it was not to be.

 

 

Our airline was Yeti. No formalities - when the passengers arrived we went through security, found a seat of our choice, hugged our hand luggage (no overhead lockers) and the plane set off. No safety demonstration but light refreshments were served.

 

 

Our destination was Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. A city of 4 million people.

 

 

We are staying at the Radisson Hotel. Very large and sophisticated and the hub for the company,World Expeditions, so lots of excitement with groups leaving and returning from treks.Out of our window you can see a large city, busy, dusty, thriving with tourists and vibrancy - a city with a lot to give being the entry point to the Himalayas.

 

Tonight we had dinner with Satish, our guide for the Manaslu Circuit trek. His kind mother cooked the delicious meal. We met Glenis our companion for the journey. She is also Australian -  but from Tasmania - and has been on several of Satish's treks before starting in the 1990s. Glenis has even completed  a mountain bike trek to Everest Base Camp. We were delighted with our welcome, the initial schedule and Satish's attention to detail. Now are we up to the challenge?

 

M&M

mm_smith@bigpond.net.au