After an early charter flight from Lukla to Ramechhap (Manthali) airport, and a 4 hour road trip back to Kathmandu (during which I was mostly asleep), we have officially left the mountains behind us and entered back into the world of luxury everything and free Wi-Fi. We have traded clean air for polluted emissions, natural light for fluorescents, walking transportation for taxi rides, and donkey and yak traffic for car and bike overload.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Kathmandu and the city energy and feels that are so vibrant in the area. It is especially exciting being back here on a Saturday night when the streets of Thamel are buzzing with locals and tourists looking for a fun time out. It is such a strong contrast to what I have just come from that it feels almost overwhelming. Nevertheless, we have the next 2 days here to get back into the big city way of life. Being back in Kathmandu also means that my break from work is coming to an end, which I need to start coming to terms with, but let’s leave that for the flight back home.
For those of you who haven’t been to Kathmandu, or Thamel specifically, it is a shoppers paradise. There are rows and rows of streets selling everything from hiking gear to Nepalese street food to incense sticks, for which the costs are extremely competitive, and always up for improvement if you have the bargaining and negotiation skills to do so. In addition, there are food shops, bakeries, restaurants, spas, banks, bars and lounges that transform into nightcubs once the sun goes down.
Today’s post update is short and (bitter) sweet since most of the day was spent travelling and getting used to being back in the hustle and bustle of the city, but I’ll definetely take more pictures of the area tomorrow and share them with you so you can get a better idea about the place and the vibe that goes with it.
Bye for now!