What an interesting day. I remember being chuffed to see several ladies in really traditional outfits from a remote region meeting & chatting with a monk, obviously a friend.

You're right about the atmosphere within the precinct - despite all the commercial activities, it really does feel very peaceful & serene.

Monday was another early start. A bit chilly on the roof terrace, and KTM was as usual covered in smog, but Swayambhu Stupa looked splendid in the near distance.

Kirtipur, our destination for the day, is just outside the Ring Road to the west of the city centre, and south of where we were staying. It sits on a ridge, with panoramic views, and is a well preserved vehicle-free old town.

Our host family told us it'd take 2 public buses to get there, but in the event it took 3 buses. At our destination I couldn't make sense of my Rough Guide map. We wandered round the interesting primtive Newari village, with narrow lanes, no motorised traffic, brick and wooden ramshackle houses, open sewerage channels, communal water taps, women squating doing their washing, children happily playing, dogs ducks and chickens wandering all around. We were eyed with lots of curiosity, smiles, and cheerful "namastes".

A student-type took pity on us, and pointed us a mile or so in the right direction to Naya Bazaar. Once there we had a challenging paved hill to climb to get us to Chilandeo Stupa at the southern end Kirtipur, and at one of the highest points along the valley rim.

Using my map and compass, we follow a path that eventually took us past houses, old men chatting, women doing their chores, dogs slumbering, and as it was traffic-free everything being conducted at a slow pace.

We saw a sign for a museum, and thought we'd give it a look. We were practically pulled in! Women in local dress sat on straw mats preparing garlic, ginger, and vegetables. Beautiful views of surrounding hills from a glass-less window, with chilli peppers drying on the sill.

We took off our shoes and were ushered to sit down a mat by the open window. I think that they thought we should have a meal in there, but we settled for a Nepali tea each. A fire was lit, water poured into a pan on a small gas stove, and took 10 minutes to boil. We enjoyed the delicious tea containing cinnamon and cardamom in a tin cup, with no sugar or milk.

Then we meandered our way along the lanes, and back down to Naya Bazaar. A bus was waiting in the street, I shouted "Kathmandu", received a nod in return, and off we went on a real old bone-shaker. It took about 40 minutes to arrive at the chaotic City Bus Park, down town close to Ratna Park.

Got to go, more later!

Good on ya LL, thanks for continuing....

Boudhanath is one of my favorite places in Kathmandu! The swirling mass of humanity pulled into its whirlpool is amazing. We loved staying at the Hyatt, where we were walking distance to Boudhanath (and to Pashipatinath), so we were able to visit at different times of the day. Early mornings and evenings were almost all locals, only in the middle of the day did we see Western visitors.

I'll get around to dawn and sunset at Boudha, and the morbid curiosity of Pashupatnath towards the end of this epic.

Our stay in a Boudha monastery guesthouse for the last couple of nights of our trip was far more memorable than any 5* chain place hidden from public view behind High perimeter walls.

To each their own, LL.

Where was I? Just arrived at the City Bus Park from Kirtipur.

There are several places in the centre of Kathmandu where the battered old public buses and micro buses leave from, so anyone considering using them needs to do a bit of homework first.

From our experience it's usually a good idea to catch the bus where it originates in order to grab a seat. The seats aren't meant for the average modern day westerners girth, and the locals aren't afraid to cosy up to you whether either you or they like it or not. It's also important to make sure the ticket man knows where you want to get off and that he'll give you the nod. The buses don't have numbers, nor are there timetables. There's also often a few sack of whatever to watch out for as you get off the bus.

The City Bus Park isn't exactly in a convenient area, the pavements are busy with pedestrians, pedlars selling their wares on the pavements, folk with deformities hoping for people to take pity on them, infact anything which thinks it's got a right to use the pavements, even a sacred cow or two. There's also the manic traffic, dust and pollution to cope with. Crossing some the roads in Kathmandu can take minutes before a gap in the traffic appears, and the traffic police at junctions aren't really too interested in pedestrians.

Fortunately there are pedestrian foot bridges across the road to help navigate you around Ratna Park to Kantipath and towards Thamel (where we were heading).

It took about 30 minutes to reach Thamel. We headed for the northern end to have something to eat, and then back to our accommodation by taxi.

It was late afternoon, and we sat on the roof terrace reviewing the day and writing our notes up. Rosemary is the note writer, and without them I wouldn't be posting all this stuff. I don't know whether I should thank her or not!

It was our 5th full day in Kathmandu. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is our final day before we move on by Greenline Tourist Bus to Pokhara. By now, because of all the air pollution my nose had developed a constant stream, and we were ready to move on.

The evening took it's usual pattern, the daal bhaat was delicious, and we spent time enjoying the company of our delightful host family.

Have I mentioned how much it cost to stay with the family for a week? £64, or about US$110, plus a small admin charge to Airbnb. An absolute steal, and a truly memorable was to start our trip.

Basic breakfast of toast and jam, and Nepal tea was included in the price. But we'd brought a load of dried porridge meals, Pot Noodles, and coffee and hot chocolate sachets with us, so Rosemary just went into the family kitchen every morning and asked for boiling water. More often than not the power was off, and a gas bottle fed stove was used for the cooking and heating things up.

What shall we do tomorrow? Sleep on it!

Our daily evening dose of as much daal bhaat as you could eat cost an extra 200 rupees per meal. So that was 2,400 rupees for 12 evening meals and the fanastic company of the family that came free!

Just to give you an idea of the pollution and creaking infrastructure of Kathmandu, some of the images are quite stark..

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ka...w=1024&bih=653

As is this recent newspaper article for The Guardian UK newspaper...

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/20...ble-smog-paris

Yet considering that Nepal is one of the world's biggest recipients of foreign financial aid, the place is in a bit of a mess!

I'm loving your report LL. Just starting trip-planning, and your candid info is priceless. Thank you!

Kathmandu's valley location doesn't help the smog either. As the Guardian article says, the mass of vehicles & motor bikes, linked with generators, wood fuel burning fires & cooking stoves, really make for a seemingly unsolvable problem.

In some ways, we tourists have loved Nepal to death too, with increasing demands on these resources.

Lancaster, the Nepalese people you spoke with would have no doubt told you of their disgust at successive Government's corruption & lack of action.

Some countries giving aid also send engineers & supervisors to ensure the funds are spent in the manner for which it is intended. The largely Austrian funded restoration of the Garden of Dreams is a good example of this.

There was a Bandh one day we were in KTM and the difference in pollution - noise and air - was remarkable.

There are some inroads being made, most noticeably in the areas outside of KTM. In the Khumbu region, there are concerted efforts, and a good number of rubbish receptacles, in the Clean Up Nepal programme. Organizations like the one with which the English couple I met in Pokhara are associated with are replacing wood burning pits & stoves in remote village homes. It's a slow process though.

LancasterLad, I wore a mask when out in the street & in the traffic in KTM - and in some of the dusty areas on trek & didn't get the infamous "Kathmandu cough" , sore throat or other lurgy.

That, I picked up from the chap with "the works" & sans tissues, mask or habit of covering his mouth when coughing, on the Singapore -Sydney leg home!

<<<Kathmandu's valley location doesn't help the smog either. As the Guardian article says, the mass of vehicles & motor bikes, linked with generators, wood fuel burning fires & cooking stoves, really make for a seemingly unsolvable problem.>>>

Yep I know. There are well over 100 brick factories in the valley, employing people [including 1000s of young children] in poor conditions and without basic facilities. The factory chimneys spew out acrid smoke almost 24/7. Later in our trip we got a bus from Kathmandu through the valley to Dhulikhel. Many of the open air factories are on the route.

<<<In some ways, we tourists have loved Nepal to death too, with increasing demands on these resources.>>>

Absolutely! And the mass migration into the valley from the hills, and India.

<<<Lancaster, the Nepalese people you spoke with would have no doubt told you of their disgust at successive Government's corruption & lack of action.>>>

Yep, and it's not just the government.

<<<Some countries giving aid also send engineers & supervisors to ensure the funds are spent in the manner for which it is intended. The largely Austrian funded restoration of the Garden of Dreams is a good example of this.>>>

I enjoyed reading in Rough Guide the section on Development Dilemmas, which pretty much spells it all out. The solutions don't always lead to a permanent solution, and there's a lot of resentement which can creep in. Have a read of the link I've posted at the end of this posting.

<<<There was a Bandh one day we were in KTM and the difference in pollution - noise and air - was remarkable.>>>

The same as when there's a long rain storm. But the air doesn't clear for long, although it's a welcome few hours.

There are some inroads being made, most noticeably in the areas outside of KTM. In the Khumbu region, there are concerted efforts, and a good number of rubbish receptacles, in the Clean Up Nepal programme. Organizations like the one with which the English couple I met in Pokhara are associated with are replacing wood burning pits & stoves in remote village homes. It's a slow process though.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=A...lemmas&f=false

<<<LancasterLad, I wore a mask when out in the street & in the traffic in KTM - and in some of the dusty areas on trek & didn't get the infamous "Kathmandu cough" , sore throat or other lurgy.>>>

So did we, but you can't wear them all of the time.

There's also the national pastime , which guide books don't warn you about. Oiking, spitting, and snot flicking! Not just blokes either. While it might seem a normal thing to do for the locals, all the stuff that comes out is spat into the air.

A few times on public buses I'd be sat by an open window, the person sitting in front of me spat out of his window and part of his gozz comes back into the bus through my window or the window behind! This happens in lorries, cars, motor bikes, pushbikes, the list is endless. Not good!

While we were in Nepal I bought or 'acquired' The Himalayan Iimes, and Kathmandu Post everyday. They're only 5 rupees each, and contain some really eye opening articles. I cut out everything of interest, and started a scrapbook. I might post the links to some of the articles if I get time.

This is a good news story for the some the children of brick factory workers...

http://www.demotix.com/news/4506291/...#media-4514577

But these schools [or other projects] are only any good if the are properly managed for the long term. Too many projects are funded for the short term, but without a long term view. And once the money dries up, then what?

We spent 3 weeks in Nepal in March, and I will try to pull a trip report together one of these days. Many of our experiences and thoughts about the country were completely different from LancasterLad's.

I will agree on the pollution level, however. It is bad.

Our trip had stays in these places: Kathmandu, Balthali Village Resort for some day hiking, Nuwakot, Bandipur, Pokhara (least favorite place on the entire trip), Chitwan, Chandra Ban Eco-Resort on the outskirts of Kathmandu, and Bhaktapur.

Places we stayed were in a price range between Kathie's high end Hyatt and LancasterLad's homestay.

Julies. We're still in Kathmandu so far on this thread. Still got the bus trip to Pokhara, Pokhara, Bandipur, Bhaktipur, Dhulikhel, and more of Boudha and Kathmandu to scribble about.

Let's get back on course.

Tuesday 25 March was our last day in Kathmandu for a while. So we decided to take another bus ride to Patan's Durbar Square, and the area around.

I won't dwell on it, as the day took basically the same path as our trip to Patan a few days earlier.

Worth noting that if you plan on visiting Patan more than once then keep your admission neck-tag from your first visit! There are a couple of money change booths just outside of Patan's Durbar Square, and the Cafe du Patan is a very nice place for lunch.

On our way home mid-afternoon we have have a wander along the perimeter road around Swayambhu (Monkey Temple). Quite a few houses along the road, and quite a few macaque monkeys enjoying a bit of mischief!

We hadn't been back home for long when the the clouds start to gather, then a few spots of rain, and all of a sudden it's turned into a mighty thunder storm and torrential rain. We sit undercover on our terrace and watch the downpour and lightning show.

Daal bhaat again for dinner, this time with tofu. We spend a little longer in the family lounge afterwards, reviewing our week in Kathmandu, and enjoy watching the 2 girls treat us to a Nepalese dance. The light in the lounge was a bit dim because of the load-shedding, and were it not for the fact the family could afford an inverter then we'd be in candle-light!

Wednesday would be an early start. We had to be at the Greenline bus depot by 0700, so we had a taxi arranged for 0630.

LOAD-SHEDDING. I've mentioned this [electricity power-cut] a couple of times in the thread.

24/7 elecric supply, amongst other things, is something most of us take for granted. Not so in Nepal!

Here's the current timetable of load-shedding...

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/in...ages&page_id=8

I think I'll end the reporting on this thread, and start a new one called "The Prithvi Highway, Pokhara, and Bandipur".

Ttfn!