To the curious mind, the country of Nepal can evoke so much- Mount Everest, the snowy peaks of the Himalays, Sherpa’s guiding trekkers on the journeys and to foodies, multi-week silent meditation retreats or maybe the tasty tasty flavor explosions of deliciousness- momos. While all these ideas exist in the abstract, nothing quite prepares you for watching them come together in a place like Nepal where fantasy, adventurous stories and harsh realities together form an unforgettable place. Nepal was all of these things to me and more . Reflecting on my time there I appreciate some of the challenges I had to face almost as much as the exciting moments I celebrated when summiting peaks and exploring some of Nepal’s hidden gems. While my time in Nepal wasn’t without its issues, I feel it had a lasting impact on me that few other places have done so. See later in this post for that story because…I digress!d this is a post about Kathmandu after all!
Kathmandu is the gateway to Nepal and the most likely place you’ll first experience in Nepal. It’s a frenetic, bustling, dusty city with so much going on its hard to wrap your head around it all. Your first stop of course will be to purchase your tourist visa – or as I’m starting to refer to these mandatory expenses “enter through the gift shop” 😛 Depending on the length of time you stay you’ll pay a sliding scale for the visa. One other key travel tip to be aware of is that in Nepal, cash is KING. Very few places will take your credit card and if they do, they’ll likely charge a hefty fee. If you have big ticket expenses like paying a guide or sherpa, you’ll want to ensure you either take enough US dollars with you to pay them or you plan accordingly as most ATM’s will only let you take out 35,000 rupees a day. If you have your lodging figured out, I’d recommend working with them to get your transportation from Kathmandu airport to your lodging as there are no ridesharing services here, taxis don’t run on a meter and most drivers do not speak english. Fortunately for me my amazing guide Tenzi Sherpa was there to pick me up. As a quick aside, if you’re doing a trek and need a guide, I couldn’t recommend Tenzi more highly. He’s easily one of the friendliest, most earnest and hands down the most experienced guide I met during my 3+ weeks in Nepal.
If you came to Nepal to trek like me you’ll spend your first few days getting everything you need for the weeks ahead prepared and packed, thus you’ll call the Thamel district of Kathmandu home. Preparing of course includes not just your equipment but the permits you’ll need including your TIMS registration (I love the name 😉 ). There are TONS of trekking equipment stores throughout Thamel which sell both real and knockoff gear from brands like North Face. Seriously, I think 2/3 of the country is wearing either North Face or North Fayce (knockoff) gear at any given time. That aside, if there’s a specific brand you feel you really need, I’d bring it with you from home. I didn’t have that luxury since we’re planning on traveling a year or so and I just needed trekking gear for Nepal. All the gear I bought in the Thamel district worked great and didn’t fail me so you should be good to go.
Kathmandu of course is far more than just trek preparation. The stunning Buddhist temples you find throughout the city are truly incredible. One of the largest is the Boudhanath Stupa. This massive domed structure festooned in prayer flags and gold is truly awe inspiring. Surrounding the dome are countless prayer wheels which people spin while walking around the stupa clockwise while reciting mantras. My guide Tenzi is also a painter who- together with his brother- is responsible for several of the mandala paintings and prayer wheels at the site and he explained in detail the meanings behind each aspect of the site.
A second temple that you’ve got to check out in Kathmandu is Swayambhunath Stupa or more commonly know as the Monkey Temple. Like several of the Buddhist temples we’ve visited on our trip, its on the top of a steep hill with a ton of stairs to get up to it- the hike is worth it though as you’re rewarded with jaw dropping views of the city. Making things a bit more exciting is the entire site seems to be run by monkeys-literally! They’re everywhere- jumping, climbing, preening each other and causing mischief all over the place. The Temple itself has some incredible statues of several buddhas and the history behind it is fascinating. When looking over Kathmandu, its hard to imagine this temple standing alone before the city grew around it.
Scenes from the monkey temple
Kathmandu also has some of the best food in the country bringing countless cultures together in one place. If you’re looking for incredible local dishes like momos or dhal baht, look no further than going to Gilingche. For those who aren’t familiar with momos, they’re little dumplings filled with everything from spiced potatoes to ground buffalo to pork. All of them here are amazing. If you’re trekking, you’ll become familiar with Dhal Baht which is kinda like a Nepali combo-plate. It always has a pureed lentil soup called dhal along with rice, some form of spiced potatoes and then other assorted veggie options. This dish will single handedly power you as you trek through the Himalayas and each place has their own different take on it. If you’re hankering for a taste of home, I highly recommend the pizza at Fire and Ice or for vegetarians, try Or2k. Their falafels and hummus are to die for.
Between preparing for my Annapurna trek preparation and checking out the sites of Kathmandu, I had one of the more…..memorable experiences on the trip. My hiking boots got stolen. Two days before my multi week trek was about to begin. To say that I was unhappy is about the biggest understatement I could possibly make. I had PLANNED for this trek for months! I had prepped everything I could beforehand! And here some jerk had thrown a big wrench into my plans. Any new boots I’d buy wouldn’t be broken in and I’d certainly get blisters or worse! I might have to cut my trek short! Every possible nightmare scenario gripped my thoughts as I tried to figure out what do. My boots got stolen from a restaurant which required you to take your shoes off before sitting down (a somewhat common practice in Asia) and apparently, some Aussie backpackers stole my boots, leaving me their crappy boots. How do I know this? Well let me tell you…
Since I have travel insurance, I knew I needed to make an official police report to get compensated. This seemingly simple task kicked off a series of hilarious misadventures which I’ll never forget. Since I had finished most of my trek preparation, I had the morning to go and make my police report so I trudged on down to Kathmandu Police Headquarters to make my report. When I got there I found a bunch of officers outside the building and I asked them if I could make a report. Unfortunately, none of them knew any English so I would have been screwed except an idea came to mind. I could use google translate to help! Now if you’ve ever used google translate on your phone, you know you can type a word of English into it and translate that phrase into almost any language. You tilt your phone on its side and the translated language pops up in big letters which is probably the equivalent to talking….really….slow…to people who you think don’t understand you 😉 So I typed into google translate “I need to make a police report” and turned my phone on the side. The police people nodded and gestured to say “what kind of report do you want to make?” Into google translate I typed in “My boots were stolen” and I turned the phone on its side. As the police read the Google translated text their faces went from bored to extremely concerned. They started talking rapid fire Nepali amongst themselves and looked very worried. They ran into grab another policeman who knew English and brought him out. When they explained the situation to him he looked very concerned and gravely look at me and asked “Your father has been stolen. Who has stolen your father? Where did this happen?” It immediately dawned on me that Google translate has mistranslated the phrase “my boots were stolen” to “my father was stolen”. After 5 minutes of trying to calm the police down and reassure them that my father was not kidnapped (that I knew of at least) and I just needed a report for my stolen boots. They looked equal parts received and annoyed and directed me to the tourist police who cold help.
The Nepali tourist police are- as their name implies- here to help tourists with unfortunate situations like this. Having had 3 of my bikes stolen in San Francisco and the police doing little to help, I fully expected the Nepali police to look at me, say “that’s tough” and then hand me a form. That is not what happened at all. The police chief I spoke with felt it was a truly serious situation and this “was not the experience” she wanted me to have in Nepal so she assigned not one but TWO detectives to crack the case of the stolen boots! I met Tenzi up at the Thamel police station and together, me Tenzi and the two detectives went to the scene of the crime- the restaurant. As we walked there I couldn’t help but laugh as here I am getting an over the top amount of police support for something as little as stolen boots. When we got to the restaurant, the manager was hand and the detectives asked him to roll the security tape and we saw the table next to me – filled with Aussie backpackers- stole my boots. The case solved the detectives gave me an updated report and said they’d work to find those responsible and right the wrong. I thanked them and chuckled about the whole experience. What a hilarious story I wouldn’t have had if my boots weren’t stolen? This really showed me that no matter how much you prepare for an adventure like Nepal, life can ALWAYS throw a wrench into your best laid plans. Rolling with it is a skill I needed to work on and this little adventure certainly helped me along that path.
And with that, I was able to find some authentic new North Face boots and I was ready for my Annapurna Trek! For that adventure, stay tuned for my next blog post- Tim and the Annapurna Trek!
Place I loved in Kathmandu
I’ve organized some of my favorite restaurants, cafes and sights into this handy Google Maps list for you.