February 29th - Thimphu to Kathmandu

We left the Hotel early at 5.30am for the one hour drive to Paro airport. With little traffic on the road our driver got us to the airport easily. We said our goodbyes to our guide and driver and then made our way through the beautiful airport to the gate. Our plane left on time, and we were treated to spectacular views of the eastern Himalayas including Mt Everest. Unfortunately due to air traffic at Kathmandu and low visibility we ended up circling for about an hour, by which time the plane was running low on fuel so we had to make an unscheduled stop at Patna in India.

Mount Everest - pyramid shaped mountain in the middle

We were on the ground in India for about 2 hours, however the good natured crowd of passengers calmly passed the time talking and playing games. Finally visibility in Kathmandu had improved enough that the pilot decided to make another attempt to get in. It was a short 20 minute flight and then we were on the ground. By this time we were starting to worry that we might not get back to the Hotel in time to have Sushi before the Japanese restaurant closed, but we were able to use Erica's connections to rush through immigration and customs and were at our hotel 20 minutes after the plane landed.

After lunch I decided to explore Kathmandu on foot. I had seen a bit of the city from the road, and was anxious to explore some of the back alleys. I ended up walking from the hotel to Dhurbar square, a distance of about 2.5 miles. When I was in India a few years ago, it was impossible to walk anywhere without getting accosted by store owners, tour guides, and other people asking for money. In Kathmandu the atmosphere was infinitely more relaxed and I felt very comfortable.

One surprising discovery was a modern shopping mall and multiplex cinema that would not have looked out of place in Encino California. We drove past it a few days ago, but I was not able to find it again.

 

I also wanted to check out "Freak Street" - the destination for a large number of European overland travellers during the 1960's and 1970's. Many of these travellers would make their way by bus and train, others would drive or ride on motorbike. All were attracted to Nepal for one reason - the availability of good, cheap, and legal hashish. These days are long gone, and Freak Street is now just like any other street.

By this time it was getting late, so I took a cab back to the hotel and quickly changed before heading over to the Hotel Shangri-la for a wonderful dinner hosted by our WWF friends.

Arriving back at our hotel at 10pm, we all headed to our rooms ready for a good nights sleep with no plans the next day apart from an afternoon flight to Bangkok.