We arrived early in the morning into Kuala Lumpur. On arrival we went searching for the flight to Kathmandu, which I thought was in terminal C. But was not, hmmm so you know what that means. Anyway found that they also have international flights from the main terminal as well. So much for a frequent traveller!
We finally found the terminal and gate before they started announcing.The flight although was only slightly over 4 hours, it felt awfully long. Probably due to the already long flight so far. After a day and a half we finally touch down in Kathmandu. Despite all the advancement in travel, it still takes a day and a half!
The immigration process at the Kathmandu airport is one complicated mess. Rows were formed but many people don’t get visas before they get here so the queue for the visa on arrival is bloody long (pardon my language).
The process to get your visa is pretty amusing. Listen to this… there are 4 guys at he counter to process one passport. The first guy collects your US$25 (they don’t accept New Zealand Dollar despite Sir Edmund Hillary’s fame) and gives you a receipt. Then your passport is passed on to the next guy who logs your details in the computer which is precariously placed inside a little cupboard under the table. Then your passport moves another step to the next guy who tears a sticker and places it on your passport. The last guy looks at you; compares your picture on the passport with your face and puts his long signature on the stamp and passes your passport back to you. While we were meandering down this long slow line, another one forms behind these 4 guys. No one stops them and the 4 guys happily oblige. So you can imagine how much longer our line would now take. In all this, there is another lady in saree who walks around with a stapler in hand looking at people with forms in the queues and stapling the photos to the forms. When she has done this, she then goes and carries all the cash from the many counters that form the ‘passport assembly line’ to yet another counter with 3 guys this time. These 3 guys reconcile all the cash to the receipts. Suspiciously, we see a money changer next door to the ‘cash counting’ line. The currencies displayed on the broad appears to be the ones accepted at the visa counter. Very interesting and efficient workflow.
The bag collection area is another chaotic scene with no order and bags from 5 different flights all coming through two conveyor belts. As we leave the baggage area, there are two more guys who checks our baggage tags to our bags, just so we don’t take someone else’s bags.
Finally after an hour at the arrival hall, we get to meet the guide for the week, Nabin. He puts up a sign ‘Ms Shagen Ganason x 4’ – you’ll soon find out why. The streets of Kathmandu seem like an endless construction zone, or was that a disaster zone. Buildings were being constructed while buildings were also being demolished alongside. Roads were being reconstructed and widened and all of Kathmandu seems like one big ‘work in progress’.
When we checked in at the hotel, we were given 2 rooms, one double and one twin. I asked why and then found out, it was booked as follows. One double room for myself and David, because I was booked as ‘Ms’ and the other twin room was for Vera and Dianne. How bizarre. Lost in translation?
After checking in we venture out for lunch. There was a Chinese restaurant nearby where we go and look for food. The Chinese food on the menu sounded really good. Also, the prices were ridiculously cheap. A bowl of noodles that Vera ate was Rs.180 which is about NZ$2 while a bowl of duck fried rice was about the same price, and this is in a flash restaurant. Just to compare, I scout out the menu at KFC next door (the only international fast food chain in Nepal – McDonald’s hasn’t yet arrived). A burger at KFC is between Rs.55 and Rs.95, which works out to be between NZ$0.80 to NZ$1.20. That’s insane as the burgers are of reasonably size.
This evening we head out to Thamel to experience the nightlife. We are taken on a rickshaw ride covering the back alleys of Thamel. One, the streets were incredibly narrow, and two, incredibly crowded with people and peddlers with their wares on the side of the road. To make things even more complicated there are taxis and endless motorcycles trying to get through. Despite all that, yo don’t hear anyone swearing or getting annoyed for not being able to get through.
You could pretty much get anything from fresh chicken to appliances here. Some of the stalls are more like a hole in the wall kind of business. Among this, I saw a shop that could unlock any mobile phone operating out of a hole in the wall with no electricity. Amazing!
We stop by the residence of the Nepal child goddess. An ancient palace that looked like a run down heritage building. Actually it is a World Heritage Building. She only shows herself during festivals and no one is allowed to take her photos. Also, only Nepali people can go up to her palace and get her blessing. This is sort of like a contract job or a fixed term employment. A goddess is picked out from Nepali children at the age of 3-4 based on several criteria (one of them being whether she is scared of ghosts) and then she remains the goddess until she reaches puberty, then she goes back to being a mortal. During this time she is pampered with servants and she pretty much gets everything she wants. For goodness sake she is child. What would she be like when she grows up from being an extremely spoilt child? I would have thought, being a goddess and all, she would be living ‘queen like’ in a real palace with air conditioning but not. I guess this is what being a goddess in Nepal is like.
The rickshaw we took around Thamel was pretty scary as the rider squeezes between the mob of people, peddlers, motorcycles and taxis. I was glad I was still ‘in’ the rickshaw at the end as he was swerving endlessly. I was surprised that there were no accidents although there were several close calls and once where the rear tyre of the rickshaw got caught in a taxi’s mudguard. No shouts or fights, just a show of a hand, reverse and off they went.
By the time we got back, that night, I was totally flat out. Had dinner at the hotel we stayed. A meal with not one but two waiters to wait on us cost us Rs.1,400, a whopping NZ$20!
My unexpected visit to Kathmandu 