Kathmandu’s international airport has been described with many words. Efficiency, speed or cleanliness are never among them. My flight is scheduled for 7:40 and I wanted to be at the airport at least two hours prior to that. Asking at my guest house about transportation, the first guy told me the airport wouldn’t open before 6:00. Another source said it would be open around the clock. The airport’s website didn’t make any statement at all.

So you think your job is tough?

To get from Kathmandu to Pokhara, the adventurous traveller has several options. A short hop on a domestic airline is the fastest and most expensive. Given that this country had two plane crashes in the short time that I’ve been here, it’s not an option I’d seriously consider. Which leaves road transportation (or walking). There aren’t many things I dread as much as bus journeys in Asia. It’s not that I’m overly concerned about safety, it’s just that I’m way too tall for… well any kind of vehicle around here.

“Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival of Nepal and India celebrated annually in reverence of the God Shiva” (wikipedia). The guys at the house had gotten pretty excited about it, as it’s the one day were one can smoke excessive amounts of weed in the streets without being considered a lowlife. Yesterday it was that day of the year and I had considered paying the Pashupatinath temple a visit. It is one of the holiest places of Hinduism and people flock from all over Nepal and India for the festival.

So you think your public transport is crowded during rush hour?

Yesterday morning, we navigated our way through the maze of Ason and its surroundings on the way to Ratna Park bus station. With me was the Canadian couple that had taken me along to the orphanage the other day. Our trip was to bring us out of the dusty capital and its valley, and up into the mountain station of Nagarkot. The place is only about 25km way from Kathmandu but it takes around 3h to get there by bus.

Staying at the same guest house as me was a young Canadian couple whom I’ve had a couple of chats and a really cool jam session with. They mentioned they’d be visiting a local orphanage and asked whether I’d want to come along. I certainly did. They got in touch with the institution through a friend of theirs, who had also given them a bunch of goods to deliver. On top of that, they were to give the kids a lesson on hygiene and washing hands.

Over the last days I had a few chats with one of my hosts. He’s a couple of years my senior, has a family and runs his own business. One morning we were having a chat about investments and he said “if you have good karma, your business will succeed”. Quite a difference to the business plans, risk assessments, etc. that preclude pretty much any form of investment in the western world.

Ah, nothing like seeing a goat get slaughtered on the way to breakfast! Just as the previous Saturday, I joined the local volunteer organisation Green Soldiers on their way up to the monkey temple. It’s incredible and sad how fast plastic garbage amasses up there. The government employed cleaners take their job overly easy and simply swipe everything over the next edge, creating clean pathways and dirty surroundings. Before and after “work” there’s always time for tea and the monkeys don’t say no to cookies either.

[caption id=“attachment_4154” align=“aligncenter” width=“550”] Nandu Dai in his fabric store, 20km (sic!) of fabric in that room[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4155” align=“aligncenter” width=“300”] Vishnu Dai prepares tomato/coriander/chilly paste - yummy[/caption] And finally the landing in KTM, took a moment to cut that one.

On Monday, fellow couchsurfer Bibhu once more took up the challenge of being on the receiving end of my countless questions about Nepali life. We were to check out the village of Kirtipur, just outside of Kathmandu. As per usual, local public transport was a tad on the rough side and I struggled a bit to find a comfortable standing space in the jam-packed, dated Mercedes van. With a bit of squeezing around and the friendly conductor’s support, I managed to get one foot down on the door steps and that way could at least stand upright.

[caption id=“attachment_4119” align=“aligncenter” width=“550”] The old man and the rubble[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4123” align=“aligncenter” width=“550”] Ratna Park bus station[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4131” align=“aligncenter” width=“550”] Camera, sun hat, dust mask and Long Black[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4132” align=“aligncenter” width=“550”] If I ever need a doctor, I’m on the next plane to BKK or SIN[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4133” align=“aligncenter” width=“300”] Public transport[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4134” align=“aligncenter” width=“550”] Beans and stuff[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4136” align=“aligncenter” width=“550”] Dusty dusty[/caption]

This morning I joined local volunteer group “Green Soldiers” on their mission to clear the monkey temple from plastic rubbish. It’s a fair walk up there. The temple itself is, from what I’ve gathered, one of the more important ones in the country. And as the name tells, it’s full of monkeys. The way up from Thamel leads through a neighbourhood that isn’t exactly the city’s richest. In other news: Saw a moon halo for the first time in my life.

Ason Market, just south of Thamel. As chaotic as it is entertaining.

Really local and really yummy - doesn’t get much better for me. I’m at a point where I feel uncomfortable if a restaurant has table clothes…

Nepal isn’t exactly the most expensive country on the planet when it comes to everyday expenses. A basic room (no hot shower) goes for about NPR 500, the equivalent of less than five dollars US. The 20l water jug I got to avoid buying loads of bottles set me back 55. A small meal with a tea goes for 200 or less, and that’s right next to the touristy area of the capital.

Called the camera shop all morning but didn’t get anybody on the phone. Finally decided to just do the 20 minute walk down there and see what was up with my lens. [caption id=“attachment_4084” align=“aligncenter” width=“550”] Deposit slip, note the two dates![/caption] The guy behind the counter recognised me and signalled thumbs up, the lens is repaired! Asking how much it cost, he told me 5800 - the top end of the range he had quoted the previous day.

“A rolling blackout, also referred to as rotational load shedding or feeder rotation, is an intentionally engineered electrical power shutdown where electricity delivery is stopped for non-overlapping periods of time over different parts of the distribution region.” That’s what wikipedia says and what it effectively means is that all of Kathmandu has power for less than half a day only. The blackout times vary and a handy little app helps keeping track of when the power will be back on.

Yesterday at noon I made my way to the Ratna Park bus station, 15 minutes walking from where I’m staying at the moment. I was to take a bus down to Patan, to meet up with local couchsurfer Bibhu. The bus station is in a busy market area (actually most of Kathmandu seems to be) and all kinds of services are offered “while you wait”. The bus was a bit on the dated side but fortunately not too crowded.

Err 01, that’s what my 550D with the 17-55 reported when I tried to shoot anything over 20mm with the aperture stepped down. I had had the same issue with a Tokina 11-16 a while back and knew that it was most likely related to the aperture mechanism in the lens. A quick google search confirmed my suspicion and I headed to the Canon website to find a local service centre.

Ended up in a small art gallery by chance today. Ok maybe not that much by chance but rather by the owner’s brother who chatted me up in the streets. Anyway, early on in the visit I had to crush their hopes of selling anything to me, as I told them I don’t have a home and no place to hang a painting either. The lady running the gallery took it easy enough though and invited me to stay for a chat.

It’s incredible, how dusty this city is. Blowing one’s nose is not a pretty sight around here. Dust masks are common in people’s faces and from what I’ve gathered so far, it’ll be a while before the next rain brings relief. Despite the dust, everything in Kathmandu is pretty colourful, especially the clothes. While the dust is annoying, the dry weather has the big advantage of being far less tiring than the moist heat of Southeast Asia.

Started the day with a walk into Thamel (after breakfast that is) to have a look for some warmer clothing. Pretty much straight after entering the touristy area, I was frequently approached by trekking guides and others, who hope to make a few dollars. One of the guys seemed nice enough and I followed him for a tour around the area. He seemed pretty knowledgeable (should be, as a trekking guide) and told me, that the number of overseas visitors had dropped from hundreds of thousands per year to less than a quarter of that after the 2015 earthquake.

Approaching Singapore by means of air transport is quite a sight. Coming in over the sea, one looks down on an endless amount of cargo ships and, if sitting on the right side of the plane, the CBD. Looks especially pretty at night. All that is nothing compared to the approach on Kathmandu though. Descending into the mountains, close-by peaks on eye-level and finally arriving in pretty much the middle of the city was the most breathtaking landing I’ve ever witnessed.