Kathmandu

Tuesday and Wednesday, May 7th and 8th

Kathmandu is dirty. I've always thought of it as exotic, but the reality is narrow, badly maintained "roads" teaming with people, animals, vehicles, and shops. Walking is an exercise in relaxed vigilance, walking confidently but not stupidly beside, between and in front of vans, cars, motorbikes and tuktuks. After our first journey from the airport to the tourist district, we thought we'd do better on foot. Now we know better - even a car without belts might be safer than walking these streets. 

Our first day was devoted to logistical details: getting our trekking permits and plane tickets from our travel agent, changing money, and making last purchases. For about $10 we bought a supply of diamox (altitude drug), ciproflaxicin, and an inhaler for Meg. Lunch was momos and noodle soup for another $5. 

An early bedtime was a must after two days of travel that had netted me a mere two hours of light sleep. But I stopped before bed to sit out on the balcony of our 5th floor room awhile, enjoying the cool evening breezes. The "quiet" road still teamed with activity, including the roaming dogs, cops on slow moving bikes, scooters with whole families and a wandering cow. Roosters are obviously allowed, along with all manner of crow, pigeon and other birds. Nepalis are a bit wary of having their picture taken, so I enjoyed the opportunity to use my cameras unobserved. 

Today we headed to the airport early for our flight to Lukla. Now, the international terminal is tiny, but similar to other small airports I've visited. The domestic terminal is something else. Still and video photography was "strictly" forbidden, so imagine one large and very shabby room reached by a dirt path through a construction zone. We spent 5 very loud hours there, along with almost all the other domestic passengers scheduled to fly today - most flights were delayed or canceled due to weather. Even though I knew that was possible, and built days into our schedule for it, I was disappointed.

But silver linings came through for us again. We banded together with some other Trekkers (spell check insists this word is capitalized!) to get a ride back from the airport and find a place to stay. And we're starting to discover how people cope in this loud and overwhelming city. Our new hotel is off the main tourist road, up on the third floor, and facing a courtyard. For lunch we were on another courtyard, with trees, birds, and a modicum of peace. After a few hous of peace, the bustling streets look exciting again. 

Garbage is another issue.  This morning we saw piles of garbage all over the street. We finally realized that people with shovels load it in to baskets, which they take to garbage trucks that wouldn't fit on these streets. So that's not such a bad system. But it's falling down somewhere, because the rivers look like garbage heaps and smell like open sewers. It makes me wonder. Nepali people seem very bright and extremely hard working. Why haven't they managed to clean this up? 

Cross your fingers that my next post will be from Lukla or Namche. I'm grateful that the pilots won't fly unless they think its safe, but I'm ready to start trekking!