Everest Trek - Day 29 Lukla to Kathmandu

The chaos was as per normal with tour guides and aggressive trekkers (me) fighting at the check in counter then having a good laugh about it afterwards. The planes came in on time and after a hectic thirty minutes of planes landing and taking off everybody was on their way to Kathmandu. The flight itself was uneventful with good views over all the hills that I had spend weeks walking over and at nine o'clock I was back in the Kathmandu Garden House.
Good to be back.

Another intermission

I finally got a good night's sleep last night. After watching the Australia vs Wales match I went for a wander up the street and found a dusty hole in the wall drug seller that had Diazepam (Valium) for sale. I got a strip of ten 10 milligram tablets for a dollar and took one last night. Result, great night's sleep!
Tomorrow I will try to post some further updates on my Everest hike but today I am looking for souvenirs as I will be flying back home next Tuesday.

Slacking

OK I admit I have been rather slack in updating the blog or doing much else for that matter!
After returning to Kathmandu I have spend most of my time hanging around the Kathmandu Garden House, eating curry, and drinking beer. Any weight I lost during my walking has probably been regained by now. Never mind I promise to do better from now on, or at least for today. So expect me to post the missing Everest Trek blog entries over the next few days and generally be a little more active.

Swayambodnath

A stay in Kathmandu is not complete if you haven't been to Swayambodnath. the monkey temple. One of the nice things about this place that there is always something new to see and of course there are the monkeys.

A resident monkey.

A resident Buddha.

Trekking permit and TIMS card

I walked to the Tourism Office this morning to get my trekking permit (1000 rupees) and my TIMS card (1500 rupees). The cost for the trekking permit is meant to go to the maintenance of the Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park. The TIMS fee is just a rip off concocted by the Thamel Trekking Agencies to persuade you to go trekking with them rather then independently. Never mind I'll get over it.
On the way over to the Tourist Office I took some photos of the goings on along the road. Hope you like them.

Suspicious stall holder.

Sidewalk saleswoman.

Ambulant vegetable vendor.

Homeless woman sleeping in a doorway.

Back in Bangkok

After three months traveling the highways and byways of South East Asia I got back to Bangkok. It seems busier then when I left and it is slightly cooler although that might well be because it rained during the night. I expect to be doing maintenance during the next few days, that is getting my laundry done sorting out my trekking gear and darning my socks, Ok not darning my socks, but you get my drift. Then all being well I will be flying to Kathmandu on Wednesday and getting ready for some serious trekking.

Another flight

Yesterday I flew back from Lukla to Kathmandu and while the flight was delayed by five hours because of low hanging clouds it was a lot smoother then the flight in. In spite of that I was still happy to be back on the ground in noisy polluted Kathmandu.

Noise

One of the things that has changed over the years is the amount of noise pollution in Thamel. It used to be that whatever bars there were pretty well shut up shop around ten in the evening. People came to Nepal to hike or climb and while they might have a few drinks after a successful trip in the mountains they didn't specifically come to party.
This has changed with Kathmandu well and truly established on the gap year circuit there are now a rising number of people who arrive and do nothing more adventurous then getting drunk buying a few tie-dyed T-shirts and then moving on to Bangkok for a rinse and repeat.
What this means is that high volume sound systems will now blast out music until two or three at night and if you have a hotel anywhere near one of them you wont get any sleep before then.
Yep you're right I made that mistake. Can't wait to get back to the mountains tomorrow and will look for a place away from Thamel on my return.

Kathmandu

After a week of R&R in Pokhara where I didn't do anything more strenuous then eating chocolate pancakes and drinking coffee I finally got up enough energy to buy a bus ticket and yesterday afternoon around four I arrived back in Kathmandu where it rained, hailed and thundered.
Ever get this idea someone is trying to tell you something? Anyway I am here and ready to start a new adventure.

Swayambudnath

The weather is a lot nicer today. The sun has come out and a breeze from the mountains keeps in optimum temperature for walking so off I went to Swayambudnath, popularly known as the monkey temple.

The walk there and back is about two hours and includes two hundred stairs to get to actual temple complex so if nothing else it is good exercise for the body and with all the monks and pandits in this place it srely must be good for the mind as well.

Entrance to Swayambudnath

One of the monkeys giving the place it's name.

First view of the Stupa

The real reason for the temples