Three public holidays in a row, plus a weekend, meant 5 consecutive days off. We took a days leave as well and made the 4 hour flight over to Nepal for a nice long 6 day break. It was supposed to be 4 hours anyway, but got stuck circling Kathmandu for an extra half hour or so - lucky the views of the Himilayas sticking out above the clouds were so impressive!
We treated ourselves to stay at a forest (and golf) resort on the outskirts of Kathmandu, so we spent our first afternoon chilling at the hotel, and watching the monkeys roam the fairways.
Into Kathmandu proper the following day for our tourist session. Lesson number one: its poor. Some of the worst roads we've been on in terms of potholes, smoky old trucks, stray dogs, and cows, and all strewn with rubbish.
We got dropped off at Durbar Square, the religious heart of Kathmandu. Its actually 3 interconnecting squares, surrounded by ancient little temples, lots of intricate wooden windows and doorways, pigeons, would-be tourist guides, and of course, a cow.
Together with every other western-looking person in Kathmandu, we did the lonely planet walking guide from Durbar Square to the main tourist hangout of Thamel. It took us past more temples and down some tiny little alleyways that were absolutely overflowing with people, motorbikes, and colour.
Time for a quick stop off for a local brewed beer at one of the many bars in Thamel.
A good afternoon in Kathmandu central, but we were beat, so made our way back to our hotel for a very romatic evening of cards and red wine by the fireplace.
A morning flight meant we were saying goodbye to Kathmandu nice and early for the 25 minute flight to Pokhara.
Or were we... Actually, thanks to more bad weather, our flight was cancelled after spending 3 hours waiting in the airport terminal.
We made the executive decision to head back to the hotel so that they could organise a car to drive us to Pokhara instead. While we waited for the car, the rain came down...
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