After getting our tourist visa at the Nepal Airport (USD40/person) we cleared customs, and picked up our bags. As we walked outside, the first thing we saw in the mass of people on the opposite side of the road was someone with a sign which read TAMMY - ADVNEPAL. We knew that was our guy!
He quickly pointed us in the direction of the car that was waiting for us. Before long, we shared the Namaste greeting with Gyan, the tour company partner that we had used for the time we were spending in Nepal. He placed a garland of marigolds around our necks (that had been made by our guide, Gyanendra) as a welcome to Nepal. Namaste.
The car – a 1972 vintage Mercedes was being driven by Gyan’s driver, Bokta. After getting on the roads, we realized the importance of a being with a good and incredibly confident driver. Apparently, there are ‘rules of the road’, but we couldn’t imagine that there were. People drove all over the place, honking, passing within millimeters of other cars, motorcycles, bicycles, tuk tuks, rickshaws, and buses…all the while, stray dogs would wander into the traffic, people would cross at any location, and then there were the cows. Everyone came to a stop for a cow – a sacred animal in the Hindu faith.
Hard to imagine all of this in a big city. You have to see it to believe it. But, they do it with flair and far less road rage than we experience in Toronto traffic.
Our hotel was once a Rana palace. The clean white exterior of the hotel retained some of its original beauty with massive columns, beautiful lawns, swimming pool. I wouldn’t say the rooms were palatial…but they had been recently renovated and were clean, comfortable…and had wonderfully hot showers. Taking a look at the clientele, it seems that Mark & I managed to skew the average age down – most were much older.
After checking in, we decided to walk to Thamel (not far from our hotel) so that we could exchange some currency, check out the many trekking and artisans’ shops in the area, and finally to have our first Nepalese dinner at ‘The Big Belly’ restaurant.
We are meeting our guide at 7am the next morning for some sight-seeing. So, off to bed.
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