Nepal trip: Days 7-8 (24-25 Mar)

Hey there readers. I’m sorry I left you hanging there for a few days. Once I got back to India, I had very little time before heading back to work, and then predictably, I was too busy to finish up the posts on the Nepal trip. Since I’m writing this a few weeks later, the details are no longer as fresh in my mind, so this will probably be a bit shorter than usual and also a bit less exact with some of the information. So anyways, let’s go ahead and finish up this Nepal trip!

On day 7 we got up a bit later and headed out towards a nearby breakfast place that Dorothée had found online. The seating was quite limited, but the server asked a couple of solo travels if they would mind moving so that the three of us could sit together.

The food was quite good and the ambience was pleasant. As we weren’t in a hurry today, we hung out here until 10:31 AM.

Maria was all about finding the UNESCO World Heritage sites, and while we were eating, she had found the last one which was nearby, that we had not yet visited. By our estimation, it was about 13 km away by car. As we had nothing else planned, we decided to talk to random taxi drivers to see how much it would cost to take us there, wait an hour, and then come back. At first he said, 4500 NPR but then agreed to 3000 NPR ($23 USD). With our cultural fix for the day all planned out, at 10:40 AM we were on our way to Changu Narayan Temple. The ride was fine, and at 11:36 AM we had arrived to the area.

Several different artisans were working on their crafts within their small shops.

Maria and Dorothée were in shopping mode, but like all good shoppers, they looked around and compared before making any commitments.

Entry to the temple area was 350 NPR ($2.67 USD) , but it seemed that maybe 250 NPR could be paid by SAARC members. It was all rather informal and a bit confusing. Nevertheless, there weren’t any problems getting access to the area. It is however worth noting, that like most of these sites, it definitely wasn’t wheelchair accessible. Although at this particular place there wasn’t a ton of walking to be done, throughout the trip I had frequently thought it might be good to have sedan chairs available for those with impaired mobility; this would allow more people to visit and also protect the traditional architecture while additionally giving more job opportunities. Perhaps during high season they already do this? If not, I feel like it’s a missed opportunity for everyone.

I was happy to see that a local school group was visiting.

There was a lot of restoration work going on.

While it was comparatively small, I really enjoyed this visit. It wasn’t at all crowded and at least to my untrained eyes seemed very “authentic”. The temple area itself only took about 20 minutes to see, but the attached village makes this easily an hour visit or more, especially if one is interested in doing shopping. If considering purchasing something, I suggest checking out the shops on the way up the small hill to the temple and then making purchases on the way back down. That is what Dorothée and Maria did, and both seemed very happy with the arrangement.

I was really impressed with the loads these women were carrying up to the temple. Who still dares to say that women are weak?

After quite a bit of friendly bargaining, Maria and Dorothée had their purchases.

At 12:45 PM we were once again in the car headed back to Kathmandu.

UDue to increased traffic, this time it took a bit longer, so we didn’t arrive back to our lodging until 2:23 PM. Given the added trouble, while there was no pressure to do so, we gave the driver a couple hundred extra NPR as a tip.

Dorothée spent a bit of time talking to the guide near our lodging who had arranged our transport on day 6. She’s thinking she may go to Everest base camp soon!

After putting things away in our rooms, at 2:58 PM we headed out walking to find a place to have lunch. I had found a place called Hotel Nepalaya Rooftop which looked promising. After a leisurely stroll, we arrived at 3:21 PM.

We were all three quite pleased, and the total bill for everyone was 2470 NPR ($18.86 USD). We stayed there until 4:40 and then headed back towards the cafe where we had eaten breakfast in the morning, arriving at 5:10 PM.

We had a nice chat, shared a couple of delicious desserts, and Maria and Dorothée both bought some fresh ground coffee beans to take home.

At 6:46 PM we had our last evening walk in Kathmandu as we headed back to the homestay, arriving at 7:07 PM.

We couldn’t figure out initially what these people were looking at.

The photo really doesn’t do it justice, but this sparkling planet just under the crescent moon was just breathtaking. It was a completely unexpected but much appreciated end to our last evening in Nepal.

Once we arrived, we cancelled our bill, since we would be leaving rather early. As I had a single room, it was $15 USD a night; whereas, Dorothée and Maria paid $20 USD a night for their double room. Shortly thereafter, we all went up to our rooms to quickly pack and go to sleep, since we would have an early departure the next day.

Upon departing from the homestay at 7:30 AM on day 8, our hosts put these satin scarves on us. I remember something similar happened when I was leaving a homestay in Sikkim last year.

The trip to the airport was only 17 minutes, but like many airport taxis was comparatively expensive given the short distance. There was no traffic, and we paid 900 NPR ($6.87 USD).

Once inside at 7:50 AM we had to scan all of our bags, including my passport pouch which was hanging around my neck. The Indigo line was very short, but it still took 20 minutes to get to the counter. By 8:20 AM we were in the immigration queue. There were more people but things seemed to move quickly with little fuss.

At 8:50 AM we had cleared both immigration and security. The waiting area only had one shop, but the seating was fine near our gate since it wasn’t overcrowded. I took advantage of the little shop to buy some dried yak cheese as gifts and a very unremarkable chicken club sandwich. Despite the slim pickings, the shop did not gouge people with the prices.

At 9:52 AM we were boarding the plane. While boarding was very fast, there was an additional fake security check in which they didn’t actually seem to be doing anything meaningful. Then at 10:05 AM I was on the plane in 13D. For the return flights I had opted for the more expensive exit row seats. While these spots were not particularly luxurious, the added legroom was much appreciated, especially since I had been so cramped earlier on. I hoped they weren’t saying anything important during the departure speech, because the volume was so low it was impossible to hear anything.

The flight to Delhi was uneventful and it was only 15 minutes to clear immigration. In a show of welcome efficiency, our bags were already waiting near immigration at 12:36 PM. It was at that point that all pretensions of efficiency ended; although, we maintained a positive attitude throughout.

There is no point in attempting to explain the process of transferring from one terminal to another in Delhi. You just have to keep asking people along the way and hope for the best. The bus is rickety, and it actually goes on the main highway. The driver, at least in our case was careless, and a couple of people including myself nearly fell over as he took curves rather abruptly. Men must have “a ticket” to use the transfer bus, but for some reason women do not. The ticket is free, and no, it’s not obvious where to get it. Again, you just keep asking. The entire process took 45 minutes; this is one of those situations where you just have to keep calm and maintain a good attitude.

Once in the new terminal, we had to recheck our bags and go through security again as if we had bought separate tickets. However, we got through it just fine between the three of us encouraging each other and all three asking people as we went along the circuitous route.

Finally we were through to the next gate waiting area where we had a mini meal and a coffee.

At 3:13 PM we were getting on the plane to Bengaluru; although, we did not actually take off until 3:44 PM. Again, the seat with more legroom was much appreciated, since this flight was very crowded. During the flight I did my daily Hindi ANKI review and then listened to an episode of American Hysteria. At this point things were going very smoothly, and the plane touched down at 6:15 PM; at 6:46 PM we already had our bags.

Taking a tip from Dorothée, I decided to just grab an airport taxi which is right at the exit. It’s a bit more expensive than getting an Ola or Uber, but the added cost is generally justified by the convenience.

At 6:51 PM we were all in our taxis and the Nepal trip was over.

This trip to Nepal was not one which I had initially planned to do right now, and many things did not go exactly as planned. However, it was definitely a great excursion. Of course, having excellent travel companions was an important plus that helped smooth over any inconveniences. Unlike Dorothée, I don’t think I’m keen to head to Everest base camp anytime soon, but I could definitely see myself making another visit to Nepal in the near to mid future.

And on that note, the trip notes for Nepal finally come to an end. Once again, for those who have followed along the entire time, thank you for your patience; I know the last entry was very late. And for those who have just joined for days 7 and 8, feel free to go back to earlier entries and see what happened beforehand. You might even be interested in previous trips? Do leave any questions or observations in the comments section, and until next time, I hope all of your travels are as enjoyable as mine, whether they be trips around the world or even just an afternoon spent exploring a long overlooked neighborhood park.