Michael Tyler

Day 5. I basically did nothing.

I was going to go to the Royal Palace, but it was closed on a Tuesday and Wednesday.

Spoke to a girl who was hanging around the Kaiser Library, which is next to the hotel.

She said I should go to Bhakptapur…

Tried soup and Nepalese bread which came with honey.

Very tasty…

Bhakptapur

Took the student’s suggestion and spent today in Bhakptapur, one of Kathmandu Valley’s oldest cities.

It’s featured in the Lonely Planet Guide pretty heavily. I’m sure if your ever going to go there, you can read all about it there.

I know I did, and not much has stuck in my memory.

It does have a kind of charm though…

One of the more prominent features are it’s old wooden buildings, winding streets and water ponds.

The fee to get in is £10. Steep by Nepalese standards, so after having my breakfast, I set off straight away, to get my money’s worth. The ticket does last 1 month apparently.

Bus to Bhakptapur

There’s a specific bus stop which caters for buses directly to Bhakptapur. It’s close to Ragna Park. I’ve marked it on the map. Continue reading “Day 5 – 6: Bhakptapur”

Yesterday and today toured the two major temples within the city area of Kathmandu.

One is called Pashupati, near the airport. Here, they have a ceremonial burial, similar to the Hindu pyre and river rituals. Whilst I was there. I was lucky enough to experience a ceremony.

The other is Swotambhu, the opposite side of town. It’s called the Monkey Temple.

Hiring a motorbike in Kathmandu

In order to visit these temples at my own slow pace required the hiring of a motorcycle.

Lonely Planet guide advises about the safety of the Nepalese roads. There are many accidents etc.

I found them much like India; as long as you tootle along slowly, drive paranoid, watch the bumps, know where your going, you won’t go far wrong.

Unfortunately, I did see and accident on my first day on the bike.

This guy actually passed me, with what seemed to be his sister on the back.

He was going pretty fast compared to me at the time.

He impacted the SUV, and both ended up on the road.

Not a lot of blood. He was rolling around. The blood mostly seemed to be on his sisters leg where she skidded along the road.

These are kind of mild compared to the Brazilian ‘Road Pizza’ accidents you see on liveleak.

I have no doubt he’ll be up and riding his bike again in no time.

Still, it’s drama you can do without. Continue reading “Days 3 – 4: Touring the Temples, Kathmandu”

Having had a bit of a heavy night crawling the bars in Thamel during my last night, I was forced to take a late start on Saturday, my second full day in Nepal.

Last Night

Having been in Durbar square during the day. I had some food at the Electric Pagoda, which had a live band playing and was full of tourist types, but seemed like a laid back kind of place.

After that, I went to somewhere called the Tom and Jerry pub. It’s like a pub, got some pool tables and loud music. Locals where friendly enough and there were some Canadian yoga teachers, which seems to be a common theme here in Nepal.

After much drinking, I descended to the ‘Red Lion’ pub which was directly below. Less of a pub and more of a dance-floor.

There were many different nationalities here also, all enjoying the different types of music. Stayed for a little while, then took a walk back to the hotel. During which, I think I got some food, but don’t remember.

Rather than going to bed, I thought I might visit the nightclub whose bass I can hear through my bedroom in the early hours. Continue reading “Day 2: Kathmandu”