1st Couple of Days in Kathmandu

Arriving in Tribhvan International airport was a experience in its self, having to fill out a disembarkation form to enter the country to having to work out which queue to be in to go through immigration to be barged out of the way by a disgruntled Nepali national, to another security check to get into baggage collection and struggle through the crowd to find your bag to fight back through to have your boarding card checked to get out of the airport to get pounced upon by the taxi men to get you to where you're staying.

The first full day, Friday, was slow and peaceful. Lalitpur for a busy metropolitan area was surprisingly peaceful; not in the fact it was quiet but in the fact that it doesn't seem to effect your mood as you're walking along taking in everything that you pass.

It took me a day to sort a Nepali mobile number out as my phone wasn't accepting the sim, but that was sorted by buying a phone for quite cheap in terms of currency conversion at 9000rupees(£65) for a smart phone. On the way back from the phone shop I stopped and took some photos of Hanuman temple and the street. Then was taken to Siddartha gallery to a ceramic exhibition and to a house.

Saturday I woke up even later, but still had breakfast and tea waiting for me. I then went for a walk down Kupondol Road, a busy road to Kathmandu City; a busy road yet still surprisingly peaceful. The temples seem to be situated in random places, but you can still hear the prayer bells being rung over the din of the road which is really nice. Stopped in a handicraft shop to have a look and was taken over to another part of the shop with more things in; prayer flags, shrine façades, and images of Hindu gods and deities and of Buddha. Went then over to Patan Dhoka and had a look around the old streets and temples.