Arriving in Nepal
on Mel and Steve in Nepal (Nepal), 14/Mar/2008 06:00, 34 days ago
After our long and exciting journey, here we are in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal.We bypassed the hundreds of touts at the airport by hitching a ride with Lorna who had a pre-arranged lift. Parting company with her when we arrived at our guest house seemed strange after 17 days of traveling together, sharing a cabin and super noodles.The staff at our guest house are extremely friendly and welcoming and an excellent source of practice for our still struggling Nepali.Since we had five days until the rest of the VSOs arrived, we thought we would explore the city.First impressions: Noise and bustle,pollution,friendly people,ornate temples, shrines and religious monuments around every corner,lots of tourists and some interesting wildlife surviving despite pollution.We braved the very touristy area of Thamel where everyone tried to sell us things at‘very good price’. Steve couldn’t resist buying the Nepali national board game, ‘Moving Tiger’ which has been a good conversation starter when Nepalis see us playing it.More details on the photo-album caption.The other 14 new volunteers have now arrived and we have started our training. Nepali is tricky but the teaching is good. More details next time.