NEPAL and KATHMANDU

KATHMANDU

Friday 8 March. 

The mattress and pillows were like rocks, it would have been just as comfortable sleeping on the floor. Surprisingly we did manage some sleep though when we got up it was to stiff necks and sore backs. The showers refreshed us as the water was cold. We decided we would look for another place to go for tonight.

Our hotel in Kathmandu.

We went out for breakfast and dined at a place we remembered from our last stay here. I had the continental while Moira enjoyed a big plate of omelette and bacon. We had a stroll around next and found the hotel we stayed at on our last trip and enquires about a room. It was a bit more expensive at $25 but it was a much nicer looking hotel. We decided to move there. We also called in at a trekking agency and they quoted for our hike to the Everest region. When we got back to our hotel the other agent was waiting. We complained about the rock hard beds and he told the people to move us to another room, put an extra mattress on the bed and get soft pillows. We changed our mind and would stay if things improved. We then walked to his office and he quoted for our trek. He seemed a bit more knowledgable about the requirements bit was the same price as our other quote. We paid him and we leave tomorrow.

When we arrived back at the hotel nothing had been done about changing our room or improving the mattress or pillows in the other room.I told them we were leaving and got a taxi the Tenki Hotel that we had checked out earlier. We actually got the room a couple of dollars cheaper. The room was much bigger and the bed much more comfortable. We had lunch in the dining room, a home made garlic soup and garlic bread. The garlic bread was actually a garlic sandwich, our breaths will be smelling for a week. After lunch we walked through the city centre streets looking for the best rate to exchange our traveller's cheques before setting off tomorrow. All the money changers had the same rate, 85.3 rupees to the $, that was down nearly 1 rupee from yesterday.  

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in our room at the hotel, reading and watching old BBC comedies on YouTube. The WiFi is good at the hotel. At 6:30 pm we went to the agents for our trek and met the guide who will accompany us and made arrangements for leaving in the morning. The guide, Brin, will pick us up at 7 am.After that we had a lovely meal at a restaurant we frequented regularly during our last stay in Kathmandu. The meal, a lovely curry, was as good as we remembered. After that it was back to the hotel for an early night and get ready for the start of the road to Everest

Kathmandu, Themal