I've noticed a certain pattern with our traveling style: a couple of weeks of moving rather quickly and then staying put for a week or so in a good spot. And Kathmandu certainly is a good spot. This is my third time in Nepal and I've probably spent six weeks of the four months I've been in Nepal hanging out in Kathmandu. But I can see how some people, especially those arriving straight from home, may not like it. It's dirty, has horrible pollution, bad traffic, and there's an endless stream of people trying to sell you things: tours, rickshaw rides, drugs, Tiger Balm(kind of like an Asian Ben Gay), and for some reason Nepalese ukalele-sized violins. That's quite a few strikes against it, however the positives more than make up for it. The people are super sweet, shy, passive, always smiling and singing. The city of Kathmandu itself is like a living museum. It's attractions are not kept behind closed doors, but instead are just an everyday part of life here. 500 year old temples are used as vegetable markets and Buddhist statues that would be in a museum in Europe or the States are used to dry laundry.There are hilltop temples filled with frollicking moneys. And the Tibetan community here feels more Tibetan than the Han Chinese staturated city of Lhasa.

And then there's the food. Travelers arriving here after difficult overland journeys and weeks spent trekking in the mountains are craving all their comfort foods from home. So its possible here to get good burritos, pizzas, pad thai, sushi, kim chi, steaks, espresso, felafel, croissants, and big American-style breakfasts. All for a faction of the price you'd pay at home. Each afternoon we spend hiking or riding rented bikes trying to work up an appetite so we can eat more of this good stuff. Reading this blog you may have gotten the impression that we don't eat local food. We do, probably 90% of the time. It's just that when we are given a chance to eat anything else, we jump at the chance. Oh, I almost forgot the highlight of each day, at 8pm all the bakeries sell their remaining pastries at 50% off. There's usually a bit of a competition to get the good stuff, especially the huge cinnamon rolls selling for a quarter instead of fifty cents.

There's also a great selection of shops. I'm not much of a shopper myself except for books and I'd put Kathmandu's used book stores up against any big American city. Don't get me wrong, they are no Powells(though I did see a Powells label on a book here), but they seem to have exactly the book you just happen to be looking for(even if you didn't realize it). That's the sign of a great bookstore.

The outdoor shops here could easily outfit you for an Himalayan expedition. It's pretty cold here now(dropping down onto the 30's at night), and I needed some warm clothes. I was able to pick up some long underwear, a Patagonia fleece jacket, a pair of Mammut gloves, and an OR hat all for $20. And all fake of course, but all perfectly functional.

Tomorrow we catch a bus to Pokhara in Central Nepal and from there south to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, before returning to India. Even though I'm sad that we are leaving tomorrow, I know Kathmandu is a place I will always return to.

-Shawn