Kathmandu

I made it! after about 40 hours or so, i didn't feel like it was going to happen. When I was at Singapore, i had a 7 hour wait which was a nice rest after 16 hours of flying.

When I got off the plane here in kathmandu, and entered a seemingly ancient, decaying building, i realized, things are different here. I was greeted by maybe 5-6 people all trying to get me to go to their hotel and/or taxi service. Thankfully my uncle reserved us a hotel and arranged that there be someone to pick me up. So amongst the hundreds of people there to pick up/ hustle things, I made my way to an old beat up, RHD ( right hand drive ) Nissan, where I then proceeded to make my way through the crowded streets. It appears that the motorcyclists/bicyclists rule the streets because they weave in and out of cars and drive all over the sidewalks. Instead of having stop signs and traffic lights, everybody just honks at each other and drives aggressively to get where they are going.

This is a picture of the restaurant at my hotel, where Michel and I have been eating nearly 1/2 of our meals. The hotel room we have been staying it is very small, two beds, and a bathroom. The shower is essentially the whole bathroom, there is no separation, just a drain in the center. I will likely load video of my room, but not until I'm done my trek.

The last couple of days we have been basically been concerning ourselves with getting everything we need for our trek. We have gotten a trekking permits, head lamp, silk liner, and different pharmaceuticals. The people here are very nice with surprisingly good English. For those that don't have good English describing things with your hands is easier than you might think!

I've heard that the beggars here in Kathmandu are some of the worst, but i have yet to experience this. I have had a couple of women holding children asking me for money, but for the most part people don't beg much, they try and sell you junk. Not to say everything people are selling is junk, but the people on the streets getting in your face really is, such as "tiger balm" it's apparently a miracle cream that will relax your sore muscles, to get rid of your cold. People pulling rickshaws, taxis, and people selling "information" are probably the worst.

Alot of people here really do live deep in poverty. You can often see people digging through GIANT heeps of garbage which are just on the roadside. It really makes it difficult to not give the beggars money, but I can't give to everyone.. so who am I to decide who gets a small amount of money?

Either way there is alot of really cool stuff around here, but i have to go because my ride is here, ill try and finish where i left off later!

I leave tmrw for the trek so i dont think there will be that many posts but want just say to all my family i love you :)