Trip Report - Kathmandu April 2008

I%26#39;ve recently returned from a trip to Nepal and thought I%26#39;d share my experiences.

I LOVED Kathmandu! The colour, the chaos, everything! I was part of a tour group and stayed at GangJong Hotel in Lazimpat. I thought it was decent - pretty close to things, with comfortable clean rooms. The weather in April is really warm.

I thought Thamel was great - so much shopping to be done! I also went to see Pasupatinath, Bouddhanath, and Swoyambunath - all of which I thoroughly recommend. Durbar Square is also really interesting.

Unfortunately I only stayed for a few days so I can%26#39;t really give much detail about all the attractions. I guess you can %26#39;expect the unexpected%26#39; when in Kathmandu (like the cows all over the streets)

Trip Report - Kathmandu April 2008

Cows act as lane dividers in some roads in Kathmandu:)

Trip Report - Kathmandu April 2008

very true!

Glad to hear you had a great time. Kathmandu is crazy, man!!

Did you get to witness the cremation ceremony or meet the Sadhu at Pasupatinath?

Those were very memorable events from my trip last month.

I saw preparations for a cremation, but our group didn%26#39;t hang around long enough to see the whole thing unfortunately! Would%26#39;ve been interesting. Yeah, saw the Saddhus - or as our guide called them %26#39;professional holy men%26#39; haha. I think those guys have stumbled onto a sweet scam with the whole paying to have phtoos with them. They%26#39;re quite colourful characters though, I can%26#39;t imagine seeing that at home!

Yeah, I agreed with you too... I was there about 12 days. I was in Kathmandu, Nagarkot, Chitwan, Pohkara, Sarangkot.. Have a great time there.. Unfortunately i didnt see the annapura range cos of the weather, I went last June was starting to rain at that time.

I plan to go again and i wish to the the trekking there at this time :) will share with you again. And i will go with the CorsaNepalAdventure. :)

I look forward to hearing about it MalaysiaTraveller! I did a 7 day trek, but I found it quite difficult, even though it was only a %26#39;moderate%26#39; grade. Guess I%26#39;m less fit than I thought!

Hi,

I think 7 days is tough for me.. i think i will do 3 or 4 days which good enough for me :) I am not that fit too :)

My friends told me that the view there is fantastic! Cant wait to see that... :)

Mazarina5- I am hoping to go to Kathmandu and hadn%26#39;t thought about shopping opportunities.What sort of things did you buy ?and what are the prices like?Would I be able to buy warm jumpers to save bringing them from home?Many thanks.

Brownbear.

The outdoor shops in Thamel are great. Plenty of fakes but also some real bargains.

For non fakes, non brand quality go to Shona%26#39;s in Thamel.

Loads of crafts and tourist things to buy in Thamel too.

Hi Brownbear.

I agree with Dukla, Thamel is the place to go for just about everything! (Though I suspect if you stayed in Kathmandu a little longer and went to a less touristy area, you might be able to get the same items for lower prices - not that it matters at the end of the day though beacuse it%26#39;s still cheap). You can definitely buy lots of wonderful warm things over there, so don%26#39;t bother packing from home. there%26#39;s all sorts of beautiful traditional knitted things like socks, gloves, beanies, and jumpers, as well as loads of pashminas which are surprisingly warm given how thin they are. there%26#39;s also yak wool blankets and felt products.

There%26#39;s also loads of hiking gear. For example I bought a %26#39;North Face%26#39; goretex jacket and paid about AU$100 - back home a similar jacket would be between AU$300-$400. Of course, the harder you can haggle, the better the price will be! I don%26#39;t know if it%26#39;s a genuine brand or just a copy, but it is windproof and waterproof and does all the same things, so I%26#39;m still happy.

The other thing in Thamel is lots of beautiful unusual jewellery. If I had twice as much spending money, I could easily have bought up big on more jewellery. There%26#39;s lots of gorgeous semi-precious stones and silver, and it%26#39;s unlike anything you%26#39;ll get back home.

Hope this helps!

revlon