Travel Day 992 – Delhi to Kathmandu, NEPAL
After spending 4 ½ months in India, I was finally flying to Nepal and I was especially happy about that after the intense heat of the past weeks. But how happy I really was, I only came to realize when the plane landed in Kathmandu…
Taleju Temple at the Durbar Square
While I was desperately looking forward to some cooler weather, I wasn’t quite prepared for how cool it actually was when we were leaving the plane onto the open runway. It was only 15 degrees and rainy. Actually the whole city was looking kind of miserable since it was covered in what looked like a grey cloud of drizzly, rainy fog. After not much sleep at the airport and finding myself standing in the rain in my shorts and sandals, instead of feeling happy all of a sudden I was starting to feel a little bit miserable myself…
Yes of course I had wished for cooler weather but 15 degrees and rain were not quite what I had in mind and also not what I had in my memory of Kathmandu when I was here two years ago. Anyway, I shared a ride into town and found myself at the same guesthouse where I had stayed before. Everyone recognized me, I got a discount for a room and I felt right at home because I knew my way around. So far so good, only the weather was still not to my liking…
Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal
But after my first hot shower in months, finding long pants, shoes, sweater and rain jacket in the bottom my backpack, I was feeling a bit more normal again and ready to deal with the elements. Still the first walk outside had to be towards one of the restaurants I used to go to for some extended lunch. Not only did some good food help to feel even more alive again, but it also gave me the chance to wait out the rain and then go for an exploration walk afterwards…
Since it had been two years when I last saw Kathmandu, I obviously had to go for a little stroll down to the nice Durbar Square to have some chai on the steps of one of the many temples. As the UNESCO World Heritage enlisted Durbar Square had luckily not really changed over the past two years, it was still the best place in town to watch the world go by and to slowly arrive in Kathmandu…
Kathmandu Durbar Square at Night
While most of Kathmandu has been somewhat developed over the last couple of years, sitting at the nicely preserved Durbar Square still gave a little bit of the impression how Kathmandu must have looked like and how life must have been like hundreds of years ago. Even on a rainy day like today, there was still something magical about this main square of Kathmandu and for me it was the best place to enjoy my Arrival Day and finally watch the day turn into night…
Yes, this day had been a little bit overwhelming and it would probably take me a few days more to completely arrive in Nepal, but for right now I was not feeling miserable any more and quite happy to be back in Kathmandu…
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