Day 34 to 36: I'm dreaming of a Nepalese Christmas

Before getting to Nepal my emotions were a mix of apprehension and excitement. Our trip was actually starting to venture into foreign and previously uncharted (by us) lands.

As the plane flew north-west, the view of the Himalayan peaks was a stunning sight to behold. There was Everest amongst others! What a way to whet my appetite for what lay ahead in an hour or so. Landing at the airport and taxiing to the "gate" gave us a taste of how strict yet relaxed everything will become.

Impressions
A collection of thoughts and observations from the past couple of days:

• I am very glad for our time in Morocco earlier this year. It has helped to alleviate a lot of what would have been an intense culture shock
• Deep guttural hoicking and spitting: It seems to be perfectly acceptable to hoick up a wad of phlegm and dispense of it where ever you please :-(
• Everywhere we have been so far, there have been sparrows
• Kathmandu has so many people, everywhere
• The Thamel district in Kathmandu is so very touristy. You feel like you are betraying your adventurous self when you eat anything there, but in a land of things to make your stomach sad, it's one of the safest options.
• Pollution!
• Ground pollution: There's plenty of dirt and dust, but overall in the main parts of the city there are not big piles of rubbish
• Noise pollution: There's the constant honking of horns. Nepalese drivers use them to tell people that they are there, they need you to move, they are going to overtake, ... anything really. Unfortunately it makes for a bit of a din.
• Air pollution: Just like when we first arrived in London, I've had a return of "black nose". Dust, exhaust fumes, and who knows what else make my nose filters go into overdrive
• Powercuts: They are a constant in Nepal. Our second hotel in Kathmandu even has a notice on the wall outlining the schedule of expected powercuts! Thankfully there seems to always be hot water, and backup generators for hotels and some shops.

Christmas
Spending Christmas in a country where it's not celebrated as an official holiday was a bizarre feeling. It's a mixed blessing really, because if everything was geared up for it, I suspect that we would be feeling the distance from loved ones a lot more. So how did we celebrate? Slept in a little, had some breakfast, and sauntered though local suburbs to the Swayambhunath Stupa (a Buddhist Shrine known to tourists as the Monkey Temple). We followed it off with a western/local mix of food: momos and chips :-)


Tour

We start our tour this afternoon. Once again I am a bit apprehensive having never done a packaged tour before. It looks like it will be a gentle introduction with quite a small group of people. 5 people including us, plus the group leader! Yay.