Kathmandu - sensory overload

Coming from the quiet mountains and going into the heart of Kathmandu can be quite an experience. Although its not a hugely populated city its dense and polluted. While driving into the city we could smell the exhaust, hear the horns, feel the heat, and touch the traffic. We were happy to be in our Jeep.
Thamel is the tourist town and it is littered with touts selling everything a backpacker in Nepal could want.

Cheap knock off North Face - Check

Books, magazines, maps - Check

Scarves for the cold, Sandals for the hot, and umbrellas for the rain - Check

Drums, violins, guitars - Check

Silk, cashmere, polyester- Check

Ganja, dope, grass, hash, pollen, - no comment

Sandwiches, friend rice, roti, curry, pasta, steak, fruit shake, - Check

There are hundreds of things that are actually really cool but there's just no room to pack them.



The city is a maze of cluttered ancient alleys. Steep wooden houses lean over the beaten roads. Dogs, cows, rickshaws, motorbikes, taxis, and people assure that traffic crawls. The smells are pleasant and indescribable. There is no one skyscraper in the city. Street hawkers sell all sorts of greasy delicacy's on corners. Women was clothes in public open bath houses. Children fly kites and play on huge swings. Religion is a huge part of every ones life and you can see monuments sprinkled all over the city.

There's no rush in the city. One can go to the main square and sit and people watch for hours. There are huge temples with generations of history in the most bizarre places. There's a place called Freak Street where all the freaky hippies used to meet. We ran into one and I took his picture and he got angry. I won't write anymore for fear that he could be reading this now. Of all the capitals I've been to Kathmandu one of my favorites. And I didn't even see the half of it.