Drive to Katmandu and my Failed attempt into Tibet
After my Hike I boarded a tourist bus that I thought would take 4 hours and be quite similar to the ride I had from Sunali to Pokhara. God was I wrong, the bus took nearly 7 hours and really exposed me to what Nepal is like. I can’t speak for the whole country because I have only seen a VERY SMALL amount of it. As I left Pokhara and began to drive into the country side I was waiting to see more green hills, rice terraces (which I saw), but mostly just more clean, quite country side. Unfortunately what I saw reminded me a bit of India, more poverty, more garbage, and a rural life style that I have now become quite accustom to when dealing with third world counties.
I guess I had higher hopes for Nepal and this vision of pristine beauty, the Himalayan mountains, the tallest peaks of the world, spilling fresh glacial water into the country side which people literally drink right off the mountain (hell I did in my hike). It’s sad to see what happens to some of the cleanest water in the world once it hits the Nepali population. I guess if it was in the US it would be twice as bad with factories dumping waste, fertilizer runoff, and everything else we have going for us. I guess I’m just a bit naïve and want to be a bit more ignorant wishing that these places were as picturesque as I dreamed about.
Katmandu is an interesting place, some travelers are completely bothered by it. I have been here for two days now and have done nothing but eat, walk the busy streets, window shop, and eat some more. For me I am quite happy with this city. Sure it is big and dirty, but as I said I’m getting over that, now it is expected to come into a city and see an abundance of stray dogs, the occasional cow wondering the streets, some chickens picking at trash on the side of the road. I mean come on… if you live in the city and you don’t have a field what are you going to feed your cows and chickens? Obviously trash!!!!
Anyways, I have only seen a small bit of Katmandu and only plan on chilling in the touristy area (Thamel), I don’t plan on seeing the big Peace Pagoda in the center of town, because, well…. After doing ABC, it’s not all that appealing to me, I would rather eat MoMos (steamed Chinese style dumplings with amazing sauces), than haggle for a cab to take me to the center of a busy busy town.
OH, side note. If you are planning on going from Katmandu into Tibet and into mainland China, DON’T. For me it made perfect scenes, it was the natural direction I was heading but the Chinese made things difficult and now $637 later on a one way flight to Kunming China I have to take an alternate rout.
After my Hike I boarded a tourist bus that I thought would take 4 hours and be quite similar to the ride I had from Sunali to Pokhara. God was I wrong, the bus took nearly 7 hours and really exposed me to what Nepal is like. I can’t speak for the whole country because I have only seen a VERY SMALL amount of it. As I left Pokhara and began to drive into the country side I was waiting to see more green hills, rice terraces (which I saw), but mostly just more clean, quite country side. Unfortunately what I saw reminded me a bit of India, more poverty, more garbage, and a rural life style that I have now become quite accustom to when dealing with third world counties.
I guess I had higher hopes for Nepal and this vision of pristine beauty, the Himalayan mountains, the tallest peaks of the world, spilling fresh glacial water into the country side which people literally drink right off the mountain (hell I did in my hike). It’s sad to see what happens to some of the cleanest water in the world once it hits the Nepali population. I guess if it was in the US it would be twice as bad with factories dumping waste, fertilizer runoff, and everything else we have going for us. I guess I’m just a bit naïve and want to be a bit more ignorant wishing that these places were as picturesque as I dreamed about.
Katmandu is an interesting place, some travelers are completely bothered by it. I have been here for two days now and have done nothing but eat, walk the busy streets, window shop, and eat some more. For me I am quite happy with this city. Sure it is big and dirty, but as I said I’m getting over that, now it is expected to come into a city and see an abundance of stray dogs, the occasional cow wondering the streets, some chickens picking at trash on the side of the road. I mean come on… if you live in the city and you don’t have a field what are you going to feed your cows and chickens? Obviously trash!!!!
Anyways, I have only seen a small bit of Katmandu and only plan on chilling in the touristy area (Thamel), I don’t plan on seeing the big Peace Pagoda in the center of town, because, well…. After doing ABC, it’s not all that appealing to me, I would rather eat MoMos (steamed Chinese style dumplings with amazing sauces), than haggle for a cab to take me to the center of a busy busy town.
OH, side note. If you are planning on going from Katmandu into Tibet and into mainland China, DON’T. For me it made perfect scenes, it was the natural direction I was heading but the Chinese made things difficult and now $637 later on a one way flight to Kunming China I have to take an alternate rout.
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