A short weekend adventure with my sister prior to my Himalayan trek
I had planned to explore Kathmandu and its surroundings by myself prior to trekking the Annapurna Circuit, but as luck would have it, 10 days prior to my flight, Ana found a cheap round trip flight from Dubai to Kathmandu. I was stoked to see my sister after one year, and to explore with her the wonderful, historic city of Kathmandu.
Day 1 — October 15th, 2016
A few months prior to my trip I had booked a guided rock climbing to Hattiban, a small village forty-five minutes south of Kathmandu. Ana decided to accompany me and relax while a couple of us climbed at this local crag. We woke up early and had a delicious breakfast in the courtyard of our hotel, The Kathmandu Guest House. Our hotel is perhaps the nicest place you could stay in the district of Thamel, right in the center of Kathmandu. While Thamel is naturally busy and loud, the hotel’s courtyard is serene, quiet, and beautiful.
At around 9:30 am the guides came and picked us up. the forty-five minute drive through the city on Saturday morning was intense. Driving in Nepal includes no marked lines, no speed limits, no stop signs, no traffic lights, and not that many asphalted roads. It was very exciting, similar to riding a wooden roller coaster. Somehow, in the middle of all the chaos, no one seems to crash.
We arrived at Hattiban, parked the cars and headed up a three kilometer hike to the wall. The valley of Hattiban is predominately Buddhist, with four major monasteries in the area. There is no tourism here, so we got to experience first hand rural Nepalese life.
Walking up to the crag was not easy. There was a 300 meter elevation gain and no real path; we had to follow a trail made by grazing mountain goats.
The wall was great. There were about 12 bolted lines on this razor sharp limestone wall, with grades from 5.9 to 5.12+.
After six hours of climbing, we packed our stuff and headed back down to the car. The cars were parked by a small stream and we arrived to a small Hindu family washing their clothes alongside a couple of Buddhist monks washing their robes. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a country where two different religions live alongside each other in such a harmonious way.
We headed back to the city (another crazy car ride back), changed, and went out for a night of food and drinks in Thamel. Thamel is the tourist district of Kathmandu; a confluence of Nepalese culture with western tourism. It is a maze of narrow alleys filled with shops, restaurants, and bars. It has a charm to it; and during business hours it feels strangely safe.
Under the recommendation of the hotel staff,we headed to Thakali Kitchen, a traditional Nepalese restaurant. Upon entering, I knew it was going to be good; more than half the restaurant patrons were Nepalese.
We had a feast for about $13 USD. We checked out a couple of bars in the area then headed to bed.
Day 2 — October 16th, 2016
We woke up early to check out three of the more important sites of the city. We started off with Swayambhunath, also known as the monkey temple. This historic site sits a top a hill and its considered to be one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites for both Buddhist and Hindus.
Despite arriving very early, the site was crowded with Hindus celebrating the final days of Dashain, one of the most important festivals celebrated by a large number of Hindus.
We spent some time checking out the surroundings and some of the celebrations happening on the site, then we went down the 365 steps and took a cab to the Boudhanath Stupa.
The Boudhanath is one of the holiest sites in Tibetan Buddhism. It is one of the largest Stupas in the world. The site is also home to a large Tibetan refugee population, which set up many monasteries in the area. There is a serene vibe to the site, making it one of my favorite sites in the city. During the April 2015 earthquake, the spire cracked, and as of today, it is still being reconstructed.
We then headed to Kathmandu Durbar Square, one of the largest historic royal palaces in Nepal.
The site is beautiful but the April 2015 earthquake really took a toll on the square, its towers, and its courtyards. It is quite tragic to see the before photos of some of the buildings before the earthquake and compare them to now. Despite the damage, this is still one of the most visited sites in Nepal.
We headed back to Thamel by walking through the alleyways of the city. Kathmandu is not a modern city and its infrastructure is not the greatest; but its people are absolutely amazing. They are nice, friendly, and devoted to their culture.
After an hour walk where we got lost, we arrived at the hotel. We had lunch with one of Ana’s university classmates, then dinner with my trekking companions. She then left back Dubai, and the next morning I started my trekking adventure. Although our rendezvous was short, we had a great time together exploring this wonderful, historic, and magical city. I look forward to future global adventures with you Anita.
