October 2011

Eric and I first arrived in Thamel, Kathmandu at around 10pm when most of the city was at rest. We were accompanied by a lovely English couple Kate and James whom frequent Nepal and graciuously took us under their wing.

It is the start of the cities high season and was especially difficult to find a vacant room. After checking every guest house in the area we lucked out and found a room at the Premium Hotel for 700 Nepalese Rupees per night (about $9/night). It wasn't very clean, but beggars cannot be choosers.

We spent the next few days touring around the city. We made the long climb up the Monkey Temple ( Swayumbu), when we made it to the top we were rewarded with stunning views of the Kathmandu valley. On the way up we were blessed with the company of many monkeys who call the temple home. Just don't get in the middle of a monkey fight, they can be vicious! We spent the day on the top, reading and drinking masala tea.

After our visit to the beautiful architectural marvel, we decided to, rather then cab, walk back into town. Eventually after walking for about an hour we realized we were lost. We walked past our intended destination of Thamel and ended up in the middle of Durbur Square, to top it off it was rush hour FML. There are no traffic lights in Nepal, in fact there are no rules of the road period. We got stuck in the middle of an intersection, and when I say stuck, I mean.. we were stuck! The cars and bikes were so tightly crammed together that we literally couldn't move. The only way drivers communicate in Nepal is by honking repeatedly. The sound of hundreds of cars honking sent me into an anxiety attack. After the chaos I hid in my room for the rest of the night. So much for spiritual enlightenment!

Nepal is considered one of the main hubs of the world for yoga, meditation and Buddhism. The next day, in our quest for a more peaceful, enlightened way of life. We found ourselves in a Buddhist Monastery at the BoudhaNath Stupa just east of Thamel's town centre.


The Monks took a liking to Eric's tattoos and were quick to make small talk. Before long we befriended the monks and were blessed with Khatas. It was a memorable and truly honorable experience to be in the company of such great spiritual masters.

After enduring a rough 8 hour bus ride, we arrived in Pokhara. A town nuzzled in the Himalayan Mountains, 200km west of Kathmandu. I am excited to see what this town has to offer.

More pictures from Kathmandu:

Monks at the Monkey Temple

This is the last thing we saw before the relentless skies opened up in Bangkok. The thunder was so loud I thought the buildings around us were falling. And then the rains came, covering the roads with two inches (sometimes more) of water. We need to get out of Bangkok...

Flights to Nepal were sold out until Friday. The sensory overload of Bangkok was getting to me and staying for another week was out of the question. Koh Samet was a short 4 hour trip away. To say I'm happy to be here would be an understatement. Bangkok is expecting more floods, lets hope we can make it to the airport in time for our flight on Friday.