Arrival in Kathmandu

10 October 2019

This trip was a long time coming. I booked a year ago and got the last space on the tour. Even though I get great pleasure from all the anticipation and planning, I think those around me probably got heartily sick about hearing about it. I hope you will be much more appreciative of hearing about the actual journey.

The long waiting seems to be a feature of this trip. My flight left at 12.55am (very early morning) so I went to work for part of the day, then got myself organised, went for a walk, showered, ate the last things in the fridge, watched a bit of TV, read, read, read – and then decided to go early to the airport.

I was flying on a Singapore Airlines flight via Singapore and then to Kathmandu but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was actually an AirNZ flight so I was able to use the Koru Club lounge to continue my waiting (and trying to keep my eyes open). For the first time ever I have AirNZ Gold status and this really paid off for me as I got 3 seats to myself on the flight. From the first possible moment I took advantage of all the seats, blankets and pillows to make myself a passably comfortable bed and had a great sleep. Then a reasonable breakfast and it was time to land in Singapore.

I had 2.5 hours only until my flight to Kathmandu which unfortunately wasn’t long enough for me to exit the terminal to see even the new waterfall just outside. Instead I walked the entire length of all the terminals which took up most of the time before re-boarding. It was only a 4.5 hour flight and we were treated to the magnificent view of the peaks of the Himalayas (including Mt Everest) poking up above the clouds.

The arrival area was absolute pandemonium. All I could see were signs for ‘Passengers without Visas’ – and I had got my visa in advance. Eventually at the far end I saw a sign for Arrival Documentation and from there was able to see the single line for ‘Passengers with Visas’ (next to the single line for ‘Other – Indian’ and another single line for ‘Nepali’). I went very quickly through the immigration and then through a peculiar screening point that seemed most concerned about having ‘metals’. The baggage area was even worse than the arrival area because helpful official people were taking baggage off the carousels and leaving them on the floor all round. Thankfully I saw my bag and was able to quickly rescue it and exit via the one customs check agent who smiled and waved me through.

I changed a few US dollars as I came through (you can’t get Nepalese Rupees outside of Nepal) and then had to look out for my arrival transfer. I always like to arrange a pickup from the airport because when I’m really tired and unfamiliar with everything I am at my most vulnerable and it is really nice to see someone with your name (or at least your tour company). There were seemingly hundreds of people holding name boards but for some reason they had to stand behind a barrier across the 2 lane road so it was impossible (for older eyes at least) to see what was handwritten on the various scraps of paper. I eventually found Intrepid and Peregrine together and sat down to wait for the rest of the people they were to pick up. It seemed that Passengers without Visas were taking up to 2 hours to get through so eventually I was sent off by myself in a taxi to the hotel.

It was a pretty quick trip from the airport to the hotel (through some fairly dodgy places it must be said) with very little traffic around. I have since discovered that it is the end of an important Hindu holiday period – the Dashain Festival – so most of the shops are shut and local people are doing other things (many outside of Kathmandu). Tourist areas are still mostly open. The Hotel Shanghai-La is a bit out of the main tourist area of Thamel, in Lazimput, and is rather nicer than my usual standard of hotels – it is a lovely oasis.

I’m shown to my room and am delighted to see that there is a traditional Nepalese wedding happening on the lawn right outside my window. The men are dressed in traditional costumes and the women are like jewels in their best saris. I set out to explore the hotel grounds and only make it as far as the cafe where I see a woman I had talked to on the plane – and discovered that she and her husband (Jenny and Dennis) were from Brisbane and were doing the same trip as me. They invited me to join them for a late lunch – I tried the obligatory momos (Nepalese dumplings).

Eventually I resumed my exploration, finding a handy ATM to get some cash and a store/museum that had some ancient brass carvings of various gods from all over the region and an amazing selection of rugs. The Tranquility Spa is tucked around the corner and as there was a 20% discount I decided on a 90 minute deep tissue massage for later on to make sure I had a good sleep. Kathmandu is 7 hours and 15 minutes behind NZ (I’ve never come across a 15 minute difference before!) so it is a struggle to stay up to 8.30 when I thought it was okay to go to bed. I did sleep well but of course woke up far too early.

---

For this and other similar tours see:

Explore Asia with Intrepid Travel (a range of different travel styles – see my post on travel styles)

Peregrine Adventures (Comfort tours)

Geckos Adventures (for 18 to 30s)

Note: After people telling me they had booked an Intrepid Tour on my recommendation, I now have affiliate links with the Intrepid Travel group of companies and may receive a commission if you book a tour online within a couple of months after clicking through to these sites.  So if you are enjoying my tips and stories and finding them useful in choosing your own travel, please click on these links and help me to bring you more .

---