Kathmandu & The Last Resort (near Tibetan Border)

Would you sleep here ?

Holy Baba

Festival in Kathmandu

The Garden of Dreams

Bodnath Stupa, Kathmandu

Chillin' at The Last Resort

Well, We spent a couple of lazy days in Kathmandu, booked into the Kathmandu Prince Hotel (a real bargain at US$10, the internet price is US$40 !!) and did most of the main touristy sights. We hiked up the 333 steps to the Monkey Temple at Swayanabath where the Buudha gave some of his teachings, visited Pashputinath Temple (the most holy Hindu temple complex in Nepal) where the bodies are burnt, hung out at Durber Square, and joined the throngs of Tibetan pilgrims at the amazing temple at Bodhnath. Kathmandu is a fantastic and very busy place, but we found solitude in a beautiful garden called the Garden of Dreams, which has recently been restored to it's former glory - we loved it ! The food in Nepal is great, as are the bars, but it's nowhere near as cheap as India and we were quite shocked at the restaurant bills after 3 months of much cheapness. The shopping is also pretty amazing with a million (and one) shops selling fanastic fake (but authentically fake) outdoor gear (clothes, shoes, and everything else you would want or need to scale Everest). After about a week of that crazy city we decided we needed a holiday (it's a hard life) so headed north, almost to the Tibetan border, to spend 3 nights at a beautiful place called 'The Last Resort'. It is home to the world's highest bungy jump, but at 162m we both resisted the temptation. The jump was off a swing bridge, like something out of Indiana Jones, only 10 times as high !! It was a nice place to chill out and enjoy some great food. We stayed in a tent and met lots of funny people including 4 crazy guys from Belarus. We did a bit of walking (in preparation for the BIG one - watch this space), relaxed in the sauna and plunge pool, and had our first (but by no means last) encounter with a Nepalese leech (uurrrrggghhhh !!!). Another reason for heading up to The Last Resort rather than Pokhara was that the monsoon was still in flow. There is no point going somewhere like Pokhara, with it's magical mountain views, if you can't see the mountains and the rain storms we were still having would have meant no views at all.

Kathmandu & The Last Resort (near Tibetan Border)

Kathmandu, Nepal