2017-02 Kathmandu | FindPenguins

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Trip start
February 9, 2017
2017-02 Kathmandu Traveler
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Day 1
Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 1:16 PM
⛅ -2 °C
Altitude: 30 m
Germany Berlin Tegel Airport 52.55462, 13.288352°33’17” N 13°17’18” E
ready for take off
February 9, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ -2 °C
I finally made it. Backpack weight is 8 kilo.....
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Day 2
Friday, February 10, 2017 at 1:27 PM
☀️ 20 °C
Altitude: 1,298 m
Nepal Thamel 27.71272, 85.3087327°42’46” N 85°18’31” E
Arrived
February 10, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
If you read horror stories about kathmandu airport and visa process: at least today was easy...

If you read horror stories about Kathmandu traffic: they are all true...
Steffi FluseZumindest bei Tibet gabs mal den Trick, weil man legal nicht einreisen durfte: Illegal über die grüne Grenze, direkt danach schnappen lassen, dann hat man 30 Tage, um wieder auszureisen.
2/10/17Reply
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Day 2
Friday, February 10, 2017 at 5:10 PM
☀️ 17 °C
Altitude: 1,297 m
Nepal Thamel 27.71247, 85.3087127°42’45” N 85°18’31” E
Kathmandu climatic spa...
February 10, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
That's most people's dresscode here...
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Day 2
Friday, February 10, 2017 at 10:04 PM
🌙 10 °C
Altitude: 1,301 m
Nepal Thamel 27.71556, 85.3104527°42’56” N 85°18’38” E
Crisis? What Crisis?
February 10, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 10 °C
There is a very special app here: it's telling you how long it will be until electricity is switched off next time. They cannot produce enough, so it is switched off, area by area, daily.

And that's also one of the reasons for the dresscode... because so many people have diesel generators, especially the hotels. And most of the time the exhaust fumes are blown out at street level...Read more
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Day 3
Saturday, February 11, 2017 at 5:17 PM
☀️ 18 °C
Altitude: 1,300 m
Nepal Thamel 27.71324, 85.3115527°42’48” N 85°18’42” E
2
Temples and palaces
February 11, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
So what do you do in Kathmandu? It's walking around the old town, visiting temples, the old king palaces. And talking to people, or they talking to you because they want to sell something. But it's way different to Morocco, they don't get too pushy. And they let you walk around alone. Only annoying thing are the guys in the tourist area who constantly ask you if you want a smoke. Which is highly illegal here...

There is lot of damage from the earthquake 2015, some of the temples have just collapsed to a pile of bricks. And there are cracks in the buildings everywhere. But there is some rebuilding going on and what is there is still impressive.

Oh, and the air is still bad. Especially as they are burning things opposite of my hotel room since yesterday...Read more
Hannelore Hinnrichübrigens: mehr fotos bitte! :-)
2/14/17Reply
Gisela Verma You have to get used to the bad air - they burn coal like in Delhi to stay warm on the streets. Why did you go at this time of year?
2/14/17Reply
Traveler It's actually more the dust from the streets, the traffic, the burning of garbage, the diesel generators....
2/24/17Reply
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Day 6
Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 11:20 PM
☀️ 0 °C
Altitude: 794 m
Nepal Lakeside 28.20562, 83.9635728°12’20” N 83°57’49” E
2
2
Going to Pokhara
February 14, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C
It's only 200 km but it takes 8 hours... The road is terrible, it's shaking all the time, you cannot read, you cannot write, you cannot sleep. And you see a couple of trucks that obviously have crashed into other vehicles when overtaking.

The bus was said to have AC. Well, check the picture for the facts. But you could load the phone.

And most important: we arrived safely.Read more
Hannelore Hinnrich na ja, die luft wird damit schon irgendwie konditioniert. die frisur auch.
2/20/17Reply
Hannelore Hinnrich bananen. bananen?
2/20/17Reply
Traveler Ja. Gibts hier überall. Die kleinen, leckeren.
2/24/17Reply
Traveler Ich gestehe es ist besser als nichts....
2/24/17Reply
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Day 6
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
⛅ 29 °C
Altitude: 831 m
Nepal Shanti Nagar Chok 28.2151, 83.9729528°12’54” N 83°58’23” E
Whitewater instead of bus
February 14, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
So after the fabulous bus ride I found a better transportation to Chitwan national park in the south: rafting the Seti river.

They take you out of town, put you in a raft, you camp on the beach, next day your are close to Chitwan ( or to Sauhara, which is the tourist hotspot town there), is another hour to go there.

The rafting is easy, very nice group, also to Koreans doing a whitewater kayak clinic. Fantastic food, the camp on the beach was great.

Only problem: I borrowed one of the whitewater kayaks in the evening, just paddled around a bit and tried if I can still escimo roll.

So the guides saw that and said that I can go in the kayak if one of the Koreans doesnt want anymore. And of course it happened... So I paddled the first time in whitewater, I was too excited to roll, I flipped in one of the rapids. Too much excitement... But I live to tell.

They said I can have lessons next week if I want to...

After the river in was lucky that the Canadian couple with us had private transfer to Sauhara. So no bus, which is especially good because they close the road for hours because of construction but small cars are allowed to go through. Or just go.Read more
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Day 9
Friday, February 17, 2017
☀️ 12 °C
Altitude: 164 m
Nepal Sauraha 27.57927, 84.5032627°34’45” N 84°30’12” E
Welcome to the jungle
February 17, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
Near the Indian border you find Chitwan National Park, a nature reserve of 900 sqkm.

It's called jungle, but not matching my idea of jungle. It's a lot of grassland and open forests.

You can see rhinos, crocodiles, elephants, tigers and much more less dangerous animals. The typical way to explore is taking a walking tour, everything between half day and seven days is possible. Or you can go in by Jeep, also it's possible to go by elephant. Problem is only that the elephants are not treated good so the more responsible thinking agencies don't recommend doing that anymore.

I did a one day walking tour, which starts with a 2 hour canoe ride, the canoe made from a single tree trunk. Lots of birds, crocodiles, even a rhino standing next to the river. Very nice, relaxed.

Then the walking starts, which after all is 7 hours walking, covering almost 20km.

And if you ask me for my recommendation: take the Jeep tour. It's not about the walking, just the feeling that it's a bit too risky for what you actually see. It might sound good to see wild elephants and rhinos. Problem is only they are very aggressive... So the walk started with running away from a rhino. Then long time birds and deer. Then, when we had a break, about 40 meters ahead suddenly an elephant came out of the jungle. The guides just shouted run run... The elephant followed a bit but luckily not much. 45 minutes later we ran from the same elephant again...

Actually an Indian tourist has been killed by that elephant last month, she couldn't run away...

Later we saw some rhinos bathing, also a mother and baby rhino eating. That was cool, and they were not very far away but far enough.

My feeling is that they are not taking it serious enough. You can only with two guides but you cannot avoid dangerous situations. Also I saw a group with a disabled man who could not walk properly. So no chance for him to run....

Oh, and when you go to a restaurant at night better take a flashlight. And if you see a big animal on the street you better hide until it has left....Read more
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Day 16
Friday, February 24, 2017 at 12:14 PM
🌫 21 °C
Altitude: 1,264 m
Nepal Tānsen 27.86446, 83.5442127°51’52” N 83°32’39” E
Going to Tansen
February 24, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ 🌫 21 °C
A short busride away from Chitwan: the mountain town Tansen.

Well, short busride means: getting on the local bus at 9 in the morning. Finding out the road is blocked because of construction works. Going somehow around it through backyards and villages. Driving for 3 hours, trying to ignore how they overtake super risky, fighting for every meter.

Toilet stop. Somewhere on the road, everybody out, into the bushes, everybody in. Less than 5 minutes. Actually the most effective thing I saw in Nepal.

Then changing into the next, shittier local bus. Backpack is put in the trunk, obviously a goat had a ride there earlier and shitted itself of fear... (Saw that the next ride, they really put them in the trunk)

Another hour. Then change into the next shittier local bus, finally going into the mountains. So a busride of about 7 hours to cover less than 140km...Read more
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Day 17
Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 1:08 AM
🌙 9 °C
Altitude: 1,299 m
Nepal Thamel 27.71473, 85.3105627°42’53” N 85°18’38” E
Nepali people party hard
February 25, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 9 °C
I have seen a couple of concerts now in Kathmandu. Of course western music, Nepali music is for me forever connected with terrible bus rides.

It's always the same: excellent musicians, excellent singers. And all they do is covers... I've heard summe of 69 every evening.

Tonight: the same band with one singer playing Gloria Gaynor, then after 1 hour changing the singer and playing guns and roses, rage against the machine, Metallica...

The place is full with Nepalis, just some tourists. Beer is about 5$... And the whole place is dancing and singing.

Sob still looking for a band doing own songs... And the famous Kathmandu underground metal scene.Read more
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Day 18
Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 6:40 PM
⛅ 16 °C
Altitude: 1,308 m
Nepal Asan 27.70808, 85.3102427°42’29” N 85°18’37” E
Nepali dentist
February 26, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Your teeth are hurting? No problem. Go to that old tree trunk, nail a coin onto it. Pain is gone, your healed. At least that's what they say...
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Day 18
Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 8:08 PM
⛅ 9 °C
Altitude: 1,304 m
Nepal Thamel 27.71408, 85.3101427°42’51” N 85°18’37” E
Rush hour in Kathmandu
February 26, 2017 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
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Trip end
February 26, 2017