Kathmandu - Thamel

We had a good journey to Kathmandu from Stansted via Dubai. Getting a visa at the airport takes time and there us no greater pleasure on leaving the airport in a new country than seeing your name held up on a card by your hotel transfer! The stress of the days travel was dispersed by some excellent Ghurka beer on the rooftop bar of the Hotel Tibet.

After an excellent breakfast we walked via the beautifully restored Rana-era Garden of Dreams to the (now) main tourist and backpacker area of Thamel. Here we took the Lonely Planet walking tour to Durbar Square; we took in the popular Tibetan pilgrimage site of the Kathesimbhu Stupa and the shrine to the toothache God at Bangemudha Square on our way to the six-spiked junction that is the market place of Asan Tole.Read more