After close to 9 hours of travel, the bus finally drops us along a busy road at a little past 4pm. We actually arrive at the city around 3 but traffic is so bad. A taxi driver approaches me and quotes NR 500. I bargain it down tok NR 400 to the hotel. Should have walked instead as it turned out to be less than a kilometer. At Google maps, it seemed like a long walk along the dusty horribly congested streets. As always, the taxi overcharged.
Feels good to see the familiar faces of the owner and his son as I stepped into Avalon House. Even the security guard seems happy to see me back when I see him a little later. As requested, they give me a first floor room (104). Hooray!
I just fix some of my stuff, wash my face, and head to the ghetto that is Thamel Marg. I drop-off 2kg of laundry at the bike and laundry shop and tell them I will be returning for ot on January 3. “You will get your laundry next year, huh,” the owner jokes. Back at Mountain Trotters I book a Nagarkot-Chanu Ngarayan hike with a drop-off at Bhaktapur for USD 60.
Me: Changu Narayan is 3 hours walk?
Him: 3 hours but you’re a little fat so maybe 3 hours and a half.
Me: . . .
It was the same guy I previously booked my Kathmandu Valley day trip and who also said that the Nagarkot- Chanu Ngarayan hike was well-suited for my body type.
Back at Thamel House Restaurant for the non-vegetarian set. Good filling food and excellent service as always.
Nothing seems out of the extra-ordinary for NYE in Thamel except for some food stalls outside advertising New Year specialties.
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