A Conference And Climbing In Kathmandu
We had only been back from a fortnight of traveling the Silk Road by train (plus almost an extra week in Delhi, India for Anna prior to that) for a week when we were off again for another of Anna’s conferences, this time in Kathmandu, Nepal, however, we would only be spending two nights in the city, but mainly we were looking forward to moving out into the valley and staying near the base of the Himalayas.
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
We had landed late the previous night after Anna had done a full day at work and were staying at the Soaltee Kathmandu, avoiding taking the bus there where they just chuck your suitcase on the roof. She would now be at the conference the entire day, which meant that I was free to explore the city of Kathmandu:
Kathmandu is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 million people in the surrounding metropolitan area. The city stands at an elevation of 4,344 feet (1,324 metres) above sea level.
Recognized as one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, Kathmandu’s history dates back to the 2nd century AD.
Today, Kathmandu remains the epicenter of Nepal’s history, art, culture, and economy. It has a multi-ethnic population with a Hindu majority. Religious and cultural festivals are integral to life in the city. Tourism plays a vital role in the economy, with the city serving as a gateway to the Nepal Himalayas. Kathmandu is home to several World Heritage Sites, including the Durbar Square, Swayambhu Mahachaitya, Bouddha, and Pashupatinath.
As seems to be a pattern that has formed in the past 12 months, such as when we were in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and again in Barcelona, Spain, there was a was a blast of trumpets and tubas, because once more there was a parade of sorts progressing down the street almost as soon as I exited the hotel, although I doubt it was part of any particular festival.
I instinctively turned left when I walked out of the lobby and although this was my first time in Nepal I had a reasonable idea of what to expect while walking around the city. The roads were chaotic as anticipated and it was difficult navigating the narrow streets, lanes, and alleys veering off one another while avoiding scooters, motorbikes, and trucks due to the lack of footpaths, but it was still nice being out, taking in all of the old architecture and temples, with more than enough opportunities to buy a phone case or accidentally kick a dead pigeon.
Anna called me when she was done with the conference so I returned to the hotel. Because she really hadn’t had much time to unwind between work, then going almost straight to the airport, flying here, going through immigration, arriving and checking into the hotel late last night, and then getting up early today and spending the entire day at the conference including giving a presentation presentation first thing, Anna needed to just kick back and relax for a bit. Fortunately for us our hotel was the perfect spot for that so we pulled up a seat outside for dinner and a nightcap while a person dressed as multi-coloured heart walked around, and then we were up to the room for an early night.
A bus being loaded at the airport, our hotel room, walking around the streets (although I didn’t take many photos on the more narrow ones to avoid blocking people and trucks), and then back in the hotel grounds:
Thursday, May 1, 2025
It turns out I needed a bit of a sleep-in as well, but after a coffee I was off again. Anna had messaged me to say that she would be done at 4:00pm so that meant more exploring and I could take it pretty easy. This time I ventured out in the opposite direction, passing a lot of the similar sights as yesterday, more shops selling random clothing and items, more shrines, and more temples, so I didn’t take many photos, but then all of a sudden I was standing in front of Durbar Square:
Kathmandu Durbar Square is a historically and culturally significant site in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is one of the three Durbar (royal palace) Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal that are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Although the construction of the square began in the 3rd century, the major structures within it were added in later periods. The outer complex consists of a number of 16th-century temples built during the reign of the Malla kings. These buildings are adorned with meticulously carved facades characteristic of Newar architecture. The central square is surrounded by palace complexes built during the Malla and Shah periods. The most well known among them is the Nautalle Durbar, a nine-story palace built by Prithvi Narayan Shah to commemorate the Unification of Nepal.
A three-story temple called Kumari Chouk or Kumari Bahal is located at the southern edge of the Durbar square. This Malla-era temple is used by the resident of the Kumari, a young girl worshiped as a living embodiment of the Hindu Goddess Durga.
Although some of the buildings looked like far larger versions of the temples I had seen, it was still an impressive sight nonetheless and the Nepal Tourism Board make it sound like it’s worth a visit, but there was one small problem; it was time to go back and meet up with Anna and one of her fellow conference attendees, Ting Fang, so I didn’t have time to enter. Furthermore, I was required to pay the entry fee of रु1,000 (US$7.14) just to even take photos of the outside and there were people checking that you had a ticket, two of whom told me to put my phone away. To get a ticket I had to join a slow-moving line and I just simply didn’t have the time.
I met up with Anna and Ting Fang and they already had an area planned for us to spend the evening so we stopped off at a unique-looking structure for a quick photo and the next minute we were at Mandala Street. It is a traffic-free tourist area with bars, restaurants, and shops selling fake versions of almost anything, as well as others that actually had some legit items. We did a round of the shops and then decided to find a rooftop bar so we could take in the sunset and have some dinner before Ting Fang had to leave. After that the two of us kicked back in a bar for the rest of the night, getting a laugh out of a guy called Tom Abell playing cricket on one of the screens inside.
In and round Mandala Street with our rooftop sunset view:
Friday, May 2, 2025
That was the city done, now it was time to head up into the mountains, taking an extremely windy, two-hour drive up to Nagarkot:
Nagarkot is a former village development committee located 32 km east of Kathmandu, Nepal, in Bhaktapur District in Bagmati Province and as of 2015 part of Nagarkot Municipality. At the time of the 2011 census it had a population of 4,571 and had 973 houses in it. At an elevation of 2,195 meters, it is considered one of the most scenic spots in Bhaktapur District. It is known for a sunrise view of the Himalayas including Mount Everest as well as other peaks of the Himalayan range of eastern Nepal. Nagarkot also offers views of the Kathmandu Valley. The scenery of the place makes it a popular hiking route for tourists. It is located approximately 7000 ft (2000 m) above sea level and 28 km from Kathmandu International Airport.
Situated in a strategic location, Nagarkot was an ancient fort of the Kathmandu valley built to monitor the external activities of other kingdoms. Later, it became a summer retreat for the royal family before becoming popular as an international hill station.
We would be staying at the Kavya Himilayas resort, the perfect place to do nothing for the day. We checked in and were taken on a walk of about 15 minutes up a winding path to our lodge, then when we entered we needed to go down several flights of stairs to get to the main living area and bedroom, something that would become a factor over the coming days, but this place was magnificent with a view over the resort from the balcony.
Anna and myself just spent the afternoon chatting and reading before we walked down to a lookout point with a view over the Himalayas where we were shown the general direction of Mt. Everest, but given its distant location and the other exceptionally high peaks surrounding us, I doubt we actually saw it, as the photo of the guide to the mountains sign will show. We stayed for the sunset again in the west while in the east the mountains were still brightly illuminated before walking back for dinner, and then relaxed again on the balcony for the evening, just taking it easy, because we would need the energy for the next day.
In and around our resort with a view over the Himalayas:
Saturday, May 3, 2025
We were up early by our holiday standards, particularly on a Saturday, because today we would be meeting up with two really cool sherpas, Tenzing and his wife, and going on somewhat of a hike. This wouldn’t be any Edmund Hillary-esque trek, rather a long walk along sealed roads due to the woods apparently being full of leeches and the sherpas were mainly with us just to guide the way and carry some water. When we set off at 9:00am it was extremely foggy and it would be a little while before we would be able to see much in the distance so Tenzing regaled us with tales of being a sherpa and the time he was stopped from entering Tibet, because his name was the same as the Dalai Lama‘s, as well as sharing the name with Hillary’s sherpa from when he reached the summit of Everest. The hike was pretty smooth sailing, passing temples and shrines while herds of goats wandered past us, stopping off at the Buddha Peace Park for a photo opportunity, past a large road subsidence and after three and a half hours we were now at Rani Jhula (although I have no idea why that link has a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA):
Rani Jhula, also called Nagarkot Hanging Bridge, is an architectural bridge that spans 250 metres over the greenery of Nagarkot. It is a suspension bridge built with modern technology and a traditional outlook that makes it strong and beautiful. The steel cables are anchored firmly into the ground to enhance stability and safety.
The trail’s floor is made of wooden planks, which gives the place a very natural and raw look that complements the nearby pine trees. Ornamental features like carving on the entrance of the bridge are also incorporated to represent the place’s culture and give the adventurous path a touch of class. This combination of the old and new makes Rani Jhula an interesting structure from the engineering point of view.
The thought of walking a quarter of a kilometre over a narrow suspension bridge that is about half as high was a little intimidating at first, especially considering a similar one has collapsed before, killing at least 16 people, but this one looked pretty strong and there were many people on it, some even having their bridal shots taken in the centre. Once on the bridge it swayed significantly when we walked, plus it was always a bit of a squeeze each time someone passed us in the opposite direction causing it to tip to the side a tad, but we made it across and over the stream a long way below safely and sat down for a bit on the other side for a well-deserved rest and some sandwiches to help fuel our return.
Our hike thus far:
Now came the difficult part — For the bulk of that three and a half hours we had been walking downhill and now it was time to cross back over the bridge and return predominantly uphill to the resort. We took an alternative route back, passing different goats and temples, as well as what we think may have been a wedding and a house where the owner had created a fancy little fence by sticking two rows of beer bottles in cement surrounding his property. We were about 90 minutes into the trek back when we encountered two problems:
- It was starting to rain and only getting heavier, and
- Our legs weren’t really working anymore.
Even our sherpas felt our pain so once we had reached a town one of them organised for a van to arrive and take us back to the resort. When we had returned we thanked the sherpas and paid them, but our legs were burning after having sat in the van for about 30 minutes on the way back and now we still had to conquer the long, steep path back to our lodge and battle the staircase down to the bottom floor so we could shower and get off our feet, a roundtrip that would have to be completed once more in order to have dinner and bring back a few beers and some wine so we could crash out on the balcony after walking 23 km (14.3 mi) and climbing the equivalent of 66 flights of stairs.
Returning from Rani Jhula to the resort:
Sunday, May 4, 2025
It was our final day in Nepal and I felt like my last meal had been pure lactic acid. We would be going back to the city later in the day, but fortunately we had a very late check out so we could rest our unbearably painful, wobbly legs for a little bit, but we would still need to manage to climb those steps and get down to reception at some stage with our luggage. There was, however, one thing we had to take advantage of no matter how sore we were and that was the view, because today the skies were a lot clearer, giving us the best look over the Himalayas we would manage to get. This would mean limping down to the viewing area once more for a glimpse over the mountains and what we saw was pretty spectacular. In some areas we could see the mountain peaks over the top of the clouds, while in others the mountains themselves were relatively unobstructed.
We couldn’t stick around all day though, because we had a flight to catch and although it was quite a late one, we still needed to get back into the city, stopping off for dinner one last time with some of Anna’s colleagues for some local food before we left, including a plate of really good offal.
Mountains, meals, and mates:
We got to the airport, boarded our flight, and were home once again. Well, I was anyway, but Anna had to swap suitcases at Changi Airport, Singapore and spend 30 hours in transit to the US to accept an award in Utah, only to have her phone and passport confiscated and be locked up in a room with others including an Air France flight attendant at Los Angeles International Airport. Three and a half hours later she was released with no reason given (although it was probably due to having traveled to Cuba in the past), but at least when she mentioned that she might miss her connecting flight, the immigration officers offered to right her a note. I think that’s the last time either of us are going to travel to the US again.
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