Walking the Kathmandu Valley!!

Its been so long that it almost seems like another lifetime since we were in Nepal. But for the viewers pleasure I'll have a go at recalling the events. Since I last left you I believe we were in Kathmandu and about to commence our voyage around the valley, and I've just had a sneaky look at the photos Martina has uploaded and we appear to have come along way since Nepal, but regardless I shall give it a go.

Have not a clue where now to start so will have a guess at Bhaktapur, 1 of the 3 royal cities of Nepal, alongsaide Patan and Kathmandu. The city of culture, myself & Martina were blown away by the architecture, landscape, local cuisine and fascinating attitude of the local people. Such a joy to wander the streets & be greeted by the welcoming smiles & innocent laughs. It was here that I decided to test my travel insurance limits for the first time, by riding atop a local bus, to Changu Narayan, alongside the goats, sacks of rice and a few locals. This proved most entertaining, especially having to dodge the overhead power cables, breathing in the fresh country air and the knowledge that Martina was squashed up inside in a ball of sweat!! Bhaktapur is one beautiful little town and power cuts weeks could easily be passed by here just watching the world go by.

From Bhaktapur we then made our way up to Nagarkot, 2175m above sea level, a town said to offer unrivalled views out beyond the Kathmandu valley bowl. What we did miss though was that these views were expected from October onwards. At this time of year there is not a lot else to do in Nagarkot, so we sat, feasting on the delights of yak cheese sandwiches, in the hope that the rain would clear for a just a few minutes sat! Our patience was to pay off as one morning we were vigarously awoke at the crack of dawn to be greeted with the stunning sight of sunrise and the fascinating view of the snow capped Himalayas.....well worth the wait!

Not ones to indulge in full mountain treks we decided to take our own hike 25km from Nagarkot to Bodnath, via the beautiful small villages of Sankhu, Bramhakkel and Mulpani. Through this route we were met with some of the most breathtaking scenery and happy smiles to ever lay our eyes upon, making the walk more pleasant than we could have imagined. However we are still monsoon season and the walk was interrupted just outside of Mulpani forcing us to hop on a bus for the final few kilometres.....this was not met with too much disappointment. Nepal just keeps on amazing us and Bodnath was to be no different. A small town housing Nepal's largest populaion of Tibetan exiles and incredible architecture built around the incredible Bodnath Stupa, which is best visited late of an afternoon to witness the Tibetan and Bhuddist community going about their daily rituals.

The past week has possibly been the most peaceful, relaxing and jaw dropping since our arrival on this continent. Now, however it is time to return to the organised chaos of Kathmandu and then on, once more, to Pokhara.

Namaste.