Kathmandu Part I: 'nice first impressions'!

Helena Nijs
Jun 3
2 min read

Hello dear reader!

I don't know where to start... this is where my long solo journey started. Actually it started on the plane from Doha to Kathmandu! Lots of movement and ! And everyone was chatting happily with each other! That atmosphere was so pleasant!

After arriving late at my hostel and with only a little sleep (due to the time difference) I still wanted to go out. And yes, the fear of going out alone overtook me. But once I got outside the room it was already over, phew!

Wow, three days later, twenty-five kilometers of walking further and already in love with Kathmandu! I wonder what Nepal has to offer me! How nice it is to stroll around here! The streets are in bad shape but that is part of the charm of Kathmandu. The cars and motorbikes drive past you. Haha, I mean that you have to watch out that they don't drive off your pants. The chaos of Asia, I love it! You see color everywhere, in everything and everyone! The Nepalese speak to you on the street and spontaneously start a conversation with you, these people are wonderful!

I prefer to visit city life by walking. My first day I strolled around a bit in Thamel, the district where I am staying. Such a cool and cozy place to hang out. Touristy but great to acclimatize. Saturday I walked to the stupa of Swayambunath (Monkey temple). Enjoying myself and with a smile on my face I walked through the streets of Kathmandu towards the stupa. The houses here are made of brick, usually have several floors with often a kind of rooftop as a terrace, small windows and low small doors. As I said, you see color everywhere.

Remarkable: this country is still visibly suffering from the earthquake of 2015. Everything is dusty, there are holes between the houses and everywhere you look there are construction sites and rubble. On the way I didn't meet a single tourist, isn't that wonderful! I disappeared into the chaos of the city. Not for a second did I feel unsafe.

Before I could see this beautiful white and gold building with the all-seeing eyes of Buddha and meters-long cheerful prayer flags, I had to climb the long staircase that was full of monkeys. Wow, was that worth it! So impressively beautiful and at the same time relaxing. From here I had a panoramic view of the whole of Kathmandu. Jeezes, how big is that city! So much to do and see!