(December 13 - 20, 2011)
Ever since my trip to Himachal Pradesh in 2006 and I caught tantalizing glimpses of the Himalayas from the Indian side of the border, I promised myself that sometime in the future I will visit Nepal and BE in the HIMALAYAS!
Well, it took me a couple of years since then to book my ticket to Kathmandu but hey, better late than never! After a hectic 2 months of working my ass off in the office, I had an 8-day accumulated off days that I need to clear so I thought why not go to Nepal instead eh?
I flew via Qatar Airways as they had a 30-day promo to Nepal for only U$626 for a return fare from Male to Kathmandu. I had a brief layover in Doha, the airport really did not impress me much. Nothing to rave about like Changi where you’d be wowed, it’s pretty basic (as in parang NAIA terminal 1 lang sya hahahaha). I expected a massive terminal with a huge Duty Free complex but it only has a small one-level DFS outlet…and that’s it! Oh well, at least I will not be tempted to buy anything at all!
Amazingly, there were only 2 girls in the flight (except for the stewardesses), me and a girl from Kyrgyztan (the first one I’ve met from that place!) so we immediately chatted up. Its visa-on-arrival for Filipinos so I had to fill up an application form, have a photo ready and the U$25 visa fee.
The visa officer was telling me, “stitch your photo”……”stitch your photo”….. I was like, “what did you say?”…..repeated it 3x…..and the officer pointed to the stapler……ahhhhh, putting two and two together, what he meant was, “staple your photo”….. hilarious!
I really have to commend Hotel Ganesh Himal (and the manager, Mukhiya Gurung), they sent a driver to pick me up at the airport complete with a board with my name on it……exactly, as he had said in his email! And to think it’s not even a guaranteed booking. The ride also is free. Bravo!
I shared my hotel transfer with Aida, my new found Kyrgyz friend and after dropping her off at her hotel, we agreed to meet up the following day to do sightseeing around the city.
Freaking cold!!!!!Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!! My feet curled up when it touched the floor……my toes shriveled up I think……I can just remember the pilot happily telling us, “welcome to Nepal, outside the temperature is at 8 degrees Celsius”.
My room though is very nice and comfy. I had a top sheet + woolen blanket + duvet……but was still cold and shivering, I think my body got over the shock only after 1 hour of tossing around in my bed! Oh God, I hope tomorrow the sun comes out and its better! For the meantime, I’ll just dream up of sunny Maldives! Hhahahahahaha
Welcome to freezing cold Nepal!!!!!
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