Chaos in Kathmandu

[Our camera started playing up on Tioman island and only worked when it wanted to. By the time we arrived in Kathmandu it felt even less like working so we were without a camera. The rest of the photos of Nepal were taken either by Stephen with his own camera, by Frank or I with a camera that Mukti kindly lent us, or by Carol, Frank, Stephen or Mukti using Carol's (well Carol's Dad's) camera. Thank you everyone.]

When we arrived at Kathmandu airport we were greeted by Mukti from Freedom Adventures who would be our guide for the trip. He was barely recognisable with no ponytail and dyed streaks in his hair. These styling changes were suggested by his son for his sister's wedding which he had just organised and attended.

After "beating off" the myriad of porters and taxi drivers desperate to "help", Mukti led us to a minibus which took us to our accommodation - the Thorong Peak Guest House in the Thamel area.

Kathmandu was colourful, chaotic, crowded and confronting. The air pollution is palpable, the rubbish in the streets is piled in heaps and the constant sound of tooting horns seems to continue for most of the night. We sat next to a young guy from Nepal on the plane from Singapore. He lived in Sydney but was home visiting family who said you'll either love Kathmandu or hate it. I confess it wasn't my cup of tea and I was quite relieved to get on the bus to Pokhara the following day.