Josh and I left Chisang Clinic less than a week ago but it already feels like it's been weeks since we were there. It has been nice being in a cooler climate as although it is still always above 25C here and quite humid it is much cooler than Bhaunne. It is a novelty being able to sit in the shade and to not be sweating and it also means that a lot more can be done in the middle of the day.
Debendra has very kindly allowed us to stay at his house while we are in Kathmandu and so we are very lucky. Not only does this save us money but it is much nicer staying in a home where you get a bit more space - it is the first time I've my own room in 5 weeks and it's quite nice having some space to sort my things out. It also means that we don't have to stay in the tourist district of Kathmandu, called Thamel.
I remember Thamel from when I was last in Nepal but it was still a bit of a shock turning up there after being in Bhaunne. It is much busier than Bhaunne and the shops and restaurants are worlds apart. It is much more developed and there is a huge range of things available. Having eaten rice and lentil curry for 5 weeks it was strange to see so many choices on the menu from different parts of the world and for meals not to have to contain rice!
While Thamel serves a purpose and there are few places as good for souvenir shopping in Nepal it is nice to be able to leave it. It is quite hectic and people there are trying to make a living and consequently everyone is trying to sell you something which can be quite tiring. It's therefore nice to escape and it's also nice seeing another part of the city as Kathmandu is absolutely huge.
The people of Kathmandu and the valley surrounding it seem to have a very different attitude to white skinned people compared to those in Bhaunne. Everyone is still friendly and lovely but seeing us is less of a shock. When walking near Debendra's house people look at us with curiosity as, clearly, we are a little out of place but it is not with the amazement that people in Bhaunne stared.
The standard of English is also phenomenal. Many people speak English with barely any accent - old as well as young. One little girl, less than 10 years old, was talking to us and her English was fantastic. I would guess that the best schools in the country are in Kathmandu and that the standard of education in the capital is much higher than the more remote parts. Tourists from abroad rarely go to the far east or west of Nepal and so English would not be not heard as commonly and the need to speak English for tourism doesn't exist in the same way.
Continuing our very touristy few days we also went white water rafting. We had a great group of people and, again, it was strange being surrounded by English rather than Nepali and umderstanding everything that was said! The rapids were great and you really had to focus when going through them and listen carefully to the instructions from the guide. The stretches of rapids are relatively short which is actually quite good as paddling can be very tiring! To have short intense bursts and then a chance to relax was perfect.
In stretches of calmer water you were also able to go swimming and floating down a river is possibly the beat was to travel. It was a good opportunity to cool off as the sun was very strong that day! The only downside was getting back into the raft which was anything other than dignified.
It's been a busy few days and it's been great seeing more of Kathmandu and doing some touristy things as well. It's definitely a seperate world to Bhaunne!
Debendra has very kindly allowed us to stay at his house while we are in Kathmandu and so we are very lucky. Not only does this save us money but it is much nicer staying in a home where you get a bit more space - it is the first time I've my own room in 5 weeks and it's quite nice having some space to sort my things out. It also means that we don't have to stay in the tourist district of Kathmandu, called Thamel.
I remember Thamel from when I was last in Nepal but it was still a bit of a shock turning up there after being in Bhaunne. It is much busier than Bhaunne and the shops and restaurants are worlds apart. It is much more developed and there is a huge range of things available. Having eaten rice and lentil curry for 5 weeks it was strange to see so many choices on the menu from different parts of the world and for meals not to have to contain rice!
While Thamel serves a purpose and there are few places as good for souvenir shopping in Nepal it is nice to be able to leave it. It is quite hectic and people there are trying to make a living and consequently everyone is trying to sell you something which can be quite tiring. It's therefore nice to escape and it's also nice seeing another part of the city as Kathmandu is absolutely huge.
The people of Kathmandu and the valley surrounding it seem to have a very different attitude to white skinned people compared to those in Bhaunne. Everyone is still friendly and lovely but seeing us is less of a shock. When walking near Debendra's house people look at us with curiosity as, clearly, we are a little out of place but it is not with the amazement that people in Bhaunne stared.
The standard of English is also phenomenal. Many people speak English with barely any accent - old as well as young. One little girl, less than 10 years old, was talking to us and her English was fantastic. I would guess that the best schools in the country are in Kathmandu and that the standard of education in the capital is much higher than the more remote parts. Tourists from abroad rarely go to the far east or west of Nepal and so English would not be not heard as commonly and the need to speak English for tourism doesn't exist in the same way.
Continuing our very touristy few days we also went white water rafting. We had a great group of people and, again, it was strange being surrounded by English rather than Nepali and umderstanding everything that was said! The rapids were great and you really had to focus when going through them and listen carefully to the instructions from the guide. The stretches of rapids are relatively short which is actually quite good as paddling can be very tiring! To have short intense bursts and then a chance to relax was perfect.
In stretches of calmer water you were also able to go swimming and floating down a river is possibly the beat was to travel. It was a good opportunity to cool off as the sun was very strong that day! The only downside was getting back into the raft which was anything other than dignified.
It's been a busy few days and it's been great seeing more of Kathmandu and doing some touristy things as well. It's definitely a seperate world to Bhaunne!
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