You may think it bothered me, but it made me feel quite the opposite. I love cities with character so observing the street scene made me even more excited about my trip.

The Cool Neighborhood

Kathmandu has earned the reputation of being “the” place for the independent and adventurous souls. Most of them find their way to the neighborhood of Thamel. This certified tourist hub boasts a wide range of accommodation choices including hotels and guesthouses that cater to budget travelers. But all of these establishments exhibit Nepalese design and décor. Thamel is like a maze of interconnected narrow streets and alleyways teeming with vendor stalls and low rise commercial buildings, which are typically shops, restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bookstores and guesthouses. Walking around this district is a cool experience. I saw some people who looked like experienced mountaineers and hardcore globe trotters. I felt like one too! We eventually found our guesthouse on one of the narrow streets. When we got here, were informed that the power was out. Despite being the capital city, most of Kathmandu does not enjoy 24 hours of electrical power. The guesthouse staff informed us then went on to inform us of the daily blackout schedule.

After leaving our stuff, we decided to do some more walking. The cafes and restaurants appeared to be very quaint and charming. Most of them had nice wooden furniture and decorations throughout. Quite a few of the restaurants we saw were open-air spaces, with no walls just roofs. The larger ones had a fireplace or a bonfire lit up in the middle to keep patrons warm during cold December nights. When we worked up an appetite strolling around, we sat in one of the many little quaint cafes to get some snacks. This was the time that I became acquainted with momo – an absolutely sumptuous Nepalese dumpling that I recommend to anyone visiting Nepal. Momos can be fried or steamed, and can contain meat and/or vegetables. Believe it or not, I found the vegetarian version much more delicious.

The Sights

Kathmandu is where most outdoor enthusiasts come to have their mountain trekking trips arranged. There are so many outfitters to choose from, and they offer different types of trekking packages including the one that goes to Mount Everest base camp. Operators will take the time to sit down and talk about the possibility of completing a trekking tour and the estimated costs. But if you’re someone like me – who doesn’t have the budget, and is not ready to face the grueling hiking journey to the base of the highest peak in the world; Kathmandu still has other things to offer.  The city, in fact, has a number of amazing religious monuments and heritage sites. Since we did not have a lot of time, we hired a taxi driver to transport us to all of the important landmarks in the vicinity. There are also tour offices that offer day tours, but we opted to talk to a taxi driver outside of our guesthouse for two reasons: first of all it’s cheaper, and secondly we had more flexibility in terms of the places we could visit.

We spent two days visiting “must-see” sites. All of them turned out to be fascinating. After all, Kathmandu Valley is home to an astonishing seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites – a distinct and impressive feature any city should be proud of. The closest heritage site is Kathmandu’s very own Durbar Square, which not only houses some of the country’s most revered architectural and historical masterpieces, but it’s also where the “living goddess” resides. We also didn’t mind climbing several steps to see the perched Swayambhunath, one of the most highly revered Buddhist stupas in Nepal and the world for that matter. Later that same day, we were blown away by the massive Boudhanath stupa, and by how many locals pay their respect and show tremendous devotion to it. We even ventured out of Kathmandu to explore the medieval heritage cities of Bhaktapur and Patan. Even though locals appeared to briskly enter and exit the sites, foreign visitors were asked to pay an entrance fee.