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| First sight of the Himalayas, the Roof of the World |
But it isn’t supposed to be. The plane was to leave Delhi at 12:50 and arrive in Kathmandu at 2:35. 1 hour and 45 minutes. That’s all. Even leaving for the nearby airport at 10... completely fine. That’s what was supposed to happen.
Instead, what happens is that the flight leaves at 1:15, with no explanation given - although one passenger thought she heard “air quality” mentioned. Maybe they were just inspecting the checked-in baggage for coconuts, something that for some unknown reason is forbidden in your bags. Lord knows it wasn’t to check passengers, because that’s done at the doors into the airport; if you don’t have a ticket to somewhere, you don’t even get into the building past that point... something I’ve never seen anywhere else.
Whatever the reason, we arrive in Kathmandu a little past 3. Still O.K.
And then the lines started.
The Nepali website said Americans could get a visa at the airport. Like in Cambodia. Fair enough. I had even saved the $30 cash required. But two or three planes have arrived at the same time. The first line is to fill out the visa form. Second line to pay for the visa. Third line for immigration. Fourth line for a second security check to get into baggage claim, a new one on me! Total time: two hours!
That means the ride into town is in rush hour. Traffic with the same non-laws as in India, but honking is forbidden in Nepal, except in extreme cases. The taxi van barely fits down the narrow lanes of the hotel’s neighborhood. But we make it.
The hotel is a quiet bubble amid the clamor. An eco-friendly place with solar power from panels on the roof, and no TV or A/C. Which is fine. It’s not hot and I don’t need to hear about the world’s miseries.
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| Kathmandu Airport thinks of everything |
And then the lines started.
The Nepali website said Americans could get a visa at the airport. Like in Cambodia. Fair enough. I had even saved the $30 cash required. But two or three planes have arrived at the same time. The first line is to fill out the visa form. Second line to pay for the visa. Third line for immigration. Fourth line for a second security check to get into baggage claim, a new one on me! Total time: two hours!
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| Kantipur Temple House Hotel |
The hotel is a quiet bubble amid the clamor. An eco-friendly place with solar power from panels on the roof, and no TV or A/C. Which is fine. It’s not hot and I don’t need to hear about the world’s miseries.
I haven’t eaten in two days to let my Agra Belly calm itself, so I go down to the restaurant early and sit cross-legged at a low Japanese-style table to have some veggie dumplings, what Nepal calls momos. Seems bland enough. But after three of the ten served up, I’m full. I reassure the worried waiter, who says there’ll be no charge. And I head for bed.
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