We stroll across the Indian border into Karkavitta, Nepal. We instantly get settled in meeting Maxi, a local guy born and bread in these streets. We miss the bus to Kathmandu so we stay there for the night, spending the next day in Maxi's company. He shows us all the best spots in town. We sit and drink tea, watching the world go by, we play pool in a concrete room that looks half demolished but the table clad with freshly laid felt. 4 that evening we get on this supposedly luxurious bus. Our lack of sleep and sore bums told a different story, every pothole, every stone, every rock, we felt, every bump we would pass over at full throttle would send Charlie and I hurtling in the air half asleep.

When we arrived in Kathmandu we waited to hear from Manjil, a local guy we were couch surfing with. After some traditional Thakali (the Nepalese thali) in one of the shacks on the side of the street, Manjil arrived and we went straight to his to settle in. Immediately we get a good feeling about this guy. We stop off at his work place 'Buddha eye' where we meet Conga, friend and work colleague. We spend the whole day hanging out, getting to know them and eating some home cooked Nepalese food.

The next day was the start of Holi. A festival to celebrate the Hindu religion with colour, water, music and dancing. The cobbled streets of Kathmandu were alive and we soaked up the revelry. Colour being thrown, water being hurled. Tourists generally make for better targets, so needless to say Charlie and I looked like Joseph and the technicolor dream coat had thrown up on us. Durbur square was split into two stages playing drum and bass, hip hop and break beats. We even got a taste of the VIP lifestyle and hung back stage, avoiding the stampede of people on the other side of the gate. When the festivities had died down we marched to Thamel, lead by Sonil the local butcher and friend of Manjil, in search of the ubiquitous momo. We stopped in a local place where we ate the most amazing buffalo (buff) momos in a spicy tomato broth.

The next couple of days were spent discovering the sights, smells and secrets of Kathmandu. We visited the monkey temple where we had a panoramic view of this cosmopolitan city situated in the heart of the valleys. We walked the backstreets of Thamel, hung out in Sonils meat shop (no euphemism intended) and even went food shopping in search of ingredients for a pasta dish we promised Conga and Manjil.
After 4 amazing days, we took the early bus to pokhara where trekking plans will commence.