DAY 47 - POKHARA/KATHMANDU

As morning broke, we dragged ourselves out of bed at an unforgiving, but scenically rewarding, hour, and walked to the tourist bus park, arriving with time to grab a quick breakfast and sip on some warming chai as buses and people filtered through the site. Whilst we waited, we talked to a guy who had left London about six years ago and was considering returning, having taught English during his time in the country. We got on our way at about half 7, rolling out of town on a tourist coach that wasn't much bigger than a mini-bus, but perfectly comfortable, and began the 5/6 hour journey to Kahmandu. We were thankful that it didn't pick people up along the way, something which stagnates progress, and made decent ground in the first 3 or 4 hours, until, that is, an accident on a mountain road halted us in our tracks. Admitedly, it wasn't as bad as it sounds, finding ourselves next to a pristine beach aside a crystal clear stream, a number of tourists stuck in the jam heading down to enjoy its pleasures. We eventually got going again about 3 and a half or 4 hours later, arriving in Kathmandu at around 5. We immediately got a shared taxi to the Thamel backpacker district, where we ambled its warren of cafes, bars, shops, clubs and guesthouses, looking for a decent place to stay. After deciding that there wasn't much in it, we settled in the 'Bagpacker's Inn', ignoring its seriously dodgy name, instead warming to its nice spacious rooms and great location. Being opposite an Irish 'pub', we quickly realised that it was St. Patricks day, instantly resolving to celebrate it with gusto. We began the evening in a nice little Irish bar with decent live Irish music, before heading to the pub opposite our hostel. The bars themselves could only be described as psuedo-Irish, although they had decent atmospheres and good live music. We met a couple of girls and an Israeli lone traveller as the night wore on, and decided to join them in the nearby 'Reggae Club', where we danced for a while before making our way back to our hostel, having done the evening as much justice as we could have given the circumstances. I noted in this first evening in the city that the Thamel area seemed to cater for anybody and everybody, boasting a wealth of different activities that added to its sense of fun, obviously an attraction for those travellers looking to let loose and enjoy its sensual delights, something that we were all too ready to do.

DAY 48 - KATHMANDU

After a slow start to the day and breakfast on our hostel's rooftop restaurant, we decided to head to Durbar Square, located in the midst of the city's old quarters, a myriad of temples, Buddhist stupas and royal buildings, a central hub for those seeking a little culture in the city. It took us a while to find it, owing to the abundance of little sights to see and almost identical closely-knit streets, but we eventually managed it, spending a while walking round its many pagoda-style buildings and temples, as well as statues and market stalls. We decided to visit the Hunuman Dhoka Royal Palace, located in the square, and spent a couple of hours or so wandering its corridors and rooms which, although nicely decorated with many intricate wood carvings, lacked the opulence of other royal buildings that we had seen. It documented the lives of a few of the more recent rulers before the abolishment of the monarchy last year and the creation of a federal republic (which recently elected a communist state leader in its first democratic election). We then spent an hour or so walking through the market next to the palace, eventually buying a few items, mine being a necklace, a small buddha carving and a singing bowl. We managed to get very reasonable prices as it is the low-season and the vendors were keen to sell. Happy with our purchases, we grabbed a nice lunch in a restaurant that overlooked the square, before re-entering the city's winding, chaotic, but colourful streets on the way back to our hostel. We decided to dine out in style in the evening, a luxury we very seldom allow ourselves, so made our way to Kakhuri, a high-class restaurant and hotel located in Kathmandu's exclusive Soaltee Crown Plaza. It was surreal, a world away from the backpacker trail, finding ourselves enjoying the creme de la creme of Nepalese dining and being able to (just about) afford the bill. It was a great experience though, and we couldn't help but smile as we were offered hot towels at the start of the meal, the absurdity of the situation catching up with us. The food was fantastic, as one would expect from a restaurant of such calibre, and the whole situation was great fun. We made our way back to the hotel completely satisfied, having broken into the high-class realm of dining, an experience we could never have dreamt of affording back home and will no doubt remember with pleasure for a very long time.