I arrived very late last night in Kathmandu. My contact Rup was there to meet me and we travelled through dark deserted streets of old Kathmandu to my hotel. It was down a dark potholed street in the Thamel area and was all shuttered up! After bashing at the door, finally a sleepy member of staff appeared and I was ushered up to my bedroom where I was asleep as soon as my head the pillow. This morning it's raining heavily with big thunderstorms and lightning - all very atmospheric in the heart of ancient Kathmandu. It is little changed from when I first visited here 30 years ago except for a few more boutique hotels, coffee shops and cars. It has an almost medieval feel to it with narrow streets, alleyways, and buildings crammed in close together. The electrical wiring is a sight to behold on the street poles and there are cycle rickshaws to get people around. I wandered the streets of Thamel for most of the day checking out some other hotels and browsing the shops. Power is off at hotel for ten hours today so no hurry to return!