Day 2... The day the earth moved

I woke up after a decent sleep and gathered myself for the day. Finished my blog from last night (I had fallen asleep half way through) and then headed up to the rooftop terrace for breakfast.

I was already warm and the sun was already shining brightly as I sat down to a plate of a mixture of potatoes and veg, chapati type bread and a boiled egg. I sat enjoying the warmth and the view over to the West of Kathmandu... the opposite direction which I would head out tomorrow.

I was on a mission today

The forst most important thing to acomplish was getting my ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area permit). Thanks to detailed research beforehand, I knew where to go and how much it was. It was ideal opportunity to stretch my legs and understand a bit more about this country and its ways.

Walking around gives you insight into the everyday life of the people of the country you are in. You pick up subtleties of how things run and where to get things you need. My hotel was situated in the 'backpackers/touristy area of Thamel, which is great as it had most things that I needed to sort today, but I was looking forward to getting out of that area with all its shopkeepers vying for your trade and out into the parts of town that' normal people'lived and worked.

I grabbed my rucksack, as I also needed a few snacky provisions and set out in the by now blazing heat.

It was fairly easy direction wise to the tourist office, straight south and then west. I wandered along the bustling narrow streets, shops opening up their frontage ready for the day, some sellers sitting on the ground with blankets and fresh fruit and veg to sell.

On many street corners stood small shrines or mini temples, some with incense sticks sending out their curling whisps of smoke. The noise was all pervading. Horns of cars and motorbikes contributed to the constant background hum. Walking was done in the road, with bikes and motorbikes and cars narrowly avoiding you as you crossed the street from one side to the other. Uneven pavement occasionally appeared as a respite from avoiding the traffic. The side streets had more people than motorized transport but were still busy, even early. It was also wise to practice mouth breathing in many areas as the smell of garbage and food was everywhere and occasionally became almost overpowering. 

I realised that I had not brought any water so stopped at a kiosk and paid pennies for a bottle of water and a coke. I was already hot and sweaty and hadn't gone far.

As I left the area of Thamel, the shops changed from souveniers, tea and spice and trekking kit shops to more everyday places. Snall supermarkets and kiosks and motorbike part shops. The roads widened until soon I was on a main road. It felt dry and dusty and smoggy, as though I would be covered with a layer of soot by the time I had finished my exploration today. Fortunately these main roads had overpasses for pedestrians and I crossed over a couple of these getting a good view of the area as I did so. It was also the first time that the increase in altitude hit me was noticable.. not much.. but noticable.

Kathmandu (in the context of Nepal) is not very highup... 1324m /4344ft. Certainly not as bad as Quito in Ecuador, which is 9,350 feet/ 2,850 meters). In Quito I was out of breath just walking... here absolutely fine. Which is just as well, as I was contending with the blazing sunshine which was enough for now. It was nice to be warm though, having left a cold and rainy England behind. (Sorry for all you back at home)

I found the Tourism Office very easily, went through a nice gateway to a building with a lovely doorway and polished stone floors. I headed over to the Annapurna desk, in a little cubicle. I filled out my form, handed over my passport photo and 3000 rupees and in no time at all I had my permit. No queue as I had got there early. Only one other man was there and one arrived afterwards asking about a TIMS card, which is now non existent.

I wandered round the office, picked up a few free maps and such and then back out into the streets. I wanted to go a bit further away from Thamel to see what it was like and headed down the main road once again before following it round to the right. I passed a sign for a supermarket and headed into a little mall to get some provisions for the next few days of effort. 

I love shopping in foreign supermarkets. I find it fascinating what they have available, selection of goods and different stuff from the UK. Here was no exception. There were 1000 different types of biscuits and perfectly for me, some came in small packable size packets. I picked up a. couple of different types and moved on.  Some sweets,, gummy version for energy and even better as I had forgot my electrolyte tablets for my water, some powder to add with some glucose and vitamins. I didn't think I would find that here.

As well as the usual biking fare, I picked up these fruit pudding type things... (see photo above)... there is always one thing I buy where I'm not sure if it will be consigned to a bin after tasting but its always fun to play the food lottery.

Shopping done, I headed back up towards Thamel with the aim of going to Durbar Square on the way. Durbar Square is a world heritage site and I felt like I should go and see it. Essentially it is a collection of temples but I was keen to find out more and see it for myself. I went off the main road and once again found myself in the narrow streets, again getting more touristy as I got nearer the square. I walked into it and got called back. as I hadn't realised there was a charge for entering.

I got in conversation with one of the guodes there and as I had competed my main mission for the day, I decided that having a guide flr an hour was a better way to see it. 

Prakesh was an excellent guide, very informative and once he heard that I was blogging, made sure to include all kinds of details, many of which I will probably remember incorrectly😂 Apologies Prakesh! (If anyone is going to Kathmandu and wants a guide I fully recommend him and can put you in touch)

We started with a little history of nepal and then moved on to a building with beautifully carved windows. This was the home of the living Kumari (goddess) She is chosen for her perfection between the ages of 3 and a half and 5. She can't have any marks on her body like birthmarks and from what I understood, both parents must be from the same caste.

Then basically a panel of 3 panel pick a Kumari from all the ones put forward as possibles and the one chosen is then looked after by the government. Schooling  and housing paid for (she lives in the building we were looking at) and some kind of stipend or allowance is given. In that time she is away from her parents and will stay as the kumari until she starts menstruation. At that time she is then returned to her family home and another one picked.

Prakesh then took me into the house, throjgh a gateway with carved wooden doors into a courtyard where people were gathering. The Kumari was to appear on in the window on the top floor. No photos allowed and we were expected to put our hands together and say Namaste. We put our phones in. our pockets and in due course a young girl appeared, dressed in orange with make up on, she was a pretty little girl. But she did look a bit bored as she stood there for us to gaze at. I felt a bit sad for her. Her childhood was this. Being paraded in front of people.

I imagine its a great honour to be chosen but I'm not sure at the young age they are they comprehend that. It also means that they are looked after well in a country where her parents may not be able to afford schooling and the like so it would undoubtedly have benefits for a childhood lost.

Once the Kumari had gone inside, Prakesh showed me the wheel of life depicted on a flat stone and other monuments in the courtyard. Once out through the door (mind your head, you don't want to damage the door by bashing it!) we could see the top of the carriage that the Kumari is taken out in for festivals and when she gets chosen. The rest of the carriage was hidden begind large gates.

Then on to the other different temples in the square. One dedicated to Vishnu and one to Shiva. One temple thought to have been built by a single tree and was one of the oldest had unfortunately beem destroyed in the earthquake but they had done a good job in rebuilding it.

Another tall temple was built by one of the nepali kings and at the time. you were not allowed to build a house or temple higher. He looked out from the top windows daily and if he saw a house that did not have smoke coming out from it, he sent his soldiers to check on the people living there. He sounded like a good guy!

There was a lot to see in Durbar Square but Prakesh took me round in an organised fashion

**Pause in the blog of today to announce that the earth just moved... Earthquake 5.7 on the richter scale. Always a little disconcerting when the building you are in shakes. **

With that pause in the blog... where was I... 

After we had spend a hour and a bit in Durbar Square, Prakesh took me to Freak Street, where the hippies used to hang out in the 60's. The shop that sold dope is no longer there (shame) but there are some old houses and he took me down some really narrow side streets to show me the old houses and how their walls were made. 

Tour finished, I said goodbye to Prakesh, assured him I would give him a shout out in my blog for the excellent job he did and bless him, he invited me to stay on my return. My hotel is already booked but hopefully we can share a meal towards the end of my trip. 

Mission back on. Now I wanted to change the rest of my money into rupees, find a pharmacy to buy diamox (Altitude sickness prophylaxis or rescue) and then back to the hotel to put my bike together.

I headed back into Thamel. On my way there I walked down a street that was literally pharmacy after pharmacy. Here you can buy all kinds of stuff over the counter, so I picked one and asked if they had Diamox. Without a moments hesitation, she picked a box off the shelf and dispensed one pack. I asked for another, no problem. I paid pennies for the meds that would have cost me an awful lot more in the UK on prescription costs alone, thats IF i could have got an appointment with a G. P in the first place. I like this version better.!

Then onwards to a money exchange in Thamel with a detour into a bookshop which had a more detailed trekking map of the circuit, which I bought. The shop was filled with books about climbing and I recognised many of them as they were also sitting on my bookshelf at home. The lady bless her kept picking up books that I had.. so I left with just a map. She did however like my halting attempts to ask her how she was in Nepalese.

Shopping and errands done... time to put my bike together. Then I saw the little place I ate yesterday and decided to have a late lunch/early dinner so hopped in and tried the noodles this time. Cheap, filling, tasted good! 

I rocked up back at the hotel, hot, sweaty, dehydrated and dusty and full. Not a good combo and sank onto my bed only to doze off. I woke with a start realising that I had to get my act in gear and began hauling all the different bits of my bike out of the bag.

Hamdlebars on, front wheel on. No problems, then came the back wheel. A bit of a struggle and it slotted in to place but the wheel barely turned. I looked again. It was on correctly, gears worked. Brake discs... goddam I hate them when travelling. Once again, the rear disc seemed to have been bent whilst travelling.... this was a new disc and deffo not bent when I packed it up. But there it was... a rubbing grating sound before the wheel stopped dead. Bugger.

I worked. out where it was bent the most and spent the next 40.minutes or so trying to bend it back carefully. I messaged Lewis from AW Cycles for advice... bend it carefully, slowly back. No rush. You can't snap it. That last bit was good reassurance. Slowly I bent it back, having marked on the disc with a gold. sharpie where the rubbing was worst. It seemed to be a bit better but still not great. I googled bike shops as I didn't think Lewis could be here quick enough for me to leave in the morning. Fortunately there seemed to be a decent shop not far from my hotel which purportedly opens at 0700. So I gave up the bending and resigned myself to a side stop tomorrow morning.

I packed the rest of my bags back up, trying to ditch kit if possible but ending up not really sacrificing any weight. Finally all my bags were packed and on the bike and I could still lift it... bonus!

So I'm ready, and aside from the detour I have to take tomorrow to the bike shop, so is my bike.

Out of Kathmandu and into the hills...

(Don't tell the legs yet!)