Seattle to Kathmandu

 

The chauffeur limo arrived right on time and by 1545 both Sean and I were through security and into the lounge at the South Terminal.  Arriving at the business class lounge we sampled some Washington red wines before boarding the Emirates Airlines flight to Dubai, Delhi and then onwards to Kathmandu.  The flight departed right on time at 1730. The service is great and Sean and I enjoy fine wines, spirits and food as we head on a polar route north and then south to Dubai, nearly halfway around the world.  As we head North, Sean can see the Aurora Borealis from his window seat.

Emirates business class has nearly lay flat seats with optional mattress pads.  Each passenger has their own 17 inch LCD TV, reading lights and noise cancelling headphones)  After a delicious dinner (I had a seared tuna appetizer and a beef filet followed by a generous cheese platter while Sean had a Mediterranean Meze appetizer and a chicken curry followed by a chocolate dessert) we watched a movie (I fell asleep very quickly and don’t even remember what I was watching) and then slept for a few hours prior to the landing in Dubai.

Update, it is 3 am Seattle time and most people are still asleep.  The cabin is darkened under a starry sky (in the overhead panels).  After a few hours of sleep I woke up and had a snack and coffee, along with a Hershey’s special dark chocolate bar.  The lie flat beds are long, but not really flat, still at a small incline.  The crew puts mattress pads down under you, and one is quite comfortable. 

Update, breakfast was served about 1 ½ hours before landing in Dubai.  Both Sean and I had the full English breakfast which included scrambled eggs, broiled Portobello mushrooms and veal sausage, along with a fruit plate, Greek yogurt and assorted breads.

We landed on schedule at 7:00PM local time and after clearing security headed to the business class lounge to wait for about two hours before boarding the flight to Delhi.

Update; after a pleasant wait in the lounge, with some samples of Halal food, we boarded the Emirates flight to Delhi.  We definitely dropped down a notch in service and aircraft quality, but the flight was only about three hours in length and we landed without incident in Delhi.  Arriving at the international transfers desk at 3 AM local time we were greeted by an employee with our names and baggage claim numbers, ensuring the bags make the transfer.  After clearing security once again we headed for the Jet Airways shared lounge to spend 2 plus hours waiting for the last flight into Kathmandu.  It has now been 25 hours since the chauffeur car arrived at the house to begin the trip.

While in the lounge Sean checked for his visa photos and could not find them.  We were already headed to the gate for boarding and a check of the shops in the airport did not turn up any visa photo places.  Sean was walking by an open door and saw a fellow using a computer printer and we talked him into helping us.  Patrick took a picture of Sean with his iphone and mailed the photo to the fellow using the printer who then printed out several various sized black and white photos on plain paper.  After a mad dash to the airport gate we boarded buses which took us to the plane for the short flight to Kathmandu.  Breakfast on the plane was forgettable.  Landing in Kathmandu we filled out the visa forms and when Sean presented the large black & white photo and explained the situation, the officer just laughed and accepted the piece of paper.

Our bags arrived intact and after Customs we exited the airport, but no one from the company was around.  A few phone calls later we found that traffic had been heavy and he was still on his way.  After just a few minutes we were in the car and headed in heavy traffic to the Hotel Shanker.

Our first impressions of Kathmandu were of a dusty, smoggy, crowded and dirty city.  Narrow streets, often only partially paved, contained an incredible mix of dogs, the occasional cow, bicycle rickshaws, motorcycles and taxis all competing for the same stretch of road, with the pedestrians dodging everything and overlaid with a cacophony of horns.

By 0915 local time we had turned into what looked like an alley, but there instead was the Hotel Shanker, with landscaped front grounds, a pool and an impressive entrance portico.  The room was clean, with twin beds and we had just time to get a quick shower before we headed out on foot the few blocks to the Himalayan Glacier Trekking office in the Thamel District. We were joined by Eduardo from Brazil who had arrived a day earlier and led by one of the HGT guides.   The narrow streets were crowded with shops selling all kinds of trekking gear, food and souvenirs.

Sean at Hotel Shanker

Typical street in Thamel District

After a short meeting with Narayan Regmi, the managing director for HGT, we were issued our trekking duffel bags and a nice synthetic T-Shirt, given some packing tips and went over the schedule for the next several days.  Since the banks are closed on Saturday we also exchanged some money to have local currency.  We will be joined by two people from Canada who arrive later tonight, so will have a group of five trekkers.

With the meeting completed, our guide for the morning showed us where to get replacement visa photos, SIM cards and inexpensive cell phones for use in Nepal.  These phones only cost about 5 rupees  per minute (about 6 cents) rather than AT&T’s $1.99 per minute.

Sean and I headed back to the hotel for a much needed 2 hour nap and a trial packing of the duffels.  We will be leaving more than we expected here in storage to meet the total weight limits in the duffel of 15 kgs.

About 1630 we headed back on foot to the Thamel district to buy bottled water for the next few days and Sean also purchased a Nokia cell phone, which operates great.  By 1800 it was already mostly dark and we headed back to the hotel where we met up with Eduardo for dinner in the hotel restaurant.  By 2030 both Sean and I hit the “wall” from jet lag and headed back to the room for much needed sleep.