On the buses.....Not for the unadventurous!
Back on firm terrain as this 30 minute flight from Lukla comes to a stop, pleased to have survived 2 Nepalese flights now. Onto that dilapidated bus, but not to the terminal building, instead it's a shelter next to the street where those with bags can collect them from the tables and those without (like me) can continue on their merry way at 12.30pm, some 5 hours later than planned!
Well, plenty of time to spare today, so let's try and get to Thamel by local bus, and if that fails, taxis are a good back up option being quite reasonably priced, even for tourists. But before embarking on such a mission I need to eat, having missed breakfast, inpart due to anxiety about flying from the worlds most dangerous airport once again. As luck would have it here is a cafe, right next to the international terminal, a place for staff and taxi drivers to escape to I would think. A clean place, good menu and well I think it was a good curry, didn't notice as I gobbled it down rather quickly.
Fumes, dust and rubble all in large quantities as I make tracks for the nearest bus stand where I should be able to gauge quite quickly if this mission will succeed or not! A 10 minute hike to the public road outside - under the airport arch and into mayhem, where crossing this road is decidedly dodgy, but with a degree of care and good luck, quite possible - infact the best idea is to tag behind a local who seems quite savvy in this department.
Well, this looks like a failure already, nothing in English to indicate bus route or direction, just boys yelling from the window - in Nepali of course. It's not easy trying to listen out for what might remotely sound like Thamel amongs the continual beeping of horns, but this one sounds more like Thamel than that offered so far on I jump then.
Through the Kathmandu suburbs avoiding more rubble, cyclists, taxis and vegetable carts all trying to fit onto the same narrow space. Looks like this bus is heading north, somewhere towards the monkey temple I should think. So, here I am, standing room only on an old knackered bus in Kathmandu being peered at by the natives - must be a novelty to them that a tourist should be riding their bus rather than a taxi. Finally, between the money boy and bus driver we figure out this isn't the right bus, so on some obscure street corner they kick me out, take 25 of my rupees and point over to a collection of minibuses. So, an hour an 20p down I head on to these so called micro buses.
Thamel anyone, "yes yes, come come", shouts a money boy as the minibus starts to pull away. Finally, a street I recognise, north Thamel, the route towards Monkey Temple a few days ago. Just 10 minutes and 15 rupees later back to familiar territory and the Pilgrims guesthouse.
So, maybe I took the long way round, but it only cost me 30p as opposed to ￡4 in a taxi and I got to a level of cultural immersion that was actually in the end quite a pleasant experience.
Back on firm terrain as this 30 minute flight from Lukla comes to a stop, pleased to have survived 2 Nepalese flights now. Onto that dilapidated bus, but not to the terminal building, instead it's a shelter next to the street where those with bags can collect them from the tables and those without (like me) can continue on their merry way at 12.30pm, some 5 hours later than planned!
Well, plenty of time to spare today, so let's try and get to Thamel by local bus, and if that fails, taxis are a good back up option being quite reasonably priced, even for tourists. But before embarking on such a mission I need to eat, having missed breakfast, inpart due to anxiety about flying from the worlds most dangerous airport once again. As luck would have it here is a cafe, right next to the international terminal, a place for staff and taxi drivers to escape to I would think. A clean place, good menu and well I think it was a good curry, didn't notice as I gobbled it down rather quickly.
Fumes, dust and rubble all in large quantities as I make tracks for the nearest bus stand where I should be able to gauge quite quickly if this mission will succeed or not! A 10 minute hike to the public road outside - under the airport arch and into mayhem, where crossing this road is decidedly dodgy, but with a degree of care and good luck, quite possible - infact the best idea is to tag behind a local who seems quite savvy in this department.
Well, this looks like a failure already, nothing in English to indicate bus route or direction, just boys yelling from the window - in Nepali of course. It's not easy trying to listen out for what might remotely sound like Thamel amongs the continual beeping of horns, but this one sounds more like Thamel than that offered so far on I jump then.
Through the Kathmandu suburbs avoiding more rubble, cyclists, taxis and vegetable carts all trying to fit onto the same narrow space. Looks like this bus is heading north, somewhere towards the monkey temple I should think. So, here I am, standing room only on an old knackered bus in Kathmandu being peered at by the natives - must be a novelty to them that a tourist should be riding their bus rather than a taxi. Finally, between the money boy and bus driver we figure out this isn't the right bus, so on some obscure street corner they kick me out, take 25 of my rupees and point over to a collection of minibuses. So, an hour an 20p down I head on to these so called micro buses.
Thamel anyone, "yes yes, come come", shouts a money boy as the minibus starts to pull away. Finally, a street I recognise, north Thamel, the route towards Monkey Temple a few days ago. Just 10 minutes and 15 rupees later back to familiar territory and the Pilgrims guesthouse.
So, maybe I took the long way round, but it only cost me 30p as opposed to ￡4 in a taxi and I got to a level of cultural immersion that was actually in the end quite a pleasant experience.
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