Day 2: Surprisingly Fun Day in Kathmandu

Went in search of a temple and ice cream and ended up walking around the city for a few hours with no success.

I woke up around 7 this morning and hung out in my room with Katy until breakfast in the lobby at 8:30. Most people arrived yesterday, so they had breakfast later and allowed them to sleep in. I was very hungry and gobbled up half my plate before I realized I didn't take a photo. The meal was very similar to yesterday morning. Lots of beans, sausage, potatoes, eggs, and toast. I also drank some black tea.

The last participant arrived this morning so we had our group briefing after she got to the hotel. The leaders went over the rules and expectations for the trip and told us an overview of the next week.

Afterwards Katy and I set out to walk around the town. We needed some Passport photos for our permits to trek to base camp so we found a shop to get those taken. We also window shopped and looked through the very many different items for sale. I bought a pin for my bag and Katy bought a pair of pants, but nothing to big that we would have to lug up the mountain. I plan of buying all the souvenirs for myself and friends/family right before I go home.

We then went to lunch back at the hotel which was absolutely delicious. It consisted of tomato soup, french fries, and a sandwich. Our hotel boiled the water they washed the veggies with so they were safe to eat, and very appreciated.

After lunch Katy and I set out with two more girls to walk around the city some more and show them where to get their Passport photos taken. We then went back to the hotel and spent an hour out on the balcony playing cards. I learned a new card game that was very fun called Karma. We were even joined by some monkeys on the balcony across from ours.

Some of the boys then invited us to go get some ice cream with them and our leader suggested a temple close by to visit that he enjoyed when he went to Nepal back in 2013. We ended up walking way past it eventually made it to a local market. It began to rain so a lot of the shops were starting to pack up, but it was interesting to see the different foods being sold.

The Temple was in the opposite direction of our hotel so we walked back a ways before heading to it. Once we made it to temple we were disappointed to see a lot of construction. We learned that it had sadly been destroyed in the earthquake of 2015. Although the trip was a bust I still enjoyed walking out of the main tourist area and more into the outskirts of the city.

We then went back to the hotel and regrouped. Some boys set off to find a rock climbing place they had read about, which ended up not existing. Another group went to see the Garden of Dreams. Since Katy and I went there yesterday we decided to go for Masala tea and some dessert momos. The ones we got had peanuts in the middle and chocolate on top. Although they tasted very good, I still prefer regular momos.

From there we headed back to the hotel once again as we were supposed to meet the group there soon for dinner. We sat in the lobby and talked for a while with some of the others to pass the time. We then went out to a cute restaurant. I ordered chicken, noodles and some fried veggies which ended coming out on a wooden plate that was on fire. There was so much smoke from the food it filled the restaurant.

I waited for what felt like forever for the food to cool down before I started eating. It was very tasty and didn't take long to finish. One of our leaders then talked with us about what to bring to our next location. Tomorrow morning we leave for Chitwan where we go rafting, on a safari, and complete our volunteer project. Since we are only gone for nine days he suggested to bring only the essentials and leave our main bag here locked up in the hotel.

Once dinner was over it was about 8:30 so Katy and I decided to go back to the hotel to shower, pack, and go to bed early as tomorrow will be a long day of travel and white water rafting.

This day was definitely not what I expected it to be, but sometimes travel plans fall through. If there is one thing I have learned about traveling it is to be flexible and even though something may not turn out as planned I am always grateful to have the opportunity to be here. Overall it was still a fun day, and I cannot wait to explore the city some more after base camp.