Nepal Adventure (Day 1 & 2) – Kathmandu

Nepal was never on my ‘to-go-to’ list. This time last year, I didn’t even know where Nepal was. After stumbling upon the majestic view of the Himalayas on Air Asia’s page, my Bubu and I were immediately hooked! From then on, we started doing our homework on the beautiful country & we started planning our travel routes.

Situated in a landlocked state North of India and South of China, Nepal is the home of the  himalayan range and of course, the tallest peak in the world, Mt. Everest. The best time to visit is in Autumn (September to November) where temperatures would be between 20C to 30C. Autumn in Nepal also promises a clear weather because the monsoon season would have just ended.
We were there for only 6 days (including day of arrival and departure) and we were definitely racing against time. An overview of our trip was this:
KL – Kathmandu (2 nights) – Nagarkot (1 night) – Kathmandu (airport) – Pokhara (2 nights) – Kathmandu (airport) – KL
Thamel, Kathmandu
Thamel is the heart of Kathmandu city. It is a well know area for backpackers from all around the globe. I feel that this place is so well known because of the centralised area for shopping and the accommodating night life with decent restaurants/bars. Hikers would chill here before their expedition towards the Himalayan range, gathering supplies. Simple words to describe Thamel: Loud, dusty, crowded, LIVELY!

Streets of Thamel

Nepal Police

It is also a good place to shop!



The first thing we did upon checking into our hotel was to hunt for some Momos! Momo – dumpling native to Nepal, Tibet and neighbouring countries. Meat/Vege filling in momos served either fried or steamed is a must try. The chewy texture of the dough on the outside and the taste of spices inside can simply make your day.

Steamed Momos

Boudhanath Stupa
Boudhanath Stupa is known to be one of the holiest Buddhist Stupa in Kathmandu. Buddhist from all over the world would visit this holy site to perform Kora (pilgrimage) where they would walk in a clockwise motion around the stupa while spinning the prayer wheels and chanting mantras. Drown your senses with sounds of soft mantras both from the people circling the stupa and also from nearby shops which has the mantras playing on repeat on their music player.

Prayer wheels

Boudhanath Stupa

Surrounding this stupa are shop houses mostly with rooftop cafes where one can dine while having a nice view of the Stupa and at the same time feel the cool breeze on a sunny clear day. We were fortunate enough to watch as the caretakers bathe the stupa with Safron (yellow shade) which from an aerial view forms a pattern of a double lotus flower.

Bubu & I ; taken from one of the rooftop cafe

Safron-ing the Stupa

Biodegradeble Teak leaves. Handmade into plates. Go Green!

Surrounding the stupa are also handicraft stores selling Buddhist & Tibetan related items such as statues, paintings, praying flags, costume jewelries, trinkets and more. We were particularly impressed with Thanka, painting on cotton sheets. Most of the paintings are on Buddhism and patterns on the path to Nirvana. Others hold a more symbolic representation (of the universe for example).

View of stupa & surrounding shops

Bubu’s Nat Geo shot

Thanka Shop

Thanka painting of our Universe

I find it captivating how you get to see people from all walks of life gather here, celebrating life. Tourist with their DSLRs and shades, locals who come here to pray or simply to hang out with other locals, young Tibetan monks running around the vicinity of the Stupa, often distracted by Thankas while an eager tourist(me) tries to get her photo taken with them. Tada!

Young Tibetan Monks

Pidgeons here are also an attraction because they occupy quite a large designated space by the stupa and you see people sitting on benches either feeding the pigeons or having their eyes fixated on the stupa. Caught a picture of this cute little girl chasing after the pidgeons.

Check out the following video for some slow motion pidgeon goodness.