The Great Escape from Kathmandu

 Sunday, 29 June 2008 |

Well that may be a little dramatic... But it took 3 days from when I first attempted to leave Kathmandu to when I actually left Kathmandu and it was beggining to feel as though I may have been stuck there foreever!

The problem with Kathmandu is that it is quite dirty, and even more so at the moment with all the strike action and fuel problems.  I don't entirely understand how the whole political system works (or doesn't..) here, but it appears that if you aren't happy with something you call a strike and force all the shops to close until you get what you want.  Which is what the students where doing last week, it was quite interesting to see all the shops close up at 10 am in the morning because the students had told them too, after it being interesting it was then quite boring as everything was closed...

Add to the strike action the problem of vehicles not being able to get fuel and you get a situation where, the rubbish hasn't been collected in Kathmandu for quite a few weeks, so it really isn't a pleasent place to be.  Which is why I am sooo happy that I managed to get a bus to Pokhara yesterday!  I was on one of the first busese out once they started resuming services!

And now I am in Pokhara, where the air is clean and the atmosphere is relaxed and you can walk down the street without a hundres hawkers trying to sell you chess sets and tiger balm.

I am very relieved to be here!  The Langtang trek plan has been put off for a few weeks as there will be a festival up there in a few weeks and that will be a better time to go.  In the meantime I am going to practise my kayaking in the lake here and do a few short treks around the area.

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