Bustling Katmandu

After several hours in the car bumping along, we reached Katmandu. Katmandu assaulted us with traffic, pollution, noise, and smells. We were definitely ready to find an oasis in this city. Fortunately, we managed to find it in the bustling city. We made our way to our hotel, and we made our weary bodies comfortable for just a minute. We had to arrange tickets back to Shanghai as soon as we could. Out we went looking for the agency, and after some difficulty we found a most wonderful agency to issue us some tickets.

I very carefully stepped on the busy, small roads to see what I could of the Thamel area in Katmandu. You must pay attention each and every step or you will be run over by something. Katmandu is a city that feeds on tourism and has everything the traveler could possibly want. There is a plethora of places to eat a variety of cuisine. There are countless people offering you the trek of a lifetime. There are rickshaw drivers wanting you to ride in their cart. The women meander through the streets in their colorful saris. Vegetables are for sale on the side of the road, and in case the vegetables aren’t enough for your meal you can purchase your very own goat head and anything else you might want from the goat. Temples are scattered throughout the streets honoring their Hindu gods. The men sit and chat in front of their small colorful doorways that lead to their shops. Bicycles are piled with mangoes for purchase. People call out to ask you into their shop to just have a look. Children wander the streets with postcards and purses asking you to purchase their item because nobody else has bought anything from them all day. They hang onto the hope that they can get one or two tourists to pay attention to them and give into their pleadings to purchase an item. An occasional cow will be laying in a small alley taking up half of the roadway. Young men will come around and whisper in your ear if you want something to smoke. This is the Katmandu I know. The place thrives on Hinduism and tourism.

I spent about 5 days in the Katmandu valley. Nepal was a bit like India, but it was calmer. I enjoyed retreating to my hotel and not giving into the heat that surrounded the valley. I went to several temples and walked through the streets to see Nepali life. I enjoyed being there, and I hope one day I will get to experience the Nepal that I want to see. Nepal has so much to offer for trekking, rafting, biking, and shopping. However, the monsoon season was beginning and my soul was crying out for my home in the hills of West Virginia to experience the biggest blessing in my life, my family. I was happy to get on the plane and head towards my home, and now I happily battle the heat in my family’s 90-year-old farmhouse nestled in the hills of West Virginia. God has blessed me greatly with the resources to travel, but He has blessed me so much more by giving me a place to call home and giving me the hope of my true home.