A busy first day in Kathmandu

So Deborah and I have arrived in Kathmandu in Nepal, and it has been a whirlwind! We left the UK on Monday evening, and arrived in Kathmandu (via Delhi) Tuesday afternoon. A terrible flight left us exhausted with little over 2 hrs sleep in a 24 hr period, but after a night of unconsciousness, we were ready to explore this fabulous city once more. This time last year, my friend Deborah and I were here before we headed off for our Himalyan trekking adventure. This year we had much less strenuous activities planned. After checking in to the beautiful Hotel Shanker which is now fully recovered from the damage during the 2015 earthquake, we had a very filling tea of momo and Dal Bhat and bid a hasty retreat to bed at 9.30pm! We certainly know how to live!

The stunning Hotel Shanker in Kathmandu

Momo - steamed chicken dumplings

Dal Bhat - a traditional Nepalese main meal of lemtil Daal, Mutton curry, curried vegetables, rice and extras :)

 We actually slept though breakfast, which was fine as we were still full of last night's dinner. We had arranged to meet up with our brilliant guide from our trek last year, Dawa Geljen Sherpa who has looked after us so well as we made our way up the Himalayas. We met his young son Kunjang and had a lovely catch up at a place called Nepali Chulo that served more fabulous momo :)

After that we planned a visit to the National museum, only it was closed on Wednesday (boooo) and so we headed to the Garden of Dreams. Despite the heavy rain and thunderstorms, this is a real haven of tranquility in the middle of Kathmandu, and well worth the 200 rupees entrance fee.

After this we braved the hectic heart of Kathmandu - the shopping area of Thamel. It is a maze of narrow streets, criss crossed with prayer flags and full of pedestrians, cars and speeding bikes. It is truely mad, but full of wonderful shops, as well as sounds and smells!

 As it was, less than 24 hrs after arriving in Kathmandu, I brought my first quilt! It just goes to show you can take the girl out of her sewing room - but not the sewing out of the girl! As it is, you will have to wait to another day to see what I bought on day one! :)