Asia Adventure 2012: Paro, Bhutan to Katmandu

After our 4am wake up call, we finished packing and enjoyed the coffee while snacking on the twisty finger biscuits provided by hotel. Sherab and Dorji were ready on time like usual and Dorji had the vehicle shined up as usual.

Got to the Paro airport in very good time and sat around for a bit waiting for the flight. A passenger sitting 2 rows behind us took ill on the flight and for a while was not responding. Fortunately there was a doctor on board and he seemed to stabilize the passenger, who went on for further medical attention in Kathmandu. You could see this look of quiet panic on the faces of the flight crew and curious onlookers.

When Greg told me the air pollution in Kathmandu was very bad, I didn’t realize jus how bad. In this city of 6 million people where there is no drinking tap water, where demands for hydro-electric power far exceed the supply, where aged vehicles spew diesel fumes, fires burn, factory plumes bellow forth, one literally cannot see the beautiful mountains surrounding the city. In fact, you have to strain your eyes from the airplane to see the city below. Dinesh Adhikari and driver picked us up at the airport and transported us to the Yak and Yeti hotel, which is nicely located in the heart of the city. On the ground level, you can see everything close by.

After a short briefing, we unpacked and then set out to explore the Thamel area, which is very touristy. With no street lights anywhere, people have to weave their way across the road through the cars, trucks, taxis, tuk tuks, bicycles, motorcycles, pedicabs, and other moving objects. We simply followed local people across the intersections. As we walked along the street in front of the palace there were several children begging for food or money. Later we learned that most of them are sniffers and use the money to purchase glue. Attempts to help them are sometimes successful, but other times, they just run away back to the street.

Thamel is filled with dusty little tourist shops filled to the brim with various wares such as hiking supplies, souvenirs, jewellery, food, restaurants, etc. The whole time you are walking around, people are begging or trying to sell you something and many are fairly persistent. I really disliked the guilt trip and doubting of honest begging. So after purchasing some knock-off items for hiking (hat and t-shirt for Greg, a fleece for me) we meandered back to the peace and calm of our hotel, where we remained for the rest of the day.

We did get fooled by another scam. A desperate looking woman with a young boy begged us to help her get milk for her 5 children, so we purchased her a box of powdered milk, which is ridiculously overpriced. It seemed innocent enough, but when we checked the internet later, several sites mentioned the powdered milk scam. The milk is later returned to the store and the store owner and the beggar split the difference in cost. If you open the box of powdered milk it cannot be returned and will need to be used, hopefully for the children.