Travelfood

Flying from Delhi to Kathmandu, the plane rises the whole time during the last half an hour although the Himalayan slopes, valleys and terraces seems to be as far away under the plane all the time. Kathmandu is situated high up in the mountains although it actually is in a valley. In that valley pollution, dust and garbage is gathered into a chaotic mess. Nepal has very polluted air and when that air is blended with humidity, a thick fog is ahead of you. Visiting Nagarkot, famous for its magnificent view of a sunrise behind Mount Everest, no snow-peaked mountains were visible because of that fog. The trip organizer said that this usually is the situation.

But what a colorful country Nepal is! The temples and prayer bands burst into colours and the women wear colourful sarongs. When talking to Nepalese they asked more about me and my country than I asked them about their country. I ordered an excursion package from a local contact and he drove me around. It seemed like a good solution, since there is barely any local public transportation and the distances in the chaotic traffic can be long, even within Kathmandu. I visited the temple cities Bhaktapur and Patan and was astonished by how different the religion and the temple architecture seems to be between Nepal and India, which often are regarded as similar.

The tourist block Thamel in Kathmandu offers many ethnic restaurants. I tasted Tibetan dishes, which often contain potatoes and water buffalo. Momos-dumplings are pasta cushions in a hot broth and those are recommendable.

When you are on the Top of the World, you expect fresh mountain air. The air in Kathmandu valley is so polluted that it could easily become a threat to the tourism to the country. The tourism industry on the other hand could be a help out of the poverty.

Asia, food, Nepal, travel, travel experiences