Everest Base Camp Trek Diary – Day 1 (Thamel)

The last time I visited Nepal I was awestruck by the beauty and the vibe of EVERYTHING. And why not? I was here with my wife on our honeymoon. Even on that tour the first evening felt very depressing – the city sleeps by 7 and every street is deserted. We decided that if we come to Nepal again, we will stay at Thamel, as it seemed like the only place where people don’t fall asleep in the afternoon. ( This time I came to know that it is normal to have power outage for upto 93 hours in a week and this is why the city sleeps so early.)

This time I am right in the middle of Thamel – in a country with which I fell in love last time. But still the first day was depressing. The airport, with no proper signposts, took away 1 hour of my life standing in 2 wrong lines before finding the correct one. I enjoyed the car ride from the airport to my hotel through Pashupatinath and Narayanhiti. All the good memories we made last time were still very fresh in my mind. This is my first attempt at traveling alone and I am missing my travel companion, my wife, very much. I guess travelling alone is not as exciting as I thought it would be. Or do I just need to give it a little time to get used to?

I finished my dinner by 6 and went to bed even before Kathmandu did. And I complained about not having a “Nightlife”.

My guide, Subindra will come in the morning and we will finalize trek preparations tomorrow. And later I am thinking about hiring a bicycle and going for a ride around Kathmandu.

16 February, 2016
Thamel

Dinner: New Orleans Cafe (good)
Hotel: Hotel Nepalaya (good, but doesn’t have a room heater in the standard room)

Read the other parts of the Everest Base Camp Trek Dairy

• Day 1: Thamel
• Day 2: Kathmandu
• Day 3: Lukla, Phakding
• Day 4: Namche Bazar
• Day 5: Namche Bazar
• Day 6: Tengbuche, Dobuche
• Day 7: Pheriche
• Day 8: Lobuche
• Day 9: Gorekshep, Everest Base Camp