Getting to Kathmandu and Entering Nepal

From todays itinerary: fly business class to Kathmandu and transfer to The Dwarikas Hotel for 2 nights. Nothing planned.

Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal. It is at 4600 feet high and is set in a valley surrounded by the Himalayan mountains. An old city which was the traditional start to many trekking expeditions. Since I've been here before (see EBC trek in 2019) I have not taken advantage of any tours as have already seen the highlights.

From the Dwarika's Hotel website: Born out of Mr. Dwarika Das Shrestha’s quest to preserve the Kathmandu Valley’s heritage, Dwarika’s Hotel is a sanctuary for the architectural grandeur of the Newari civilization. The intricately carved wooden treasures, with each artifact being an original, are the soul of the Dwarika’s. Titled as an oasis in the middle of a bustling city, the peaceful courtyards display the grand architectural wooden masterpieces while being overlooked by the meticulously decorated spacious rooms, offering a sumptuous lifestyle deep-rooted in Nepalese culture. The Dwarika’s is many things- a labor of love, a realization of architectural heritage conservation, a place where you are treated like royalty and never just a hotel.

Back to New Delhi...Dengue fever is prevalent in both New Delhi and Kathmandu. I was a bit concerned when I saw this industrial strength bug zapper outside my door in Delhi.

My sleep was rather broken due to various incidents of jet lag- I only just got back from the States and am now another 5.5 hours off.

A word about time zones- India is 5 and 1/2 hours ahead of London. Already that stupid 30 minutes is odd. It gets rather ridiculous to add another 15 minute extension on that for Nepal, but there it is. Nepal is 5.45 hours ahead of the UK.

I found myself wide awake at midnight and craving chocolate so I indulged myself in an orgy of Cadbury chocolate roses (UK cream filled chocolate) I brought for the trekking until I fell back to sleep around 2am.

I got to the airport about 4 hours before my flight which isn't a bad idea at the Mahatma Gandhi airport. The bright spark at checkin decided it was very strange I got here yesterday and was going back already today. I had to point out I was going to Nepal. I thought I would never see my luggage again, but it was actually one of the first ones off the plane.

I had some fun in duty free while walking to the lounge

I was able to have breakfast at the Air India lounge which wasn't the most appealing, but at least the fruit was nice. Neither the dry cake nor cupcakes looked very nice.

This was a quick flight of just over an hour and we had a great day for flying. Even on the wrong side of the airplane I was able to get a shot of the Himalayas. I was served the wrong meal, but the food was fine and there was no time for my fruit dessert.

Kathmandu airport was expanded since my last visit and has lost some of its charm, but I was able to navigate the visa payment and get through passport control to another x-ray. A few times today I had to take cleansing breaths- checking my boarding pass and passport 3 times when going through passport control upon exiting India: 1) enter the area, 2) enter the line, 3) the actual passport inspectors. Then going through security between getting my Nepal visa/passport control and picking up my luggage. Why would that be a metal free zone?

I finally made it through to meet my &Beyond contact Roshan (left) and my guide Deven. Here they are posing with bunny!

The hotel is quite amazing and I plan to take advantage of both the spa and 6 course traditional meal while here. Here's my room video and a shot of Ram opening the big lock on the room.

I noticed they left me some Himalaya toothpaste to try....

Fast forward an hour to my 6 course traditional meal. I chose the vegetarian option and here is my personalised menu

Pouring the rice wine

Before starting you have to give some to the gods

Appetizer course: pickle, beans, dry rice, a small doughnut in a pancake, fried tofu

1st course: black and white flour bread, chickpea curry, paneer curry, mushrooms in cream sauce.

Second course: vegetarian momos with spicy pickle sauce

Next course: vegetable soup

Followed by the main course: yellow and black lentils, white/brown/black rice, cottage cheese curry, sautéed spinach, stir fried cauliflower, bottle gourd, pickle and home made hug plum pickle on the side

Now the sweet courses : warm cinnamon and honey flavored yogurt, fresh fruit, sago plum pudding, and Nepali pumpkin pudding. Plus tea....

Now off to the spa for a head massage....here's the description of a shirodara massage: from Sanskrit for shira, meaning head, and dhara meaning flow. It's an Ayurveda healing practice with oils, head massage and various things to help promote sleep which will be a big help to me.

Update after the head massage- was amazing and I did fall asleep. It's a bit like a cross between a water torture - the oil drips high on your forehead and gets hotter until I had to tell her it was too hot- and a head massage. I'm sure housekeeping won't be happy about the greasy sheets.... also, unfortunately, back muscle tweaked again as I sat up🫣