Despite not having my luggage with me when I arrived at Kathmandu, I had a face mask handy. My friends who have been here before, advised me to get one as the air in the city is very dusty and polluted. I was quite surprised - the air was not as dusty as I expected, compared to my experience with other trips.  But as we drove into the city, I still felt the need to protect my lungs from the car exhaust.

In Kathmandu, cars drive on the left side of the road like in Britain. Some main streets are divided in the center, but there in general, there is no concept of driving lanes. Most “roads” on the map are just as wide as the lanes in old Beijing, barely allowing one car to pass while sidewalks are crowded with street vendors.  

Walking on the street is an adventure by itself!! The streets are unevenly paved, and not only do you have to watch where you step - avoiding all kinds of obstacles such as junk, fallen wires, trash and stray dogs, you also have to keep an eye out for numerous cars and motor bikes that surprise you from all directions. 

While I was in the car, travelling to the hotel, I told myself - don’t risk my climb with any sightseeing tours in the city. Traffic looked scary, and the air quality was poor. But the next morning,  when I woke up early, and took a walk before the city really woke up, I found the air bearable, and with some care and courage, I even managed to walk down the streets and even cross the roads! Soon, I found it comfortable to walk across the city to visit those popular sites. Though street signs are hard to find, it’s not so hard to navigate the maze of narrow roads that appeared so daunting before. 

The tourist areas, such as Thamel or Durbar Square, are crowded with shops, street vendors, and pedestrians, both local or tourists. But in other areas such as Patan, I enjoyed walking down the almost empty local street where only locals live. Peacefully performing their daily routines - collecting water from a fountain, washing clothes, or just worshipping.

Religion is an important part of life here. There are temples everywhere! What's great is that different religions coexist harmoniously. You can see people worshipping or praying everywhere throughout day, and many are waiting in line at temple with a plate of nice offerings such as banana and flowers . Nepal is also ethnically more diverse than I thought. You can see different nationalities - Indians, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese all mixing well together.

Another interesting thing about Kathmandu is electricity. Almost every hotel has their own power generator because the government regulates electricity in a way that only the hotels get power during the evening/night. That’s why when you walk down the street, you often find shop owners are using head-lights during the day in their shop!