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We arrived at the Durbar Hotel in Kathmandu at around 8.30pm - a long day! It was twin share rooms again (it works well with these types of tours) and we were on the fourth floor, via stairs only. I'd put this hotel in the two star category and it was fine for one night.
After checkin we grabbed a late snack of momos and had a refreshing ale at Reggaes Bar, which is rooftop.
Tuesday - breakfast at Durbar was a very lightly stocked buffet but they cooked eggs to order so I had a masala omelette and black coffee. We then set off on foot to Durbar Square, dodging traffic, locals, dogs, motorbikes and the like. It's easy enough to get around with Google Maps, as with any city like this, you just have to take care and stay alert. There's an entry fee of Rs1000 at the square which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has multiple temples, a palace that was used by the former royal family and a museum. Market vendors are also scattered around the square but they weren't pushy and prices for souvenirs etc were reasonable.
After a quick coffee my travel mate and I broke away from the rest of the group who went to the Monkey Temple. We had a much needed shave and haircut at New Barber Junction for the bargain price of Rs400 ($AU4.40).
We then found lunch at Local Restro and Bar. We shared a momo selection (steamed and fried) and I had chicken biryani. Great food here and good views from the rooftop section. We then wandered around with no real plans apart from shopping and then caught up with the rest of the group at Mitho Restaurant for an early dinner.
We farewelled our local guide Naran and caught taxis to the airport. It's really the only means of getting there. I’ll let the photo of the airport drop off area explain the chaos that we had to deal with but once we were in the terminal the chaos became slightly organised. Checkin for CX was quick and straight forward but I used the J/priority queue. We then were told to watch our checkin luggage go through the scanner and if it wasn’t pulled aside then we were good to go. After passing through immigration which was also quick, I went to the Horizon Lounge which is used by CX. Strangely, it is before security! It doesn't have showers and toilets are external to the lounge which was a little frustrating as I needed the use of the facilities as soon as I arrived. There's a small but reasonable buffet and a decent selection of drinks including beer, wine and spirits. It became quite crowded after an hour or so and would have been close to capacity. Overall it was just a quieter space to wait rather than in the main section of the terminal but not a particularly great experience.
There were some boarding announcements but not CX640 to HKG! I passed through security with a few minutes to spare before boarding commenced. Again, a short bus ride from the terminal to the aircraft, my first of four Airbus' to get home. CX640 left on time at 2255 and I was in 11A in J. The seat next to me was vacant.
I ordered chicken biryani and a glass of French white wine (I can't recall any further details) but I nodded off during service but they came back to me when I woke up. It's just a four hour flight and I slept for most of it given the time of night. The arrival into HKG was on time at 0525.
After checkin we grabbed a late snack of momos and had a refreshing ale at Reggaes Bar, which is rooftop.
Tuesday - breakfast at Durbar was a very lightly stocked buffet but they cooked eggs to order so I had a masala omelette and black coffee. We then set off on foot to Durbar Square, dodging traffic, locals, dogs, motorbikes and the like. It's easy enough to get around with Google Maps, as with any city like this, you just have to take care and stay alert. There's an entry fee of Rs1000 at the square which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has multiple temples, a palace that was used by the former royal family and a museum. Market vendors are also scattered around the square but they weren't pushy and prices for souvenirs etc were reasonable.
After a quick coffee my travel mate and I broke away from the rest of the group who went to the Monkey Temple. We had a much needed shave and haircut at New Barber Junction for the bargain price of Rs400 ($AU4.40).
We then found lunch at Local Restro and Bar. We shared a momo selection (steamed and fried) and I had chicken biryani. Great food here and good views from the rooftop section. We then wandered around with no real plans apart from shopping and then caught up with the rest of the group at Mitho Restaurant for an early dinner.
We farewelled our local guide Naran and caught taxis to the airport. It's really the only means of getting there. I’ll let the photo of the airport drop off area explain the chaos that we had to deal with but once we were in the terminal the chaos became slightly organised. Checkin for CX was quick and straight forward but I used the J/priority queue. We then were told to watch our checkin luggage go through the scanner and if it wasn’t pulled aside then we were good to go. After passing through immigration which was also quick, I went to the Horizon Lounge which is used by CX. Strangely, it is before security! It doesn't have showers and toilets are external to the lounge which was a little frustrating as I needed the use of the facilities as soon as I arrived. There's a small but reasonable buffet and a decent selection of drinks including beer, wine and spirits. It became quite crowded after an hour or so and would have been close to capacity. Overall it was just a quieter space to wait rather than in the main section of the terminal but not a particularly great experience.
There were some boarding announcements but not CX640 to HKG! I passed through security with a few minutes to spare before boarding commenced. Again, a short bus ride from the terminal to the aircraft, my first of four Airbus' to get home. CX640 left on time at 2255 and I was in 11A in J. The seat next to me was vacant.
I ordered chicken biryani and a glass of French white wine (I can't recall any further details) but I nodded off during service but they came back to me when I woke up. It's just a four hour flight and I slept for most of it given the time of night. The arrival into HKG was on time at 0525.
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