We booked a tour with Geckos Adventures “Ain’t no mountain high enough” as it’s tour route from Nepal to India, and lowest price (£760.75 per person). Ain’t no Mountain High Enough - Geckos Adventures - Pre Departure Information (PDF) I shared this tour experience with 11 others. Leaded by Bikash Nepal (Nepal leader), Sukhjot Singh Gill (India leader) TL:DR; I enjoyed the stress free passenger experience of visiting many places which I may not have thought of. Continue Reading

Hey, just a quickie letting you all know we are OK. Kim got discharged from the hospital from food poisoning after two nights and we instantly started our tour across Nepal and India. Currently in India and have not had a great WiFi and time while on a guided tour. Have so much to share, apologies for the mass update next week. Continue Reading

Hotel Shakti was a comfortable enough stay. Every-other day there is a large tour group passing though (some european youth group that all wear the same uniform). The staff was very friendly, making our stay comfortable and assisting when needed. There was hot water most times which was very welcome to enjoy a long shower after a hot day. The power was intermittent (going off 2 or three times a day). Continue Reading

We had enough time in the evening to visit the Birth Place of Buddha. As the heat from the day is dissipating the light dimming this felt like the perfect time to visit this place. It was calm, cool and peaceful, even the turtles from the sacred pond came up to meet us. Such a wonderful scriptural place to visit. Views: Bodhi tree and pond at Lumbini by Kyle Welsby Continue Reading

Lumbini Buddha Garden Resort  (Ranked #1 of 19 B&Bs / Inns in Lumbini on Tripadvisor) is a lodge type resort where each guest gets an entire lodge to themselves. Located away from any town or village this resort is very calm and quiet, the views at night are spectacular. As there is no light pollution from nearby towns, many stars seen during a clear night, truly a sight to behold. Continue Reading

Our guided tour through the southern parts of Nepal was delayed because we had to admit Kim to CIWEC Clinic after she became very ill. It was identified a nasty bacterial infection (likely caused by contaminated food) caused Kim to become very ill, with diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain. This is commonly called Travellers Diarrhoea or Delhi Belly. We suspected their had been some food contamination in a meal at Thakali Kitchen. Continue Reading

We visited Thakali Kitchen (Ranked #57 of 1,076 Restaurants in Kathmandu on Tripadvisor) as a group, recommended by our tour leader Bikash Nepal from Himalayan Encounters. I ordered the recommended dish Mutton Thakali Set along with some other group members while Kim ordered Vegetable Thakali Set. I decided to eat how locals do, with the right hand mixing the gravy with the rice and scooping it into the mouth (I did duly wash my hands before). Continue Reading

This is one of the worlds biggest Buddhist shrines (Ranked #1 of 173 things to do in Kathmandu on Tripadvisor) , it stands 118ft tall with a solid dome. Pigeons, dogs and cows are welcome guests to the shrine, and often given blessings from visitors to the shrine. A beautiful place to have a guide teach you about Buddhism. Continue Reading

Thursday, We took a good walk across the city to the Harati Devi Temple (A.K.A Monkey Temple) to experience a wonderful landmark standing high just outside of Kathmandu. The views from here were amazing, You can seen the entire City and surrounding Mountains. After walking though the calm streets of Dhalko and Dallu, passing schools where students shout “hello” at us. We arrive at the Swayambhu East Entrance relieved we found it with little reliance on Google Maps. Continue Reading

This significant place completes the cycle of life. Visiting this place for a short duration you will experience cremation and family members praying for there lost ones. I liked sitting and watching the ceremonies celebrating life. Views: Pashupatinath Temple by Kyle Welsby   North is to the right Calm Cow Cremation Continue Reading

After major flight delays, We arrived into Kathmandu, Nepal and was given a complementary airport transfer to Zen Bed and Breakfast in a local taxi, Hari (the owner) personally collected us. Hari, kept in touch via SMS and had no problem with our delay, we was not charged for the unused night we missed from our delay. Views: Zen Bed and Breakfast Rooftop by Kyle Welsby The B&B is located just off the main roads which allowed some peace from the busy vendors on the roads but right in the centre of Thamel allowing convenient access to everything. Continue Reading

Kim suggested a highly rated BK’s Place (Ranked #2 of 7 Quick Bites in Kathmandu on Tripadvisor) for its Chips (finger fries they call them). We ordered a simple takeaway of Small and Medium Fries to devour back in our hotel room. These fries delivered!, crispy with brilliant seasoning by standard at a tasty ₨160 for small (about 98p). We have since been a few more times and tried the Samosa’s, this place gets fried food right! Continue Reading

After the peaceful visit to the Gardens of Dreams, food was on the mind. Checking TripAdvisor we found a Black Olives Cafe and Bar (Ranked #53 of 1,076 Restaurants in Kathmandu on Tripadvisor) . Using this information we went in pursuit for an assumed good food experience. Initially sent down a quiet back-alley according to TripAdvisor’s map, but could not find it. We decided to go for a back-up option on Chaksibari Marg and surprise surprise, we found Black Olives Cafe. Continue Reading

Monday morning we submitted our claim for the Delayed Flight that caused earlier disruption to our travels. We needed to relax a bit so we headed down the road to The Garden of Dreams. The garden was created by Field Marshal Kaiser Sumsher Rana in early 1920’s. After the demise of Kaiser Sumsher the garden was handed over to the Government of Nepal. Since then it was neglected for over 30 years until a project financed by the Australian Government restored The Garden of Dreams in the early 2000’s. Continue Reading

Saturday we chilled at Himalayan Java and Places catching up on the news, emails and getting some work done. It did seem a bit busier with people trying to sell you things, and the odd taxi man approaching you saying “I have taxi” (fed up with pestering taxi men, I responded “Good on you”!). It also rained today, first tropical monsoon rain we’ve experienced while being here. Places is a Vegetarian restaurant that is laid-back and chilled, most people here utilising the fast internet and creative atmosphere to get things done or just relax. Continue Reading

Places Restaurant & Bar (Ranked #16 of 1,076 Restaurants in Kathmandu on Tripadvisor) is a Vegetarian restaurant that is laid-back and chilled, most people here utilising the fast internet and creative atmosphere to get things done or just relax. We order Pesto Dough MoMo, Biber Dolmasi, and Taste Platter all the dishes were prepared with care and delivered in taste experience. Vegetarian Pesto Dough MoMo's ) Biber Dolmasi (Stuffed Peppers) Continue Reading

Friday we decided to expand our knowledge of the local area, we picked a direction and started walking until we decided to try a new direction. After crossing a really busy road, We found Samakhusi a more cultural area not far outside of Thamel. We got a gist of how some of Kathmandu residents live - small dark rooms, trash piles in just off the road, the odd sleeping dog and people watching us walk by. Continue Reading

We’re finally here, Kathmandu! After a delayed start we arrived into the mountainous Kathmandu airport, taken away by the beautiful scene surrounding us. The Airport staff were laid back, greeting us with smiles and jokes. Kathmandu Airfield with Beautiful Mountainous Background We where kindly collected form the airport by Hari from Zen Bed & Breakfast. We crammed ourselves into this little taxi and got on our way to the Thamel district. Continue Reading