[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 11 April 2013. Minor edits have since been made from the original post to update some links and info.]

24 March 2012, Saturday

Morning Call: 6:15am

It was our second last day in Nepal, and most of it would be spent travelling, as we take a nearly 7-hour bus ride from Pokhara back to Kathmandu. After checking out of North Face Inn at 7am, we hopped on a taxi (that we had pre-arranged the night before) to the tourist bus park, which was just ten minutes away (fare: Rs 150).

When we first arrived at Pokhara four days ago, we had already purchased the bus tickets from Rainbow Adventure Travels, so all we had to do was to look for the correct bus and deposit our luggage in the trunk. As we didn’t have much breakfast, we bought some cinnamon buns (Rs 50) and mineral water (Rs 50) to fill the stomach first.

We saw many other tourist buses at the bus park, some more luxurious and comfortable than ours. We would later learn that the bigger, more luxurious buses are better because it is a long journey, and our medium-sized bus was quite bumpy and the air con wasn’t strong enough. The bus also picked up several other people along the way and it got even more crowded onboard, even though we had seats.

At 7:35am, we departed Pokhara. The bus made two stops along the way. First was a 20-minute breakfast stop at Ghansikuwa at 9:13am, where we gobbled down some vegetable momo (Rs 100) and tea (Rs 25). The second stop was at 11:40am somewhere (I forgot the name), and we had some mixed rice and chow mein for Rs 300 (for two persons) and a bottle of Miranda orange (Rs 40). At 12:10pm, we set off once again and finally arrived Kathmandu at 2:15pm.

We headed straight to Bag Packer’s Lodge in Thamel, as we had previously booked a room there the first day we arrived in Nepal. As we only had the afternoon left to explore Kathmandu (we were leaving Nepal the next day), we hurriedly dropped our bags, freshened up and set off for Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Just as we were about to leave Thamel, we bumped into Manish, who had also taken a bus back to Kathmandu the same morning. (Most guides are based in Kathmandu, not Pokhara. So it’s advisable to arrange for a guide when you’re in Kathmandu, before you set off for Pokhara, because the guide will need to make the trip from Kathmandu as well.) He very kindly offered to walk us there, saving us the hassle of navigating the map and finding our way. With his guidance, we reached Kathmandu Durbar Square at 3pm, and the walk took less than 15 minutes.

Kathmandu Durbar Square is a cluster of ancient temples, palaces, courtyards and streets, and it is the traditional heart of the old town. It is a very crowded and touristy place, but we thought it was important to visit it since it was a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We walked around the square for a while, took some pictures then ventured into a big open-air market with lots of stalls selling all sorts of handicraft and jewellery.

At this point, I was quite tired so I retreated into a coffee place nearby, while XY continued with her shopping. I was used to long and bumpy bus rides by now, but they still wear me out. Coupled with an empty stomach, it made lethargic and grouchy. I think part of it was also due to the fact that I had just left the beautiful mountains of Annapurna with the wonderful scenery and fresh air, and returned to the crowded and commercialised city of Kathmandu with bad air and rubbish strewn all around – the change was disconcerting to me and I wished I was back up at the mountains again.

After we were done with Kathmandu Durbar Square, we walked back towards Thamel, stopping at some shops along the way to buy some teabags as souvenirs and other stuff. We also came across a nice stupa hidden in a little street – Kathesimbu Stupa. It has the usual flags hanging across it, and the mystifying Buddha eyes, very pretty.

We then ventured back to Thamel for some shopping, where I bought more North Face trekking pants, a small backpack and a T-shirt. Nepal is great for stocking up on trekking gear. Even though they’re knock-offs, the quality is very good and they only cost a fraction of the original. You can actually go to Nepal with an empty luggage and buy all you need over there, rather than buying everything at inflated prices back home.

For our last dinner in Nepal, we decided to have something good, so we picked a nice restaurant for steak and wine. I treated XY the meal, to thank her for her great companionship during the past week. Not many girls will want to go to India and Nepal to backpack, and “suffer” by trekking for three days! It was also great to have a companion, to help take pictures and chit chat, and also look out for each other. So thanks XY for roughing it out with me in India and Nepal!

After dinner, we did some more last-minute shopping, but most of the shops were closed by then. It was then back to Bag Packer’s for some serious packing – I had bought so much stuff in Nepal (mainly trekking apparel) that I needed to use the new backpack I just bought to store my new purchases; my Osprey one could no longer fit everything.

Being a budget hostel, Bag Packer’s Lodge is cheap – only Rs 800 per night, but its strategic location in the heart of Thamel meant that it was near the noisy pubs, loud music and traffic below. The bedsheets felt a little dusty too, like Vivek Hotel in New Delhi, but it was ok since we were staying for one night only. So you’ve got your pros and cons – Elbrus Home is expensive but clean and quiet (a little too quiet), while Bag Packer’s Lodge is cheap but noisy and not as clean.

After 16 days, my Nepal adventure was coming to an end, and it would soon be time to say goodbye to XY as I prepare to embark on the next leg of my trip the next day, a short stopover in Bangkok. For now, it was one last sleep in Nepal.