The walk to and from Durbar Square was really cool, with shops selling butchered meat, produce, cloth, metalwork, grains, and other local staples. Retailers still relied on balancing scales with weights to determine pricing. Very crowded, narrow lanes were packed with people, motorcycles, bikes, and the occasional car. After seeing the raw flesh lying out in front of the butchers without any refrigeration for hours, I think I will probably return to being a vegetarian again while I’m here!
Walking the Back Alleys and Markets of Kathmandu, Nepal
Map of the route “The Back Streets of Kathmandu”: 4,876 m, 47 m of climbing and 58 m of descent, elevation between 1,290 m and 1,320 m, time 03:04:50. It is a loop that starts and ends at 27.71297, 85.31171 (latitude, longitude).
Afterwards, I had my momo dumplings for lunch. Made sure they were meat-free. They were very nice and came with a tangy dipping sauce. I hear I will be eating them quite regularly in the mountains.
Kathmandu is known for its horrendous air pollution from old cars, low-quality fuel, and surrounding mountains (which you often can’t even see through the smog). Lonely Planet actually advises you to bring a face mask and tells you that you’re likely to have a throat infection after a few days. One of the characteristics of Nepalese men that I noticed in the men’s toilets back at the Bangkok airport is that they like to hack and spit, which is disgusting, but possibly related to living in such a polluted environment. They do it constantly in the streets of Kathmandu. Fortunately, Pokhara is supposed to be much cleaner, so I’m looking forward to my travels onward tomorrow.
