As I stepped out of my hotel, the air was suffocating. I felt like the air that I was breathing had no oxygen. I looked around and many people were walking around with air masks. Over the last six months of traveling through Southeast Asia, I have been to many dirty places. But nothing prepared me for visiting the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. Woah! Even when I visited Bangladesh I didn’t need an air mask to walk around.
The dusty air was my first impression of Kathmandu. And while the city is probably dusty most of the time, I have a feeling that one of the causes of the dust is the heavy rebuilding going on since the 2015 earthquake that leveled and/or damaged many of the buildings. You could see construction everywhere so it’s good to see the city building again.
But while the city is a very dusty place, one of the things I least like, I actually like many other things. I stayed in the Thamel neighborhood, which is where most of the hotels and tourist restaurants are located, at a place called Aster Hotel Nepal. I would say it’s decent value for what you get. For someone from the U.S. or Europe traveling to Southeast Asia for the first time, you certainly need to lower your expectations of hotel experiences.
The Thamel neighborhood has many narrow streets lined with many local shops and restaurants. Buddhist prayer flags were strung across the streets with no sidewalks. Everyone had to walk in the street as cars and motorbikes weaved through. It was sort of quaint.
There are many interesting temples to see in and around the Thamel area. I have created this video to give you an idea of what it’s like to visit the city of Kathmandu:
Find a place to stay in the Thamel Neighborhood
Booking.comHave you been to Nepal? What was your favorite place to visit?
