24 Hours in Kathmandu

Your flight has just landed, you are standing in the capital city of Nepal – Kathmandu. Kathmandu is home to the only international airport in the country – the Tribhuwan International Airport. You probably have along trip starting tomorrow, but what to do today? You are probably already annoyed by the management system at the airport. You have already made up an image to why Nepal is a developing country.

You head towards your hotel thinking about the trip ahead. You can see a lot of things that probably make you think Nepal is probably not the country to visit. You see pollution almost everywhere and unmanaged settlement.

UNESCO Listed World Heritage Sites

Now, you have decided to visit the seven UNESCO world heritage listed sites in Kathmandu. You first go to Basantapur Durbar Square and now you are staggered looking at the architecture of this historical palace. Now, you ask the locals about “the Monkey Temple” and head towards it. Swayambhunath, the Monkey Temple, is a holy Buddhist pilgrimage site. Sitting at the top of a hill, Swayambhunath is believed to be built in 2500 years old.

Now, moving towards the northeastern parts of Kathmandu, you visit a huge and massive mandala dominating the skyline of Kathmandu – Boudhanath. You again get astonished by the beauty of Boudhanath. On the way back from Boudhanath is a hugely popular hindu pilgrimage site, Pashupatinath. Pashupatinath is a temple of Lord Shiva. Here, you see monkeys cuddling with one another, hindu saints roaming around naked and now you finally see some group of people with their shaved head doing rituals for a body wrapped in an orange cloth. You hear their cries, you see their tears, you get to know what life is all about .The situation is really intense and you get philosophical. You probably think of becoming a poet or a philosphical now.

After visiting some popular places in Kathmandu, now it starts to get dark and now you return to your hotel. You freshen up and now plan for the dinner. You go to a club in Thamel, you ordered a plate of momo, you loved it and now you are asking for more. Then, music plays. Gangnum style!!!! You are tapping your feet for whole night and now you are going to your room for a sound sleep.

At the end of the day, all you remember is how amazing and hectic the day was. And despite all the negative aspects you saw along the way, you loved it.

Yes. This is Kathmandu. This is the land where ethnicity meets modernity, where humanity meets cruelty and unity is the core of living.