Flying to Kathmandu

Flying to Kathmandu

I hadn’t slept well through the night knowing that we had to wake at 0630, despite the superbly comfortable bed at the Sama-Sama KLIA Hotel.  We walked to the airport and into the airside area, having been given our boarding passes yesterday and had our bags checked all the way through to Kathmandu.

Boo and I spent about 30 mins at different lounges before meeting at the departure gate.  Two B737s were sharing the gate with two separate airbridges.  Staff were only allowing entry to Delhi-bound passengers but we had joined the security queue to enter without knowing this.  We waited briefly before being allowed into the departure lounge downstairs.

The Delhi flight closed-up but luggage was still loading.  Our flight ended up with a 55 min delay from 0925 to 1020 due to a catering delay.  It was mighty honest of Malaysia Airlines to tell us that rather than say that it was an “operational” delay.

It was boarding hell with pushy passengers, some of which didn’t understand English.  The crew served breakfast immediately after take-off.  Unfortunately, I didn’t understand that “chicken skewers” or “chicken fried rice” (translated description for non-local passengers) meant Chicken Satay with Fried Rice (a delicious menu item on this airline) and opted for the Nasi Lemak which I had had many times.

The crew didn’t look happy until the later part of the flight when they became more chilled and smiley.  We arrived 40 mins late at 1245.

The crew on my flight have a layover here, to my surprise.  I learnt that the trips aren’t that predictable.  They may sometimes turn-around on trips of this duration (eg. Taipei, Delhi, Mumbai) but at other times they may stay.  And at yet other times, they may work one way and passenger the other.

Arrival in Kathmandu

Disembarkation was slow by front airstairs.  Eventually the rear exit was open and I took that route on to the waiting bus.  Singapore Airlines’ widebody jet had taxied past and I was keen to be in the immigration queue before the arrival hall is flooded with more people.

Inside the terminal, we paid our Visa on Arrival fee of USD30 at the bank counter, getting a receipt in return.  Next, we showed our vaccination certificates.  Finally, I joined the immigration queue, showing my flight boarding pass and payment receipt.

There was very little queueing and soon I was downstairs for the customs x-ray scan before heading to the carousel.  Our luggage was out quickly I didn’t even get a chance to see whether our fellow passengers had loaded up the flight with large TVs.

On my last two trips, seemingly every Nepali worker had returned on my flights with a large TV, overloading the luggage carousel.  On those two flights, it had taken around 1h45 to get my luggage. But today, we were out of the arrival hall within 40 mins of landing.  We were met by Santosh from the hotel for a 25 min ride to the Flying Yak Hotel in Thamel.

In the taxi, wearing our welcome garlands.

At the hotel, we were met by another Santosh, the boss, who briefed us on our upcoming 5d/4n hike. The senior Santosh requested payment in cash for our hikes even though he previously indicated that card was accepted.  In consideration of ATM fees, we thought we’d even pay the 4% credit card surcharge but for him, cashflow was essential as he had to pay the guide in cash.

We relented and he took us to a nearby ATM.  Fortunately, everything worked well but it could have been a highly stressful welcome to Kathmandu if we had trouble with the ATMs or if they had been far away.

Visiting Swayambhunath

After a very brief rest in our room, we decided to make the most of the remainder of the day with a visit to Swayambhunath.

We took a taxi there, getting dropped off at the steps leading up to the hilltop site before 1600.  The steps were lined with many monkeys that weren’t as fierce as I had feared.  We paid a fee to enter the site near the top.

On my previous visit, the taxi driver dropped at the rear entrance at the hilltop, meaning that we had missed the monkeys and the fee.  And I don’t remember the monkeys from my very first visit 28 years ago.  In fact, I never knew that Swayambhunath was known as Monkey Temple until today!

We went round the various stupas and pagodas several times, absorbing the atmosphere and their beauty.  I couldn’t see the damage from the earthquake that was so evident on my last visit 7 years ago.  All the reconstruction seems to have aged quickly with dust and grime.

When satisfied, we walked down and took a taxi back to our neighbourhood to do a bit of research for shopping closer to the end of our trip.

We grabbed a cheap dinner and retired around 2200.