Amid trekkers and sadhus, Louise Southerden finds spirituality and offbeat shopping in the crowded capital.
Kathmandu may not be as eccentric as it once was but it's still chaotically cool. Most visitors use the sprawling, crowded capital of Nepal as a jumping-off point for a trek (flights to the Everest region depart from here) or to re-enter civilisation on returning from the Himalayas. Either way, Kathmandu has bargain-basement trekking gear and creature comforts for trail-weary souls.
9am
Take an electric tuk-tuk introduced to improve the city's air quality; fares from 10 rupees (17 cents) to one of the city's seven World Heritage sites and the most significant Hindu temple in Nepal: Pashupatinath (admission 250 rupees). There's no avoiding the traffic peak hour lasts from 9am to 11am six days a week (only Sunday is a holiday). Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the destroyer god, Pashupatinath is a lively mix of beggars, monkeys, souvenir sellers, musicians playing tiny violins called sarangi, and "tourist sadhus" colourful "holy men" caked in make-up and sporting dreadlocks; if you want a photo it' will cost you 20 rupees. Local guides cost 300 to 500 rupees.
10.30am
A 20-minute stroll brings you to another World Heritage site, Boudhanath Stupa, in the centre of Kathmandu's Little Tibet (Tibetans have flooded into Nepal since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s). Walk around it clockwise, spinning the prayer wheels with your right hand, in accordance with Buddhist custom. The stupa (admission 100 rupees) is ringed by three- and four-storey buildings with rooftop restaurants and ostensibly spiritual ground-floor shops.. This is the place to pick up an intricate Tibetan painting (thangka) or a packet of prayer flags.
Boudhanath Stupa, Boudha-6.
Noon
For lunch, climb the stairs to the roof terrace of Festive Fare Restaurant overlooking Basantapur Square and Kumari Ghar, home to a four-year-old "living goddess" called the Kumari Devi. Try the wild boar with a side order of Russian salad (mains from 525 rupees) washed down with an icy Everest beer (200 rupees). You might have to compete with other Westerners for the waiter's attention but at least you won't need a cast-iron stomach to dine here.
After lunch, go people-watching in nearby Durbar Square: see old men playing chess in open-sided pavilions, scholarly vendors reading amid baskets overflowing with fragrant marigolds, lovers meeting under the eaves of 12th-century stupas and rickshaw drivers chatting as they wait for fares.
Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square World Heritage Site, admission 200 rupees. Festive Fare Restaurant, Basantapur Square, phone +977 (0)1 4232004.
2pm
Take a rickshaw (from 50 rupees) along improbably narrow back streets and around sacred cows to Thamel, Kathmandu's main shopping district. If you're into name-brand outdoor gear, you'll find plenty of bargains; just don't expect your purchases to last longer than your next trek. Some shops are just hallways, their facing walls lined with trinkets; others spill onto the streets, enticing you with yak-wool blankets, silver and turquoise jewellery, hippie shirts and felt shoes. Thamel is also a great place to buy trekking maps and books. Try Mountain Book House, phone +977 (0)1 216 913, or Pilgrims (next to Kathmandu Guest House), see pilgrimsbooks.com.
4pm
To repair frayed nerves after hours of haggling, visit the Garden of Dreams, within the grounds of the Kaiser Mahal (once a palace, now the ministry of education). Built in 1895, the garden fell into disrepair after 1965 and was restored and re-opened, with funding from the Austrian Government, in 2006. Now it's an oasis of calm in busy Kathmandu, with peaceful lawns, twittering birds, shady trees, a lily pond inhabited by carp, fountains (to mask traffic noises) and six neo-classical pavilions, one of which has traditional afternoon teas. The service is a bit Fawlty Towers (our waiter wandered off while we were still ordering and brought us green tea instead of English breakfast) but the surroundings more than make up for it.
Garden of Dreams, corner Tridevi Marg and Kantipath, entry 160 rupees, phone +977 (0)1 4425340.
7pm
Thamel comes alive after dark (despite frequent blackouts - the power supply is unreliable) and just about anywhere you go in this maze of alleyways, you will find a restaurant or bar.
Cafe Mitra is a quirky place, a two-storey wooden house that feels like a creaky ship, with colourful walls, low ceilings and tiny windows. It has healthy mains from 380 rupees, such as Zen mackerel, and cocktails from 370 rupees (don't ask for ice; Kathmandu's tap water is generally unfit for drinking).
On the way home, stop off for some gelati at Fire And Ice, which also serves a delicious range of wood-fired pizzas.
Cafe Mitra, phone +977 (0)1 4259015, see cafemitra.com. Fire And Ice, 219 Sanchaya Kosh Bhawan, Kathmandu, phone +977 (0)1 4250210.
9pm
For an early nightcap (bars close at 11pm), Rum Doodle Restaurant & Bar is a must. Named after a 1956 novel that satirises climbing tomes, The Ascent Of Rum Doodle by W.E. Bowman, it has become something of an institution in trekking and climbing circles. Cardboard yeti footprints and the scrawls of legendary mountaineers such as the late Sir Edmund Hillary, Sir Chris Bonnington and Reinhold Messner adorn the walls. If you climb Mount Everest, you can eat here free for life. For the rest of us, mains start at about 300 rupeess. See therumdoodle.com.
Louise Southerden travelled courtesy of Peregrine Adventures and Thai Airways.
There are no non-stop flights to Kathmandu. Thai has a fare of about $1600 with a change of aircraft in Bangkok. Singapore Airlines flies with a change of aircraft in Singapore for about $1200. Fares are low season return from Melbourne and Sydney and include tax, which might vary slightly at time of purchase. Australians require a visa for a stay of up to 30 days, which can also be obtained upon arrival.
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