Excerpts from my journal October 1997…
Kathmandu becomes claustrophobic with tourists. I want to put my feet up in some pleasant relatively non-touristy place and stay for awhile.
We check out of the guesthouse and negotiate a taxi for Dhulikel on the eastern outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley. We have a cozy room in a small lodge with wonderful views of the Himalayas and a lot of peace and quiet. We have the place to ourselves as we are the only guests. After a hearty breakfast we set out on a day long trek with our young guide “Jerome” to Namobuddha temple on a hilltop then on to the ancient town of Panauti. My muscles are aching as we sit back at our hotel watching the sun set with alpenglow shining on the mountains. We are both in much better moods with a day of fresh air and exercise out in the countryside… How good it is to be out of the tourist ghetto of Kathmandu.
Next we travel to Pokhara to begin our trek to Annapurna Base Camp!
