Kathmandu

Trip Start Jan 28, 2009

Trip End Ongoing

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Where I stayed

Kathmandu View Hotel Ltd.

(Kathmandu hotels)

Flag of Nepal Kathmandu, Nepal
Thursday, March 12, 2009

Well I made it to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh. The bus ride there was rather long and boring, and the last 2 hours the a/c cut out making it almost unbearable. The Cambodian countryside was incredibly boring, just flat and treeless. We made one stop at a small sidestop and as soon as we exited the bus I was bombarded with beggars and little kids trying to sell me fruit and bracelets. It was very annoying. I did find some fried tarantulas and had a taste, just tasted like fried spider.

Anyway, Siem Reap is by far the most developed city in Cambodia, which makes a lot of sense considering it posseses one of the biggest tourist attractions in Asia: Angkor Wat. A massive Hindu then Buddhist temple that was built around 1200 AD, then abandoned and forgotten about until explorers in the 1700s stumbled upon it in the midst of the jungle. The temple was very impressive, and it's just part of an ancient city that used to be the capital of the Angkor empire until the Siamese empire defeated it. There are many other various temples scattered about, including one that was still in the jungle and overgrown with trees. That one was my favorite.

Apart from the Angkor temples, Siam Reap had a small movie theater that played some english movies, one about Pol Pot, one about landmines in Cambodia, and a 3d movie about snakes. I saw all three during my 5 day stay in Siem Reap. The pol pot one wasnt very good, the landmine one was cool, and the snake one was very interesting.

After Siem Reap I caught a flight and made it to Kathmandu in Nepal. My first impression of Kathmandu wasn't very good. The infrastructure here is terrible, no traffic laws, the pollution is horrible, and the general state of the buildings (including my hotel) is pretty bad. Plus there is only electricity for 8 hours every day. However I have since warmed up to the country. It is a bit expensive here, but what can you expect from a big city. Today I traveled about and saw a few of the major Hindu temples and Buddhist Stupas, one stupa was over 2500 years old. It was all very very impressive. I'm even more excited for tomorrow when I take a trip into the countryside to see the sun set over the Himalayan mountains (I won't be able to see everest).

This entry is rather short because this keyboard in this internet cafe is terrible, but I'm coming home this weekend and will probably see everyone soon, so I can tell you more about Kathmandu then.

Goodbye and see you soon!!

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