Kathmandu!

I spent a total of nine days in Kathmandu, four before the earthquake and five after. Flying in from Bangkok on 21 April through a heavy electrical storm, I was met at the airport at 11.30pm by a representative of the first hotel I was in the city to review: the Dalai-La Boutique based in Thamel. You can read my review of that hotel here. Recovering from a bout of food poisoning in Thailand, I spent my first few days wandering aimlessly around the city with my camera, which is what I do in any city I visit: sitting on street corners watching the world go by. My initial impressions of Thamel were not good, the snob in me instantly thinking that there were too many tourists. However, the further I ventured into the back streets, the more I was able to mingle with the locals. After a few days at the Dalai-La I moved on to another hotel, one which I am in the process of writing up: The Dwarika’s, where I lived through the disaster. The day before the earthquake I was walking about Durbar Square in the centre of the city, climbing high on temples taking in the views. If I had been in this exact spot 24 hours later there is good chance I would have died. Here are some shots of daily life I took in Kathmandu in the few days before the earthquake. I can’t help but look at these photos and wonder if the people in them are OK.