3 Hops and You're There

There seemed to be a lot of waiting in airports today. 2 hours at Manchester, 4 hours at Heathrow and 5 at Delhi. 

However if you have to hang around an airport, it's not bad when you have entertainment like this! 

Arriving at Kathmandu airport is pretty much like arriving at many of the airports in India and the Far East; as you clear customs there is a surge of people with banners and opportunist taxi drivers. It can be a bit overwhelming, so imagine my surprise when Sherpa Palou appeared from the crowd to greet me. Palou was the Sherpa who led my trek in the Annapurnas last year. He was at the airport to collect a group of Germans and he recognised me and came over to say hello. Does this mean I'm memorable, famous or infamous!!! whichever, it was a very welcome welcome. 

My hotel pick up arrived soon after and we made the 15 minute drive to the Dwarikas hotel. It's hard to describe the journey, a cross between a destruction Derby, an F1 race and driving through Park Lane traffic the wrong way, with all horns blazing! A mix of exhilaration and fear. More about the chaos of Kathmandu in the next post. It's time for a shower and possibly an Everest Beer.