First day in Kathmandu

We landed at the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport which was quite an interesting experience.  We circled for 30-45 minutes overhead making laps around Kathmandu.  I'm not clear why we did that except that something with ground crews probably weren't ready for this large of a plane (we were on an Airbus A330).

While not the most clear, the views of the Himalaya from the plane were so neat to see.  While flying at 7,000m, the peaks of these mountains were higher than us.  So amazing to see.

From the air, the regional landscape around Kathmandu reflects the rural, ancient build out of a developing area.  So interesting to see all of the terracing of the hillsides for agriculture and erosion prevention.

While at the same time, seeing the dense, urban development as we approach the city core is so different that what you would see in the US where building codes and zoning control the development.  Many of the buildings appear to be in a semi-complete state of construction.

Driving around in Kathmandu is everything you've ever heard about this part of the world, and more.  There are cars, motorcycles, scooters and pedestrians everywhere.  They drive on the "wrong" side of the road and seem to make traffic rules and patterns up as needed however it does seem to work.

I didn't take any photos of the traffic, it is hard to figure out how to get some of that.  Today we are going on a tour so I'll get some today.  This was Donnie's facial expressions early on into our driving experience. 

Oh yeah, there are cows standing around in the streets and monkeys running around too although I haven't yet gotten a photo.  Today I'll try to do that.  Yesterday I was just in awe as I watched this surreal world unfold before my eyes.

As a person with a background in construction and especially electrical work, I found the massive amounts of phone cable overhead amazing.  Apparently they never remove anything, they just add more and in places where they don't have a pole handy, a tree or stick of bamboo or even the corner of a building is good enough too. 

There is also a lot of pollution in the air, you can see and smell it.  Many of the people wear face masks as they walk or move about in the open as well.

Well, that's enough sensory overload for one day.  Today we are off on a tour of Kathmandu and will visit the Monkey Temple along with some other cultural highlights.