Travel and Arrival: September 28-30

The long and tiring travel halfway across the globe that ended with relaxing and resting in my hotel at Kathmandu had some noteworthy points worth writing up. The airports and flights had their unique quirks, making the trip thus far a journey in itself.

Flying on Qatar airlines, my first stop after Houston was a quick 3 hour layover at Hamad International Airport in the city of Doha, Qatar.

The first of many signs in alternate languages.

The "Oryx One," my gateway to Asia.

A thin haze gives one a real sense of our planet's roundness.

A beastly 14 hour flight brought me halfway around the globe.

Hamad was unlike any airport I have seen. Massive and with almost too much extra room, I found large statues gazing down on me all over the place, with some of them doubling as children's climbing structures.

What was really peculiar about this airport was how it seemed do double as a large "Duty Free" mall. The country is wealthy from oil money, and the plethora of designer brands and formal suit-adorned emloyees is a testament to that.

One thing that I found eerie about this airport was how empty the shopping areas were in proportion to their size. In the above video you can see a huge advertising screen a la Times Square, yet not nearly enough people wer filling the stores. Everything was shiny and massive. I think only very wealthy people could justify shopping here, as even a Whopper sandwich at the Burger King would have cost $10.00 USD... Everything was more expensive, which dashed any appeal of "duty free."

My next stop was the airport in New Delhi, Indira Gandhi International Airport. I am not actually stopping in New Delhi on this trip, so this was the only taste I got.

Palms of some artistic interest that I didn't notice until after I had already gottten in line to pass Immigration.

I suppose the idea of an Irish pub here involves signs in German?

For my meal I opted to try the vegetarian "Maharaja Mac" (they don't eat beef in India).

I have not eaten McDonald's in years. This was very different from the ones back home, though.

 A statue of the Sun God, Surya. Front and back.

The final leg of my journey to Kathmandu was on a cloudy, overcast day. But there seemed to be no problem with the plane taking off. I realized that constant overcast weather is typical in monsoon season, which was at its tail end in North India. I had read just earlier about flooding in Uttar Pradesh. That is the area we flew over, and I took pictures of the vast stretch of rain clouds.

Seeing clouds as far as the eye can see, I really got a sense of how powerful the monsoon is.

As we neared Nepal, the clouds parted over the rising mountain ranges.

From high in the sky, you can see how the himilayas emerge above the clouds... Breathtaking.

Upon touching down in Kathmandu, i realized how small Tribhuvan Airport really is. From the runway we had to take a short bus ride to the actual terminal,

"Welcome to the land of Lord Buddha." Upon reading this sign I had the feeling of joy that "I am finally here in Kathmandu."

This well-groomed garden greets international travelers arriving at the airport. It really is pleasant, but I had someone waiting to pick me up on the other side, so I couldn't dally. I snapped these photos and hurried on my way.

The sign behind me reads "selfie point." I could have paused to have someone take my picture, but with how long it took me to get through Immigration, I was already in a hurry, so I snapped this real quick.

These five godly statues greet visitors waiting in line for the security checkpoint.

The Shakyamuni Buddha is a very common image in Nepal.

This airport has some of my favorite architecture. It is made mostly out of brick. I got the impression that this is one of the older airports I have been to.

Finally having made it to Kathmandu, I got a ride to the CIWEC center to get my vaccines, and then once at my hotel, I first went up to the roof of the five-story building to enjoy an intimate view of the city.

Nepal is a country of a very high elevation. Kathmandu rests in a valley and is still at almost 4,600 feet. Not quite as high as my hometown of Denver! The clouds hang low most of the time, making for some amazing photographs.

I finally rested well and long, enjoying an actual bed for the first time in two days. After a nap, my wonderful hosts Sara and Sudan woke me up for a homemade Nepali dinner!

A wonderful meal of a fresh omelette, lentil soup, vegetable curry, spinach and cucumbers was so good that I had already eaten half of it before I remembered to take a picture! It was definitely a big upgrade from airplane food.

I went to bed early to get a long rest. The sounds of the city are audible through the thin walls even late at night, so I was really glad I brought my earplugs.