Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Chisopani 2165 – Sundarijal 1460m

Last day. I’d bus to Kathmandu from Sundarijal, the end of the Helambu.

Up before dawn again.

Pot of milk coffee on the hotel roof.

The Helambu finishes with a walk through Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, established 2002.

The trails have been recently improved. That means stairs, stairs, stairs.

And some trenches.

There are brief glimpses of the high peaks all the way to the capital.

I was feeling pretty mellow, my long trek ending. It had been a success.

What would the world do without Peruvian potatoes?

It’s a bit surreal walking back into civilization.

sidewalks?

Here’s one of the main water supplies of Kathmandu.

You can’t get lost finishing if you follow the water pipe.

I got lost.

Finally, a local musician pointed me the right direction to the bus park.

One of the finest Tibetan artists in the world sat down beside me. How about that? He and his wife were on the way to Sikkim, India for a big commission. He’d have between 40-60 artist assistants on the project.

It took about an hour to get back to Kathmandu by bus, far better than the 7 ½ hours it had taken to get started.

The Army was using scissors to cut the grass on the main square. Very Gandhi.

The crappy streets of Thamel were being paved. 🙂

What’s going on?

Nothing is ever fixed in Kathmandu.

Ah ha. A few days after I quit Nepal, there’s a major international forum in Nepal. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. I’m happy to get away before that happens.

In the afternoon I relished in the best travel bargain in Asia, a Nepali barber shave. Smooth as a baby.

I finished the Helambu with a Korean couple who I’d been with on and off for the past 13 days. They are Himalayan fanatics, this being their 3rd major trekking holiday. They took me to their favourite Korean restaurant, Festival.

Cost of this meal was about $5.

Crazy good value. Better than anywhere in Korea. The chef had lived their 14yrs and was fluent in language and cooking. 🙂

see all my high resolution photos from this day

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