BOW DOWN IN SILENCE
Bow down in silence to the earth, to the trees, to the moon, to the sun. It does not matter what the object is, what matters is bowing down – surrender, that feeling of gratitude. Wherever one is full of gratitude, there is a temple.
My alarm was set to 06:00, and I was still sleeping. I prepared for leaving for the airport. I walked to the kitchen, where Amar was sitting already. He made green tea for me, all that I needed this morning. Before 07:00, I ordered an Uber driver, and he arrived soon, and we headed to the airport. At the airport, I had a good coffee. I just had some hundred rupees left to spend, don’t need Indian rupees anymore. I checked in my baggage, got two boarding passes, one to Delhi and one to Kathmandu. The baggage would be transferred to Kathmandu. My flight should be at Gate 18. When I was there, I got a message that it changed to Gate 4. I still had time, no rush.
I continued walking to the security check. All electronic items have to be in a separate box, including laptop, phone, hard drives, power bank, chargers, and cables. I have quite a lot of stuff. I passed easily this time. This reminds me to get a new pocket knife. My last one ended at the airport in Dabolim, Goa. The flight was less than one hour and we landed in Delhi. In Delhi, I had to walk over to the International Terminal 3. It takes around 10 minutes to walk. The departures are on the 2nd floor. Again security check. I bought a Kulfi, Indian ice cream, a juice, and some water for my last Indian rupees. This time my gate changed from 15B to 3B.
The flight was on time, and after 90 minutes I reached Kathmandu. First, I had to apply for a Visa on Arrival. There were some machines, the passport would be scanned, so all the main data is on the screen. I had to add my previous city, occupation, and a few other things. In the end, I had to take a photo from the monitor. With this photo, I had to go to a counter where I showed the photo, paid €50 for a 30-day visa, and got a document in the Nepali language. The last step then was the immigration itself where I got the visa approval in my passport. Before the baggage claim, there was another security check.
At the baggage claim I couldn’t see my backpack on the conveyor belt. I was one of the last ones waiting there. I walked around, and in one corner I found my backpack waiting for me. Happily, I walked towards the exit. At first, I withdrew some money from the ATM. The next task would be to get a SIM card for Nepal. There was a counter and many people applied for a SIM card. I needed to fill out a form, they made a photo of my face, a copy of my passport, and I got a SIM card for 1650 rupees (€11). In Nepal, 1 Euro corresponds to 150 rupees. All done for now. In Delhi, I downloaded an app for a transport service. There is no Uber in Nepal, but an app called inDrive, works the same. I ordered a car to bring me to Hotel Namtso in the center of Kathmandu, the district is called Thamel.
My hotel is quite well organised, not a four-star, but my room is clean and has everything I need, even a kettle. Here is a lot of action, shops and restaurants, many people, cars, and bikes. I saw many Chinese shops and Restaurants here. I had my first dinner in a Chinese Restaurant.
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