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A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Kathmandu, Nepal by TravelPod blogger Bcc8 titled “East meets West” Bcc8′s travel blog entry: “After the long overland trip, it felt good to reach the comforts of Kathmandu. I was in Kathmandu to organize and prepare for a trek to Everest Base Camp. I stayed in the tourist neighborhood called Thamel in the Garuda Hotel. Those of you who have read Into Thin Air (a gripping book about a disastrous Everest climb) might remember that the author of the book, Jon Krakauer, stayed at the same hotel before his Everest ascent. The hotel is filled with autographed photos of many famous climbers who have spent time at the hotel. It was definite motivation to make my own upcoming trek a success. I stayed in Kathmandu two times, once before my Everest Base Camp trek and also after the trek, but I didn’t do very touring around either time. The only real tourist spot I visited was Durbar Square, which holds a bunch of ancient buildings and temples. During my stay I found the city to be an interesting mash up of Indian, Chinese, and Western cultures, with Indian being the dominant influence. The city has the chaotic, crowded feel that most cities in India have. The people were interesting looking (in a good way!) due to many of them being of both Indian and Asian origin. A lot of the people wore donated clothes from the West…one of my taxi drivers wore a camouflage baseball cap with the Confederate Flag on it! I frequently spotted …
