Singapore to Kathmandu

Singapore to Kathmandu, Nepal

We had a great two days of sight seeing in Singapore to kick of our trip.

The first day we where eager and crammed in a lot-  we did all the recommended tourist sites in the CBD, including a walk around the Marina Bay, up the amazing Marina Bay Sands hotel which truly blew our minds, then a museum visit to see an Andy Warhol exhibition, lunch at China Town, saw some beautiful temples in Little India, had a mandatory afternoon Singapore Sling at the Raffles Long Bar, then a Night Safari at the zoo.

China Town and Little India where the most interesting neighborhoods away from the malls, full with locals, stalls and great food. We ate at hawker stalls most of the time in Singapore, and the food was amazing- green thai curry, fish ball soup, chicken rice (the most popular dish in Singapore), and a laksa that Matha Stewart had tried once when she visited. I'm salivating thinking about it all.

We where seriously buggered after such a full on first day, plus Hamish had some heat induced 'aliments', so we took it a little easier on the second day. We visited a museum to get a jist of Singapore's history, checked out yet another shopping area, then decided to flag the city and head to a East Coast Beach to chill with beers for the rest of the avo.

We are now in Kathmandu, a vast contrast to orderly Singapore. I didn't expect Kathmandu to be as raw as it is. Hamish describes it as a post apocolictic war zone. I'd call it chaos. 

Our arrival at the airport coincided nicely with the Nepalise Cricket Team, who were returning home successful after a tour. The airport was packed with fans officials and paparazzi..and a band. It was a pretty exciting way to enter the country.

Then came the taxi ride through the city to our hostel, everything you could imagine- crazy traffic, cows hanging out on the road, crumbling buildings, wafts of strange smells, piled rubbish heaps lining the roads and people everywhere going about their day. I thought it was quite interesting that amongst all this, most people seemed to be really nicely dressed and their cloths where generally clean and pressed.

Our hostel is great- we are staying at Tibet Peace Guest House- a recommendation from a friend Grant- it's down a lane way so it's quiet and the lights even work..most of the time.