Travel | Kathmandu | Backpackers Heaven

© 2014 Wazari Wazir | Children Looking at Kathmandu Valley From The Monkey Temple

Travellers and backpackers normally will refer Kathmandu as backpackers heaven. I don’t know what, they called it heaven, this city is not beautiful or breathtaking, in fact it quite difficult to breath here without wearing a mask. Maybe they called it heaven because there is so much things happening here, “heaven” sometimes can be very subjective matter.

Yes, if you are trekkers and backpackers this is among the best place to hang around, the accommodation is among the cheapest in Asia, if you like trekkers, this is a heaven for you, you can easily find trekking equipment at a very chela price here, why not, Nepal is blessed with eight out of ten of  highest peaks in the world, and because of that, there is hundreds or more selling trekking and backpacking equipment, each and everyone of them fighting to give you the best price.

The other thing is, in Kathmandu alone, they have seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, not many country or city in the world can boast about that like Kathmandu. But then, for those of you who have just arrived in Katmandu for the first time, might be wondering wether you’ve had arrived at the right city or just arrived at “Dustmandu” instead of Kathmandu. Anyway due to road expansion here and there, Kathmandu become polluted, some people need to wear mask when they get out of their house, even the people of Kathmandu wearing a mask, so you can imagine.

This is my second time visiting Kathmandu since November 2012, and I really hope in some near future when the expansion of road all over Nepal is finished, we, especially the travellers can breath the fresh air, without the need to get close to the foot of the mountain, for trekkers, normally this should not be an issue because they normally will spent a day to two here and spent another weeks or month trekking the Himalaya, breathing the mountain fresh air.

“Dust and grime have slaughtered the charm of clean and fresh air in Kathmandu. I have lost my expectation again to catch the fresh breath in the Valley. Who wants their own homeland and self to be covered up with haze of dust? However, we have been left with no choice. No can rarely be an answer if anyone is asks whether this situation has affected their health. Of course, this has affected my health too.

It has affected our lungs and respiration, harmed our eyes, makes us suffocated and we are covered with dust. In the streets, I can sense dust hovering into my mouth while talking. Yes, it has become a major issue to safeguard oneself from being victimised with the adverse effects of dust while commuting. I save myself from this through mask. We also can shelter our eyes with safety glasses.”

– Srijana Joshi, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu –

“Thirty years ago people could swim in Kathmandu’s most holy river, the Bagmati. Today, it is so polluted with road dust and refuse that people do not want to go in it. Trash piles several feet high line its banks. But still, funeral services at Pashupatinaath, one of the most famous temples to Shiva in the world, still culminate with people entering the river’s waters and depositing their deceased’s crematory ashes in it. What happens when the river is so polluted that one cannot enter it without getting sick?”

– Alex O’Neill | Environmental Biology and Anthropology –

To those of you who wanted to visit Kathmandu Valley in near future, you need to be prepared, Kathmandu is not for everyone, it is heaven for some people but might be hell to others, for me, I still like the city, I like the chaotic environment, otherwise why bother visiting it again when I can choose Paris or Tokyo. About photography, Kathmandu will only attract certain type photographers, just like India, some people doesn’t bother to go there. We can’t argue about taste in term of photographic genre or interest, but sometimes it is not about taste but more about health and safety concern. Some people can tolerate bad air pollution while others can easily get sicks.

Anyway, actually you don’t have to stay in Thamel Kathmandu when visiting Nepal, once you arrived at the Tribhuvan International Airport, just take the taxi and head to Bhaktapur, it is much better compared to Thamel Kathmandu, less chaotic, better yet, just arrange with your hotel, so they can send people to pick you at the airport. If you need to buy some trekking or backpackers equipment at Thamel Kathmandu, just go day in a day trip, it take you less than an hour to get there from Bhaktapur.