Day 13 (3/1/19) Lukla - Kathmandu
Was woken up early in the morning by the hopeful sound of planes flying into the airport that’s just beside our room.
Waking up right next to this
Breakfast (Omelet and Apple pancake) and a short trip to the local bazaar later, the second Sita flight landed and we made our way to check in for our flight.
Pretty crowded for a Thursday morning
Piece of pork, anybody?
Or a live chicken?
One last look at the mountains
And we made it out of Lukla two days ahead of our itinerary scheduled for, and landed safely in Kathmandu!
And we're off!
Best part: reunion with my detained luggage! Checked in to Hotel Blue Horizon, bathed for the first time in 10 days, repacked my many items from the two duffels, lunch, nua with the TV, and then finally, farewell dinner with Lakpa... still feels kinda surreal that the whole trip is coming to an end - we were still supposed to be in the mountain tonight and perhaps even tomorrow, but am definitely glad to get out of it.
Upsized Dal Baat (Tarkari)
"Downgraded" to this hotel to save money - only downside was a slow/late breakfast (not that we need it) and a lack of lift
The last time we'll see this guy on this trip after spending countless nights together (afternote: realise he's been enduring having piles all these while while climbing with us on the mountains! Checked himself into the hospital the next day...)
Changed into my own set of clothings, new Invisalign, and just probably a new me in the new year HAHAH. Anyway, managed to changed away the last two (defected) 100-dollar bills and did some simple groceries before heading back for more nua-ness in the hotel.
Day 14 (4/1/19) Kathmandu
Breakfast at the hotel was a little too late, with nothing ready at 8am, but at least it didn’t taste too bad.
Passable
Rushed off for free yoga class, which was a slow-paced relaxing class, courtesy of our massage purchase at Mandala Yoga and Spa.
Yoga was much needed for the peace; massage was MOST needed for the tired body and soul
Kathmandu has this old world charm, accentuated by the dusty sunlight
Needed this so badly and it was super shiok to say the least. Lunch was an unconventional decision to try Chinese Fried Chicken aka CFC, ‘cos we were lured by the pancakes (ahzong’s usual breakfast during his time in Beijing) - but well, we’ve had “Nepalese” food for the past 10 days in the mountains so it’s good to have a change in taste right haha.
I mean... I have never had this... so... no harm right haha
Walked around part of Thamel that we have yet to explore before settling to chill at the Himalayan Java Coffee café back at Mandala street.
low altitude chillin'
Impromptu decision was then made to join the secret food tour with Backstreet Academy and they’re having a marketing campaign so it costs even less than half the original price!
Something strange, something magical
The tour took us deep into the labyrinth of small narrow valleys I reckon even the locals could get lost without some practice - Bara, Yomari, Momo, Samosa, Lassi, and the best of these while we’re at it.
First stop among the locals!
Bara in the making
Bara ready to be swallowed
Yomari - glutinous rice kind of texture on the outside, coconut-ish kind of fillings inside
Guess what's cooking? (Feels like we stepped into the wrong hood)
Second stop!
Another food of legendary status in this country - Momo!
Next stop - just by looking at the number of locals queuing up, you know it's gonna be da bomb
Main reason for the insane queue - super wholesome samosa (more curry puff in our context than our local samosa) coupled with the rich curry sauce, little wonder why people are willing to queue up long lines for this. And look, how environmentally friendly!
Also had the chance to try this Jalebi (super sweet) and (look at the far left corner) this interesting crispy cup pastry thingy that is used to scoop up a scoop of soup/gravy and served onto the plate everyone is holding on to on their hands. Once done, it's quickly refilled. We tried one, quickly regretted it - kinda weird since the soup/gravy wasn't warm.
Last stop! And those are the two New Zealanders on our tour.
Pardon the shakiness, was just too good (and the nightfall brought the cold along). Tough choice deciding if this lassi or the samosa earlier was the best find/highlight of the trip. Not too sweet, not too jalat!
Guide Aayam was also warm and friendly (he later shared that he was gay, after helping me with the fur left on my hair and face from the massage shower earlier this afternoon, and subsequently also commented that ahzong is cute lol).
Bonus: really mesmerized by the mystical feel this old city exudes
Pomegranate brings back mountain memories (hand-cut and served, along with apples, by Bagthan and Lakpa every single night after dinner)
Random stupa that acts as a gathering point for kids and locals when the night approaches
We even ended up at the cozy Cafe With No Name to chill together - the care being the entrepreneurial front for the Our Sansar’s Children’s Home. Had a nice chat with Sumi, the shop keeper, who’s in a single-parent family living with her mom and sister, and she shared that because of her parenthood (her father left home when she was four), she doesn’t have a local citizenship. But she sure is mature for her 20-year of age - which is vindicated by her friends who assumed / knew her as a 24-year old, probably her life experiences and her interactions with foreigners made her who she is indeed. We do share one thing in common: a philosophy that “life is a storm”...
And that's Ayyam, who's well aware of its homonym in the Malay language
Day 15 (5/1/19) Kathmandu
Dust at dust. Different kind of lighting, different kind of crowd. Same veil of mystery.
Woke up on our alarm for the first time in 2 weeks and we headed out before the sun completely raised. Breakfast food tour once again brought us to unexpected places and tried delicious local delicacies: Gwaramari (round balls); Sel-Roti with Tea (Chiya); Lakhamari (sugar coated); Jeri-Swari (Flower with dough-wrap); Puri Curry.
First stop for the morning!
You Tiao, ball version. And that's our guide! Probably too early in the morning, I forgot to ask for his name... haha
Lit a wishing candle and walked through a temple seeking peace and harmony - not just food!
Second stop: hands down the highlight
Cos this is perhaps one of the best milk tea ever (slightly too sweet but I'm still gonna say this is the best)
Goes pretty well with these doughy thingy too!
Candy shop next!
Didn't really enjoyed this Lakhamari tho, cos they're just too tough...
Next stop is a old established family business that's famous among the locals, and we came for...
These! This unassuming thing is so so good, mostly because they go so well together. Jeri-Swari as they call it. Without the wrap, the fried dough drenched in sugar would have been too sweet, but together, they're heavenly.
And our final stop: we're early so there weren't many people in this cramp little shop when we went in. Got packed pretty quickly
And this: Puri Curry, is what we came for. Was hungry, so they fed me well.
Namaste, sir.
Tour ended earlier than expected and we headed down to Le Sherpa Farmer’s Market: was pretty secluded but definitely very upmarket inside - European even. Prices were reasonable but we were full and also decided on buying anything from the market in the end.
Doesn't feel Kathmandu at all. There were even Singaporeans setting up a stall here!
Chilled at the cafe nearby before we head over to Boudhanath finally (lol, finally managed to convince Ahzong to check this off my list) cos we ran out of things to do. Tourist trap but ok, checking it off the list.
Biggest stupa in Nepal. Gotta come no matter, right haha
Even nearing noon, the veil of dust makes a natural filter for the city
Gone up to the rooftop cafe but thought chillin back in hotel makes more sense so we headed back to Thamel without spending too much more (budget’s tight!). Headed for the bookstore and the books were really cheap! Snapped up two books to read on the flight home and it’s lunch! Temptation from the clique’s bbq countdown was strong, so Korean bbq it is!
I put 100% of the blame on the rest of the gang in Singapore
Just opposite our hotel and reasonably priced, food was good too! Spent the rest of the afternoon nuaing with the tv and took a short nap to make up for the early morning. Called in for dinner room service cos lazy haha.
I mean, it's free... why not, right? haha
Headed back to the super mart to buy some souvenirs using my credit card before we headed back to New Orleans Bar to fulfil our promise to the singer that we’ll be back (not that he remembers). Atmosphere was as great as ever #goodvibes! Started and ended our Nepal trip at this place felt about right...
Day 16 (6/1/19) Kathmandu - Delhi
And as with all things, this trip has come to an end. Simple breakfast at our hotel and checked out. Reached the airport and just when you thought we’ve had enough of airports, the flight out of Kathmandu got delayed due to the morning hazy. And that’s not it, we missed the connecting... Guess we both got pretty used to delays and screwed up plans by now, we we practically just resigned to fate. We were even slightly happy with the free hotel and lunch when the guy told us to head to Holiday Inn. So our 8-hour ordeal in Delhi begins, along with a nice Nepali girl and a Singaporean-Korean girl. But that’s not all, the flight got delayed even further! Turns out our nemesis isn’t the mountain, but the flights...
One last night of free hotel stay, I guess!
Day 17 (7/1/19) Delhi - Singapore
An unexpected extension to the trip was disruptive, but guess that also mean I got an extra day of rest (from my MC). Got home without much drama, thankfully.
Gotta say we should have prayed more sincerely at all the temples we've been to. Lots of takeaways, biggest of all: no power banks in check in luggage!
Oh wells.
This deserves a post - probably at my lowest in years, literally haha. 
