physikality: Day 1 & 2, Swayambunath - Annapurna Foothills Trek

Recently, I took part in a small, 12 days mountain trekking adventure to the Himalayans in Nepal. The team of five flew to Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur on an AirAsiaX flight lasting about four hours. Visitors to Nepal require entry visas and it costs about USD25 for visits lasting less than 15 days and USD40 otherwise. It's possible to apply for it at the airport itself so no worries about finding a Nepali embassy in your home country.

After exiting the airport, we were greeted by our trekking guide, Bijan who works with TrekkingMart. He's a nice and fun guy who organized the trip really well. Actually too well for my liking :D. The first night we were treated with a cultural dance and nice nepali food consisting of roasted soyabeans, momo (dumplings) and Dhal bhat, a local nepali staple. It is mostly energy giving food that the locals eat all the time that consists of rice, lentils, green vegetables, cauliflower and sometimes some meat.

Nepali food, Dhal bhat

Raksi (रक्सी), local rice made alcohol. Tastes a bit like vodka.

We spent the next day acclimatizing and visiting three UNESCO heritage sites, Swayambhunath (स्वयम्भूनाथ स्तुप), Boudhanath (बौद्धनाथ), and Pashupatinath (पशुपतिनाथको मन्दिर). Another tour guide, Siva who was well-versed in local history and culture met us in the morning and shared with us his nations colourful history and culture. After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we started a tour of the city's historical sites on a van passing by the narrow and hilly streets of Kathmandu where people share with chickens, goats and buffaloes.

One of many wells in Kathmandu where the people get their water for daily use. During monsoon months, water will overflow and fill up the bottom levels.

A typical street in Kathmandu

Our first stop was the Swayambunath, also known as the Monkey Temple due to the numerous monkeys that live there. Located on top of a small hill, it is a Tibetan Buddhist stupa with many prayer wheels at the bottom of the hill and also around the stupa. The stupa has Buddha's eyes and something squiggly that looks like a nose. The eyes are looking around four corners and the squiggly thing is a Nepali symbol for unity.