Once we had arrived back in Hotel Thamel we had a quick de-brief, being advised to shower and wash our clothes before they rotted off of us, giving us lunch money for us to go our separate ways for lunch. We were then given free-time to go and explore before we had to meet at 6 for dinner at K-Too Steakhouse.
On the Saturday we were treated to another cultural tour to Changu Narayan , another temple where Buddhists and Hindu’s can worship together. Our tour guide taught us whilst walking around about the many stone statues within the temple area. From here we left and headed for Bhaktapur Durbha Square, of which was many small squares not just one. Within one of the many squares there was a temple, one of the few to be left standing after the 1934 major earthquake. After lunch we were shown around some more then headed back to the hotel before free-time for the rest of the day and to head out in small groups to get our own dinner.
On Sunday we drove for a few hours out of Kathmandu and into the foothills of the Himalayas to go white water rafting. We we six to a raft with some of us sharing with a group of guys from the Czech republic. The rapids were awesome with some of them being graded as 3+ (on a 1-5 scale). We all sat on the edge of the raft with our feet inside the raft positioned such that we didn’t fall out. However the river had other ideas. On one of the first rapids the boat went down a drop in front of a big wave and gave an unexpected jolt. The next the we knew was Chris was about 20m from the boat going down the rapids head first. He was rescued by a kayaker and was soon back in the raft, looking a bit shocked. Between rapids we were allowed to swim in the river, this was refreshing as it was really hot. People were doing forwards and backwards somersaults into the water off the rafts. The group was provided with lunch and then we were back on the river. All to soon it was time for us to head back to the hotel.
On Monday morning we visited Narayantiti palace museum where the Kings of Nepal had lived until 2008 when Nepal got rid of it’s monarchy. We saw different rooms where visiting heads of state (including our own) were welcomed and stayed. During Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Wednesday morning we had free time to buy souvenirs, presents and to explore some more. In the afternoon we packed our bags and made sure they were under the weight restriction.
Written by Lhotse patrol