Final days in Nepal

October 4^th, 2026

Kathmandu, Nepal

I awoke on the 2^nd of October and got ready.

Went down for breakfast around 8:00AM and was soon joined by my guide.

He confirmed everything was ready for todays last leg to get back to Kathmandu.

After eating, we parted ways and agreed to meet in the lobby at 11:30.

I went up to the room and did my final packing and checks.  Thankfully this flight I would be able to stay in street clothes as they had room for me to have two bags on the flight.

As with my international flights, I have all the riding gear and a few things moved into the one bag to check, and all the clothes and electronics are with me in the cabin.

I sat around playing online till it was time, then did a final room check and then left to go downstairs.

I paid my laundry bill, but the hotel was paid for by tour company, so I would pay them for it since we are now outside the original planned trip.

I then noticed the guide sitting outside on the patio, so went out to meet with him.

I had just walked up and asked if the car was coming and it pulled up.

We loaded our bags and then got into the vehicle.

I was about a 30 minute drive to the international airport, traffic was bit heavy, otherwise probably take half that.

We arrived at the drop off point and driver went off to grab a cart.  Kind of wish he wouldn’t have.  Took more time to grab that cart so we could push the luggage 30 feet to an X-ray machine and leave the cart behind, would have been quicker to just walk in carrying them.

At the X-ray we had to run bags through and walk through metal detector and get pat down to even enter the airport.

Once inside, we retrieved our bags, which were spilling all over the floor, and then walked over to the ticket counters and found our airline.

We stood in line for quite some time while they ticket agents were busy checking in a very large tour group and the mountain of bags they had.

Once we got up, we were able to get each of our bags checked and our boarding passes printed.

We then went over to the security lines, which were crazy long.

The area was not roped off in any management, so line was just snaking into the seating area around the ticket counters.

There were two lines, but each was designated by gender, so the Male line had about 5 times as many people as the Female line, and it was also not moving at all.

Eventually something must have broken or stopped working, as they moved us all over to the Female line, for about 3 minutes, then suddenly they re-opened the Male line again.

So, a bit of dancing back and forth, but finally got through the security checkpoint which was the usual X-ray, metal detector, and pat down.

Once past that, we walked over a bit to our gate and took a seat.

The plane was supposed to be leaving at this time, but there had already been announcements to delays due to weather in other spots of the country.

Our plane finally arrived about 45 minutes later, and quickly unloaded.

We then lined up to get passes scanned, then walked across the tarmac to reach the plane parked just past the jetways.  Plane was too small to use them, so we just boarded from the ground using the built-in stairs on the plane.

We are flying on a Bombardier Dash-8 (Q400) plane.  Another larger propeller driven aircraft.

Again, we were seated near the back of the plane, but we loaded from the front.

Got to our seats, and barely fit my bag into the overhead, it was a bit short height wise, thankfully I only use duffle bags, so they can deform to fit places.

Plane took of shortly after loading completed and we were airborne again over the mountains, flying mostly around 11,000 feet.

Some nice views, but also a large amount of cloud cover preventing larger views of the mountains, but got a few peeks at the local peaks along the way.

At one point the plane did a complete circle in the air, and final flight time was 30 minutes instead of the stated 20 minutes, so guessing the Air Traffic Contrl slowed us down due to delays still going on in Kathmandu.

We landed and taxied to the stopping point, where we unloaded and boarded a shuttle.

A quick shuttle ride dropped us at the Domestic Terminal of the airport and we exited into the baggage claim building.

Here we waited around for a few minutes while the bags came.  Then it took several minutes for all of our bags to show up.

Once we had those, we exited the building and the driver of our car was waiting in the lot across from the doors.  He saw us and went to get car while we walked over to find the crosswalk to the lot.

The driver met us as we walked into the lot, loaded the bags and then we drove off to reach the hotel I was staying in.  (This is same place I stayed before the ride).

This ride took probably 20-30 minutes due to heavy traffic, but we arrived and unloaded my bags.

Here I bid farewell to my guide as he would be dropped of later at his home (I guess he lives locally, though I had originally thought he lived in Pokhara).

I tipped him and thanked him for his efforts along the way.

I then went inside and got checked into the hotel.

I used the booking I had made as it was for the full 3 nights, and had them cancel the 1 night booking the tour company had made.

I let the tour agent know I was at hotel and he said he would stop by a bit later.

After he arrived, I met him in the lobby and he asked why I had not used his reservation as it would save me about $25 a night.

So, we tried to cancel the online reservation and go with his, but the online required a fee to cancel which was basically a full night’s cost and had to be approved by the hotel.

In the end, we canceled that request and tried to change the dates so I would just pay for the 1 night and then 2 nights under the agent.

The hotel rejected that was well (the next morning), so will just stick with my online booking and I would let agent know what happened.

I then crashed in the room for a bit and then went over for dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Not long after that I tried to get some blogs online and was so tired, I finally went to bed around 9:00PM.

The next morning (3^rd October), I woke with my alarm at 7:00AM and sat around the room for a bit.  Had not slept that good, was having issues with congestion, and coughing, not to mention the still ongoing stomach issues.

I finally went for breakfast around 8, then back to the room where I did a few things online and then sat around for a bit.

I then left to go do some quick shopping.

The zipper of the pants I had packed broke along the bike ride, and did not want to spent the next two months walking around at night with my fly open.

I went over to the same trekking shop I had bought straps at, and checked with them.

They only had one brand of pants with the zip off legs (I like to convert them to shorts in warmer climates, saves packing space).

I tried on the two sizes I thought might work, but frankly they both felt the same.  While the length was good, and waist fit, the pants were so tight along my butt and groin that I could not even lift my leg all the way.  Not sure if the larger pair was mis-sized, or just bad manufacture (I am guessing they are probably not authentic North Face products), but neither fit, and they had nothing else to choose from.

I started to walk down the road and saw another shop right next door, so checked them out.

They had the same “North Face” brand, and another brand of zip off pants.

Did not look like they had my size in the other brand, but the one style of pants was a bit different in the North Face brand, so tried on those.

The one size was a bit tight, but the larger one fit nicely.

I went ahead and bout those (about $20) and walked back to the hotel.

I changed into those and walked around a bit, happy with the purchase.  While the zippers are a bit crappy, and may not survive the trip, at least I have something for now.

I then walked over to the main road to one of the money exchange places to get a bit more local currency so I could avoid the credit card charges added to the bill.

I pulled out another $40 worth, that should get me by the last 2 days.

I then walked back to the hotel and hung out in the room working on various things, mostly not important.

Later that night I walked over and around the block aways to find a restaurant that I wanted to eat at.

I think this place is same company as the one we ate at in Pokhara.  Called the Roadhouse café.

Had a great dinner there, and then walked back to the hotel.

I had been looking for a club to maybe hang out at later, knowing about the rock club I had passed a few times and recommended by the original tour people, and found a few other music clubs with DJs, but most had mixed reviews and was not sure I wanted to deal with it or not.

In the end, it did not matter.

By 8:00PM I was not feeling good at all.  Stomach was still upset, I had a headache, sinus pain in my cheeks and jaw and was coughing quite badly and congested.

I decided to just go to bed after taking another cough drop, and had taken allergy medicine earlier in the day to hopefully lessen that issue.

Slept hard through the night, only up a few times to use the restroom, though things were worse when I was awake.

At one point in the middle of the night, I ran some hot water on a towel and held it up to my face for a minute, repeating that a few times.

It immediately loosened the congestion, blowing my nose several times, and seemed to take the edge off the pain.

I finally felt good enough to try sleeping again.

Slept again deeply till morning, and woke up only slightly congested, and without any sinus pain.

Took a longer hot shower, then dressed and sat in the room for a bit.

Finally went up for breakfast and had a decent meal and sat around reading for awhile just to avoid coming back to room where I might want to sleep again.

I eventually did come back, but was feeling good, so worked on uploading the rest of the blogs, then got some additional airfares booked for upcoming legs of the trip.

I then worked on a few other things, and then it was time for lunch.

I walked over to a small shop in the alley road nearby, thinking I might try the pizza there.  While they had it on the sign out front, they did not have it on the menu, so was not sure, and then figured a pizza might be a bit much for lunch this soon after breakfast anyway.

Had a grilled chicken sandwich instead, which was quite good.

I then walked back to the hotel and played around online for a bit, then figured I should get this last blog entry done before I leave tomorrow.

I will then work on a few other online things, probably play a bit, and then figure out dinner.  Might do the pizza for dinner, either same spot as last night, or try one of the other places nearby.

Then will come back and relax for a bit, then in bed early as I have to be up earlier tomorrow for a 7am airport pickup.

After playing around online for a bit, I was late enough I decided to just go get dinner earlier than planned.

I figured pizza would do again, and went to another local place I had found that was not too far away, and this one was in one of the smaller alleys, so lacks the traffic noise you get from the busier roads.

I walked over and place was not too busy, found a table and sat down.

Ordered a pizza and drink, and had both in about 15 minutes.

Pizza was really good, enjoyed it immensely. They actually do pretty decent pizzas in Nepal.

After eating, I still had half my drink left, so sat and continued to read while I nursed it, and then the power went out.

Kind of strange to be sitting there and then all lights, music, kitchen noises go dark and it’s the entire street.

Was out for about 2 minutes, then came back on, for about 1 minute, the out again.

Another 2 minutes and it came back and seemed to stay on that time, though I left shortly after as the place was starting to get busy and I did not want to use up a table without purpose.

I walked back up to the main road, then down a block to check out another section of town.

I had walked the road early in the trip to go check out the bikes, but had not really checked out the stores.

I still had about 2000 Rupee to use up, so figured I could find some small, simple, and none breakable things to buy to take home.

I wandered the road up to the place where the bikes had been, then back down the other side of the road.

I then took a small alley way that would bring me back toward the pizza place I just ate at.

Along there I did find a small show selling little animals made of cloth, almost fuzz balls.  Not sure exactly, but they were kind of cute, asked if the had any cats, and guy took me to shelf with a few.

I bought 2, which cost me around $6.

I then went back to the main road and stopped into a book store that had maps and other trinkets.

I figured I might buy a map of the Mustang valley just to better find places I went, and I like maps, so do I need another reason?

Found one, but it was more than I had left, but lady pointed me to a smaller version, which will be easier to pack and carry as well, that was much less.

I bought it and two magnets that looked cool, hopefully someday I can plaster a refrigerator with all my travel magnets.

I had 200 left now, so bought another soda for 100, and will just put the last 100 into my currency collection unless I need something cheap at the airport tomorrow, but doubt there is anything that cheap there.

I came back to the room and finished this up.  Will worry about posting it online later, but wanted to get it typed up so I could put the laptop away and start packing up as my next task.

Want to have everything basically put away so I can just shower, dress and leave in the morning.

With that, I will end this and go do those things.

Catch ya down the road.