Hustle in the city center
Kathmandu district of Thamel will most likely be your first place of visit in Nepal and you will spend here probably a couple of nights. If you fall in love with Nepal and Himalayan treks, you will be intimately familiar with it after a few visits. A jumble of trekking shops with fake brands, souvenir shops on every corner, travel agencies and incredible number of small hotels and restaurants make a special tourist atmosphere to this place. In addition, crowds of locals interfered with the motorbikers and a few Hindu and Buddhist shrines. Within walking distance is the Durbar Square with the royal palace and pagoda temples. It is worth to go through the surrounding adjacent neighborhood and observe local life.
Souvenirs in Thamel
In Thamel you can buy really countless possible souvenirs – from T-shirts, to all sorts of statues or different types of tea
Small retailers
Far more interesting than the tourist shops are small stalls with vegetables and dried fish situated on every major patch and convenient place.
Amazing vegetable market
During walks around Thamel or other districts of Kathmandu you occasionally come across a place where is concentrated local way of life – vegetable growers having their goods on the ground, the sellers of bananas and apples having their products in baskets on bikes, a lot of motorbikes and a temple in the background.
The colorful life in Thamel
You will definitely not be hungry and thirsty in Thamel – sellers of fresh juices and fried delicacies are almost at every step. Life on the street is really manifold starting from servicemen for anything, cows and troops of dogs etc.
Temples in Thamel
It happens only rarely to walk 100 meters without having met at least a small shrine – mostly Hindu.
Animal offerings during the feast of Das
If you are in Nepal during the holiday Dasain, you might be surprised by the ubiquitous bloody animal sacrifice.
Feast of Diwali
Feast of Diwali is full of orange flower chains and evening lights.
Shopping climbing equipment
Goodies from the eight-thousanders
In Thamel you find three types of shops with trekking and climbing equipment:
- Very cheap allegedly branded (mainly The North Face) equipment. Carefully examine the allure seams etc.
- Branded equipment of world producers. You probably buy here cheaper than at home, but no for ridiculous prices.
- A bazaars with used equipment from expeditions. You can sometimes get a very interesting pieces, although worn, but again extremely good. Feather jacket used while climbing the Mount Everest simply can not be bad.
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