MONSOON IN KATHMANDU!

Landing in Nepal's capitol city, the windows of the Thai Airways plane streamed with water.  Oh No...!  it is pouring in Kathmandu

Monsoon season has started early someone says.  All this way to go hiking in the rain.  I think not.

Running through the rain into the terminal, there is my representative waiting for me with a VIP pass to get me my Visa and quick pass through customs.  Although the line is probably going to take most people more than 45 minutes, I take only 15 with local help.  This my friends is why you do your trip with a travel professional and not on the internet.  Will your "mouse" help you get through these long lines or with the language barrier if one of the customs agents asks a question in Nepali?

So, do I want to join my friends at a Bhuddist Temple this afternoon (in the rain), or do I just want to check into the hotel and have a massage?  HMMMMMMM???????  Those who know me also know the answer to that question.  Me turn down an hour and 1/2 Himalyan Ritual massage for $33 US?  Now I ask you....what would you do?

OK you guessed it.  I opted for the massage.  The spa at the Dwarikas Kathmandu Hotel is new and very lovely.  In a small courtyard alongside the pool, this quiet retreat is a perfect place to revive from jet lag.   After being pulled and stretched and then rubbed with herbs from the mountains, I was ready for dinner and bed.

I have stayed in this hotel before, but its gardens and little courtyards in the center of the hotel bring a sense of peace to the center of this bustling city.  Rooms are the best in town with ancient decorations mixed with all the modern facilities.  This is a great place to stay after such a long journey.

It has stopped raining now.  There is a Nepali dancer and some music in the courtyard as I sip my refreshing drink of a local fruit.  Birds sing overhead and there are orchids dripping down from the trees and in planters.  I am in heaven.