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Working the Tourists in Kathmandu

Rf
2004-08-10 14:52:18

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On my trip around the world, one of my favorite destinations was Kathmandu, Nepal. I was traveling with Gulf Air from London to Kathmandu via Bahrain, Saudi Arabia. If you're traveling with Gulf Air, be sure you re-confirm your flight or else they'll cancel your ticket. I had trouble getting through to confirm but finally managed it. Lucky me. In the check-in line at London's Heathrow airport, a looped tape played about confirming three days prior to a flight to avoid its cancellation. The women working for Gulf Air had on unusual costumes reminiscent of "I Dream of Jeannie."
I don't have any complaints about Gulf Air. The seats were comfortable and there were television screens on the back of the seats. The lay over in Bahrain was interesting. It was the first airport I've seen that had prayer rooms. Unfortunately, the connection to Kathmandu was delayed by about four hours. That meant that I'd be into Kathmandu around midnight. I was afraid the place where I'd made reservations, The Kathmandu Guest House would give my room away thinking I wasn't going to show up.

Getting into Kathmandu airport was an experience. There was a bit of chaos as the tourists scrambled for the proper forms to complete in order to enter the country and purchase a visa. I got the exact amount of the visa purchase price in U.S. dollars, which helped expedite my entry.

I hadn't arranged a ride to the Kathmandu Guest House ahead of time because I thought I'd arrive in town much earlier in the evening. I was afraid there wouldn't be any transportation available at midnight. The reality was the absolute opposite. There was a throng of people outside the airport, all shouting at the same time. Most were yelling, "Taxi, Miss! Taxi, Miss!"

The guidebook suggested only accepting rides from drivers ...