We passed through Kat 3 times over the course of our trip. First we had one day when we arrived to buy supplies, second on route from Pokhara to Lukla and the third time was at the end of the Everest trek before our departure to Australia.

So given that we'd been in and out a couple of times, we were eager to get the full lay of the land...and that we did! They say (not sure who they is) but they say that you're more likely to get food poisoning in Kathmandu than you are while trekking - which proved true for Joe and I. We trekked for over 30 days without problems and 2 days in Kathmandu and both of us got food poisoning. Fortunately it was a 24hr thing and we still had time to get out and about. The tourist part of town called Thamel is a maze of very narrow streets lined with shops selling mostly North Farce and Wither Proof gear.

The two high points of this part of our trip are first, a side trip to another town called Bhaktipur, where they (quite smartly) have banned cars in the central part of town. It was a refreshing reprieve from all the congestion, honking and crowded streets of Kathmandu. The other highpoint was discovering a little garden called The Garden of Dreams. It was right in front of our noses the entire time we were in the city, but we didn't come across it really until our last day. It's a little piece of heaven amongst all the chaos. You have to pay to get in but on the other side of a fairly high brick wall is a nicely laid out and very manicured colonial-style garden with fountains and cut grass and all! A must see for anyone visiting the city.

After the trekking food and the food poisoning we were ready for some good Aussie fair - and so we carried on to Sydney to start the next leg of our journey...but that's another story....(will keep you posted)