I left home at 10:00 a.m. and finally reached my hotel in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, at around 3:00 a.m. the following day in Japan time—close to midnight in Nepal.
From my front door to the hotel, the journey took about 17 hours.
First, I flew from Kansai International Airport to Guangzhou in China. After waiting about three hours in Guangzhou, I transferred to a flight for Kathmandu and spent another five hours in the air.
The flights were only part of the journey. Immigration, transit procedures, security checks and the long walks through the airports made it an exhausting day.
It was certainly hard on the body, but the important thing is that I arrived safely in Kathmandu!
▼ Leaving Kansai International Airport for Guangzhou, China
▼ A stopover at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport felt modern in every respect. It was an impressive airport and a striking place to begin the international part of the journey.
▼ From Guangzhou to Kathmandu
▼ Kathmandu appeared on the airport display in Chinese as “加德满都”
加德满都—pronounced Jiādémǎndū—is the Simplified Chinese transliteration of Kathmandu. It is not a Japanese kanji spelling. In Traditional Chinese, the city is written as 加德滿都.
▼ Our aircraft—at last, it was time to leave for Kathmandu
▼ Night falling over the cities below
Soon after take-off, the sun disappeared. The lights of Chinese towns spread across the darkness below the aircraft.
▼ And then—Kathmandu below us
▼ Finally in Kathmandu. The adventure begins!
Hitotsuya（ひとつ屋）’s first impressions of the city continue in “Nepal Travel Journal (2): Kathmandu, a City Like a Labyrinth” (Japanese page).