The drive back to Kathmandu was far more relaxed than the way up to Syabru Besi, as we took a jeep, which was 600 rupees, so only slightly more expensive. On the trek we actually managed to get along with about 1000-1500 rupees per person per day, i.e. about 10 euros for accommodation and food. Back in Kathmandu we managed to get a lot of stuff done in a short time - we clearly didn't want to spent too much time in this busy and loud place. If I was a city planner I'd create a pedestrian only area in the city center with it's tiny streets and shops - currently all pedestrians have to share the street with plenty of taxis and motobikes who use their horn all the time and squeeze through the tiniest gaps - not a place to have a relaxed stroll.

Now for the drama part: 1) we bought a Steripen Freedom a couple of weeks ago for this trip, it's a lightweight pen to desinfect water, which is a good idea in Nepal. It mostly worked well with an occasional lamp failure, but in the end it stopped working altogether. We got in touch with Steripen support and they managed to get us in touch with a partner in Kathmandu who was able to exchange it on the spot. We didn't even need to provide the original invoice (which we obviously don't carry with us). Great service, thank you! 2) after washing our clothes per hand all the time we were looking forward to getting a laundry service for a proper wash. However when we got our clothes back after a day two T-Shirts had disappeared. This might not sound too bad for you, but if you only have three of them and you know that most of the Shirts here are fake, so we were quite pissed. Luckily after we told the laundry guy he got his brother to find them at their place and deliver them. This was last minute, as we took the bus to Pokhara the next morning.

That bus ride was good - we had nice seats where even I (Michael) could sit properly - my legs are longer than those of a typical Nepali ;) In Pokhara we'll relax and probably do some yoga - it's a much more relaxed place than Kathmandu. Compared to two years ago there's been a couple of changes in the city - they built some more hotels and some have western standards (and prices) now. We found a very nice place which is actually quite luxurious and pay 1500 per night.