With my first impression of Kathmandu being a peaceful and quiet one, at 10 am my new friend Anil came to smash that image of the city. Anil works for COCAP and also is a student. Being the nice guy that he is, he offered to take his Saturday to show me the city.

Immediately after emerging from the island of peace that the hostel’s garden is, I was nearly hit by about four different kinds of vehicles. Pedi cabs, motorbikes, small cars and buses zoomed around haphazardly honking and ringing their bells without pause. Adding to the general confusion were people walking in the middle of the road, crossing at will and generally acting as if the vehicles did not even exist. With Anil pressing on ahead without breaking his stride I did not have enough time to be overwhelmed by all the movement and noise, instead I joined it.

Walking through the streets of Kathmandu was a relentless assault on the senses. Inundated with sights, smells and sounds it was impossible not to get excited by this vibrant city. Once over the initial shock of all the action, I could take a closer look at my surroundings. Houses lining the streets were old and seemed to be ready to collapse. Second story windows revealed glimpses of small, crowded apartments with televisions blaring out an array of Indian and Nepali music. Many of the small windows were occupied by a wrinkled, weathered faces lording over the street below.

In many places the roads were more potholes than pavement leading traffic to further increase their swerving and honking. In every open square or on the walls of every small shrine there were numerous bodies curled up on the stone trying to ignore the now glaring sun and sleep just a little longer. In short, despite being Nepal’s only real city and presumably it’s richest, Kathmandu still clearly demonstrates the poor state of the Nepal’s economy. While there is a lot of hope that Nepal can position itself as an important trade and transactions hub between the economic giants China and India, at present Nepal remains one of Asia’s least developed countries.

While the economic poverty was clear so was the cultural and historical wealth of the city. Anil and I first visited Durbar square. Kathmandu’s Durbar square has been a religious and political center of Nepal for centuries. It features a stunning array of temples and classical Nepali buildings. From the square we went to the Bhimsen Tower for a panoramic view of the city, and then took a taxi to the massive Swayambhunath temple complex on a hill overlooking Kathmandu. It was a lot to cover in one day and by the end I was exhausted. Ready for a rest I parted with Anil and was soon back on my rooftop overlooking the city with a cold Pepsi and a wealth of new information to incorporate into my evolving image of Kathmandu.