Thamel

On Monday we braved a second expedition to Thamel - a busy area of Kathmandu with many shops. Thamel would not be such a bad place if it were not for the traffic and the beggars. Many of the shops are very interesting.

The main reason for the visit was to go to the embroiders. The pollution was terrible during the taxi ride to Thamel and in Thamel itself - the constant smell of diesel that stings your throat and eyes and gives you a headache. In comparison, the area around the stupa in Boudha is a haven. Here there is no traffic other than the occasional motorbike, so the air is that little bit cleaner.

Anyway we arrived at the embroiderers without mishap and only gasping slightly from the fumes. The skill of these embroidery workers is extraordinary. You give them an image and they copy it freehand directly on the sewing machine at great speed. This shop seems to be especially skilled. They sell many embroidered T-shirts some of which have dubious slogans for the tourist market. One had an image of the Simpsons - barely recognisable, as Homer was not very big, Marge had pink hair and Bart looked more like Dennis the Menace with a catapult. None of them had yellow skin.

We had lunch at Northfield Cafe - a tourist restaurant that does rather good pizza. We visited the Pilgrims Bookshop. As well as books this shop has a little restaurant and various small shops within it selling numerous tourist items. They were all quite expensive, but the staff are most pleasant and polite. They also print Asian versions of Western books so that they can be available at prices affordable in Nepal, India and Pakistan.

We bought a couple of delightful tiger shaped carpets, but not very much else, and were glad to go 'home'. After an 150 rupee taxi ride, we returned to the relative peace of Boudha with relief.