November 21, 2022
After another hearty buffet breakfast, we venture out and point ourselves in the direction of the Marriott Hotel and the Nimsdai Store. This isn’t your usual cultural stop in Kathmandu. Nimsdai Purja first launched onto the international scene with his Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. This film depicts his attempt to climb the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters in seven months. Nims had an elite military career as a Gurka and a UK Special Forces member before becoming a world renowned mountaineer.
Luckily, the Nimsdai Store opens just after we arrive. The store had its grand opening within the last month and there are some cool displays. Caspar ends up finding a sweatshirt for each of us. Check out Nims and this cool video from Instagram.
The more we explore the more we start to understand how the Thamel District connects us to our hotel and the surrounding area. After spending the afternoon resting at Hotel Moonlight (because I’ve got some kind of cold and sniffles) we venture out again through the Thamel District to meet up with our group. We get together for dinner because Susan is leaving on her flight home tonight and Jeremy is leaving tomorrow.
November 22, 2022
We arrange to meet Tiger who takes us for a tour of the Narayanhiti Palace Museum. We start walking in the same direction we went to get to the Marriott Hotel. Turns out we had walked right past the palace yesterday without even realizing it. After paying the entry fee, we have to check our phones and backpacks. Next, we have to go through several security check points before making our way to the entry of the Narayanhiti Palace entry.
The Narayanhiti Palace used to be the residence for the Nepalese monarchy. On June 1, 2001 nine members of the royal family including King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and two of their children were murdered. It is believed that the eldest son Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire on his family before turning the gun on himself. Despite being in a coma, Crown Prince Dipendra was named King until his death of June 4, 2001. King Birendra’s brother Gyanendra Shah assumed the throne until the monarchy was abolished in May 2008. Check out this Guardian article or google search for a few pictures and history
We walked through the whole palace before proceeding out into the garden. A lot of the plants and trees have labels on them so that’s super cool. In some of the tall trees there are bats hanging from the upper branches. If only I have my phone to take a picture! Next stop is the private living quarters of the family and where they parked their cars and carriages.
After we meander through the Thamel District, Tiger joins us atop Hotel Moonlight for a few Gorkha Strong beers.
Journey Return 