Kathmandu

Well I'm in Kathmandu now and it was a bit of a shock moving back to a third world country from the cossited lifestyle of First World Hong Kong.
Arriving at the airport you are escorted by all manner of people wanting to carry your bags etc and it was a little overwelming. Fortunately I found the tour operator who we are working through and he escorted me away from it all. Still cost a bit in tips though so make sure you have a number of low denomination bills (say $1USD with you). Also you will need a Napali visa which you can get at the airport on arrival for $30USD.
On the way to the hotel the car was stopped a number of times by groups of youths who ran string across the road ro make cars stop. In each case there was a protracted discussion about payment of an impromptu road access fee. Fortunately our driver managed to get away without paying anything, which was good as I probably would have had to reimburse him.
The Hotel is about what you'd expect though a little grimmy. you do have hot and cold taps in the shower and however both have only supplied copious quantities of cold water. - No matter!
I spent the morning walking around Kathmandu which is a rabbit warren of narrow streets and what seems to be one continuous bazzar. Every now and then you would happen upon a small square containing one of more Hindu or Buddhist shrines and a market of some sort. The spice market(s) (not sure how many there are because I don't have a map of the town and have gotten lost a number of times) were great with sacks of spices open to the air and their scent wafting over the square.
Most of the street don't seem to be paved with anything other than the detrious of ruble from old buildings and garbage. The streets a very crowded with Rickshaws, small derelict cars, motorbikes and people. In amongst all this are cows, just ambling along and eating from the occasional pile of garbage. They seem to stay away from the produce that various people have laid out on the ground. Every now and then someone will come up an touch a cow and then their forehead as a blessing.
The tourist part of Kathmandu is well stock with climbing shops selling the discards of thousands of treks and mountainairing expeditions. You could basically arrive with nothing and completely stock up on everything you need. Three of the major outdoor firms (Black Diamond, Mountain Hardware & North Face) have even open their own stores here as well so you can buy new if you wanted (prices seem reasonable as well).
From a western sense, food items aren't as plentiful as you might be useful so I would suggest erring on the side of caution in case you can't find something you really want.
Warwick, arrives this afternoon and we commense planning the finer points of our trip to Island Peak (6100m). Commensing tomorrow.