39. Kathmandu

After the mercifully short Thai airways flight, we touched down at the mostly completed but already crumbling Kathmandu Airport. Unfortunately your first experience of Nepal will likely be your worst, as you leave the airport and are surrounded by dozens of little kids grabbing everything you've got. They're only looking for a handout, but the experience of watching all your luggage being grabbed from you in a chaotic crowd isn't relaxing. Nor is the ride into town on universally broken down, stinking cars that pass as taxis, as they slam from one pothole to another. It's the only place I've ever driven where the experience actually hurt.

Fortunately, our hotel, Dwarika's, is pretty close to the airport, so the bonejarring in the back seat was mercifully short. Unfortunately, it's not near the center of town, so we're stuck taking these terrible rides the whole trip.

But Dwarika's, as you can see here, is hands down the best hotel in Kathmandu. It's a relatively new building but built with an amazing treasure trove of antique architectural fragments. Every door, window and wall surface is covered with intricately carved period pieces that create an amazing visual tour of Nepalese architecture. The antiques are also carried through in the large and airy rooms as well. The hotel is surrounded by the chaos of the city, but these photos are taken from the huge, rambling inner courtyard that's a world away from all that. Sightseeing in Kathmandu is a tough slog, so this sanctuary is a real blessing. The hotel desperately needs a pool, which is its only real black mark, but I seem to remember someone telling me they put one in recently, so maybe all is well at Dwarika's now.

Dwarika's (7): Room-7, Facilities-7, Service-6, Wow-5 (beautiful architecture plus the Nepali dinner at the restaurant is quite a showstopper)