One Place, Many Facets
When our team first started work on this Thamel Special Issue, I wondered if we could possibly find enough in this small area to fill an entire issue; after all, if you measure by size alone, Thamel is a very small part of Kathmandu. But I shouldn’t have worried: in these few square kilometers, there’s no limit to what you’ll discover. From bars to restaurants, bookstores to tattoo parlors, coffee shops, travel and trekking agencies, shops selling clothing and souvenirs—you can wander the lanes and side roads for days and still not see everything there is to see in Thamel.
Then there is its history, the people who made it what it is, and those who make their homes and livelihoods there today. It’s a place full of stories, and memories, and different reactions to the overwhelming sensory overload that greets you at each corner—everyone seems to remember it or experience it a bit differently, and that both adds to its appeal and the appeal of the stories that all our writers have contributed to making this issue the outstanding one that it is. And we haven’t even told a fraction of the stories that could be written—with time, this issue could have been even bigger!
We hope that as you read you will find what you love best about Thamel in these pages, as well as hopefully discover some new pieces of information or fresh places to visit that you hadn’t known about before. It’s impossible to cover everything, of course, and part of the area’s appeal is it changeability and adaptability. There’s something for everyone—and if you don’t find yours today, just go back next week. Somehow, something will have changed or will touch you in a new and different way.
To each of the many, many people our team has spoken to in preparation for this Special Thamel Issue, and for all of those that have shared their knowledge to make it better and more complete: thank you. We at ECS Nepal are really proud of this issue, and we couldn’t have done it without a lot of help from our friends.
This month will be 64 years since the first ascent of Mt. Everest, on 29 May 1953, and to commemorate this, our travel section is focused on Everest, with photos, stories and reminiscences.
Evangeline Neve
Associate Editor
