Parandroid Nepal Tour: one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen

Arrival in Kathmandu

After I bought my Visa on arrival I took a taxi to the hotel that was booked for me. One of the people coordinating the whole endeavor was about to meet me there.

After I left the sterile environment of the Airport I directly headed over to a taxi. A friendly Nepali called Sajit opened the trunk for me to put my bags inside. I was full of joy that it really was happening. He was literally the first Nepali person I talked to and he didn`t leave a bad impression.

We both had plenty of question for each other that we diligently answered. He wanted to know if I am a tourist. I told him that I got invited to a music festival here in Nepal. He was pleasantly surprised and had more questions about my job as a musician. He, on the other hand, he informed me that Kathmandu and Nepal, in general, are quite safe places. Awesome, that is always something assuring to hear.

Arrival at the Yellow House

I arrived at the place that was booked for me. Luckily, the yellow house is an awesome place. I entered the reception

and was greeted by a man with grey hair that was probably in his 50s. He politely greeted me with a French accent. In the back of the Yellow House, you find the Restaurant. It has two levels, one is a spacious terrace, and the other part is below the terrace and inside the building. Inside the indoor area of the Restaurant, you will find several pillowed areas where you can hang out and have food or drinks, smoke or conversate with the guests of the Yellow House. In 90% of the cases, we always chilled on the Terrace since the temperature is so pleasant. This spot of the hotel, despite being so close to the crowded tourist area of Thamel surrounded by green patches of land that not has been developed yet.

Myk Mantra

it was just right next to the entrance to Thamel. This is where I met My Mantra, a 160cm tall Nepali organizer with a very good reputation in Nepal. Smilingly, he welcomes me in Kathmandu and helped to create the event series “SHAKTI PRAKTI” amongst other Nepali based Psytrance endeavors. He told me that he is just connecting me to the guy who is actually doing the event. He told me everything about the incedents at SHAKTI PEAK, where many tourists and party goers where arrested on site. A lot of events went wrong this season and this is why he keeps out of it for this year and not doing Shakti Peak. He assured me that we will meet his friend that is planning the event will meet me soon. A pre event for the party was planed. This was a ingenious move, since this pre party paid for my Hotel bills in Kathmandu and made it more easy for the organizer to pay me at the main event. After we had some smoke and a beer we headed out to eat, despite the fact that it was already around 11 oclock , we had no issue finding a restaurant in nearby Thamel. After food we went back to the Yellow House where I said goodbye to Myk.

I literally traveled all my life and visited huge parts of this planet, even long before I became a professional music producer. Getting invited to those special places is still always a great honor for me.

Max and Mark

After Myk had left I met two very nice young guys on the terace of th Yellow House. Max was from Austria and owned a clothing brand. Mark on the other side, was a wandering Shaman. For a lack of a better term this is indeed the best way to describe him. Max is around 190cm high , with fare skin and a rascally, positive bright smile. He is very outgoing and uncomplicated. Mark is around 175cm, short hair. Both of them play a major role in this trip. I greet them immidiately and we onquire about each others adventrues and endevours. I immidiately feel a deep sympathy for both of them. They know each other since more than a decade. I trust them instantly. I tell them my story, that I am an artist and that I just came from an amazing event in Bangalore. I also explain them that I am not in Nepal for leissure but for work. In the upcoming days, I see both of them daily for cofee in the morning , we have lunch and dinner together and enjoy the evening with many different friends. Max was very concentrated on his work. A new collection for his clothing brand SEALUNA. He has a clear vision of organically grown cotton from nepal and is buisy coordinating with his tailors and producers. Max and Mark became good friends, and we kept on traveling to the event and after that to amazing Pokhara.(I will tell you more about this in the next part of this report)

The first days in Kathmandu

During the first days of my stay in Kathmandu, I had a chance to get to know it a littlebit. The first things I decided was to get a bike, so I started to scout the City for bike rental shops. It was not hard to find some, but to my surprise, renting bikes in Nepal easily costs you 3 to 4 times the money than in India. This is due to a 100% import tax on bikes from India. This din`t stop me from finding a bike though. I paid around 1200 INR per day for my Brand new Yamaha FZS 250 CC bike. I love this bike and was gladly spending the few hundred rupees extra to feel comfortable and safe on Nepals roads.

Driving around I quickly noticed that I am pretty much the only white dude driving around the busy city of Kathmandu. Instead of traffic lights, you can find a police man controlling the millions of cars cruising through Kathmandu. Having some experience driving motor bikes in India, I assimilated fast and soon felt very comfortable discovering this awesome place. It is an indescribable feeling of ultimative freedom and pure life. Only few things in Life give me such wonderful feeling and I am so greatful for those inspirational experiences.