Arriving in Nepal - July 13

At the end of our stay in India our driver dropped us off at the airport and to ruin what would otherwise have been a fine time with him demanded an excessive tip before he would drive the last mile or so to the terminal. Being that I had a serious need to find a bathroom I didn't care to argue and made a mental note for the next time to not give any sort of tip until we were all out of the car and to also keep myself more thoroughly drained. Arriving in Kathmandu we discovered that the visa process is quite possible the most confusing thing ever, especially if you are unprepared for it and have not brought a suitable amount of money in at least two different currencies. To begin with, you must fill out not only an entry form but also a visa application. Unfortunately we didn't realize we needed a visa application (there were none left) until we got to the counter. After you get the application you find out that it needs a passport photo which you can get from the conveniently placed photo booth. Unfortunately the man there does not have any small bills, and so if you don't have close to 220 Nepalese rupees or 200 Indian rupees, you must go to the conveniently places currency exchange counter. Finally when you think you are ready to get your visa and leave, you discover (possibly to your dismay) that the visa costs US$30 and can be paid in neither Indian nor Nepalese rupees. There are, in fact, only a select number of currencies from more developed nations which are accepted for this fee. If you do not happen to have the necessary amount in one of the allowed currencies and not enough rupees to change at the exchange counter, you must go to the inconveniently placed and intermittently function ATM. To get there you must walk all the way through customs out the airport and down the street a little ways past the waiting line of taxis. To do this you are supposed to leave your passport at the visa counter but seeing as how no one checks anything on the way out and the counter was mostly chaos this is hardly a required step. Anyway, if the ATM is not functioning you will have to take a Taxi into the city (perhaps ten minutes) to find another one which will hopefully not only be working but also accept your card. The better option at this point is to borrow the money from a friend who fortunately (though unintentionally) just happens to have $60 on hand. After I got Rob the money and we had both procured visas, we went through customs and left the airport with nobody in security giving us so much as a glance.