Nepal is a country surrounded by China, India, Tibet and Bhutan.

The picturesque Himalayas frame its pristine natural beauty of rivers, lakes and rolling hills that capture a nature lover’s wildest dreams, on a backpacker’s budget.

As the pilot prepared us for landing, he casually explained: “This is one of my favourite landing strips in the world.

“Kathmandu is a valley surrounded by mountains, so landing in here is like landing in a teacup.

“We will have to circulate the airstrip a second time before we are able to land.”

His attempt at lightening the mood failed miserably in my opinion, and this paved the way for a rowdy applause when the wheels finally hit the tarmac.

This dramatic entrance was only a taster to what was awaiting in Nepal’s capital.

The streets are full of honking horns and cycle-rickshaws, with modern hotels standing beside crumbling graffiti walls and cows sampling the rotting rubbish on the side of the road as elderly women sell fruit, vegetables and shampoo.

Kathmandu’s frenzied streets may distract you for a while, but they can never steal the limelight from the cultural haven that lies peacefully beneath the chaos.

I managed to lure my best friend Jocelyn Webster to join me on this trip with enticing pictures of green, rolling hills and crisp mountain air.

Crammed streets twist around guesthouses, trekking shops and restaurants, creating a tapestry of old-world charm

Jocelyn, an English-Maltese girl used to the city life in London, raised her eyebrows in curious excitement and disoriented jet lag.

While hailing a taxi outside the airport, we met another traveller who was heading to the same hostel, Traveller’s Home, which we chose from TripAdvisor simply because it gave a map of how to get there.

The Nepali receptionist at the hostel went to check if there was space available in all of their eight rooms.

As we roamed the corridors, we came across a captivating painting in the hall. Hostel owner Sushil proudly explained it was painted by Analise Farrugia, a Maltese girl who had stayed there a few months back.

When travelling, a coincidence like this instantly instils a sense of familiarity and trust. A double room with shared bathrooms and no hot water became our cosy home for the week, for just €1.90 each per night.

We stepped out on to the streets of Thamel, an area of the city to where all travellers seem to gravitate. Crammed streets twist around guesthouses, trekking shops and restaurants creating a tapestry of old-world charm.

Salesmen touting Kashmir scarves and ivory Buddha statues show off million-rupee smiles, as amused shoppers dodge rickshaw drivers who swoosh past drumming up business in broken English: “I take you my fren, 20 rupee happy price.”

It’s a shopper’s haven: whether you’re preparing for a three-week trek on the Annapurna Circuit or a jungle safari in Chitwan National Park, there is no need to pack gear from home.

We found all we needed in Thamel, which was good quality and a quarter of the price.

By night, shop entrances transformed into pathways leading to rock bars.

Jocelyn and I gathered a few other backpackers from our hostel and sampled Nepali rock music and Raksi, the local alcoholic drink made from millet, for an unexpected night out on the town.

A day of exploring the ‘city of temples’ side of Kathmandu was a welcome contrast to that initial impression.

The temples bear testimony to Nepal’s historical and religious facets. We visited the Swayambunath Stupa and were greeted by ‘holy’ monkeys living around the temple grounds. The furry friends stared and snatched at our bananas and belongings.

Swayambunath is a complex labyrinth of temples, shrines, bells and museums

We made our way up the mountain of steep steps, breathless.

As we reached the summit, the sight of the towering, glistening golden stupa left us breathless for a whole new reason. This is the oldest temple in Nepal and has a majestic presence.

Swayambunath is a complex labyrinth of temples, shrines, bells and museums. The library and Tibetan monastery are preceded by intricately carved wooden doors, which are hanging in red brick structures.

Thousands of Tibetan prayer flags of blue, white, red, green and yellow float in the wind overlooking the Kathmandu valley, hung up by followers in hope of a long life and good fortune.

The next day, Jocelyn heard through the backpacker grapevine that a concert was to be held at Durbar Square called ‘We Are Committed’.

This was a pro-education event organised to shed light on the plight of Nepali migrant workers in harrowing conditions in countries such as Qatar.

International singers like Kellee Maize, an American rap artist who has sold more than a million records worldwide, Feyago, a rap sensation from India; and Joint Family, a Nepali reggae band, were present to help raise awareness about the hard facts: 1,500 to 2,000 migrant workers leave Nepal every day in search of work, with very bleak prospects of ever returning home.

The concert also raised funds for an education program to help the dead migrants’ families and children.

The setting of Basantapur Durbar Square, with its historic, brick red palaces and tiers of hooded roofs of enormous stature dominating the area, reminded us that we were still in Nepal.

It was moving to be part of this music movement and feel the unity and solidarity of Nepalis and foreigners alike. Kathmandu was far from the Nepal we expected.