1st week Nepal - Kathmandu what a Kathmanwants
"Hello miss! Hello Australia! Hey Australia! You want taxi I give it to you very cheap, 1500 rupees. Ok no for you special price 1400 rupees."
Asia, back where I belong. It felt weird to come of the plane and be jolted back into the reality that is Asia. I was so excited to be back but also definitely felt the culture shock after having been in the clean and crisp NZ and Oz. The ultimate "I'm in Asia" moment was when none of the luggage belts matched the flight numbers on the screen. I paced up and down the airport to check all the belts until I realized that about 3 suitcases came out every 15 minutes and just gave up. I pulled into my place in Kathmandu at about 1am, so almost 3 hours after I arrived. Now I felt that I was in Nepal.
There's two Kathmandus. There's Thamel, the classic tourist district full of chaotic, narrow streets with young white guy dreaded hippies sporting the MC hammer pants. The 2nd Kathmandu is the actual Kathmandu that doesn't revolve around tourists. Following my usual 1st day in a new city routine I walked around Thamel and admired all the stupas. The second stupa I was admiring I was joined by a young boy who claimed to be practicing his English (you know where this is heading). He told me about the temple and it's significance. As soon as I started leaving he asked me to buy food for his family, a bit out of practice, I agreed thinking that it couldn't be more than a few bucks. The food turned out to cost 4,100 rupees (like $40). Ok I know I haven't been in Asia for a while but I knew that this was a scam immediately and walked off feeling a bit shaken. You always feel bad about beggars because you know that as a foreigner it's not that much money but to them it's a big difference. But then again I remembered you don't give to beggars. Gosh I'm out of practice. That night was a game changer for me because I remembered why traveling in Asia is so amazing. Right around the corner from my hostel ($4 a night btw) is a curry restaurant that I have now declared as my favorite Indian ever. For $2 bucks you get a hot cussa and a n order of fresh garlic naan. I also discovered the cheese naan yesterday. The cheese naan from western tandoor would be my last meal. Please make note. That first night I happen to sit next to a bunch of kiwis who finished the Everest base camp trek. They were hyping me up and giving advice about stocking up on chocolate. Thank you all!
The second day in Kathmandu I did a similar wander and made it to Durbar square where I watched and listened to a group of Nepalese women praying for good karma. Everyone could use a little bit of that. I made my way back to the main road where I poorly haggled for a taxi to swayambhu aka monkey temple to watch the sunset. As I was walking around the stupa I accidentally photobombed a group of monks' picture. We started chatting and next thing I know we're enjoying a hot cup of masala discussing coffee and monk jokes. I walked away thinking "wow this is my life". It's easy to take moments like that for granted. I try as hard as I can to remember this. That night was the night I met my squad. You think you'all never make as good friends when you go somewhere new as compared to the last place you were at. Somehow you always just manage to meet amazing people. Jurre and Jerome invited everyone for momos and I happen to be the only one who hadn't eaten. Just think if I already had dinner and my last week would have been so different. Quick explanation, momos, besides cheese naan, is what I could live off of. They have fulfilled my China dumplings dreams pretty sufficiently.
This is actually such a weird coincidence, but I happen to be scanning my lonely planet when I keep seeing this town named Bhaktapur come up. My parents happen to eat at curry mantra, our local indian at home, and meet the owner who's Nepalese and recommended Bhaktapur. I thought I had to go, so I went after a lazy and chatty morning in Alobar1000. Side note: we've concluded that Alobar1000 is a cult that once you join you can never escape. I have spent quite a few lazy morning just drinking tea and talking, which is usually not my style, but definitely something that I am getting accustomed to. I walked up to hectic Ratna park to literally catch the bus. I mean literally because the buses did like a rolling stop so I had to walk quickly beside as I yelled "Bhaktapur?". He said yeah so it's gotta be it! The bus ride was a snuggle one with Bollywood tunes blasting throughout the journey. I met an old lady who helped me figure out which stop to get off. She gave the bus a nice slap to indicate she wanted to get off. We enjoyed a lovely cup of masala together.
Bhaktapur is a UNESCO world heritage site because of its well preserved medieval charm. Unfortunately, like many places in Kathmandu valley, the town is still full of rubble from the 2015 earthquake. It was so nice to escape Thamel and the grittiness of Kathmandu. My eyes have actually been stinging from all the pollution in Kathmanders. I explored the little windy streets of Bhaktapur and of course the occasional temple. What really made Bhaktapur special was the guest house I stayed at. Ghanesh guest house. I sat up on the rooftop reading Little Princes which I highly recommend. It's a funny and beautiful account of an American volunteering at an orphanage in Nepal. I'm a big believer in reading up on a place when you travel there. A little background info goes a long way. This book happen to be a conversation point as two American girls saw that I was reading it and we hit it off. I learned that Nicole and Ellen work and run a children center for mostly Indian migrant kids in an effort to prevent childhood marriages. That night I got to meet the other usual of Ghanesh via a family dinner. It was a true Bethesda dream with just about every veg starting in their own curry. Everyone that was there was staying or had stayed in Nepal for several months all for different reasons. One girl was building a skate park, another was working to help teach career skills. It was so funny hearing them, like expats did in Shanghai, poke fun of Nepalese life. These people though were extremely invested in this country. I loved my time in Bhaktapur and want to thank everyone at Ghanesh!
I'll stop here for now because holi definitely needs its own post. Nepal though, you have brought back my love for Asia. I've missed dearly this chaos and grit (and of course the food).
Asia, back where I belong. It felt weird to come of the plane and be jolted back into the reality that is Asia. I was so excited to be back but also definitely felt the culture shock after having been in the clean and crisp NZ and Oz. The ultimate "I'm in Asia" moment was when none of the luggage belts matched the flight numbers on the screen. I paced up and down the airport to check all the belts until I realized that about 3 suitcases came out every 15 minutes and just gave up. I pulled into my place in Kathmandu at about 1am, so almost 3 hours after I arrived. Now I felt that I was in Nepal.
There's two Kathmandus. There's Thamel, the classic tourist district full of chaotic, narrow streets with young white guy dreaded hippies sporting the MC hammer pants. The 2nd Kathmandu is the actual Kathmandu that doesn't revolve around tourists. Following my usual 1st day in a new city routine I walked around Thamel and admired all the stupas. The second stupa I was admiring I was joined by a young boy who claimed to be practicing his English (you know where this is heading). He told me about the temple and it's significance. As soon as I started leaving he asked me to buy food for his family, a bit out of practice, I agreed thinking that it couldn't be more than a few bucks. The food turned out to cost 4,100 rupees (like $40). Ok I know I haven't been in Asia for a while but I knew that this was a scam immediately and walked off feeling a bit shaken. You always feel bad about beggars because you know that as a foreigner it's not that much money but to them it's a big difference. But then again I remembered you don't give to beggars. Gosh I'm out of practice. That night was a game changer for me because I remembered why traveling in Asia is so amazing. Right around the corner from my hostel ($4 a night btw) is a curry restaurant that I have now declared as my favorite Indian ever. For $2 bucks you get a hot cussa and a n order of fresh garlic naan. I also discovered the cheese naan yesterday. The cheese naan from western tandoor would be my last meal. Please make note. That first night I happen to sit next to a bunch of kiwis who finished the Everest base camp trek. They were hyping me up and giving advice about stocking up on chocolate. Thank you all!
The second day in Kathmandu I did a similar wander and made it to Durbar square where I watched and listened to a group of Nepalese women praying for good karma. Everyone could use a little bit of that. I made my way back to the main road where I poorly haggled for a taxi to swayambhu aka monkey temple to watch the sunset. As I was walking around the stupa I accidentally photobombed a group of monks' picture. We started chatting and next thing I know we're enjoying a hot cup of masala discussing coffee and monk jokes. I walked away thinking "wow this is my life". It's easy to take moments like that for granted. I try as hard as I can to remember this. That night was the night I met my squad. You think you'all never make as good friends when you go somewhere new as compared to the last place you were at. Somehow you always just manage to meet amazing people. Jurre and Jerome invited everyone for momos and I happen to be the only one who hadn't eaten. Just think if I already had dinner and my last week would have been so different. Quick explanation, momos, besides cheese naan, is what I could live off of. They have fulfilled my China dumplings dreams pretty sufficiently.
This is actually such a weird coincidence, but I happen to be scanning my lonely planet when I keep seeing this town named Bhaktapur come up. My parents happen to eat at curry mantra, our local indian at home, and meet the owner who's Nepalese and recommended Bhaktapur. I thought I had to go, so I went after a lazy and chatty morning in Alobar1000. Side note: we've concluded that Alobar1000 is a cult that once you join you can never escape. I have spent quite a few lazy morning just drinking tea and talking, which is usually not my style, but definitely something that I am getting accustomed to. I walked up to hectic Ratna park to literally catch the bus. I mean literally because the buses did like a rolling stop so I had to walk quickly beside as I yelled "Bhaktapur?". He said yeah so it's gotta be it! The bus ride was a snuggle one with Bollywood tunes blasting throughout the journey. I met an old lady who helped me figure out which stop to get off. She gave the bus a nice slap to indicate she wanted to get off. We enjoyed a lovely cup of masala together.
Bhaktapur is a UNESCO world heritage site because of its well preserved medieval charm. Unfortunately, like many places in Kathmandu valley, the town is still full of rubble from the 2015 earthquake. It was so nice to escape Thamel and the grittiness of Kathmandu. My eyes have actually been stinging from all the pollution in Kathmanders. I explored the little windy streets of Bhaktapur and of course the occasional temple. What really made Bhaktapur special was the guest house I stayed at. Ghanesh guest house. I sat up on the rooftop reading Little Princes which I highly recommend. It's a funny and beautiful account of an American volunteering at an orphanage in Nepal. I'm a big believer in reading up on a place when you travel there. A little background info goes a long way. This book happen to be a conversation point as two American girls saw that I was reading it and we hit it off. I learned that Nicole and Ellen work and run a children center for mostly Indian migrant kids in an effort to prevent childhood marriages. That night I got to meet the other usual of Ghanesh via a family dinner. It was a true Bethesda dream with just about every veg starting in their own curry. Everyone that was there was staying or had stayed in Nepal for several months all for different reasons. One girl was building a skate park, another was working to help teach career skills. It was so funny hearing them, like expats did in Shanghai, poke fun of Nepalese life. These people though were extremely invested in this country. I loved my time in Bhaktapur and want to thank everyone at Ghanesh!
I'll stop here for now because holi definitely needs its own post. Nepal though, you have brought back my love for Asia. I've missed dearly this chaos and grit (and of course the food).
Love hearing about your impressions of Khatmandu. I travelled there almost 40 years ago. What amazing people you met doing such meaningful yet what is surely challenging work. Inspiring!
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