Who'll stop the rain??

• Mattravels81's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Kathmandu

Trip Start Aug 28, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Feb 28, 2009 Next
Entry

  Kathmandu, Nepal
Thursday, September 25, 2008

Hey everyone, getting one more entry in before I head to Pokhara tomorrow, very early in fact. So the monsoons are in full effect here and up until a few hours ago, it had been raining pretty steadily. Determined not to be a victim of the weather, I set out last night to get geared up and for just about 100 USD, I got a full Gortex suit, pants and jacket. Granted these are knock-off items, I was surprised that today after spending 5 odd hours in/out of rain, I was still fairly dry and warm so at least the material holds up.

Today's adventure was to a town called Bhoktapur, a medieval-like place that is actually a world heritage site and costs about 10 USD to get in and tour. I liken it to the town of Siena in Italy, very much steeped in history with original buildings and city layout as was planned 500 years ago. I came across a nice guide named Lava. At 25, he is the head male of the household trying to earn a living for his family. Though I wasn't interested in a tour, I bought him a small lunch and we talked about America and Nepal and the similarities and differences. Obvs, the differences out-weighed but there were more similarities than I had anticipated. For instance, festivals are a big deal here and poor families often borrow money to prepare for them to keep up with the rich families.... sound familiar? Anyway, after lunch, we headed to his art school, at which he claimed to paint. I just think he wanted to bring these guys some business. Still, the hand made art work was too good to pass up and so I bought a small piece. Soon after, I met a small child who wanted me to buy him an English translation book, even though it was apparent that he couldn't read. We settled on Kit Kats and that satisfied both of us.

I hopped a bus back to Katmandu and met some middle-class Nepali youths (the few) who were interested in talking about the US. They offered to take me to tea so that they could pick my brain. We ended up drinking on Durbar Sq. where just a few days ago I was attacked by touts as a tourist. What a difference a few days makes in one place.

Tomorrow, its time to leave the big city behind and head for the hills. I am still contemplating what kind of hike I will do and am hoping for inspiration in my dreams tonight, perhaps.

Print this entry Share Kathmandu hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry