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Published: November 13th 2006
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How to wear a Saree, Mukti Nepal Tuesday was my last full day in Kathmandu, which again was spent doing exciting last minute domestic chores like washing & packing... It was my brother’s birthday & I bought him a mosquito net for an African family through the World Vision website. It was also Jessica's birthday, however there have been issues with the internet password at Mukti & we were unable to send her birthday greetings. I began the day with a sleep in, missing English class & ended it at the Lazimpat Gallery watching the movie Harvey with Jill & her flat mate Robbie. We all had spaghetti & meatballs for dinner, which was just sensational, but unfortunately the movie started playing up half way through & we abandoned it in favour of a gin & tonic back at Jill & Robbie's place. Only one more sleep to go!
Considering Wednesday was my last day at Mukti, I actually achieved a surprising amount before my afternoon flight. With all last minute packing complete, Goma, Shanti, Pradip & I headed down to New Road & bought Mukti a DVD player & a whole bunch of stationery. We returned home, I handed out chocolate bars & the kids
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How to wear a Saree, Mukti Nepal watched their first DVD. I have some educational shows being sent from Australia & hope they arrive before I return to Kathmandu. They will test if burnt DVD's work on the player & if successful, the kids will become familiar with Hi Five & the Wiggles; otherwise they will have to make do with stuff bought in Nepal.
Goma & a few of the children dropped me at the airport shortly before two; thankfully I went two hours early as it took forever to get through security. Both bags were x-rayed, I was patted down as soon as I entered the building, then paid the airport tax & checked in my main pack. After completing the immigration process & going through duty free, my backpack was x-rayed again, physically checked & I was once again patted down. With recent terrorist problems worldwide, all liquids have been banned on flights, with security confiscating water, hand wash gel, makeup & even toothpaste. I read for a while in the departure lounge until we began boarding at around quarter to four. Busses transported us to the tarmac, where airline staff once again checked through all carry on luggage & patted down passengers
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How to wear a Saree, Mukti Nepal before boarding the aircraft. All of this rigmarole delayed the flight for almost an hour, which wasn't a problem for me as I fortunately didn't have a connecting flight to catch.
The flight was quick, the views of the Himalayas were spectacular & I arrived in Delhi to witness the most spectacular sunset I'd seen in weeks. Although taxis work on a prepaid system from the airport, I managed to wrangle my way in with some visiting Nepali's, who were heading in the same direction. After a long drive through peak hour traffic & a lap of the surrounding streets, which included a scary bit of road rage the driver managed to find the street my hotel was on. Although I'd negotiated a 150IRP fare, after the road rage incident I’d decided getting change wasn’t really an issue & left the guy a fifty rupee tip. Although Sam & I had discussed going for a drink upon her arrival, after settling in at the hotel I was too tired to go anywhere, so ordered room service & prepared for an early night. I would have been able to sleep had it not been for the party going on across
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How to wear a Saree, Mukti Nepal the laneway. Some Hindu festival was in full swing & like the Nepali, Indian's only seem to know one volume - super loud! I think the music finally stopped around 1:30am & I drifted off to sleep.
Sam arrived around two am on Wednesday morning, shortly after the music next door finished. We chatted for an hour or so & decided to get some rest & catch up more in the morning. We slept until the music started up again around 9am, freshened up & headed out to explore the local area & grab breakfast. Some shops were beginning to set up, but most were closed until 11am, so we walked the streets until then, ate pizza at Raffles & planned our day. Rather than head out in the heat on our own trying to see the sights, we decided to hire a car with driver the following day. After brunch we shopped for most of the day & decided some pampering was in order, so we found a salon offering everything from haircuts to facials & massages. We opted for a full body massage & when it became clear there wasn't the staff available to do them
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How to wear a Saree, Mukti Nepal simultaneously, decided on alternating between massages & facials. Unfortunately I didn't get as far as the facial as my massage was the worst ever. It was only half the time promised, felt extremely rushed & I walked out feeling more tense than when I'd gone in. For some inexplicable reason, the lady felt the need to focus much time & energy massaging my butt & boobs, which was quite uncomfortable. I just couldn't relax because I was too busy worrying where her hands would end up next! I complained to the manager & explained I wasn't prepared to pay full price, but he told me not to pay anything if I wasn't happy with the service; feeling bad that's what I did. Sam & I went around the corner for dinner to a restaurant named Crossroads. We had Chinese food & caught up more over a few beers, wandering home after most of the shops had long since closed.
Friday we hired a driver who took us around Delhi to most of the major tourist attractions. We drove past the Red Fort as it was closed for the festival & looked through the gates at Humayuns Tomb because
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How to wear a Saree, Mukti Nepal there were way too many tourists fighting for space inside. We followed the hoards into the Lotus Temple & spent a few silent minutes reflecting inside before being herded out again. The Qutab Minar was very interesting & we spent quite a bit of time exploring it's surrounding ruins. The India Gate was impressive & although we only drove past the Rashtrapati Bhauan (Presidents residence) & surrounding parliamentary buildings were striking. Even though yesterday was spent shopping, Yadav (the driver) insisted on taking us to a few 'cheap' places, which basically sold the same stuff; jewellery, statues, pashminas, carvings & rugs. With no intentions of purchasing anything, somehow I walked out with a gorgeous sapphire & diamond ring. Sam is going to take it home & it will be my 30th birthday present to myself.
Upon returning to the hotel, we met four other group members & headed back to Crossroads for dinner, drinks & pre tour bonding.
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