Back to Kathmandu - More crazy motorbike rides

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After a six hour bus ride from Chitwan, I was back in Kathmandu for two more nights. The bus ride was uneventful, but I was on the side of the bus with a view this time. That was good because I was able to see the view. That was also bad. Because I was able to see the view. Off the dropoff into the river. With little or no barrier in most places. And it is impossible to sleep on this bus, not because it was loud, but because it is so bumpy. We got thrown around pretty good in some sections. I was sitting next to a guy from Belgium who came to Nepal for two weeks, but he spent the first week building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Now he was checking out other parts of the country.

When we got back to Kathmandu, the drive into the city was a bit shocking. We saw people living in shacks along the road between Chitwan and Kathmandu. A lot of them. But when we got back to the city, I saw a side of Kathmandu I hadn't seen yet. The rubbish in the streets and the countless numbers of people standing around in it doing nothing rivaled anything I saw in India. Nepal has a huge problem with waste collection, and large numbers of people who seem to not care. Lots of junk food and modern packaging methods have not been kind to this country, and people's lack of education about it means they don't worry about it. When most people think of Nepal, they think of Everest, trekking, clean mountain air and incredible views. And maybe some of them also think of John Denver. But few people think about the fact that this is a third world country with third world problems. I know I didn't think about it until I saw those third world problems on this trip.

But anyway, I was back in Kathmandu with a few more sights I wanted to see before I left. And of course, there was much shopping to be done. The bus dropped us off in a different location than where we got on, and the Belgian guy and myself had no idea where we were. So we were negotiating a taxi fare to Thamel so we could share a taxi, when who walks up and says my name? Rabi!! Now how the hell did he know what time that bus arrived? Bus departure times are pretty reliable, but arrival times? No way. This ride took 6 hours. It could have been five, or seven, or eight. Rabi is well-connected, let me tell you. I still don't know who he called to find out, but there he was, so he helped the Belgian guy (sorry to keep calling him that, but I never got his name) negotiate a fair price to his hotel in Thamel (150 NRs) and then we were off on the motorbike. Again. I. Love. Riding. A motorbike. In Kathmandu. As long as I don't think about it too much.

I checked into Hotel Nepalaya once again, and then I was ready to do some shopping, so of course, my first shopping expedition was a fact-finding mission. I didn't buy anything. Just got an idea of what things cost. Had dinner at Alchemy Pizzeria, which had decent pizza actually, and really nice coffee. I had three slices of pizza left and a boy came in and asked if he could have one. I said he could take it all. So he did and then he proceed to go outside and share it with his friends, except most of it ended up on the ground from them grabbing at it.

There was a small bookstore nearby and I went in because I had finished my books. I found a book called A Beard in Nepal and I asked the price. The owner told me, but the young guy working there went outside when he saw the book I was asking about. Next thing I know, this British guy with long white hair and a long white beard comes in and says, 'That's me. I'm the beard in Nepal.' I thought he was just kidding. Nope. The book was written by his wife, who was outside, and he really was the Beard in Nepal! I bought it and his wife, Fiona Roberts, signed it! I was so thrilled! This couple had taught English in Salle, a village in the Himalayas near the town of Jiri, for about 4 months in 2009 and his wife wrote this book about their experience. Men in Nepal don't really have facial hair, so to most people, a beard is very foreign and Tod earned the nickname Ali Baba. Everyone loved to tug at his beard. We chatted for a while and they showed me a good place to buy alcohol (I was planning to smuggle some into Kuwait on my return trip.) A lot of people think Tod is a hippy, and of course, all hippies smoke pot, right? So he was offered pot twice on the street in the short 20 minutes that I talked to him and Fiona. They just laugh about it. It was so great to meet this couple. They were back in Nepal to visit the village, and they were off to India and then Bhutan the next day. This was one of my most memorable travel experiences, definitely.

The next morning I managed to buy two pashmina shawls before I even made it to the restaurant for breakfast. I went to the coffee place my friend and I went to the last time we were in Nepal, and I tried to enjoy my coffee and cinnamon roll outside, but the flies were relentless. I didn't notice that when I traveled there before, but this time everywhere I went there were flies everywhere. Hard to enjoy a meal outdoors. After breakfast and reading the newspaper, I stopped in at Rabi's office to say hello and he offered to take me to Boudhanath Stupa after I asked about the picture of it on his wall. Another motorbike ride? Okay, I said. He finished up some work he was doing on his website and we went to visit the stupa (150 NRs). And guess what? It is indeed a giant stupa, just like the picture shows. Giant. It is a World Heritage Site and a major pilgramage site for people from the Himalayas, Tibet, and South-East Asia. It's name means lord of wisdom. Traditionally, pilgrims walk counter-clockwise around the stupa (any Hindu or Buddhist temple or stupa should always be to the person's right side) three times. We walked around once, and took pictures, and then went halfway around again and I told Rabi I didn't really need to circle it three times as I am not Buddhist. Haha. But we walked around another full turn just trying to find how we got up there in the first place. It is surrounded by shops and restaurants, of course, so we had coffee at Roadhouse Cafe, a very western cafe with good coffee. There is another in Thamel that is also very nice.

We went back to Rabi's office and then he had to leave for a party, but his brother was there and so graciously invited me to dinner again! I was stunned. I declined, feeling like I had taken full advantage of their hospitality enough. I had lunch at Rabi's house yesterday and met his lovely mom. She was visiting from their village. So I said good night and went to have dinner in Thamel on the roof top of Third Eye Restaurant. Indian food. Really, really good Indian food and ice cold beer. Highly recommend, and on the rooftop it was so lovely. Beautiful evening, and much quieter up there.

The next morning I had breakfast at Roadhouse Cafe, read the newspaper, did a bit more shopping, bought some alcohol and transferred it to my smuggling bottles (they work every time!) and then it was time to go. My driver to the airport came to my hotel, as did Rabi, and I thanked him for going well above what I expected from a trekking company owner. I had such a good time and I feel like I learned a lot more about the culture of Nepal on this trip. I talked to a lot more Nepali people than I did last time. What an amazing place.

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Photos

Real coffee
is surprisingly easy to find in Kathmandu

Boudhanath Stupa
Couldn't go inside. In fact, I'm not sure there is an inside.

Boudhanath Stupa
Worth a visit for 150 NRs

Possible entrance?
Nope.

For some reason,
I felt like I was being watched...