Momos, monsoon & madals

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Namaste! I have opted to keep a travel blog, to keep in touch with all of you back home, as an opportunity to reflect upon my experiences, and hopefully to inspire future travel to the area.

As many of you know I have built up quite a tremendous love affair with Nepal over the past 9 years (wowza, I feel old!!), so when I decided to spend my summer building up my photography portfolio, Nepal was the obvious destination for me.

It has been 5 years since my last visit to Nepal and whilst the country has remained the same in many ways, certain things have changed, particularly in the main tourist hub, Thamel.

A stroll through Thamel remains a sensory overload. Sounds include motorbike horns, richshaw wallahs, barking dogs, the endless repeat of 'om mani padme hum' resonating from local music stores and, of course, greetings of 'namaste' from every shop doorway. The streets smell like incense, spices and dust.

Potholes have been filled (although hundreds remain), restaurants have been renovated and hotels have moved, but the biggest change I have noticed, certainly in Thamel, is the presence of WiFi. Visitors can now check their facebook news feed from pretty much anywhere within the district. Restaurants that used to be full of solo travellers reading books, writing journals, are now full of people with their noses pressed against their ipads and smartphones. Of course, WiFi is not necessarily a bad development, but one that will potentially begin to attract a different type of traveller to Nepal. Back in 2006 e-mails were checked weekly, with occasional phone calls made to friends and family, and that was OK. Now it's far too easy just to update your facebook status whilst waiting for your banana lassi.

One thing that definitely hasn't changed, however, is the friendly, hospitable nature of the Nepali people. The majority are genuinely concerned for your welfare and happiness, and they display an endearing curiosity towards life outside of the country. I am staying in quite a pleasant hotel just outside of the main tourist stretch. The staff (which seem to multiply daily) are courteous and keen to make my stay enjoyable. As they know I am here on my own they always take the time to sit and talk with me. However, I am currently on the search for an apartment as my budget is pretty tight and I'd like to be able to cook my own meals rather than pay the increasing Thamel prices. Today I was offered a small rooftop room for 9,000 rupees (£66) a month, with the option of joining the family for dahl bhat. They only acquired the premises 5 days ago so they still need to paint and furnish, which I think might be quite an interesting project to get involved with.

I have visited several of my old favourite hangouts, and consumed my favourite breakfasts and lassis. From now on I shall be trying to eat at more budget, family run places. I am on the hunt for the perfect momo (tibetan dumplings stuffed with veg or meat). I have sampled momos from 4 different places so far, ranging from 30 rupees (about 22p) to 360 rupees. So far the buffalo momos I had from a street cart in the monsoon rain last night are the tastiest, and the cheapest.

Yesterday was a fantastic day. After a yoghurty breakfast with VSN organiser Kate, I took a stroll through some back streets and heard the sounds of a madal (Nepali drum). I followed the sound to a small music shop where a few young locals were jamming together. After enquiring about a ukulele I joined them in playing a few Beatles songs. I shall definitely find my way back there when I have an hour to spare.

In the afternoon I met up with a local guy that I first met back in 2006, Arun. He took me around the city on the back of his motorbike, and I was able to take photographs whilst he navigated our way through lanes of traffic, past sleeping cows and eager taxi drivers. It was thrilling, and certainly the most fun I've had since I arrived on Sunday. We stopped to drink tea by the side of the road in an area free from hotel touts and tiger balm sellers. On the way home the heavens opened but I was having too much fun to care that I was dripping wet. Yes, a fantastic day!!

Tomorrow I think I will wander over to Chobar, to help paint an animal shelter that I read about online. They also run a donkey sanctuary in Godawari, which is not far from my old volunteering village of Bistachhap, so that shall be another possible photography option. For now I am taking it slow, I have made very few plans and feel I am in no rush to make any decisions. On Sunday I shall be going to visit the children I worked with when I was last here, as well as my previous 2 host families.

I have not really met any other travellers yet, except for the new volunteers who will be back in Thamel every Saturday. In all honesty I drank so much rum on my first night that I have been kind of avoiding Thamel after 8pm!

The rest of my day shall be spent pottering the back streets, apartment hunting and trying to stay dry.

I think you should all quit your jobs and join me for the summer! VSN have far fewer volunteers then they did 7 years ago. I'm off now to introduce the guys at the hotel to Karl Pilkington. I am sure his facial expressions will cross language barriers. Laters!!

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