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Published: December 27th 2005
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I was woken up at ~9AM by a strange woman pressing the doorbell, then banging on the door, then trying to force the door open. I assumed it was housekeeping, but in actual fact it was a member of some other party here who had got her room numbers confused. Depending on who she was expecting to find in the room, me shouting "I'm still in bed" might have been more of an encouragement than a deterrent, but she eventually went away.
I wandered along to Tsug Lakhang temple again, figuring it would be a peaceful haven for some Yuletide contemplation. The temple had been decked out in some (possibly Christmas?) livery and had a more festive feel than yesterday (you can compare the photos). I stood around in the crisp, sunny air, alone, unsure how to feel in a town where I'm neither surrounded by the usual people that I spend Christmas with, nor many other signs that the holiday even exists. This is only the second Christmas I've spent away from my family, and it was strange to see 25th December as the date on my watch but to be up in the Himalayan foothills.
My parents
and sister (Christine) called me at about 4:30PM (11AM UK time) for a Christmas conversation. It was great to speak to them for longer this time. They had given me a Christmas card when I left the UK, which I only opened today, containing a silly (in the nicest way) poem of Christine's devising. They also sent me a series of photos showing my stuffed camel Cecil (don't ask ...) unwrapping a Christmas present, which turned out to be an Oxfam camel-sponsoring gift. My understanding is that I won't get the camel myself, more's the pity, but some more deserving individual (in Africa, I think) will receive it.
I felt a little unsettled when I had to put the phone down. You can get so used to being away from home that to have its familiarity suddenly back in your life for a brief period can provoke morose thoughts.
In the evening, I had to deal with the vexing issue of how to rustle up an approximation of a Christmas dinner. I went to the most Western place in town (McLlo's again), which was jam-packed and it was a struggle to find an empty seat. A glass of
wine would have been great, but I've had so many prior warnings about Indian wine that I plumped for a Kingfisher. There was no special Christmas dish on the menu, though that's not too surprising as foreigners were in the minority. My attempt at turkey/stuffing/roast potatoes/boiled potatoes/Brussels sprouts/carrots/gravy/Christmas pudding/custard was butter chicken (off the bone at my request) and 2 plates of chips. Note to self - this is not an adequate substitute.
To answer the question posed in the title, yes, I did know it was Christmas. Though there were few of the indications normally seen in the West - shops filled with Christmas goods, Christmas trees and decorations all over the place, carol singers, TV Christmas specials, etc - I received e-mails/e-cards from friends, I spoke to my family as well as Debash, I had a Christmas card to display in my hotel room, and I had a dinner that contained fowl and a vegetable. So the commercial aspect of the holiday was virtually absent, and I even found myself uninterested in the large bar of Dairy Milk that I'd been lusting after in the shop next to the hotel for the last few days. No bad
thing, I think.
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