I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but I must talk about how funny walking around Kathmandu can be sometimes. First of all, some of the t-shirts people wear are hilarious. All over you see kids and adults, mostly boys, wearing shirts with Britney Spears, the cast of 90210, the Backstreet boys, even the New Kids on the Block. I suppose many of the people wear what they wear strictly out of necessity, but that doesn't make it any less funny to see a grown man with Britney Spears on his shirt. Holding hands is completely backwards here as well. I never see a boy and a girl holding hands. Boys hold boy's hands, and vice versa for the girls. The boys and men are very touchy feely with eachother too. They always have their hands around eachothers waists holding and embracing eachother. I have no problem with this sort of thing, it's just funny to see sometimes. Especially in a culture that has no tolerance for homosexuals.
Anyways, back to my trip to Bhaktapur. After a few beers with dinner, I was feeling pretty sleepy the first night there and went to bed early. Most Nepali seem to go to bed around 9:00 PM so I guess my 9:30 bedtime was a bit late by their standards. I slept great and didn't get up until around 7:00 O'clock. Usually I wake up around 5:00 AM, so sleeping in was nice.
I quickly got dressed and went to a nearby cafe for some coffee and toast. The next few hours were spent walking around the city, and stopping to drink tea at a few of the numerous small tea shops that are on every street. I think I pointed it out in a previous update, but I must repeat how much tea is drunk by the Nepali people. For many, it seems to be an all day activity. I have grown quite accustomed to the habit.
All day I spent walking around the old streets and large squares of Bhaktapur. For a few hours I relaxed back at my hostel reading and taking another shower. Many tourists come to the city on day trips, and they are all over during the middle of the day. I used this time to vacate the streets and relax. By late afternoon, most of them have left and the streets are once again mainly occupied by locals. It's not that I don't like other tourists, it just gets a bit crowded at times.
When I did manage to hit the streets again I stopped at a small cafe about 10 minutes from my hostel. It was on the 3rd and 4th floor of a building, and offered great views of the people passing by below. There were only two small rooms in the place, and it definitely didn't look like a restaurant or cafe. More like somebody's home. Really cozy. There were even some wet clothes layed out to dry on the tables that were on the balcony. I liked the place so much that I came back for dinner later that night, and then for breakfast the next morning. The woman that ran the place was very sweet, and we ended up talking quite a bit when I came back for dinner. She has 2 kids and 3 years ago her husband was killed in a car wreck. She was put in a very difficult situation when he died, but has done very well for herself since. Her cooking isn't the best, but the atmosphere and her company made eating there very enjoyable and I look forward to returning there in the future.
After my tea, and before dinner I started talking with a tourist officer working in the main square. He only spoke a little english, so I got a lot of practice speaking Nepali. He got off work around five, and then took me for a walk through the backstreets and to a large pond just outside of the city.
Around 7:00 Pm I headed back to the small cafe for dinner. I must mention that at three separate times that night the electricity went out in the city, and the streets were pitch black. I later learned that the power outages were countrywide. Little things like this make the third world so charming. After a candlelight dinner at the cafe, I bought a large beer at a nearby shop and went to the rooftop of my hostel to relax and listen to the music being played below in the streets.
After about half an hour, one of the kids that works the front desk at the hostel came up and we shared a beer and talked.Around 9:00 PM he headed to bed and I decided to do the same.
I got up at my normal hour the next morning, 5:00 AM and went to the roof to wait for the sunset. I really enjoy the mornings here in Nepal. Most of the streets don't become active until around 7:00 so walking around the is completely hassle free. By far, my morning walks have been my favorite thing to do. It's great to watch the streets gradually come to life.
Like I said before, I returned to the same small cafe I had dinner and tea the previous day. The food once again wasn't great, but the setting and good company was fantastic. Afterwards I went to the bus stop just outside the city gate and caught a ride back to Kathmandu. My 2 night get away had come to an end.
Thanks for reading.
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