Happenin's - Take 2
Heya Folks!
I have relocated myself and bag - singular - out of the tourist capital of Kathmandu, Thamel. I couldn't stand being one of a billion white faces on the street, being approached by exceptionally assertive salespersons. Not only were they trying to peddle the normal tourist arts souvenir type things, but I had countless offers of ganja and hashish, and even one who proposed that I smuggle gems back to the states for him! Amusing at times, yes; but also really really annoying when you just want to wander around and see things in peace.
Backing up a bit, to recount the search for the lost luggage, I headed back down to the airport and got into the offices there, tried to explain my situation to the only person in the lost and found dept who spoke a few words of english. Oh! It came in yesterday! Here's a claim ticket, take it to the Jet Airways office and they can go to customs with you to get the bag. Allright then!!! Off to Jet's office.... Sorry we can't do anything for you. WHAT?!? Why not? Can I see your supervisor? Okay, lets head down to see about your bag. Yeah. Not my bag. Back to Jet Air! We'll e-mail our Delhi office and see if they have any further information. You should also call Aeroflot to see if they have it. Ring Ring! We'll look into it. Did you fill out any paperwork in Delhi? You need to fill out the paperwork in Delhi. Uh no... I was in transit and didn't know it wasn't there until I got to KTM! Okay we'll see... Damn skippy, you will!!!
For the next few hours, I hated everything.
That evening, I phoned Bal Krishna Kattel, someone I was expecting to work with, too see about meeting up for tea or dinner or something before prancing into the office Monday (tomorrow - EEK!) and not knowing a soul. He happily came down and we sat on the veranda for a while, chatting a little bit about ourselves - the usual small talk of colleagues getting to know one another. Eventually, we wandered off to grab some momos (oh so delicious Tibetan dumplings that have been the staple of my diet so far - AND only 20 rupees per serving on the street! About 30 cents) Turns out, he no longer works for ForestAction, but was offered the Executive Director position of a newish NGO that is essentially a central communication point and advocacy center for 350 Nepali NGOs. He's fascinated by human rights and has quite a few books concerning the Maoist rebels actions, amongst many other resources. SICK! (Thanks, Matt...) For those who don't know, I was planning on researching and writing my thesis on the effect of the rebels on the operations of NGOs throughout Nepal. The first work person I meet, and its pretty much in the bag! I must have been a good boy somewhere along the way, though I can't remember it at the moment...
Did I mention that he's 28 as well? Make's me look bad...
So yesterday (Saturday) I borrowed a bike and rode down to to Patan/Lalitpur in search of my next, and less expensive, lodgings. What is about a 15-20 minute ride, according to the hoteliers I was with in Thamel, turned out to take me about an hour and a half, what with getting lost, asking for directions, being pointed in three different dierctions (more if the query was posed at an intersection) and generally being a putz about it. A lot of fun, really. Eventually, I found where I wanted to go - the Mahabuddha Guest House, conveniently located across the street from the Mahabuddha Temple, and a few block away from Patan's Durbar Square (Palace Square). Beautiful architecture. Google it or something, these buildings are incredible. Drool over the pics for a while and then remember that I sleep less than a 5 minute walk away! Also conveniently located near a kilometer-long bazaar of all kinds of stuff - plates, shoes, watches, fabric, sculpture, hardware - you name it...
The place is nice. Not much to write home about about the room (though I'm doing it right now...) Single bed, sink in the corner, toilet and "shower" attached. The shower is really pretty cool. No tub or walls or anything, just the floor that's angled slightly into a drain in the corner. The place too has a roof top spot to chill out and look out over the neighborhood. Funky multileveled rooftops perched atop a shit-ton of brick boxes. I only hope there aren't any earthquakes while I'm here! Very cool. I'll try to get a panorama together for you all, but that'll wait for another time.
Otherwise, all is well. I'm busy walking around now that I'm out of Thamel, enough so that I have officially become a very literal redneck. It's nice that in the past 24+ hours, until 2 more walked into the Net Cafe, I have only seen 3 or 4 Refritos Blancos, then only in the Square. Everyone is much more laid back around here, far less aggressive in their sales, no dealers down here, as far as I can tell...
That's about it for the moment - tune in next time for Scott's Adventures at Work!
Peace, Love, and Fuzzy Navels
Scott
I have relocated myself and bag - singular - out of the tourist capital of Kathmandu, Thamel. I couldn't stand being one of a billion white faces on the street, being approached by exceptionally assertive salespersons. Not only were they trying to peddle the normal tourist arts souvenir type things, but I had countless offers of ganja and hashish, and even one who proposed that I smuggle gems back to the states for him! Amusing at times, yes; but also really really annoying when you just want to wander around and see things in peace.
Backing up a bit, to recount the search for the lost luggage, I headed back down to the airport and got into the offices there, tried to explain my situation to the only person in the lost and found dept who spoke a few words of english. Oh! It came in yesterday! Here's a claim ticket, take it to the Jet Airways office and they can go to customs with you to get the bag. Allright then!!! Off to Jet's office.... Sorry we can't do anything for you. WHAT?!? Why not? Can I see your supervisor? Okay, lets head down to see about your bag. Yeah. Not my bag. Back to Jet Air! We'll e-mail our Delhi office and see if they have any further information. You should also call Aeroflot to see if they have it. Ring Ring! We'll look into it. Did you fill out any paperwork in Delhi? You need to fill out the paperwork in Delhi. Uh no... I was in transit and didn't know it wasn't there until I got to KTM! Okay we'll see... Damn skippy, you will!!!
For the next few hours, I hated everything.
That evening, I phoned Bal Krishna Kattel, someone I was expecting to work with, too see about meeting up for tea or dinner or something before prancing into the office Monday (tomorrow - EEK!) and not knowing a soul. He happily came down and we sat on the veranda for a while, chatting a little bit about ourselves - the usual small talk of colleagues getting to know one another. Eventually, we wandered off to grab some momos (oh so delicious Tibetan dumplings that have been the staple of my diet so far - AND only 20 rupees per serving on the street! About 30 cents) Turns out, he no longer works for ForestAction, but was offered the Executive Director position of a newish NGO that is essentially a central communication point and advocacy center for 350 Nepali NGOs. He's fascinated by human rights and has quite a few books concerning the Maoist rebels actions, amongst many other resources. SICK! (Thanks, Matt...) For those who don't know, I was planning on researching and writing my thesis on the effect of the rebels on the operations of NGOs throughout Nepal. The first work person I meet, and its pretty much in the bag! I must have been a good boy somewhere along the way, though I can't remember it at the moment...
Did I mention that he's 28 as well? Make's me look bad...
So yesterday (Saturday) I borrowed a bike and rode down to to Patan/Lalitpur in search of my next, and less expensive, lodgings. What is about a 15-20 minute ride, according to the hoteliers I was with in Thamel, turned out to take me about an hour and a half, what with getting lost, asking for directions, being pointed in three different dierctions (more if the query was posed at an intersection) and generally being a putz about it. A lot of fun, really. Eventually, I found where I wanted to go - the Mahabuddha Guest House, conveniently located across the street from the Mahabuddha Temple, and a few block away from Patan's Durbar Square (Palace Square). Beautiful architecture. Google it or something, these buildings are incredible. Drool over the pics for a while and then remember that I sleep less than a 5 minute walk away! Also conveniently located near a kilometer-long bazaar of all kinds of stuff - plates, shoes, watches, fabric, sculpture, hardware - you name it...
The place is nice. Not much to write home about about the room (though I'm doing it right now...) Single bed, sink in the corner, toilet and "shower" attached. The shower is really pretty cool. No tub or walls or anything, just the floor that's angled slightly into a drain in the corner. The place too has a roof top spot to chill out and look out over the neighborhood. Funky multileveled rooftops perched atop a shit-ton of brick boxes. I only hope there aren't any earthquakes while I'm here! Very cool. I'll try to get a panorama together for you all, but that'll wait for another time.
Otherwise, all is well. I'm busy walking around now that I'm out of Thamel, enough so that I have officially become a very literal redneck. It's nice that in the past 24+ hours, until 2 more walked into the Net Cafe, I have only seen 3 or 4 Refritos Blancos, then only in the Square. Everyone is much more laid back around here, far less aggressive in their sales, no dealers down here, as far as I can tell...
That's about it for the moment - tune in next time for Scott's Adventures at Work!
Peace, Love, and Fuzzy Navels
Scott