Sunday is for shopping

Well what an interesting day I had in Kathmandu. I slept well considering the time change, and the fact that there was singing all night. It was kind of a Hindu equivalent of the Gregorian chant, with bells and a sort of drum. I think there is a holiday here right now, because there are lots of people milling about, and quite a few gathered in a park downtown. Next door is a Buddhist monastery or school or shrine or something, because very early in the morning there was the sound of lots of young voices chanting, and answering in chant. If it happens tomorrow I will try to get up and dressed in time to get in on camera.

I walked to Thamel today. That is the really toursity area of Kathmandu. The trekkers get their hotels there, and there are internet cafes and phone shops etc, which I was very keen to get to. Thamel is about 30 minutes from the apartment. I tried one internet café for 30 minutes but could not send anything, so went to a telephone shop and got through to Bob. Once Gabriel gets here I presume I will have internet at the apartment. I had breakfast in a little courtyard café called the big belly. 2 poached eggs with thick slices of toast and butter that was so hard I did not even try to spread it. The other clientele were tourists, mostly French speaking. They looked fit and were wearing good quality trekking gear. I presume they were headed out or just came back from a trek .

There are many shops in Thamel and many many hawkers. They all know some English, but do not seem to understand no thank you. There were lovely pashminas, some very nice purses, and some beautiful jewellery. I bought only postcards and a calendar, because I had not changed much money at the airport, and it was getting quite difficult to find an ATM that worked for me.

It was fun to compare Kathmandu from what I remembered of our visit in 1992. I think there is less pollution, and certainly I saw fewer of those tata trucks that were so offensive the last time. But there certainly was some pollution, and quite a few people wore masks, especially those driving motorbike. It is just as noisy as I remembered it. And what I had forgotten, but was reminded of, was how it is socially acceptable to clear your nostrils and sinus passages loudly in public, and then discharge on the street. I have not seen any cows wandering around, and no pigs either. I must ask someone what happened to them. There are lots of feral dogs however. My objective after lunch is to find a place that will give me some cash, and then go to Durbar Square. I roamed the streets of Thamel, chasing the elusive working ATM, and finally decided I’d have to go to a bank on the main drag. So stopped for lunch at another courtyard in thamel, with a different collection of French and other trekkers, and had a beer and a sandwich.

A sherpa that had chatted me up while I was shopping sat down at my table. He works for a trekking company and I guess was trying to get me to book a trek with his company. He said he was from the mountains and his wife and kids were there. He stayed in Kathmandu for 6 months every year during the trekking season, and then went back to the mountains when it was over.

After lunch I tried 3 bank machines and finally got my money. That was a big relief. I did not want to have to miss supper. I headed for Durbar Square, and I think I was close to it, but you can’t really tell, the streets are very which way, and not signed very well, and so your map doesn’t do you much good. I had to resort to seeing where the sun was, and figuring out the direction to walk from that. Although I did not make it to Durbar Square, I did happen on the bead bazaar, and was delighted to find it again. The shopkeepers were much younger than the crowd that worked that bazaar in 92. By then I had some cash, so bought a few necklaces. Caught a cab home for 200 rupees ( $4.00) and will rest for a while.