December 30, 2013 – Next to the last day of 2013

Kathmandu Nepal: Namaste –

Started out this morning with breakfast at Dwarikas; we’ve decided to do whatever necessary to get better and definitely not to get sicker — so this means straying from our usual more daring eating places and using the hotel as a backup; guaranteed cleanliness and less chance for additional germs. Lord only knows we are surrounding ourselves with absolute guck and germs as soon as we venture out of the hotel (which we do for the entire day and dinner)… so a little precaution at breakfast seemed wise.

For those who have been asking, Dwarikas is quite wonderful with scores of hidden courtyards and spaces, lushly landscaped, and definitely worthy of its five stars. No complaints from us, except that the electrical outlets are a bit dorky and our connections (we have many) keep falling out of the sockets (with the converters). We are traveling with about 13 devices that require charging; 8 for me and 5 for Mike — so we are improvising and taking turns using the two sockets that seem to work with our cords. I can charge quite a few things from my computer, so that helps (but that means leaving the computer on which ties up one outlet). The only other thing Dwarikas needs to address are the closet doors — wood frame sliding doors that stick constantly. But these are pretty minor. Other than that, they’ve definitely got their act together. Oh, the other thing I’d eliminate if I were advising Dwarikas is the guy at the front door who is always saluting — anyone and everyone who shows up. Maybe it has a non-military meaning but we’re not so comfortable with it.. The Namaste greeting is much more comfortable for us.

Anyway, breakfast was good — Western — eggs, muesli, lots of great fruit and fruit juices (remember this item as the story proceeds), muffins, cinnamon yogurt, etc.

And then we headed out for the day — took a taxi to the Swayambunhath Temple (also known as Monkey Temple because of the unbelievable number of “holy” monkeys that treat the space as their own). It’s an ancient religious complex that sits high above Kathmandu Valley.. and it’s to the west of our hotel (about 25 minute drive). The complex includes a stupa, lots of shrines and temples… as well as a host of shops and restaurants which makes for a very strange scene with pilgrims worshiping and people “shopping” at the little stalls that literally line the entire place. It’s a challenging walk up the stairs from the base to the top. Our taxi driver was wise and asked if we wanted to do the short set of stairs or the long one and we jumped for the short one. Once at the top, we saw what the climb would have been like had we done the long route — probably equal to the climb we did in Tibet. Buddha’s eyes and eyebrows have been painted on the stupa. The monkeys are everywhere and they seem to rule the roost — climbing and jumping — now you see them now you don’t. There are hundreds of them. Monkeys do what monkeys do, including fornicating on top of a stupa.

The taxi driver asked if he should wait and was willing to wait for us for an hour which we thought would be great and then we wouldn’t need to negotiate with another driver. By the way, unlike Lhasa the taxis are all rundown, beat up cars.. and as I mentioned yesterday, navigating driving would be like putting your life in your hands the first second behind the wheel. We’ve driven ourselves in a lot of strange places — Thailand, Ecuador, Honduras, Morocco, Tunisia — but this one takes the prize. Frankly, when we got out of the taxi, the only way we could cross the street was to find a group of Nepalese people navigating the crossing and weasel our way into the center of their group (they weren’t an organized group — just a bunch of people headed in the same direction) and then move the same way they do.. if they stop, we stop. There aren’t any lights. It’s total chaos. Makes Mexico City traffic look calm and very organized.

So after spending about an hour at the Temple, we met up with the taxi driver and asked if he could take us to Indra Chok – a set of ceremonial and market squares in the historic section of the city. It’s an old trade route with six different streets (really alleys) merging into the square. It’s almost impossible to describe the area. It probably covers about a half mile square.. and every inch — literally — is covered with people, teeny, tiny shops, little restaurants. All of the first floors of every single building are devoted to the tiny shops, and many shops are also on the second and third floors of these very unsturdy structures. Actually, here in Kathmandu, I’d say that everything from buildings to streets to whatever is in a constant state of either repair or tear-down and it’s difficult to know which is which. Amid all of this are the motorcycles, cars, rickshaws, small trucks, and pedestrians all vying for the same space (of about 10 – 20′) in the street. OK.. we loved it!

But then there was a little problem.

Remember about all the fruit for breakfast? Well, I suddenly realized — amid all of this cacophony of activity — that I really really needed to find a ladies room! There probably wasn’t a hotel or Western restaurant for miles around. And unlike China where there are clean and maintained public toilets everywhere (not that I used them) from the most upscale streets to shanty town areas — no such thing exists here in Kathmandu. It’s a free-for-all-economy — and every man for himself! But I was desperate. So, I hung out for a bit in a little area of a square near one of the many temples that are scattered about Indra Chok and I looked for a woman who might speak English and who would be a bit upscale (!) I found a woman and asked her where there might be a ladies toilet and she shook her head and said that there really weren’t any in that area.. but she went into a teeny shop nearby and asked them. Someone then gave her some directions which she relayed to us: Go down about two blocks, see a “supermarket” (really just a little grocery) and then I’d see a gold shop selling jewelry (there are thousands of gold shops). Inside the gold shop someone would give me the remaining directions! I was desperate. And the whole way, all I could think about was that it was going to be very very filthy (and did I have my little Purell container with me?) and it would be a squat toilet which is really complicated. But I had little choice.

So off we went — down the dusty, dirty streets amid all the traffic and honking horns; past hundreds of vendors; and lo and behold we saw a little grocery next to a gold shop. I went into the gold shop and asked about the toilet. At first they acted a bit annoyed (At that point, I would have bought a necklace or whatever just to get access to a bathroom). But then they deployed a guy from the shop to take me. We went to an adjacent building (totally under construction — or demolition — always hard to know) and followed him up four flights of stairs. There at the landing was a little door with a toilet.. a real toilet (not clean, but not squat-style). I had a wad of tissues with me for my cold so I did what I could to clean things up and to sit on tissues… The door did not close at all, so Mike needed to stand guard, just in case someone else knew of this hidden toilet. I emerged a new person — ready to be challenged by several more hours at Indra Chok.

All in all spent about four hours at Indra Chok.

By the way, the mornings are cool and then if you’re in the sun late morning, early afternoon it’s about 65 degrees, but it suddenly really drops at about 4 pm and by dinner time it’s in the high 20s.. so the climate at this time of year is complicated (making dressing — even in layers — difficult).

During our “stroll” in Indra Chok (where the shops might sell nothing but sequins or hair ornaments or plastic stoppers for sinks, or factory-made sweaters), I stumbled on a tiny, tiny shop with pashminas.. Very easy for my eye to get attracted to certain things. The guy’s “shop” was really well organized by color, so I stopped in to check out prices. He spoke fairly good English. As we “negotiated” my purchase, he asked where I was from and told me about his son who is graduating from university and wants to do an MBA in the US. He told me he is a very top student and is at one of the best Nepalese universities now. He wants to go into “finance.” At that point, I told him that Mike and I were both professors (Mike had long since disappeared, but I thought he’d re-surface soon) and that his son could write to us and maybe we could get him some information about applications. Within seconds, the man was on the phone to his son and he was handing me the phone to talk with his son. He seemed like a sweet kid; told me that he’s a good student – all As — but that it is very difficult to find guidance as to how to apply for US universities, especially if you need financial support. According to his father, the son is very shy — just goes to the university and comes home and studies. I did suggest he look into the Fulbright program, but repeated that I would be happy to send him some information. (My good deed for the day!) The father was very very grateful. I had already paid for the Pashminas so no additional break!

Oh one other funny thing I forgot to mention from Lhasa (especially for all of you sports fans getting this memo) — I was in a small shop in Lhasa and the shopkeeper’s English was fairly good (a big surprise in Tibet). So I asked where he learned English and he said he watches television in English and has been learning a lot; he said he liked sports and asked where I was from. I said California. And he asked if California was close to Los Angeles. I explained that Los Angeles was a city inside California. Then I said — Oh I guess you watch the Lakers! (All you sports folks — watch out, I know more than I let on). He said, yes, but he prefers the Golden State Warriors!!!!

That’s it — we are off to an Indian restaurant. More tomorrow.

Fern