Kathmandu

I slept great last night! I spent the morning taking advantage of the strong wifi and ordered my bridesmaid dress for Kat and Ethan's wedding! What a hassle that was, David's Bridal sure doesn't make it easy to take your money. But, after 20 minutes on the phone with their corporate headquarters and 10 minutes with the local Langley store I got my dress ordered :) It'll arrive almost a month after I'm home... Crazy long time! Long time to wait and a long time on the phone, long enough that I didn't have much time to do anything before it was time to eat.

After breakfast I walked to Thamel so that I could pick up a bag a left at the first hotel I stayed at, Hotel Amaryllis, for safe keeping. The walk took about 45 minutes and took me through some local areas of the city. What stood out the most was the scent... The road I followed took me along a canal that was filled with garbage :( It pains me to see that! There is some need for recycling and garbage service or maybe some new ways of packaging products here... Seems like everything ends up on the roads or in the rivers. But, other than that the walk was uneventful. I'm starting to get used to the traffic and how to avoid being taken out by the zooming cards and motor bikes. And I've become accustomed to the stares. That or I've started walking/acting enough like a local that they don't stare as much anymore? I dunno, but either way it doesn't bother me anymore!

When I finally made my way into Thamel I decided to stop by a coffee shop and have a real coffee for the first time since leaving Canada! I had a cafe au lait and it was delicious. I may have had two... I stayed there for a while and did some writing, just enjoying the solitude and ability of being on my own schedule. I definitely felt better today too because I actually ended up getting quite hungry. Instead of eating at this coffee shop which offered many western menu items like salads and soups I wandered to a momo shop in the area. Last chance for Momo's! I had an order of peanut satay Momo's and an order of chicken ones. Delicious! And a beer to go with it, Becuase I have to try all the local beers right? ;) hunger satisfied I made my way over to the hotel and stopped in a Shawl stop along the way. Sudarsan told me that he'd take me to where the locals shop for shawls before I go so I was only looking at prices. Funny how much they want to charge there! They first asked for 1200 rupees for this one shawl and after I said that's too much and chatted with him for a bit about how I'd been teaching in rural Nepal he lowered the price to 500! Called it the Nepali price and said that any shawls I bought from him would be the same price. I did end up buying one from him because I saw one that I loved but I think I'll check out the Shawl factory first before going back to buy more. Plus, the shawls in Thamel aren't quite the same as the ones the local women wear, and those are the ones that I'm looking for. Anyway, afterwards I picked up the bag I left at the hotel, found a cab, and made my way back to Sudarsan's. I had originally planned on walking but that bag was much bigger and heavier than I remember it being...

When I arrived back at the home I was locked out! I must have just missed the last person leaving or something... Seeing my confusion some local people kindly tried to help me get in without any luck of course. So I went across the street to a local shop and had a cup of tea while waiting for someone to come back and open the gate.. I think I only had to wait about 30 or 45 minutes before someone returned. During this time I had my first experience with being offered drugs in Nepal.. The guy was clearly drunk and couldn't believe that I didn't want any weed. Ah well, there's always that one nut in an area ;)

When I got back into the house I went through the items in the bag I had left at the hotel! Pretty well all food and drinks lol. And some clothes for the next segment of my trip. I think that I'll give most of the candy and treats to Beda to bring home for Bobita, she's got a bit of a sweet tooth ;) I'm very excited to share the Crown Royal that I had in the bag though! A taste of Canada.

At some point I went down to Sudarsan's office with him and we worked on a new logo for his Eco-Tourism company. I photoshopped for about 3 hours and the familiar wrist pain I associate with computer use came back... Haven't felt that since I left. I had hoped that some time off from excessive computer use would have allowed my body to heal itself and rectify the problem. Guess that's not the case! But anyway, I think the logo looks great :) When the website is finished I'll be sure to share it! It's a great thing that he's trying to accomplish and I'm more than happy to help him how I can.

We had a late dinner at 8:30pm then Sudarsan and I returned to my room to work on some text for his website. Beda stayed at his sister's home tonight I think? So the two of us used the time to work. It's easy for me to write quickly and fluently in English the message that Sudarsan is trying to get out. While we worked we shared some of the whiskey and I think it's popular! Next time I come I'll have to bring a bottle for him instead of the half I had with me. Sometime while we were working Ganesh called me and told me he's also in Kathmandu! We're going to meet for tea at some point before I leave :)Read more