Walking to work today was interesting. It is a holiday in Nepal. All the children are out with ropes stopping the traffic and walkers. You have to pay them money to pass thru. I didn’t quite get it at the first stop and passed without paying (not good). The second one I gave the kids some rupees. Apparently, everyone knows about this and makes sure they have small change to pay the kids. They are having so much fun. It is almost like Halloween, but these kids are smart and ask for money.
I almost feel like a local walking to work every day. The people are getting used to seeing me. As I was walking to work yesterday, I passed a bunch of tourist looking at all the sights. It made me laugh… I guess I looked like them the first time I walked down this road. It is definitely a colorful, local path to the bus.
This weekend is going to be interesting because many people paint their faces and throw powder and water balloons at other people, especially tourists, for the holiday. Apparently the water in the balloons is not “clean”. It probably comes from the polluted river. I will definitely be on guard.
It was difficult to work today. Between the cold, poor internet, and excitement about my trip tomorrow, I could not get anything done. The internet in Nepal is sporadic, just like the electricity. So Razeena and I took off early and she showed me all the cool places around Thamel. I bought five shawls for gifts (or myself…).
We stopped and had some coffee… real coffee. Not Nescafe! It tasted so good. I am starting to find some of the good coffee shops. Only bad thing is that none of them are close to my hotel.
It is really amazing to see that there are beautiful gardens and buildings behind plain walls. When you are walking or riding a bus you would never know they existed. Thanks to Razeena, I was able to see a little of the real beauty of Thamel, rather than a tourist shopping area. The more I see the real Nepal; I am really enjoying it and can understand why so many Americans love living here.
Namaste
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"The more I see the real Nepal; I am really enjoying it and can understand why so many Americans love living here." - Glad to learn you hit the tipping point for happiness. simple life is different.
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