the 3rd, I decided to take a trip for the night to Nagarkot. I stayed at the Farmhouse Resort. It was a lovely, quiet place. So quiet, I couldn’t sleep (where were the motorcycles and honking like my other hotel).
Nagarkot is known for its sunsets and sunrises, but timing is important. Unfortunately it was foggy and it was not as magnificent as in October/November time frame. But the place was very peaceful and I met some really nice people from Australia and UK. Since meals were included in this hotel because it was so remote, we had some lively discussions at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At dinner I split a bottle of wine with a French couple that was also there. Wouldn’t you know they stiffed me for the bill (nothing against the French Cathy).
The next day I set out to walk back to Kathmandu through a village called Sankhu. The walk was wonderful. The hillsides were green and beautifully terraced. They were filming a Nepali movie. Apparently the guy we were watching is a very popular movie star. Now I live in California and never see movie stars and come to Nepal and see a movie star (or I think he was a movie star, since I haven’t the slightest whether he is. I have to take their word).
The Lonely Planet said this was a short walk… yea… they really got this wrong. It turns out that it would be a six hour or seven hour walk; so I walked around 2 ½ hours to Sankhu and took a bus from there. Again, I really hate buses, just like Italy. There are no signs in English and you just have to rely on a conversion, where you are not sure they understand you.
The bus was very crowded. There was a woman next to me that kept tossing her hair. Now I am really paranoid that I am going to get lice. I won’t put my head back on the seat and I tried to keep my head away from this woman. I think lice can jump from head to head….just kidding. Buses in Nepal are very bumpy and loud and the windows are open with the dust flying in. It was a long ride.
Finally the bus was empty but I was still riding in it…. I kept on asking if I should get off and he kept saying no. He was right because after about 1 ½ hours we pulled into a bus park that I am familiar with and I could jump a bus to Patan. Needless to say I took a nap when I was back safe and sound in my hotel.
Last night I had a BBQ with the National Democracy Foundation folks at a very beautiful Newari Hotel. It was a really beautiful large hotel and good to see how the other people live.
It was really nice to get to know all the NDF folks. There are four people from the Washington DC doing an audit of the programs, so it was nice to be with fellow Americans. I hope I will get to work with them in the future.
It was a very wonderful few days and glad I took the trip.
Namaste
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