Rickshaw Drivers- Nepal

Rickshaw Drivers

Kathmandu, Nepal

December 2017

I was hoping to find my way from my hotel to Dunbar Square.  I was told it was only a 20 minute walk.  So I attempt it but soon discover that I really don't know where I am going.  I hail a rickshaw driver and we negotiate a fee of 300 rupees.  That seemed like a far price, particularly since I discovered I was going in the opposite direction of my destination and would have never found it on my own.

As I am awkwardly getting off the rickshaw, the driver asks me, "OK, I wait for you madame."

I tell him I don't know how long I will be here and he tells me, "No problem, I will wait."  But I send him on his way as I do not want to feel rushed.

Coming home, I pick up another rickshaw and he tries to charge me 500 rupees to take me back to my hotel.  I tell him this is a ridiculous price as I only paid 300 on the way over.

"No, round trip, I bring you back here when you are finished."

Then it dawned on me that my initial driver was so willing to wait because these guys probably only get one job a day.  If he waited for me, he would have doubled his income for the day. And I regret that I didn't let him wait for me.