Friday, April 20, 2018

Thoughts on Nepal- 2017

Thoughts on Nepal 
Kathmandu Valley
November 12, 2017- January 8, 2018

The last time (1999) I was in Kathmandu, I stayed in a nice hotel.  This time, I am staying in a home.  My experience is quiet different.

  • They don't use top sheets and mattress covers on their beds.  I have a large, bulky, scratchy blanket and that's it.
  • It seems as if most people can speak some degree of English
  • The streets are exceedingly narrow and filled over oversized buses.
  • This is the trekking capital of the world.
  • Tuborg is the beer of choice.  There are a few Nepali beers.  I prefer Gorka.
  • They follow two calendars which makes it a challenge to clarify exact meeting dates.
  • there are a lot of festivals.
  • I am eating lots of rice and dahl.
  • We like our milk tea.
  • They don't use toilet paper.
  • They move lots of red bricks from one place to another.
  • A liter of water is 30 cents.
  • They drive not whether side of the road which causes great confusion for me.
  • Their pillows are so damn hard and so are tier mattresses.
  • The roads are all dirt so everything is dusty.  i am covered in dust.
  • There are millions of cashmere and passing scarves for sale.
  • They are mostly Hindu and Buddhist.
  • Elephants are the beast of burden around Chitwan National Park.
  • Yaks are the beast of burden in the Himalayas.
  • Many, many of the merchants and people were Northface,  merchandise left behind from the trekkers.
  • I'm constantly coughing, trying to get rid of the dust in my throat.
  • In Imodal, there are only Nepali people in the streets.  I stand out in the crowd.  In Katmandu, it's Nepali people and westerners.  In Pokara, mostly westerners walk the streets.
  • Instant coffee (Nescafe), is offered as an acceptable option fro a cup of coffeee.  It is dreadful.


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