We arrived in Kathmandu after a long ride through a steady downpour. We quickly found a hotel off a main street in Thamel, with ideal parking for the bikes. Have you ever had ideas or visual images of how a place is supposed to look, romantic or sensationalized? Where do we get these ideas?
I guess it’s probably from the media, television, books, or songs (like that horrendous one by Bob Seger). Well, my original idea of Kathmandu has been dismantled, as I was in some ways delighted and in others ways disappointed with the real Kathmandu. I was prepared, however, because I’ve traveled enough to know that the images you conjure up in your head are never even remotely similar to the "reality" of a place.We ended up spending our days sightseeing around the valley, watching Ryan buy gifts for family and friends (wishing we too could buy gifts), stocking up on necessary and unnecessary goods, repairing/replacing personal items, and inevitably eating and drinking like the true westerners we are. We had a very memorable night at the casino in the Hotel Sulti, in celebration of Lisa’s 26th birthday. By Nepali standards, the Hotel Sulti and Casino is a fancy, upscale place. Interestingly enough, it only allows Indians and foreigners into its money-sucking confines. Games of chance and skill are played only in Indian rupees. While at a table or slot machine drinking and eating is free, which was a huge bonus for us.
Jared and I started out at the ole’ blackjack table, while Ryan and Lisa tried their luck at the slots. The standard routine I learned in Las Vegas, which is quite effective at securing an attentive cocktail waitress, was immediately applied. After your first drink order is taken and delivered to your table, stop playing for a moment, look the waitress in the eye, give her an enormous tip (easier in Nepal than Vegas), a quick wink, and the words "Keep ‘em comin’." Guaranteed to keep ‘em knocking at your drinkstep. Jared and I were holding our own at the blackjack table, up about ten American dollars or so for the better half of the evening. As the attentive bar waitresses kept delivering drink after drink, our judgment decreased proportionately. Lisa and Ryan soon joined us at the blackjack table, where we all drank and played for a couple more hours. At this time we were feeling quite fine, and decided to cut our losses. Jared had the least to cut, he being only 18R in the hole. It was now our turn to attack the buffet. Aah, the buffet. We overstuffed ourselves, drank our last libations for the evening, and noticed that we were being quite boisterous, i.e. DRUNK. Before we knew it, it was 2 a.m. (quite late for Nepal) and definitely time to go. At the front entrance, we were kindly informed of a free shuttle about to leave for Thamel. How convenient! I spontaneously paid for a game of bowling and attempted to throw nine frames in seven minutes before running off to catch the last bus to Thamel.
It was on our eighth day in Kathmandu when my brother Ryan, who had been our first guest and faithful traveling companion for the last 2 months, left us to return home to the US. We were all quite bummed out to see him go. He is an excellent traveler to be with, both on the road and at rest. We all dreaded saying goodbye, but were consoled by the knowledge that we would meet and ride again soon, perhaps in the States but more likely somewhere in SE Asia. Thanks, Ryan. Oh, by the way, you left your copy of "Amazon Women in the Slimeball Bowl-a-rama" and your Buck Rogers trading cards in the room at the Hotel Horizon. We’ll have fun with them. The End.
Chapter May 28 "And Then there were Three, Revisited and Revised" or "There’s No Business like Show Business"
The day after Ryan left, we decided to jumpstart our severely neglected website by moving to the peaceful village of Dhulikel, 30 kilometres to the west of Kathmandu. It was here that we escaped the hectic-ness of the city, unwound, and recharged our minds. Here we began to seriously revamp the site.Our stay in Dhulikel happened to coincide with the nationwide Maoist bandha (strike). The communist Mao party is strong in Nepal, and on May 28, 29, and 30, the group declared a nationwide strike to show their strength and solidarity. We prepared for the strike by stocking up on eggs, ramen noodles, bread, and veggies because most of the businesses were closed. After two days, the strike kind of fizzled, at least in Dhulikel, and all was back to normal. All said, we spent five days working on the site, reading, hiking around, and relaxing. Just what the doctor ordered, and Dhulikel proved to be our much needed medicine.
Chapter May 31 "Gotta get to work" or "Time to Make the Doughnuts!"
We packed our freshly washed clothes (courtesy of Lisa), got some breakfast, and rolled out of town, back down into the Kathmandu valley and the hectic, touristy streets of Thamel. Immediately after arriving we began running errands for the things we needed and could only get in a large metropolitan city: rain pants and jacket (a good idea with the impending monsoon), mini-disc player to replace the stolen one, books, Apu T-shirt, etc. This, you see, was going to be our last stop in a big city for quite some time. Our goal was to update the website by the next evening. Gotta get to work, or, time to make the doughnuts!
