Nepal Experience: Day 2

This morning I had to call downstairs because the power went out and the young guy I had spoken to didn’t really understand me, so came to my room even after having fixed the power. Upon opening the door he bowed in a Nepalese manner and greeted me with a “Namaste” (which means salutations to you, a very cute gesture!!!) and asked if I needed anything. I sent him away and feel bad that I didn’t tip him but can’t go about giving money away to anyone that speaks to me (I mean I would if I could, but…) besides, I ran out of rupees yesterday when I gave my last ones to the bellman for bringing up my luggage. During breakfast I have made a number of interesting observations: I’ve overheard several Nepalese people speaking French, Nepalese breakfast sausages do NOT taste like American ones – they smell weird, are not as good as the American ones, but not quite as bad as the UK ones. Nepalese crows eat butter! Trust me, NEVER leave your breakfast table until you have completely finished with your meal – no matter how interesting the caged peacock at the corner of the garden is. Nepalese people are VERY friendly, always smiling and greeting, the boys are shy, but very outgoing and curious once the conversation is started. Their traditional greetings and gestures are very cute. I’m very much looking forward to Bhutan, as I’m expecting it to be more natural and not quite as crowded and dusty as here (then again I AM in the capital, am sure it’s amazing outside). I hope my expectations aren’t disappointed. One strange habit some guys have in these parts of the world (not necessarily Nepal, but Bhutan and India) is to chew this red beetle nut thing that is common among men in Bhutan and Indian countries: it’s a red seed or leaf kind of thing that you wrap in a leaf before putting it in your mouth to chew on. It discolors the tongue and must be spit out after having been chewed for a while and really tastes awful, fills your mouth and is so dry, it lasted about 3 seconds in my mouth, bit into it twice and couldn’t bear the bitter, dry taste any longer than that lol apparently it’s addictive and my friend wasn’t happy I spit it out so quickly as well, is kind of expensive, I guess… I’ll never understand such strange habits, don’t like smoking either. My friends from Mumbai told me I should never go out with a guy with that habit because it’s really a bad habit to have. Since they are from India, where it is also a common habit, I think it’s safe to consider their advice. Anyway, back to standards of living: it seems that people here in Nepal are actually quite happy and it really is a very lovely and exotic place. I love their traditions and am looking forward to visiting the sights, but the poverty and hygiene here seems very high and low, which is really a shame, because I think it probably is great to live here when you have money (as it always is the case). 8 am and I’m already tired. Then again, I did get up around 4 am… I suppose that can be considered normal. This darn mosquito spray I bought doesn’t seem to be helping, they’re still biting me and I smell like a walking medicine cabinet for no apparent reason. I think I’ve already used ¾ of the can, it’s becoming light, I really hope none of these mosquitoes have malaria… I took this medication against malaria for a week before coming here, they wanted like $400 USD in New York and I was stupid enough to think that I would get it cheaper there, which is why I never bought it before leaving Glasgow, where it cost about 27 GBP and in Austria, where it was between 60 and 70 Euros. In the end I got it for a great price at London Heathrow, like 15 GBP, but yea, we learn by doing, right? 8 am and already so hot. I think I’ll get some more rest before heading out and looking for the cosmetic store (I forgot my whole bag of make up on the plane, so blonde…). I’m going to change rooms to one with a single bed and view to the garden later, which will be cool, I like overlooking the front parking area and road because I can watch the people in action and the Asian birds are crazy as heck, but I think I’d prefer to be in the back just because the people that I’m watching are also able to watch me and I don’t think I want that because I prefer open curtains and a bright room to a dark, closed one and so usually have them wide open, also the room is just too big, I feel like a loner with 2 queen sized beds to myself… I will miss the sound of the splashing water in the fountain though. It really is amazing, our world today, where it is possible for an Austrian born in Canada to be exploring the Himalayas on her own. Then again, if our world wasn’t the way it is today and if traveling the way it is possible today wasn’t possible I wouldn’t be here, because my parents, both from Austria probably would never have met, had they not bumped into each other on the shopping street called Robson in Vancouver, Canada. These herbal supplements have achieved the recognition of being the most effective remedy for cheap viagra the problem. Sildenafil citrate boosts blood supply into the organ. reference order viagra online Numerous patients in San Diego come to New Century Spine Centers to see a chiropractic doctor for their back ache order viagra from sitting at the computer for too long. Online pharmacies operate at a low levitra viagra online cost. Another interesting observation: Nepalese guys just walk into your room if you leave the door wide open (I left for a sec to take a picture and then went back in the room to get something and was startled to find an attendant about to walk into my door), but he said he saw the door open and was just checking what was up with that to make sure everything is ok, fair enough. Well, I’ve decided to go to the department store in an attempt to re-purchase the eyeliner I moron forgot on the plane and was surprised to find it closed, to be opened an hour later. So I decided to use the internet, which didn’t work and then decided that I would ask the receptionist about a nice place to visit while waiting for the department store to open. He suggested a place called the “Garden of Dreams”, about 10 minutes walk from here. He gave me a map, which I followed and pretty much got lost, but eventually found this place which, in fact, proved to be indeed a lovely garden that also had a café and bar, which is open in the evenings. I decided to have a seat in the café in order to enjoy the garden, but didn’t really feel like a coffee, since I only recently had breakfast. After having a quick glance at the special menu, I decided to go with it and try something “authentic”, which I assumed it to be, since the entire specials card consisted of only items which contained mango. I ordered a mango ice cream and mango virgin shake. More useful observations: all drinks in Nepal are served at room temperature (don’t ask me why, but I wasn’t thrilled about it in the morning with my so-called orange juice and I sure as heck wasn’t thrilled to have a warm shake) and the monsoon showers last only a few minutes but are frequent during the day (it’s 1:40 and the count is 2, the first having been around noon). At the café I had a conversation with a woman from Boston, who had moved here several years ago. She seems to be one of those “eastern hippy” people, having spoken only very positive and enthusiastic about Katmandu and her adopted daughters, two of which are Nepalese, one Japanese. She somewhat offered me a job, when she asked about my studies and found that I had been studying tourism management she quickly asked how long I was staying and mentioned the fact that her school was looking for an English teacher to teach hospitality English to students from Nepal. I’ve been having offers from all ends of the world since I had arrived in Ithaca last month, only problem is that anywhere away from my family is pointless, will have to use my holidays to go home and won’t be able to travel and explore other places much haha. Anyway, back to the café… the café and bar are in fact operated by one of the largest hotels in Katmandu, which probably explains the beautiful decor of the bar. I got my entrance ticket stamped so that I can come back for a drink later, should I decide to give my friend a call. On my way back to the hotel I made a bunch of other interesting and useless information: Nepalese drivers LOVE to honk, even when the roads are clear. Chicken feathers can be found on the road and unfortunately, garbage sometimes too. I’ve changed my room to a smaller one, it’s about half the size, but I prefer it because it has a view of the garden, smaller rooms = + effective A/C, the walls are pink and the other room was too empty, because although it contained the same amount of furniture, the size of the room was double, which made it seem kind of sad and more evident that I’m here all alone and no more cute, traditional lamp which I liked so much mememememe and did I mention Asian birds are crazy?!? Nepal is so cheap though and I feel bad for saying that because what I consider little is considered much by many people here, but the prices really surprise me, really do wonder how they manage to operate hotels here, where the rooms sell for around 45 USD per night (I have a special rate of 30 USD thanks to my friends). It’s 10 pm meaning I overslept dinner again, darn… it seems that Nepal sleeps after 10pm. Turn on the TV to Indian MVs… they’re funny, I swear these guys are stuck in the 80s! Plastic clothes and 15 men choreography!! And why do the Chinese dramas not have subtitles? I wanna watch memememe… ah, leave it to Z café (a channel) to save me from boredom – second time in a row! They’re showing this reality show I watched in the pod room in Heathrow. Kinda interesting, better than anything I can’t understand, anyways. So I decided to stay in my room. Am looking forward to continuing my journey to Bhutan. Katmandu is the least expensive to fly to Bhutan from and only a short, 2 hour flight as well, which is why I decided on here over Bangkok and Calcutta, really am enjoying it though, was a good choice, quite an experience.