Kathman-dos and don’ts

P.S. Pre-Script: This post was written on October 28th. We made it to India and are now in Calcutta, with minimal pain.

(By Annie)
Well, I am literally sitting in the lobby of Mohan’s Tattoo Inn, and realizing that you all have not been filled in on the going-ons in the wonderful capital city of Nepal. I also am willing to wager that you are tired of the same old blog post about as much as Rachael is tired of getting poked with a needle after five hours. So, we are going to get a little creative and make this post a sort or dos and don’ts. Wow, we are getting to crazy for you, fear not more of the same will come as we head to India tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m.

Kathman-do’s
1. Take the tourist bus – We realized the only way we were truly getting swindled on this trip was the bus ticket officers. So, we just gave up finally and took the tourist bus. It was more comfortable, more reliable, and really only two dollars more expensive.
2. Stay near Durbar Square – There are many places to stay but none richer in tradition than Durbar Square. If you can imagine a single place that is still an active market area, houses the original royal palace dating all the way back to the 1800’s, and it entertains hundreds of tourists too! We seriously were so lucky to have a place near there. One of my favorite mornings was our last one in Kathmandu where we just climbed up one of the temples and people watched for two hours. All the colors coming together and the people coming in and out of the square, there really was something magical about it.
3. Go in as many back doors as possible – Well while I was a little under the weather the first day, Rachael went to see the monkey temple. She walked around the back and got in for free. There were monkeys galore and this cute little temple was perfectly placed on the top of the hillside. Of course she also ran into pretty much every single person we met while in Pokhara.
4. Take a picnic to the Secret Garden – Our second day in Kathmandu was literally out of a movie, Rachael’s favorite in fact. Tucked away in the hustle and bustle of the tourist area was this magical garden. It was probably only the size of a high school football stadium, but it truly was so peaceful. Exactly what we needed, and of course, there was wifi there. So, we read, had a picnic, and uploaded photos all day long.
5. Decorate your animals – If you go to Nepal, go in October. Pretty much every day there is a festival. Our visit to Kathmandu coincided with Diwali or the Hindu festival of lights. It is pretty much exactly like a New Years celebration. In keeping with Diwali, animals are decorated on different days. Dogs, Cows, Goats, and even I wore different forms of powder and lays of flowers. Rachael especially loved the dog and cow day. I really think she, not so secretly, just wanted to put flowers on dogs all day long.
6. Walk as often as possible – Nepal turned out to be expensive, well more expensive than India. So, our walking motives were probably at the beginning to save money for beers later. But, we have now decided we would rather see less and do the walking, cause in return you actually see more. For example, we walked to Boudha in the suburbs of Kathmandu to see the famous Stupa or prayer statue (which was wonderful). Sure, we got lost and had to walk through sewers to get there, but those are the moments that have made our trip and what can you really see from a window anyway.
7. Rock the vote – It’s official we BOTH voted. After a long trek back from the Stupa, we took the long way around and found the Embassy. Rachael thought she was going along for moral support, but it turned out they had extra federal write-in ballots, so she got to vote too. You still have time, register, seriously, I cannot even tell you how much this election means abroad. I held true to my promise, if I met someone in my travels who wanted John McCain for president I would vote for him. Hmmm, can you guess how that turned out?
8. Get tattooed at Mohan’s – Well, really, this is for Rachael, so I will let her tell.
Just as or more sterile than any place I’ve been to in the U.S. and doubly as friendly. Mohan is a great guy who worked really hard on my design and made sure we were both happy at the end. 5 hours later, bleeding but in good spirits we said goodbye with promises to email. Was truly a pleasure to work with him and I HIGHLY recommend buying a plane ticket just to get ink-ed, well worth it and about half the cost I’d have paid in the states.

Kathman-don’ts
1. Have Rachael stay awake. – You know how I complained about Rachael sleeping on buses, well she is scary when she doesn’t. So, I take that back. Who can blame her though, it is not fun riding a bus on mountain ridges. Especially when this travel partner took the lazy way out and had a beer for lunch and a window seat.
2. Buy flutes – The most annoying and ironically the place we spent a great majority of our time was this little neighborhood called Thamel. Everywhere you turned there were motorcycles, tourists, and Nepalese selling flutes. What is with the flutes? I have heard of Irish whistles and even RPCVs from Vietnam taking up the flute (Shout out to my man Johnny). Seriously, if you can tell me why there is a Nepal flute demand, I will buy one for you.
3. Take pictures with fake priests and monks – Okay, I know there is no Santa Clause. If I am bursting your bubble too bad, you shouldn’t be reading this blog. However, I also get why Santa exists and the spirit of going to the mall and getting a photo. Well, there are in fact real monks out there so…I will never understand the allure of a tourist taking a picture with an imposter. I really think they just don’t know they are a fake, so sad.
4. Go anywhere near Thamel if you can help it – I think I already covered this with the flutes, but yeah, enough said. But, you are going to end up going there, so just have a sense of humor about it. (Miller: ok, you WILL go there, it has everything and most do end up going to see something in that area. Last time I checked, we were big white western tourists after all…oddly, the place we felt most uncomfortable was the only place we didn’t stick out. AND we got the chance to see a GREAT Nepalese cover rock band)
5. Take expeditions to “Breakfast” Restaurants at night – As I said, walking is all fun and games, until you get lost. Highly recommend getting lost during the day and not at night. You just get frustrated, angry, and pissy. A situation like eating should never be stressful. Plus, they are known for their breakfast, what was I doing suggesting we go there at night, duh!
6. Go anywhere near children with fire-crackers or even who have that look in their eye. – Okay. Let’s pause. Sure the festivals are cool, but the children and their fun firecrackers suck. As Rachael was getting “inked,” I was getting “dyed” and “blazed” as it seams even kids on the roofs thought it sooo funny to throw sparklers at my feet. I love Diwali, but have changed my mind about firework regulations. Go, Illinois. Keep on enforcing that ban.
7. Go to restaurants just for the internet connection – Well, again, duh. Super, they have free internet connection, but guess what they also have meals three times the price. Plus, we are not good multi-taskers when it comes to food and beer.
8. Stay too long – I put this one last cause it is only partly true. I loved Nepal. It was tranquil, picturesque, and became very comfortable. But, food isn’t cheap, and you burn through money quickly, so be careful.

Okay, that’s all from Nepal. You regularly scheduled blog will return at an unscheduled time in the future.