#NAMASTE VOL. 1

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I arrive in the busy, noisy and bustling mess of a city that is Kathmandu late on a Friday afternoon. I have never experienced a drive like the one from the airport to my central Kathmandu hotel. Motorbikes flick-flacking between beautifully dressed women and impatient taxi drivers. Now, three days in, I still am not sure which side of the road Nepali people drive on. You need a certificate to drive on these roads…or a death wish.

Toss out the Lonely Planets and dispose of the Rough Guides, you’re on your own here. 

 

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After embarrassing bursts of excitement over seeing tubs and tubs of Nutella in a local supermarket, I become familiar with the ever popular trekking scene of Nepal as I meet my first pseudo-hippie/mountaineer loner friend; Chris from Canada. A tall and gawky guy, Chris shows me around the manic streets of Kathmandu’s tourist Mecca, Thamel. A few close encounters with nearly being mown down by motorcycles, we part ways at my hotel, sure to never see each other again. But this is not how Thamel works. A few hours pass and my volunteering counterparts and I are done with dinner and are now exploring Kathmandu at night. I catch sight of Chris in the streets and hail him over. Next thing, the four of us are hiking up a flight of stairs to the renowned English style pub/bar, Tom and Jerry’s.

Our hotel, being just one building away from another seedy drinking hangout, Buddha bar, means that I nod in and out of a sweat induced slumber to the sounds of Rihanna and other Western music offenders.

  Fast forward to this morning. My Norwegian volunteer friend, Ole, and I embark on a cramped hour long journey to our host family and placements. They laugh at my big, polka dot bag (that shares the same weight as a heffalump) and I cheekily reply: “well, I AM a lady am I not?”. That shuts them up.

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It’s quieter here. More Nepalese in a way. Ole and I share the same opinions on how we thought Nepal would be. This is more like it. Greener, more peaceful, less dusty, slower and calmer.