12 Oct 2019
I woke up at about 4:45 and decided to get some things done--uploading photos, checking email and writing my blog for 11 Oct. We then assembled in the lobby a little before 6:30 in the morning to go to the Monkey Temple, though Hal and Debra decided to sleep in.
We asked the hotel security guy in the front to get us two taxis to take us to the base of the mountain on which the temple sits and when I asked the first driver how much the fare would be for each cab he said, “One Thousands Rupees!” I laughed at him, offering him exactly what the guy at the hotel counter said should be the cost this time of the morning, 300 NPRs. I offered him 300 and he countered with 500. I said, “No, we’d rather walk,” and he said “Okay, 400!” I said, “No, we’re walking” and told the others to follow me. We walked about 20 meters before two taxis pulled up beside us and said, “Okay, 300!” (That’s about $2.80 for the 2.2 km ride)
We jumped into the two taxis and they made it quite clear that, in return for the bargaining, we were going to get exciting rides. My driver led and he drove like a bat out of hell, with the other taxi giving chase. It was the fastest I’ve ridden on the streets of Nepal. He came to a screeching halt in front of the temple steps and I handed him the money and thanked him. The second taxi was close behind and Mike described a similar ride during the chase.
We walked up the steps in the cool, comfortable, but somewhat humid air and immediately began to sweat during the 300 feet of climbing on the rock steps. Hal took his time, while we went up a little quicker, still stopping occasionally to take photos or check out all of the dogs (favorites of Grace), monkeys, and families along the way.
The top was not very crowded, but there were many still celebrating the festival of Dahain and a small band and some singers were performing in one temple. Along the south wall, some worshippers had started small fires in the triangular wall top slots overlooking the city. Others walked clockwise around the large stupa, and some lit candles, spun prayer wheels, or or made offerings.
We stayed at the top for about an hour, just walking around, watching all of the people, monkeys, and dogs and enjoying the cool air and views. Most were very quiet as they worshipped and it was a very peaceful morning. I met one German tourist who had the exact same camera and lens that I did. He told me that he had just bought it used and was trying it out. He asked about a few features and details and I helped him with the autofocus points and some exposure issues. I gave him my photo website and he seemed pleased with not only his new knowledge and contact, but with his decision to buy a seven-year-old used camera.
We walked slowly down the steps and then back to the hotel without incident. We loaded Hal into a taxi, though, and he went back for 500 NPR. I bought one liter plastic water bottles along the way for 20 NPR apiece, or about $0.18. Once back in the lobby at 8:30 (only two hours for the whole trip) we enjoyed breakfast and then relaxed for a little while. I kept in contact with Hoot as he had landed and was on his way to the hotel and at about 9:15am, Deb’s and Sue’s flight landed. The hotel was helpful in contacting me once their shuttle made contact with each.
We sat around deciding what to do for the day with Grace discussing going to other towns in the outskirts of Kathmandu. Bimal, Dinesh’s friend and apparently a hotel employee or associate of some type, arrived to ask us what we wanted to do. After a while, we decided to go to Kirtipur and a few other areas on the southwest side of the city, avoiding anything near or passing by the airport with the upcoming arrival of the Chinese president.
Bimal said that he could arrange another van for us and I went around to our group to find who was interested in going with us. In the end, it was decided that Grace, Mike, Hoot, and Debra would join me when a van was scheduled to arrive at 10:30. Bimal was evasive when we talked about the cost of the day, but said that since it was later in the day, it would probably be about $75 and no more than $100.
We waited until about 10:45 and still no van. Meanwhile, Bimal had disappeared. The hotel management and security guy then told us that our van couldn’t get in due to traffic and they led us about two blocks away to a main street where, with a little looking around, we found a gold Mitsubishi SUV with five seats and a very young driver named Nikas.
I tried to communicate with Nikas as we got into the vehicle, but his English was not good at all. I pointed to Kirtipur on the map and he seemed confused. He called someone at his office and we finally left when, I think, he realized where he was going.
The trip to Kirtipur did not go well. Nikas stopped three times along the way asking for directions and was pulled over by a pedestrian traffic cop for driving on the wrong side of some temporary traffic cones.
We finally arrived at Kirtipur after paying a 100 NPR per person entry fee. We descended the vehicle and started walking around, first into a large temple in the center of town. Nikas then seemed to disappear and we starting looking for some of the other sites in town based upon the tourist flyer we were given--that didn’t have a map. We talked with a few locals and found several of the sights.
It was nice that this was not a touristy area and we felt like we were walking through a more authentic, quiet village.
We walked back to the vehicle and tried for several minutes to find Nikas. When we did, he suddenly became a tour guide and starting leading us around without many verbal clues. We eventually made our way to a relatively distant Buddhist Monastery before turning back to the car.
Once in the car, we talked about going to Khokana, but Nikas said that he didn’t know how to get there. He called for directions, but also suggested that we go to Sanga. We told him that we’d already been to Sanga the day before--Sanga is Nikas’s hometown. We asked about Bungamati also, but he said he’d never been there.
Once we started driving--thinking we were going to Khokana--Nikas showed me his gas gauge and said he was almost out of gas, so we stopped for gas. It now became apparent that this was not Nikas’s car. He didn’t know how to release the door to the gas cap and then, once found by the guy at the gas station, couldn’t get the gas cap off without help.
When he came back to the car, he said that he didn’t know how to get to Khokana and that he’d never been there. We, by that point, had lost patience, so we decided to tell him that we just wanted to go back to the hotel. This confused him and he called “The Office” to ask them what he should do. A minute later, he handed me the phone and someone at “the office,” asked if there was a problem. I explained that there was a problem and that we wanted to go back to the hotel. He asked if it was a problem with the driver and I said that I would explain it when we got back to the hotel. I reiterated that several times before hanging up.
On the return to the hotel, our driver became lost and didn’t know how to get back to the hotel. We had to pull up Google Maps and direct him. He finally made it to the Eco Hotel and I gave him $5 USD as a tip and then went inside. One of the managers at the hotel asked if there was a problem and I explained the whole story to us. We did not and have not paid anything for the aborted trip. Bimal hasn’t contacted me.
With that debacle over, we walked down the road a little (with Kevin joining us) to the Thamel House Restaurant for a light lunch that was very enjoyable in an outdoor courtyard. The meal was capped with some small complementary shots of Nepali “rice wine” that was really just moonshine. After a short excursion to the ATM farm down Thamel Marg to get cash, we relaxed a little in the hotel as everyone went to their rooms. We agreed to meet at 6:15 to go to dinner. I checked with the front desk and they confirmed that Deb and Sue hand gone to the Fairfield by Marriott to meet a friend and that they’d be back by the time we left for dinner.
I used the remaining time to process photos and clean-up a little. Nothing was said again about our earlier trip.
I met Deb, Sue, and Debra in the lobby at 6pm and the others joined soon after. Mike and Grace begged off to have more time to chill. Deb and Sue seemed to be in good spirits despite arriving just a few hours earlier after a 12-hour layover in Delhi after a red-eye from Toronto. We walked down Thamel Marg and found the Yala Cafe without any trouble about 500 meters away.
The Yala cafe was very nice and open, as well as friendly. We all got along very well right way and everyone was talking constantly. Sue and Deb tried to order a bottle of wine, but the only read was a sweet Nepali wine that had no appeal. They ultimately settled on an available Jacob’s Creek Aurstalian white after Deb looked at the selection in the back room. The rest of us had water or beer (or Fanta) and we ordered from the menu. The food was excellent and our waitress was very nice and charming.
Deb asked us all to tell the story of how we decided to do this trip or deal with DWC and most agreed that they wanted to step outside of their comfort zone, make real, objective contributions to a local community, and see another culture.
During the walk back to the hotel, Deb was leading when a moped suddenly veered in front of her to cut into a back alley. The right-side exhaust pipe grazed her leg and that, coupled with the shock and surprise, cause her to tumble awkwardly into the gutter and curb. The driver stopped when I yelled at him, but he didn’t say much. Deb was clearly shaken but there were no cuts or serious injuries. Her left elbow seemed to swell a bit and was bruised--the largest injury. She was quite shaken psychologically--as anyone would be in the first hours of their time in a new country like Nepal.
We were able to walk back to the hotel from there without incident, keeping plenty of space (as much as we could) between the traffic and the others. Once inside the hotel, others went to their rooms while Deb, Sue, and I went to the bar. Deb got some ice from the bartender and applied it to her elbow while She and Sue ordered some “real red wine.”
We spent the next hour or so talking about our trip, politics, Canada, the US, and many other topics before calling it a night at about 10pm. I went up to my room, entered by spending and receipts for the day, and gave Becky a call before going to sleep.