Fear and Loathing in Kathmandu
Yesterday got off to an auspicious start: I boarded the plane for Kathmandu, and over 100 civil and political leaders here were arrested in sweeping civil rights violations.
It was on the front page of the Kathmandu Post today, along with the news that, to prevent the planned demonstrations that were to have closed off some of the main streets of Kathmandu, the Government had issued a curfew to come into effect at 8 o'clock this morning and finishing at 6pm at night.
We're still not sure whether the curfew was only for Maoists and foreigners; we saw a lot of Nepalis sitting out on their respective roofs, eating and reading, and all the shops were closed, but the radio reports weren't exactly friendly to Western ears, so for all we know, the rest of Kathmandu got on with its day, same as usual, while we watched it spin around us from our vantage point at the top of the world.
That is, Helen and I spent our time sitting on the rooftop garden of our hotel, reading, basking in the sun, splitting a bottle of tremendously bad red wine, writing, and playing backgammon. When we met up at the airport, we both screeched, "We have so much to catch up on!"... and a good, thing, too. It wasn't exactly how we planned to spend our time, but very relaxing nonetheless.
Our Travelling Library consists of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Odyssey, Ulysses, Midnight's Children, and The Story of an African Farm, so we weren't short of light reading. We also spent a lot of time eating - food is cheap here, and, well, there wasn't anything else to do.
The Tibetan Breakfast comes highly recommeded, being spicy fried potatoes and Tibetan bread. The waiter asked whether I wanted normal or Tibetan tea; I asked what Tibetan tea was like, and he told me very cheerfully that it was "very nice", and in the spirit of trying everything once, that's what I ordered.
Well. I later saw it described as "Salty Tibetan Butter Tea", and that's what it tasted like - actually, it tasted like someone had thrown some sugar in hot buttermilk as a hideous, twisted joke. We've falled heavily for the Tibetain mo mo dumplings, and there's a great Tibetan noodle soup; if the government continues its petulance, we may end up eating our way around the region from the comfort of our hotel.
Helen is off flirting with the waiters at this very charming internet-cafe/restaurant, and she just yelled over that the curfew was for everyone. So that's that. We're trying to set it up that Helen can write on this blog: in the intertim, we're tacking on her thoughts to my posts. Therefore -
Helen says:
Just a quick note to let all of Australia know that I beat Jess twice in backgammon (one by 224 BIG ONES BABY!), and that I will be referred to from now on as "Helen, pearl among women".
Love from Helen (Pearl among Women)
It was on the front page of the Kathmandu Post today, along with the news that, to prevent the planned demonstrations that were to have closed off some of the main streets of Kathmandu, the Government had issued a curfew to come into effect at 8 o'clock this morning and finishing at 6pm at night.
We're still not sure whether the curfew was only for Maoists and foreigners; we saw a lot of Nepalis sitting out on their respective roofs, eating and reading, and all the shops were closed, but the radio reports weren't exactly friendly to Western ears, so for all we know, the rest of Kathmandu got on with its day, same as usual, while we watched it spin around us from our vantage point at the top of the world.
That is, Helen and I spent our time sitting on the rooftop garden of our hotel, reading, basking in the sun, splitting a bottle of tremendously bad red wine, writing, and playing backgammon. When we met up at the airport, we both screeched, "We have so much to catch up on!"... and a good, thing, too. It wasn't exactly how we planned to spend our time, but very relaxing nonetheless.
Our Travelling Library consists of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Odyssey, Ulysses, Midnight's Children, and The Story of an African Farm, so we weren't short of light reading. We also spent a lot of time eating - food is cheap here, and, well, there wasn't anything else to do.
The Tibetan Breakfast comes highly recommeded, being spicy fried potatoes and Tibetan bread. The waiter asked whether I wanted normal or Tibetan tea; I asked what Tibetan tea was like, and he told me very cheerfully that it was "very nice", and in the spirit of trying everything once, that's what I ordered.
Well. I later saw it described as "Salty Tibetan Butter Tea", and that's what it tasted like - actually, it tasted like someone had thrown some sugar in hot buttermilk as a hideous, twisted joke. We've falled heavily for the Tibetain mo mo dumplings, and there's a great Tibetan noodle soup; if the government continues its petulance, we may end up eating our way around the region from the comfort of our hotel.
Helen is off flirting with the waiters at this very charming internet-cafe/restaurant, and she just yelled over that the curfew was for everyone. So that's that. We're trying to set it up that Helen can write on this blog: in the intertim, we're tacking on her thoughts to my posts. Therefore -
Helen says:
Just a quick note to let all of Australia know that I beat Jess twice in backgammon (one by 224 BIG ONES BABY!), and that I will be referred to from now on as "Helen, pearl among women".
Love from Helen (Pearl among Women)
posted by Jess at 5:37 AM
1 Comments:
Arggggg, Tibetan butter milk tea - oh I'm having a nasty flashback to my time at the nunnery in Dharamsala where I was just about forced to drink that rancid, putrid muck by smiling loving nuns who were so pleased that I was sipping their so called delicious and prized beverage. Eventually, and after much dry retching, I managed to find a conveniently located pot plant! Hey Jess, hope your guts survived the ordeal of Tibetan Tea. And hope the political situation calms down enough for you and Helen to go exploring. Give my love to the Himalays
lots of love and hugs to you
Judy
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