We awakened to a very cloudy, foggy morning. Lal was worried about whether flights would come today. He had gotten stuck here once, and had to take a bus back because of bad weather. If this happened today, I would have to get a cash advance on my Visa card at the Nepal Grindley Bank and take a bus directly to Chitwan National Park. Chitwan is actually closer to Pokhara than to Kathmandu, but all my money was in the safe at Hotel Garuda. I stayed in bed a while, and Lal brought me a pot of tea, which I had with an apple from the fruit basket.
Then I got up and showered, and took my first doxycycline pill, which I had brought for malaria prevention during my visit to Chitwan. I would take these twice a day until a month after leaving there. I had breakfast at the Oasis Restaurant and German Bakery where I ate yesterday morning. This time, I ordered the big Swiss Breakfast, which came with scrambled eggs, a cheese potato roasty, salami, fresh toast, and coffee. I ordered a chocolate croissant for dessert.
The owner told me Nepal had a new government today. The communists had chosen a prime minister. My breakfast took some time, and Lal came looking for me. He had eaten at another German Bakery earlier, and I told him I was coming here. There was still plenty of time to pack, but he was worried I would be late. He said he was pleased with the choice of prime minister, because he was a very nice man.
We packed and took a taxi to the airport. On the way, we passed the two Belgian ladies on bicycles and waved to them, but they didn't see us inside the cab. We checked in at the airport, went through security, and waited in the crowded terminal building until our plane came. It was on time. There was not much of a view on this flight because of all the clouds. I was on the left, so I would have a view of the Himalayas, but they were only occasionally visible above the clouds. However, the service was good, and we got the same potato-pea biscuit and fruit bread snack box as before. Back at the hotel, I got a room on the third floor just above the last one, and across the hall from my first room here. I retrieved all of my property from the safe, and my suitcase was brought to me. Kathmandu was cool and cloudy today.
Lal would help me arrange my trip to Chitwan. We went back to Happy Adventure Trekking, to see Lal's friend who got us our plane tickets to Pokhara. His friend is a Brahmen, the highest Hindu caste, and Lal greeted him with the formal ``Namaskaar.'' I booked a three night Chitwan package tour for $95. The agent said he was giving me a $5 discount because Lal was a friend. He told me that two night trips are more common, and that such a trip would give me a free day in Kathmandu so I could do some shopping or rest before going home. I told him I would like to have a free day at Chitwan, and I had had enough time in Kathmandu already. The package deal included all food and lodging at the Hotel Wildlife Camp in Sauraha, a tourist bus there and back, my park entrance fee, and two days of scheduled activities, including an elephant ride, canoe ride, and jungle walk. The second full day was unscheduled, and cost only $10. The hotel was listed in my guide books, and sounded like one of the nicer mid-priced ones. It is possible to spend several hundred dollars a night at some of the more expensive hotels inside the park, such as the Tiger Tops Lodge. My hotel would be in a village just outside the park.
I told Lal that I needed to confirm my flights home, and asked him how to do it. He told me he would do it for me tomorrow, if I gave him the plane tickets and a paper listing the flights, since he had trouble reading the tickets. I gave him the tickets, and he told me he would meet me at the hotel at 6:30 tomorrow morning to take me to the bus to Chitwan. Then he went home to his family. He told me he missed them, and had dreamed about them on the trek.
After Lal left, I filled out a couple of last postcards to my parents and brother, which I had brought from Pokhara. Then I mailed them at Pilgrim's bookstore, where I also shopped for tapes. They have a Walkman and allow shoppers to sample them. I listened to several, but did not buy any because I was running out of money. One was a popular Nepali tape I had heard in the lodge in Dovan. I changed a final $150 at the Nepal Grindley Bank, which I expected to last until I went home. I bought a duffle bag for $7 at an outdoors shop because I would need more space to store my trekking gear while I went to Chitwan. My suitcase was already over-stuffed without all of that, and I didn't want to carry it to Chitwan.
Then I shopped for T-shirts, and bought two for myself and one for my brother. One of mine said `Nepal' in fancy letters and the other had a Kathmandu/Everest design, with Buddha eyes. I got my brother a size 46, because he is pretty big, with Buddha eyes and Tibetan lettering reading `Om mani padme hum', a common Buddhist prayer meaning essentially `hallelujah'. I had some trouble finding smaller sizes for my mother, except for the common `yakyakyak' shirts showing a string of yaks, which were especially popular in children's sizes. Some designers who apparently didn't get the pun also made `yetiyetiyeti' shirts. The T-shirts were sold in many shops, where men sat at sewing machines embroidering them. They would take orders if you asked for something special.
At 6:00, I headed for Durbar Marg, because I wanted to eat at the Ghar-e-Kabab restaurant at the Hotel de l'Annapurna, which my guide book said is Kathmandu's best Indian restaurant, and it appeared to be the best restaurant of any kind in all of Nepal. The Sunkosi, a Nepali/Tibetan restaurant, would be its main competition, probably. Both are very expensive, with entrees priced as high as $8. (Nepali menu prices are generally á la carte, so a full meal could cost much more.) When I arrived at the restaurant, I had trouble finding it, and asked in the hotel coffee shop. The Indian restaurant was upstairs, but would not open until 7 PM, which is quite late by Nepal standards.
Durbar Marg is a wide, fancy street with many expensive hotels leading up to the Royal Palace at the end. The palace is barely visible behind a fence. There were a lot of shops along the street, so I looked around a while while waiting. Most looked very expensive, although I didn't ask about the prices. Eventually, I found one in the little indoor mall next to the Hotel de l'Annapurna where many items had prices on them, which was unusual. They were also reasonable, compared to similar things I had seen. Many were Tibetan items sold throughout the trekking regions. The shop also took credit cards, as did most of the shops on Durbar Marg. The owner showed me around the small store, explaining various items. I told him I was not interested in jewelery or anything expensive. I bought six Hindu and Buddhist items for $40, or 2000 Rs. One was a carved elephant to replace the one I broke, and use as a gift. I would probably keep the others: a Garuda statue, a Shakti statue, a prayer wheel, a singing bell, and a small yak-bone jewel box. The owner told me he would accept my credit card.
When I returned to the restaurant, it was open. Inside, it was rather formal and had a generic western appearance, with a lot of brass. Tandoori chefs worked inside a glass-enclosed kitchen next to the entrance. I began my meal with a tomato-coconut soup and pepper papadam. For the main course, I ordered mutton in a tomato-yogurt masala with tomato naans and rice. I finished with milk balls in a sweet syrup, my favorite Indian dessert, and a small pot of tea. It all came to about $12, which is outrageously expensive by Nepali standards, and would buy three or four good meals at most restaurants in Kathmandu. However, the meal was excellent and filling, and easily worth the money.
I walked back to the hotel at 8:30, which is rather late in Nepal. The streets were quiet and dark on the long walk. When I left the restaurant, I was followed by a persistent rickshaw driver, until I ducked into an imitation Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop. I did not buy ice cream because it is not always safe, and I was full. Back in Thamel, most shops were closed. I went to my room and packed for Chitwan.
Scott A. Yost, 1994. All rights reserved.