October 28

It was the last day before my trek, and I had a busy schedule. The morning was cold and this hotel had no heat. They did have extra blankets for the bed, but that did not make getting up any easier. I took a shower this morning. It made half the bathroom wet since there was no shower curtain. However, the solar-heated water was very hot and the shower felt good. I went to the Helena Restaurant and got scrambled eggs and toast, and met two Californians. One had an incredible amount of photographic equipment.

The photo shops in Kathmandu seem to be the only stores in town that are completely up to western standards, and mostly are indistinguishable from their western counterparts, except for the Nepalese post cards and posters they sell. All sorts of equipment and film are available, including slide film. The film prices are comparable to U.S. prices, or slightly better. Also, from what I have seen, they do a nice job with developing, generally with modern computerized machines.

I had a 10 AM meeting with the trekking agent, where I planned to cancel my guide. However, the agent has already come up with an alternative, and said others were available as well. He was not going to give up on $700 easily. This guide was from the Kathmandu valley, so he may not know the area as well as the Solu guide, but he spoke English very well and seemed easy to talk to. The agent said he doesn't read, however, and that you can't really expect a guide who can read, because the literacy rate in Nepal is not very high. The guide and I discussed my plans and his experience. He would not look at my hand-drawn map, since he could not read the writing. He had led several treks in the region, and had just returned from guiding someone across Thorung La pass on the Annapurna Circuit, which is as difficult as anything I have in mind. I decided that this guide would be acceptable. My guide's name was Lal Man Tamang. The last name identifies his ethnic group. I was told he goes by the name `Lale'. The agent strongly recommended getting a down jacket before I left, because it would be very cold at night.

After getting traveler's checks from the hotel safety deposit to pay the balance of my fee (Hotel Garuda is almost just across the street from this agency), I went to a money changer to get rupees for my personal expenses, which would include any cold drinks or bottled water I bought. After having a salami sandwich for lunch at Tit Bit, I went shopping for a down jacket. I could not find the store where I saw the one I liked yesterday. It may have been closed, since it was Friday and many stores do not open of Friday, and offices close early. Saturday is the holy day here. I found another store which had a similar `North Face' jacket which was good enough that it was at least conceivable that it could have been real, although I am sure it is a copy. (Some copies are extremely poor.) The jacket still had plenty of loft, which is easily lost in Nepalese dry cleaning, but the red color was somewhat faded and pinkish in places. I bought it for 3000 rupees, or $60. It took some effort to find a stuff sack for it in the store, but I already had my own, so I accepted a rather old, ragged one.

By the time I finished shopping, it was mid-afternoon, and I still wanted to see Bhaktapur before dark, so I went down to the Thamel taxi stand (at a truly chaotic intersection) and asked for a ride. One driver offered to take me there, wait an hour, and bring me back for 800 Rs ($16). I offered 600 Rs, following the guide book's suggestion, and he accepted. The ride took about 40 minutes each way through heavy traffic. They drive on the left here, which is a bit disorienting and adds to the excitement of a cab ride. Actually, they drive in whatever lane happens to be most open at the time, even if it means dodging oncoming traffic. The air pollution was so bad today I could hardly breathe, and the air hurt my throat.

Bhaktapur has a large Durbar Square full of beautiful temples. Many are of medieval origin. When I arrived, many people offered their services as guides, but I declined. I had my guide book and did not need to hire someone. There were more tourists in the main square than locals. Away from that area, there were signs of a strong Marxist presence: hammer and sickle patterns were everywhere. All around town, women were working on piles of grain, sifting it. The tourist areas are full of craft salesmen. The local specialties are masks and puppets. Bhaktapur is known for its woodworking.

Traffic is barred from the temple area, at which they collect a 50 Rs donation for upkeep. The light traffic in most areas in this town make walking much more pleasant than in Kathmandu. I was not too sure how safe it was to walk around in obviously Marxist areas, so I didn't spend too much time outside the main square. However, I realized later that there was no anti-western feeling among the Nepalese Communists (at least the ones I encountered), and that they were generally perfectly reasonable people, as nice as anyone here.

The hour passed quickly, and I took a lot of pictures before returning to my waiting driver for the ride back to Kathmandu. In my room, the lights went out at 6 PM briefly, until a generator was started. Tonight was another scheduled power outage. During the power outage, I went out for dinner. Unable to find the Tibetan restaurant Utse in the darkness, I decided to go to the Third Eye again, for a good last meal before the trek. The crowd was smaller, with no waiting, possibly due to the darkness outside. The candle-lit restaurant was very atmospheric. I ordered a San Miguel beer, which is Philipine but brewed in Nepal. It comes in an enormous 20 ounce bottle. Other beers available here are Tuborg, a Danish beer brewed in Nepal, and the domestic beer Iceberg. Afterward, I went home, and got a slice of chocolate cake for dessert and a bottle of water from Tit Bit upon entering the hotel. Then I went upstairs to finish my trek packing, and to sleep. Tonight was quieter than last night. I set the alarm for an early start at 5 AM to get ready to catch the plane to Lukla.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1994. All rights reserved.