Kathmandu - Part 2

"Hello, Mr. Aaron!"

There behind me was Himalay. "My friend! I was just telling about you. Oh where is American? I say. Maybe I think I find you in Thamel!"

"I wasn't even planning on coming here, I just had some extra time to kill, so I came to buy a book. Why did you think I'd be in Thamel. You know I like quiet places."

"Everybody comes to Thamel."

He was right, I was standing that moment in Thamel, despite my vow to not visit.

"What is your plan today?"

"No plans."

"Did you have lunch?"

"Yeah, I just had some samosas and curry earlier.

"Come, we'll have lunch."

So he led me down a series of streets, deep into the center of Kathmandu, until we came to a gas stove with many people sitting on small stools, eating potatoes and bread in an ordinary courtyard, through an inauspicious, three foot doorway, up an obscure ally off a side street. The food was great, the bread was like a pancake made from some sort of legume.

"You like the food?"

"Yeah great!"

"This is very famous restaurant in Kathmandu."

"How do people find it?"

"They talk, my friend."

When finished, I took him to my hotel, but they didn't allow visitors. So, we caught a bus and sat chatting at a rice field near a big University in the Southwest part of town. It was good to see that peaceful places existed right in Kathmandu. He told me of how he' had no business since our trek and how it was a bad year altogether for him. This was a bit surprising, considering the record year in Nepal tourism, but then I remembered how most trekking groups book online from big companies, leaving the small guys scrambling for the long term travelers like myself.

"Everything now family business, they have office and only hire cousins and sons, just family. Solo guides like me can't find work."

I told him of my future plans to go to Sikkim, do the bungee jump and trek for two weeks in Langtang.

Himalay lit a cigarette and stared for a moment out to the workers bundling the rice. "I was thinking of having an adventure. I have no work right now, maybe I do something different. Kanchenjunga is good."

I recognized immediately the start of one of his sales pitches, always beginning with his desire to go someplace, then inviting me along as a guest, then twisting guest to customer. He'd used it on me once and I've seem him work it on others. It was a great tactic.

He described in detail the beauty of and especially the adventure of trekking to the base camp of the world's third highest peak. Himalay was a passionate dreamer, with an infectious air about everything he told.

"It will be like Into the Wild!" He had a strange fascination with the story of Christopher Mccandless. Always mentioning the film, swept in the romance of his ultimate unhitching from society and dying at the hands of the world's strongest force, nature. "Ok, not really Into the Wild, but good. You see center at Annapurna, a little bit of the west, now I take you to the East, then to Sikkim. Sounds good?"

I couldn't disagree with him, but such a trip would require some supplies, especially a camping mat and an expensive low temperature sleeping bag for the alpine region's cold winter nights. Annapurna was cold, but the mountain would be even colder now three weeks later. I told him I'd check my fiances and tell him the next day when we planned to visit the town of Patan.

I calculated my estimated cost for the rest of my trip, plus a plane ticket home and two month's living in the states that I figured I need before my first paycheck. After checking my spending online, I realized I was not being as much of budget travelers as I had thought. I was still in my day to day trip budget, but not the half budget point I needed since I was staying in Nepal twice as long as I'd planned. Kanchenjunga was out of reach. I didn't want to disappoint Himalay, who seemed so excited about the trip.

That day, we walked the short distance from my hotel to Patan. Our route took us past the Kathmandu river, which was nothing more than long toilet and garbage dump. Passing ghats, where families creamated loved ones before dumping the ashes in the river, there were various poepl dressed in all white. Apparently, when a mother or father dies, one child much become almost like a monk, abstaining from drugs, alcohol, sex and meat for one year. For two weeks, they must also give up onions and salt and not touch another person. If they fail in this, they much begin again. With as crowded of a place as Kathmandu, I couldn't imagine it was possible to not have any physical contact with anyone.

Within a temple, Himalay did a quick prayer at the lingum, the phallic symbol of Shiva, always accompanied by a yoni, looking like a spout, representing the vagina. Shiva is the great creator and destroyer, the lingum-yoni representing fertility and creation.

We then crossed to Patan, home of another kingdom in the valley. Even though it is just across the river, the people, buildings are atmosphere were all different. We first visited a temple, where not to my surprise, people were gathering for a festival. Women were lighting plates of some dried plants, then walking around the temple a number of times before placing the place in from of the temple. This was for a safe passage for dead loved ones.

After the temple we visited the incredible Durbar Square of Patan, where all the doorways windows, ceilings, everything were covered with gorgeous unique wood carvings. The square was a line of magnificent temples, one after another, each one with its own slightly different beauty. I couldn't believe that the buildings could change so much in only a couple of kilometers. Kathmandu had great buildings, but Patan was very special. Himalay highly recommended the museum, boasting it was the best in Nepal. He was right about it being a great museum, showing carvings and idols, explaining the significance and meaning of much of the Buddhist and Hindu iconography, introducing the main gods and their incarnations.

WE then left the area and caught a bus to some small village nearby, stopping at quiet temples well of the tourist trail, but still beautiful. It helps to have a guide.

Near one of the temples, we stopped at a beautiful hilltop overlooking more fields and Himalay pulled out his Kanchenjunga map, showing me the planned itinerary. When he was finished, I paused a moment before breaking the news to him.

"Ok, Himalay, we are friends, yes, but now we need to talk about business."

"Oh, time for business." He lit a cigarette.

"I don't want to be indirect, so I'll be honest with you." I explained my situation, my further travel plans and my need for cash once I got home to restart my life. "I know it seems strange for a foreigner traveling a long time to tell a poor Nepali man he can't afford something, but as much as I love Nepal, this is only a part of a big trip, and I've spent too much money already here. I'm not a rich, French vacationer coming to Nepal for a few weeks, living an expensive lifestyle. I'm going long term."

"You are feronti, traveler like me. I understand. How much do you have for trek."

"25,000 rupees is maximum, less if possible. Even 25,000 is stretching my budget. This trek comes from my money I need for when I go home."

"25,000 plus my donation?"

"No, with donation."

He brushed his long half dreadlocks behind his ear and stared for a moment to the terraced hills. "Kanchenjunga impossible. Permit is more than 10,000"

"I figured that much."

"Ok, I can make trek, but I need to think. Maybe trek with me impossible."

"And that's fine. If this trek is not good for my needs or yours, it is OK. I go to Langtang, cheap trek and hire DHN adventures (his company) for a few days in Kathmandu Valley."

"Kathmandu is not adventure."

"No, but it will give you some business, not a lot but something. Either way, I want to hire you for something, you are a great guide and I hate to see you out of work."

He puffed his smoke a bit.

"I will be honest with you Himalay, for me, it is better to do Langtang, alone. It is cheap and maybe I have enough for a bungee jump. But I want to hire you for a trek. I'm doing this as a favor to you and your company. I want to help you out a bit. With all the terrible guides I meet, it makes me angry that you, a good guide, is finding no work."

He continued smoking for a moment, finally finishing then stubbing the butt into the ground. "This is a difficult budget to work, but tonight, I look at map, I think. But I think trek is possible."

And that was that it for the business that day. We wandered around a while until dark, then I caught a bus home. There was a short walk to the hotel from the bus stop. Kathmandu changes at night, many things that seemed charming become creepy. With no sun to orientate, finding the direction becomes difficult. Every passerby seems sinister, the strange looks that seem normal for a random wanderer of the streets like myself in the day, become the look of malevolence. I got a little lost until I reached the giant white tower, sticking up like a candle above the buildings of the city. My hotel had a view of the tower, so I was able to trace back through a series of side streets.

I went to a relaxed shisha bar I found while scoping out the area. It was filled with Nepalis, which is always a good sign. I grouped up with some French teachers and shared a hookah of blueberry shisha until they left. The owner then joined me, packing a complimentary hookah, which we smoked over a beer, talking of our lives and restaurant business. As much has people of a nation share characteristics, people of a special occupation have their own culture as well. Everywhere you go, restaurant people are restaurant people. Again, I felt like Anthony Bourdain, who always claimed that, worldwide, restaurant people are the greatest people on earth. The owner was a great guy and he ran a fine business with great food. I'd found my Kathmandu haunt.

The next morning, my shower was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was the hotel manager, announcing a visitor, Himalay.

"Come, we go for a walk."

We walked only a few feet to the Lagan Square and bought a cup of tea.

"I can make a trek my friend."

He pulled out a map and showed me the course. We take a bus to Jiri, then hike across the hills to Tumlingtar where I could easily pass into Sikkim. My extra baggage would get sent to Biratnagar. No expensive permits. We'd stay in small teahouses, pitch tents in backyards and stay in homes for a small donation.

"You already did a tourist trek in Himalay, now we walk village side, no tourists."

It sounded great. I gave him an advance for supplies and he quickly left, then I headed to Thamel for a mat and a sleeping bag. The trek was set. The rest of the day was easy. Thamel is great for quickly picking up tourists' needs for cheap prices. I spent the rest of the day doing my favorite Kathmandu activity, random wandering. I saw the shrine for the god of toothaches, which was a bunch of coins nailed to a shrine. The whole area was full of dentists shops, one after another. In Nepal few stores sell all items one need in a single, centrally located place. Shopping is by district. There is a block of only shops selling padlocks, one for tailors, one for jewelery. Once the district for each item is found, shopping is easy. You walk from shop to shop, comparing prices until one vendor hits the right price. The hard party is finding the area that sells what you need.

My simple joy in Kathmandu was wandering until i found some little teashop, packed with locals, gabbing and smoking cigarettes, crowding into the street since the shop only had two seats. The most common tea is sweetened milk with some tea powder, the best adding ginger and spices. I'd order my tea, then stand on the outside of the group, engaging them in deep conversations consisting of them staring at me, wondering why some white guy was drinking tea in this random alley, far from Thamel. I'd responded by taking animated sip with a smile, responding without words that I just liked the tea and the atmosphere of the small local shops.

THe next day was my last day. I packed up, the bused out to Bouda to see Bodhanath, one of the largest and most spectacular stupas in the world. It lived up to the hype, towering white and beautiful, with perfect symmetry of the dome. I stood staring awhile and had one of those great moment when I loved Kathmandu. I don't think I'll ever have a clear verdict on how I feel overall about the city, but there are few places more fascinating or better to stop a few feet from the hectic streets to have a peaceful cup of tea, watching the sheer energy of life from Nepal's grand capital.