Thursday, May 15, 2014
hot lemon, ginger, honey...
My favorite yummy treat while in Kathmandu was the hot tea with lemon, ginger, and honey. Delicious!
in Durbar Square - Kathmandu
Durbar Square
More photos from my morning walk through Durbar Square : )
More photos from my morning walk through Durbar Square : )
I really love the building below with the flow of colorful doors!
Durbar Square, Patan, Kathmandu
Durbar Square
Sarah recommended that I go to Durbar Square in the Patan area in the city... and it was a great recommendation. The area used to be palaces and royalty... there are still many standing temples and fountains - it's really beautiful.
I paid a small fee to enter the central area and walk around... then I grabbed a snack at a beautiful cafe tucked back on a small alley... and then walked around more. There are pieces of jewelry and Buddha statues being sold all over... dogs napping at the temples... and many people offering to give you a tour of the area.
Sarah recommended that I go to Durbar Square in the Patan area in the city... and it was a great recommendation. The area used to be palaces and royalty... there are still many standing temples and fountains - it's really beautiful.
I paid a small fee to enter the central area and walk around... then I grabbed a snack at a beautiful cafe tucked back on a small alley... and then walked around more. There are pieces of jewelry and Buddha statues being sold all over... dogs napping at the temples... and many people offering to give you a tour of the area.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
coffee and dog bites - Kathmandu Day 2
For my first full day in Kathmandu, Sarah went off to school for the day and I joined Michael and Ellie (the dog) for their morning coffee walk.
There are a LOT of street dogs in Kathmandu. Other places that I have traveled to where there are street dogs... the dogs have been pretty calm and mostly left people alone. ...Not these dogs! They are angry, unhappy, and mean. The morning walk was pretty crazy. Tons of barking, Ellie pulling on her leash - loving life... and us just trying to get to the lovely cafe (which felt like paradise compared to the streets).
Check out the dog in the photo below - total attack mode... on the roof of a house... wanting nothing more but to tear Ellie apart. Yikes!
Soon after the photo above... there were 3 street dogs... one of them was HUGE... there were kind of walking around and toward us, eyeing us...
We walked past... but without us knowing it, the big guy came up from behind us after we thought we were safely past... and bit Ellie in the back of one of her legs! It all happened before we knew it. Michael got the dog away... we got to the cafe... the dog came BACK! and Michael simply picked up a rock from the ground to make him finally, truly go away. Poor Ellie - she was a trooper but there was blood and later she had to have a shot in case the mean dog had rabies. She's fine now - just had a tape-diaper for a couple days. After that... I was a bit more weary of the street dogs but, thankfully, all was fine the rest of the week.
There are a LOT of street dogs in Kathmandu. Other places that I have traveled to where there are street dogs... the dogs have been pretty calm and mostly left people alone. ...Not these dogs! They are angry, unhappy, and mean. The morning walk was pretty crazy. Tons of barking, Ellie pulling on her leash - loving life... and us just trying to get to the lovely cafe (which felt like paradise compared to the streets).
Check out the dog in the photo below - total attack mode... on the roof of a house... wanting nothing more but to tear Ellie apart. Yikes!
Soon after the photo above... there were 3 street dogs... one of them was HUGE... there were kind of walking around and toward us, eyeing us...
We walked past... but without us knowing it, the big guy came up from behind us after we thought we were safely past... and bit Ellie in the back of one of her legs! It all happened before we knew it. Michael got the dog away... we got to the cafe... the dog came BACK! and Michael simply picked up a rock from the ground to make him finally, truly go away. Poor Ellie - she was a trooper but there was blood and later she had to have a shot in case the mean dog had rabies. She's fine now - just had a tape-diaper for a couple days. After that... I was a bit more weary of the street dogs but, thankfully, all was fine the rest of the week.
Aaaaaaand - lovely, lovely coffees.
I very much like living in and traveling to countries with awesome coffee.
1st evening - dinner - in Kathmandu
Ah, it felt so good arriving in Nepal and seeing Sarah. ...Getting to Sarah's house and having catch-up time. I love those friendships that go back where it left off the last time (it's been almost two years since I had last seen Sarah! - laughing, chatting, and friends.)
Ellie! ...Sarah adopted this lovely, sweet dog. It was great to have some doggie cuddle time during the week.
Gorgeous!
Michael and Sarah didn't know if this place was a cafe or what... but I love the mural!
Michael and Sarah... walking in their neighborhood... to dinner we go!
Cricket!
Wow! The place where we ate dinner was beautiful. Like Saigon, this city has lovely places to eat if you know where to go.
landing in amazing KATHMANDU, NEPAL!
Wow! The view from the plane (although hazy) while landing in Kathmandu, Nepal was amazing. Gorgeous valley surrounded by mountains. Let a wonderful trip begin!!
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
a dark city... Kathmandu
A couple days before I left Milan for a week in Kathmandu, Sarah sent me a message telling me to bring 40USD and a passport photo for a visitor's visa, a bit of patience, and ...a flashlight. HA!
(Since my stay is under 15 days my visa cost just $25 ...and she was right on target with the patience... the visa lines were nuts but, in the end, I figure it took me about 45 minutes.)
I knew there were regular power cuts throughout the city to save money on electricity... I figured the flashlight was for that... but have learned so much more since actually being here.
Not just to save money... there just isn't enough electricity in this city.
Sarah's house is set so that even when the electricity is cut in the neighborhood she can still have a light on here or there in the house. ...Water is also pumped in and she turns it on/off herself.
There is even an app to see when the power will be off or on! Yesterday there was just one hour in the entire day when she was WITH electricity. Wow. My first day here the power had been off for about four hours in the morning and then again for that amount in the evening.
Sarah has to plan ahead for when she will wash her hair and be able to use a blow dryer... or if she can have toast in the morning for breakfast!
Still... I hardly notice it. This morning the power was out but we did make toast in the oven. And, funny enough, she has Wifi! It feels great to be back in the part of the world that feels like The Land of Free Wifi. Vietnam was the same. ...Especially feels so nice, as I have been without Internet in my apartment in Milan for over two weeks now.
Come to find out my first night here, walking back from dinner with Sarah and Michael... the flashlight (or 'torch' as these two Brits call it!) isn't particularly for the power cuts in her house... but more for walking in the city at night.
This city is DARK at night! And not dark just because it is nighttime and the sky grows dark... but like no-street-lights-and-not-even-very-many-house-lights kind of dark. DARK.
So interesting. I've always taken lights in a city for granted. If I walk around the neighborhood at my parents' place in Upstate New York, then I expect it to be dark. But a good-sized city that's dark feels quite different.
The roads have many holes, bumps, rocks, etc. There are also a ton of street dogs (some not so nice... one attacked and bit Sarah's dog, Ellie, my first morning here while we were on a walk!)... so a flashlight surely helps.
I really like this city so far. ...The city and the culture. I do wish I were planning to spend more time here in Nepal, as it would be great to get out of the city and see more of this amazing country... but my mom says to figure I can always come back again and she's right. (She told me that last year when I was trying to plan my two-week trip to New Zealand and wanted to do EVERYTHING!)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
(Since my stay is under 15 days my visa cost just $25 ...and she was right on target with the patience... the visa lines were nuts but, in the end, I figure it took me about 45 minutes.)
I knew there were regular power cuts throughout the city to save money on electricity... I figured the flashlight was for that... but have learned so much more since actually being here.
Not just to save money... there just isn't enough electricity in this city.
Sarah's house is set so that even when the electricity is cut in the neighborhood she can still have a light on here or there in the house. ...Water is also pumped in and she turns it on/off herself.
There is even an app to see when the power will be off or on! Yesterday there was just one hour in the entire day when she was WITH electricity. Wow. My first day here the power had been off for about four hours in the morning and then again for that amount in the evening.
Sarah has to plan ahead for when she will wash her hair and be able to use a blow dryer... or if she can have toast in the morning for breakfast!
Still... I hardly notice it. This morning the power was out but we did make toast in the oven. And, funny enough, she has Wifi! It feels great to be back in the part of the world that feels like The Land of Free Wifi. Vietnam was the same. ...Especially feels so nice, as I have been without Internet in my apartment in Milan for over two weeks now.
Come to find out my first night here, walking back from dinner with Sarah and Michael... the flashlight (or 'torch' as these two Brits call it!) isn't particularly for the power cuts in her house... but more for walking in the city at night.
This city is DARK at night! And not dark just because it is nighttime and the sky grows dark... but like no-street-lights-and-not-even-very-many-house-lights kind of dark. DARK.
So interesting. I've always taken lights in a city for granted. If I walk around the neighborhood at my parents' place in Upstate New York, then I expect it to be dark. But a good-sized city that's dark feels quite different.
The roads have many holes, bumps, rocks, etc. There are also a ton of street dogs (some not so nice... one attacked and bit Sarah's dog, Ellie, my first morning here while we were on a walk!)... so a flashlight surely helps.
I really like this city so far. ...The city and the culture. I do wish I were planning to spend more time here in Nepal, as it would be great to get out of the city and see more of this amazing country... but my mom says to figure I can always come back again and she's right. (She told me that last year when I was trying to plan my two-week trip to New Zealand and wanted to do EVERYTHING!)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Nepal
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