A day with tour guide Ethan

Today was Ethan's day to show us his two favorite places in Kathmandu--the zoo, and the bookstore.  I was thrilled at this plan because those are always two of my favorite places to visit in any city.  Of course, I knew the zoo would be a very different experience than I was used to, and indeed it was.  Here is the sign at the entrance of the zoo, followed by its English translation.

Unlike an American zoo, the only thing separating you from most of the animals is a chain-link face.  If you were foolish enough to stick you hands through the chain, you would most likely suffer a fate like the poor boy in the warning sign above.   Take a look at the photo below.  It's kind of difficult to tell, but the leopard we were observing was no more than an arm's length away from us.  It was quite agitated at the moment as well due to the Siamang monkeys howling in the cage next door.  

The tigers were by far the largest tigers Gideon and I had ever seen.  They were in a sunken pit which made me feel a little better about watching them from such close range.

 

  

 Kathmandu is a highly polluted place, and the zoo was no different.  However, there was evidence of an environmental initiative to clean up the zoo and care for the animals' environments.  Besides the new ban on plastic bags in the zoo, there were also many signs depicting everyday ways to conserve water.

 

Here were some other signs that captured the feeling of the Kathmandu zoo.

 

 

The hippos are always a favorite for us... there's something about them that remind us of Josie, our Boxer.  Maybe it's the eyes, or that big, bulbous snout.

  

 As with most zoos on a school day, it was packed with visiting school groups.  In Kathmandu, most children wear uniforms.  Other than that, there's very little difference between school kids here and school kids in the states, especially concerning the thrill of being on a field trip for the day.

  

The highlight of our visit to the zoo was meeting the Asian elephant who was out for her morning walk.  Ethan and I handed her a few rupees for the opportunity to pet her rough trunk.  She deftly accepted our offering with the finger-like end of her trunk.  After visiting with the crowd, the elephant wandered over to the lake in the middle of the zoo for her bath and play time.  She had a ball splashing around in the water and finding things to play with and balance on her head.  It was clear that this was her time to enjoy herself after performing for the crowds on land.

  

  

Playing hide and seek with the kids

  

  

  

 

 

One other thing caught my eye at the zoo.  There was a rickety old collection of amusement rides for kids.  They didn't seem to be in working order, but I have a feeling they were.  Fortunately, Ethan didn't seem too interested in trying them out.  Good choice.  

  

The Kathmandu  zoo was an experience that reflected my take on Kathmandu perfectly.  The creatures of the zoo, like the people of Kathmandu are absolutely beautiful.  The environment was run-down, dirty, and not adequate for the animals, like the city of Kathmandu.  But all in all, it was a most wonderful experience, absolutely unique and unforgettable, just like this city.   

Our next stop on the Ethan highlight tour of the 'Du was Pilgrims books, the Kathmandu equivalent to Borders.  Pilgrims was a multi-level collection of books and gifts.  It was rather dark inside, like a moody old bookshop, due to the afternoon power-outage.  My favorite section was the self-help section.  So many helpful titles... I could have spent the entire afternoon there.  

 

 

Thanks for a great tour Ethan.  I think you have a future in the tourist industry, and that's coming from someone who knows!

My kind of doctor visit

I knew it was going to happen.  I was long overdue for a cold, and there’s nothing like 32 hours of traveling, plus highly polluted city air to push my immune system over the edge.  A headache, congested sinuses, and an overall drained achy feel had me stuck at home all day yesterday.  But today I decided to take action against this assault to my system. 

At the suggestion (via Facebook) of Aunt Debbie, Amy’s mother, I decided to visit a local Ayurvedic doctor here in Kathmandu.  Aunt Debbie made a habit of visiting the Ayurvedic healing center when she visited back in the fall.  My understanding was that the treatment would involve a healing full-body massage, and would cost what I would normally hand over for a co-pay for a doctor visit in the U.S. (approximately $20-$30).  And it would very likely speed up my recovery from my cold.

Off I went to the Ayurveda Health Home.  After a brief consultation with Dr.Rishi Ram Koirala, it was decided that I would benefit from a 90-minute full-body healing massage, followed by a 30-minute facial massage, supplemented by an herbal steam treatment of my face.  I couldn’t agree more. 

My therapist, Pernilla, spent over two hours massaging my aching body, stimulating various pressure points and effectively unblocking my clogged up lymphatic system.  My sinuses opened up and I started breathing through my nose again.  My body was reduced to a pile of putty on the table.   

After the treatment, Dr. Koirala met with me again to determine the next steps of treatment.  He asked various questions about how I was feeling after the first treatment.  I suppose the treatment mellowed my brain just as much as my body, because after a while, the doctor stopped asking questions and said, “You’re too relaxed to talk now.  We’ll talk when you come back again.”  I had to laugh when I reflected on how dopey I must have been during the conversation.  But, not to worry, I told him; I will most definitely be back.  I have found my doctor in Kathmandu!

Birthday time in Kathmandu

Yesterday, Ethan turned six years old.  In his short time on the planet, Ethan has lived in Maryland, India, and now, Nepal.  He is a special little guy and he is living the kind of adventurous life most folks only dream of. 

Unfortunately, Ethan’s big day was slightly less than perfect because he too came down with a bug.  When he arrived home from school, he was so wiped out that he stayed in the car while Shree washed it.  When he did come into the house, he went straight to his bed, barely noticing the birthday balloons and banners Neesha had decorated the house with. 

Instead of going out to dinner at Ethan’s favorite restaurant in Kathmandu (a Japanese sushi place, I think), Mike picked up some Pizza Hut pizzas.  We celebrated at home by candlelight since the power was cycling on and off throughout the city—a fact of life in Kathmandu.  Fortunately, the children’s Motrin had kicked in a bit and Ethan was able to work up enough steam to eat dinner and birthday cake, as well as open his many gifts from his parents as well as those sent by adoring family members back in the States.

I wonder what Ethan will be like twenty years from now, after a childhood spent all over the world.  He definitely channels Dennis the Menace right now, but I have a feeling he is going to grow up to be the kind of person who will make friends and feel at home anywhere.

Swayambhunath, A.K.A. The Monkey Temple

Yesterday we made our first foray into the city to visit Swayambhunath, a Buddhist temple set high upon a hilltop in Kathmandu. 

I was told there would be monkeys at the temple, but other than that, I had no idea what to expect.  The first thing that caught my eye were three huge, golden Buddhist statues sitting at the base of the hill. As we wound our way up the hill, past shrines and prayerful pilgrims, we were struck by the sight of thousands of prayer flags waving in the blue sky above.  The iconic Tibetan flags were strung from trees to temples to statues, filling the sky with a rainbow of colors.

Shree dropped us off about halfway up the hill and after paying 200 rupees a piece for admission (approximately $3.00 each), we started working our way towards the top of the hill.  The hill is covered with every manner of statue, temple, stupa, and stone sculpture, each more colorful and detailed than the last.  I was surprised to learn that the religious iconography on the hill is actually a combination of Buddhist and Hindu symbols, reflecting the diverse views of the people of Kathmandu.

 

 

As we neared the top, the place took on the feel of a hilltop village, complete with shops, schools, restaurants, and squares, not to mention many peddlers, visitors and pilgrims.  We spent some time admiring the Nepali handiwork for sale along the way, taking mental notes of items we would barter for on a later occasion.  At this point, I lost Gideon to a shopkeeper intent on showing him meditation bowls and Nepali rugs.  I didn’t see where he went, so I continued on to the top of the hill. 

Oh, what a sight.  The crowning jewel of the temple complex is the Swayambhunath stupa, a gleaming white dome representing the earth, topped with a thirteen-tiered structure of golden rings, symbolizing mans’ ascension to nirvana.  All around the base of the stupa are intricately carved prayer wheels that pilgrims spin on their way around the stupa.  Fluttering all around are the colorful prayer flags carrying prayers to the heavens, through the incense-laden air.    

And of course, there are the rhesus macaque monkeys climbing all over the stupa and wandering the grounds of the complex.  Like most western tourists, Gideon and I were absolutely tickled by these lively creatures.  We got a kick out of their brazen attitudes, munching on food offerings left by pilgrims, chasing each other across the prayer wheels, making themselves right at home in the nooks and crannies of the stupa and surrounding structures. 

 

  

I wasn’t afraid of the monkeys, but after chatting with Sunita about our visit, I realized maybe I should have been.  She told me the story of a visit to the Swayambhunath with a friend and her friend’s mother when she was a child.  She had brought a handful of peas to feed the monkeys.  When she tossed a pea at a monkey, it landed squarely in the monkey’s nose, becoming lodged in its nostril.  Sunita was shocked, as was the monkey who let out a screech alerting the other monkeys of the assault.  A troop of monkeys came running to her aid, and turned on the mother of Sunita’s friend, grabbing and tearing at her sari and scaring the dickens out of Sunita and her friend, not to mention the poor mother who the monkeys blamed for the incident. 

Fortunately, we did not have any monkey incidents, but I will probably give them a wider berth on our next visit.

Welcome to the 'Du!

We’ve made it to Kathmandu and are starting to settle in at the Satya Mahal, our home away from home for the next few weeks. 

One of the main reasons we decided to travel to Nepal was to visit Gideon’s cousin, Amy, her husband, Mike, and their six-year-old son, Ethan, who moved to Kathmandu in June of 2009.  Mike is in the U.S. military and is serving as the Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Nepal.  Amy also works at the embassy as the American Citizens Services Assistant.  Ethan is an active kindergartner (primary 1) at the International School in Kathmandu. 

We are staying with the Rembolds at their home, Satya Mahal, a beautiful house with a large yard full of flowering trees.  The yard is perfect for Ethan to run off excess energy, along with Gertie, the family dog who was adopted by the family a few years back when they were stationed in India.  Ethan’s pet chickens, Chicklet and Chicky, enjoy getting some fresh air in the yard as well.  The house is also shared with the four family cats, Taboo, Fangy, Henry, and Sebastian.

 Satya Mahal

Ethan, Chicky and Chicklet

Gertie

Wrangling the wild things

Gideon seeking out the highest point of the house... some things never change.

The view from the roof gives a better feel for the neighborhood...

Today we met the staff of Satya Mahal.  Neesha is the house cleaner and Ethan’s sitter.  She is a beautiful, smiling woman who immediately made us feel welcomed.  A real treat was meeting her six-month-old daughter, Sophie, who comes along with her to the house.  It was love at first sight when I met the little darling this morning.

Sunita prepares the meals for the family.  She is the embodiment of hospitality and warmth.  Sunita treated Gideon and me to our first Nepali meal for lunch today consisting of daal bhaat, a lentil and bean soup served over rice, as well as a delicious mushroom curry.  I have to admit, I feel a great sense of relief knowing that we will be eating well here in Nepal.  (We had a hard time with the food when we were in China five years ago.  We ended up eating MacDonald’s and KFC most days.  I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case in Nepal.)

We met Shree, the driver, last night at the airport but spent more time with him today as we drove around town.  This man has skills, as does anyone who drives in Kathmandu.  I expected the traffic situation to be a bit wild in Nepal, but, oh baby, I really was not prepared for the utter lack of traffic laws in this city.  I will expand on this in a future post; but for now let me just say, I am oh-so-grateful for Shree.  He knows how to navigate through the mad streets of Kathmandu and I am quite comfortable being his passenger.

(More photos of Mike and Amy and our new friends to come.)

And we’re off… for real this time

After our false start the night before, Gideon and I were rearing to go by the time our actual departure time neared.  We arrived at the airport, once again, thanks to our good friends, Brian and Katie.  After saying goodbye, we worked our way to the Cathay Pacific check-in counter and handed over our passports.  Here’s a brief synopsis of the conversation that followed:

Me: We’re heading to Kathmandu.  Tonight.
Clerk: Yes, well, we’ve overbooked the flight tonight.  We’d like to offer each of you $400 cash and an upgrade to business class if you change your flight to tomorrow night.
Me: Uh.  Wow.  Gideon?  (A brief consultation ensued between the two of us concluding that that’s a lot of money and business class is worth even more than the cash.)  Let’s do it. 
Clerk: Okay, thank you very much.  Please fill out these forms and we’ll get you rebooked.  Oh, wait a minute; I’m not sure if there is flight to Kathmandu tomorrow.
Me: Yeah, let’s check on that.
Clerk: Oops.  No flight to Kathmandu tomorrow.  You’ll fly tonight.

And with that, he printed our boarding passes, took our luggage off our hands and we headed to the gate.  Within the hour we were on the plane and on our way to the other side of the globe.

The first leg of the flight was a daunting fourteen-hour trip to Hong Kong.  Thanks to my friend Emily’s last minute suggestion to take Valerian root to help me sleep on the plane, I did get at least eight hours of sleep.  That made a huge difference in my ansty-ness level—that, and the On-Demand personal television set on the seatback in front of me.  When we arrived in Hong Kong, I was stiff and sore, but not stir-crazy.

Our eleven-hour layover in Hong Kong turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.  We decided to book a no-brainer bus tour of the city upon our arrival, just to pass the time and get out of the airport.  It turned out to be a great decision—an inexpensive whirlwind tour of a beautiful city.  Hong Kong has an undeniable San Francisco feel, with its bay and bridges, and the city areas felt a lot like San Francisco’s China town… go figure. 

Willie, our tour guide, was a sweet older man who took great pride in sharing his city.  We made stops at the Lantau bridge overlook followed by Hong Kong’s Avenue of the Stars.  From there, we took an old school ferryboat across the bay and wound our way through the narrow streets to visit a lively Buddhist temple.  Willie also took pride in his love for Elvis, singing a heartfelt rendition of “Love Me Tender” to his captive audience on the tour bus. 

 

  

 Me vs. Bruce Lee... now this could be interesting

 

Dried meat market

  

The enduring temple

  

Seeking blessings

 

Burning spirals of incense 

Before heading back to the airport, we took in some Dim Sum and soup.  Oh, did that bring back some memories from our time in Beijing!  There’s nothing quite like a chicken foot in the soup to make an American stop gorging on lunch.

From there, it was back to the airport for leg two of the journey to Kathmandu.  This time the flight was only about six hours, including a quick stop in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 
Upon our arrival in Kathmandu, we found we were unprepared.  We did not have our visas, but we were told to purchase them upon arrival.  What we didn’t know was that we needed photos for the visas.  Of course, there was an industrious Nepali available to take our photos for a small fee.  Too bad that small fee meant we didn’t have enough U.S dollars for the visa fee.  Fortunately, Gideon had a few Hong Kong dollars left over and was able to exchange them for Nepali rupees.  Seventy-three U.S. dollars and 560 rupees later we were able to purchase our visas and head out to collect our luggage and find our ride.

Ahh, the sweet sound of a familiar voice shouting our names above the crowd!  Gideon’s cousin Amy was there to meet us, along with her driver, Shree.  Thank goodness the traveling was over and we could turn ourselves over to the care of others for a bit.