Nepal

Happy October! My favorite month of the year now has one more reason I love it: we just returned from a trip to Nepal, and I get to write a blog post about that! 

Stephen’s position with the WHO is a regional position. This was a work trip for him to meet with Nepal partners. Lucky for me, I got to tag along. After all, an opportunity to visit Kathmandu doesn’t come along every day! And I’m so glad I took it: I had more fun in those 5 days than I have had since before the pandemic. I highly recommend visiting Nepal to everyone. Just like Stephen Strange, you too can find what you’re looking for.

 Even if, like me, you didn’t know you needed it. 

We had an early flight, so we called an Uber to drive us to the airport. Our driver was prompt and then drove almost exactly how you would imagine if you’ve seen any movies with Indian taxi drivers. 

Except our driver was safe. He pushed the limits a bit. But safe, nonetheless. Once at the airport, we practically jumped out the car, and then he was off again. 

It is recommended that you get to the Indira Gandhi International Airport 4 hours ahead of your flight. We decided 2 ½ hrs was enough and it just was.

It was my first time in the departure side of the airport.  Which was pleasant, after you made your way through the airport shops. We had just enough time for a coffee and then we were supposed to board.

Stephen did a precheck to see where Gate 6 was. The low number is misleading. The closest gate was Gate 15 and Gate 6 was a 15min walk. Once he got back, he sat down to drink his coffee, and I went ahead. 

I was all set for a jaunt, but just as I walked past Gate 15, an airport shuttle driver kindly offered me a ride. I made it to the gate just as the first announcement to board was made. 

Nepal borders India so that flight was just 1hr 20 min. The last time we were on a plane, we were sitting for eight hours, so this seemed like nothing by comparison. I was, however, reminded of that last leg from Amsterdam to India. There was the same bizarre seating shuffling. First, when we arrived at our row, the window seat was occupied so Stephen and I sat in the middle and aisle seats. I was surprised because we almost never reserve that particular configuration of seats. But I also knew that the WHO was involved in the booking of the flights, so I just assumed an agent had reserved the seats for us. (You know what they say about assuming.) We sat this way for quite some time, boarding was continuous and slow, stragglers abounded, until a man asked us what our seat numbers were. I had 3E. Which is a middle seat. But Stephen was in the middle seat, so we just thought we were in reverse order. This guy persisted and finally we asked the guy in the window seat what his seat number was. Turns out he was on the wrong side of the plane. And someone else was in his window seat. He moved but just accepted the middle seat next to the guy in his seat. Odd. Our side of the row was now all correct. But this was more the exception than the rule. A woman with a shaved head dressed in maroon robes had been moving around the plane, talking to the flight attendants. I couldn’t make out why, but for some reason she was not happy with her seat. She plopped down in the open aisle seat across the aisle in our row. And then asked for her bag from a passenger in the row behind us. But the seat she sat in was not free and the guy whose seat it was, showed up. This woman then asked the flight attendant, “Can he just have my seat?” And she pointed to a window seat behind her, not to the seat she had apparently just left. Bafflingly, (to me anyway) the man was okay to exchange seats. And the flight attendants had no problem either. The departure time came and went and still people were boarding the plane in twos and threes. By this point, it really felt like a free for all. One guy was trying to stuff his huge carryon in the compartment above his seat that was already mostly full. A flight attendant came along, took small bags out and gave them to their owners. Another guy was trying to find his seat, which was another window seat occupied by someone else. He also accepted the middle.

The professor who led our trip to Thailand, when I was in my graduate teaching program, might have made this into a lesson about cultural differences. What was happening on this flight leaving India for Nepal, and the last leg to India from Amsterdam before it, broke all the norms I’m used to, coming from the US. And this caused a visceral reaction in me. Because of his classes, I intellectually understood why I was feeling the way I was feeling. But in the moment, it was still difficult for me to not feel quite irritated. I had to remind myself that I am in another culture, by choice.

Thankfully, the flight back was completely different.

They finally closed the doors and we were ready for take-off. As soon as we were at elevation, I drew on my iPad, and before I knew it we were getting ready to land.

Then it was a quick passage through customs because Stephen now has Diplomatic status, and we can go through the special “Diplomats” line. A van from the hotel was waiting, the driver was holding a sign with our name. He had a pleasant demeanor, moving quickly to load our luggage and get us on our way. Right away I noticed the lines for lanes on the streets and that our van and the cars and motorcycles around us were staying in those lanes. 

This may not sound like a big deal, it’s an expected norm in many cities and towns around the world. But we have been in India for 6 months now. Where we live and travel around in India, lane lines are mostly absent, and they are ignored even if they are present. The streets of Kathmandu felt calmer and more peaceful. Stephen learned later that there is a law that bans honking. What a change from the near continuous honking in Delhi. 

We arrived at Hotel Himalaya after a short drive from the airport. And it felt just wonderful right from the start. I knew it was a good sign, when as we were turning off the street into the driveway of the hotel, that I noticed a huge art supply store on the opposite street corner! How cool is that?!

Once checked into our room, we went to the hotel restaurant for lunch. For lunch, we chose the buffet which had a wonderful spread of Nepalese dishes as well as some western dishes too. The Nepalese chicken dish and the fish dish were amazing. We already love many types of Asian food, now we can add Nepalese cuisine to our list.

While we enjoyed our delicious cappuccinos after lunch, we noticed the event happening outside. Games, music, a stand-up comedian…It went on throughout the afternoon and evening. The next morning, the clean-up crew dismantled the pavilion. 

These are scenes we’ve seen in different countries throughout Asia. Safety standards are different from the US. Throughout our stay, there were different events happening every day at the hotel. On the last day, there was what seemed like a wedding. A band played as the wedding party proceeded across the lawn. 

I took photos from our hotel window.

Sunday was our first full day in Nepal, so mid-morning we headed to Patan Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We took our first Nepalese taxi to the square. 

The streets all around the square are narrow. It made us think of the narrow streets of Zanzibar. Cars, motorcycles, horse drawn carts, bicycles and pedestrians all share the road.

The roads are old cobble stone paths, very uneven. The ancient buildings are extremely ornate. 

I spent a little time on a sketch of one of them, not a quick task. 

The Patan Durbar Square felt a bit like Anchor Wat in Cambodia. But unlike Anchor Wat, Patan Durbar Square is in the middle of many small shops and restaurants. We tried two different restaurants, the first one for cappuccinos and a view. (See if you can spot two monkeys in one of the photos below).

And later for a Nepalese traditional meal. 

At one of the Patan Museum shops I bought a beautifully hand embroidered silk scarf. 

And a shawl made of Yak hair. 

Yaks are used as pack animals for the treks up the Himalayas. I admired a whole gallery of paintings depicting Yaks and different mountains. We also ate Yak cheese offered at breakfast.

The currency for Nepal is the Nepalese Rupee. Nepal definitely has some of the most artistic money of any country we’ve visited. 

The Nepalese Rupee is not the same as an Indian Rupee but the Nepalese will take Indian Rupees for payment. I used all Indian Rupees to pay for my scarf and shawl. The shop keeper used the exchange rate and quoted her price in Indian Rupees for me. Exchange rates vary but currently 100 hundred Indian Rupees are worth $1.22 and 100 Nepalese Rupees are worth $0.76. We used both currencies for payment and tips in Nepal.

When we were ready to leave Patan Durbar Square and return to the hotel we walked to the taxi station. The taxi ride back was a little more frenzied than the ride to the square.

Monday morning Stephen worked from the hotel and then had meetings in the city. Nepal, like every other country in the world, is reeling from the pandemic. Work is being done to transition from emergency response to implementing a path forward to strengthening the healthcare systems, including for future pandemic response. Stephen's current work here focuses on medical oxygen supply and in vitro diagnostics.

I used my time at the hotel to draw in my sketchbook and on my iPad.

I visited the art supply store across the street twice. Turns out the day we arrived was their grand opening. After I inquired about a couple of watercolor supplies I was looking for, one of the employees told me that they had just opened this store. It was their flagship store and they had worked hard to get things in place for the grand opening. It was a well-stocked store. I was amazed by all the products I found, but he said they had three times as much still in a warehouse. I’m always delighted by art supplies and art supply stores. Kathmandu and the suburb where our hotel was located, Kupondole, are artistic communities.

When I drew on my iPad in the restaurant while waiting for a cappuccino or a smoothie, the hotel staff would smile or make a comment of approval. This appreciation and celebration of art and artists, undoubtedly contributed to the feeling of joy and peace I felt the whole time we were in Nepal. I hope we can take another trip in the future, to explore more.

It was a short trip but we had the best time! I hope to go back soon and go on a bird and tiger safari in the Chitwan National Park.