Home, Sweet, Home - 1. The Room

"Honey, I'm home!" After 7 months of living out of my suitcase, I am finally in a place where I can totally unpack. If/when I move, I will hire a couple of people.

There will be 4 related posts dealing with my move in.

I have overspent. But, I think it will be O.K. I had my choice in this place:

200 sq ft room = $300 + 13% VAT
250 sq ft room = $400 + 13% VAT
300 sq ft room + air conditioning = $600 + 13% VAT

I was leaning toward the middle one. However, he made an offer I decided to take advantage of:

The 300 sq ft room + air conditioning for $550, VAT included. This is a savings of over $100. This area of the town is the U.N. area. You will see how this benefits me in all 4 posts. But, basically, there are 12 apartments here. This size is 5 of them and they are the hardest to rent and the other 4 are empty. The other 7 apartments/rooms are rented. The 3 big ones ($1200 + 13% VAT) are 2 and 3 bedroom apartments and they are rented by U.N people with generous housing allowances. 4 of them are the 2 smaller size studio apartments and they are usually rented on a daily basis ($25 & $30 per night) by U.N. people. I'm the odd one here.

It includes everything, except laundry service. Also, I will have to pay for my cell phone. Laundry will be about $25/month and phone will be less than $5/month. This is about $200 over my budget. However, I still have a couple of dozen Franklins left from my original savings. They will last me a year. By then, I should be back up to least $300/month income from my variants.

Anyway, my Premium Studio Apartment includes a kitchenette with refrigerator, burner, and water boiler. I can request all the pots, pans, plates, silverware, and other utensils I want and they will bring them right up (remember, the U.N. employees are working hard and need all these things (grin)).

I also get a microwave, a jar of good water refilled whenever I want. I will use this for cooking only. I will boil this water first in the water boiler. There is a toaster on top of the microwave.

I also get a flat screen TV with lots of cable channels, although I may never use it.

By the way, my rent includes water, gas, and electric. Also, I pay month-to-month with no deposits or fees of any kind. My apartment in Thailand still has 10,000 baht of mine and I doubt I will ever see that $330 again.

I have a sitting area. This will be my "study Nepali" area two hours every day. To the right is my desk area. It will be my work area for my book and my variants.

This is the other half of the room. I have 2 wardrobes on the left and a bathroom on the right. On the far right where you cannot see is another table for dining. That will be my daily Bible study station, while I drink coffee.

I have a safe to keep my valuables or U.N. secrets in.

Last, I have the typical Asian bathroom with instant heat in the shower. As you can see, it is run on gas rather than electricity - a legacy from when KTM didn't have 24 hour electricity. Can't have U.N workers taking cold showers.

Namaste from The Roof Of The World

Flashback: In the Bowels of Kathmandu

My first hotel, Wanderlust Hotel was a tiny hotel on a tiny "street," south of Durbur Square.

As you can see from inside the gate of the hotel, our street is a whopping 6.5 feet (tiles) wide.

At least 10 motorcycles per minute sped by. This was a shortcut between 2 major roads. Walking down the narrow street was an adventure.

There was no night staff, although you could call their mobile phone at any time and they would answer. They locked the gate around 10:30 or 11:00 pm. Notice the doorbell on the upper left. If the gate was locked, you reached through the bars and pushed the bell and they would come down. They had a room on the first floor (2nd floor to us Americans.)

Here is a picture looking into the hotel doorway. To the left of those steps is a couch that I would sit on reading and watching traffic. Occasionally, someone would stop and talk. Sometimes they would offer to sell me hashish. Remember that sign on the far left.

Here is a shot westward, the opposite way I would leave the hotel. Remember that sign on the left? That little sliver just past it was my hotel. Now imagine motorcycles going both ways passing each other with numerous pedestrians mixed in. It was crazy during the busy hours.

This picture was taken from the same spot as the last picture, except I have turned 180 degrees to the direction I would always go when I left the hotel. Notice it goes awhile and then jogs to the left a bit before opening up a bit.

All stores/business/houses seem to have steps. These are all stores. It is Saturday, their day off and some stores are closed. Even schools, banks, and government offices are open Sunday through Friday. Christian Churches meet on Saturdays in Nepal.

Now, let's walk down the street.

This picture is taken looking back at where I took the last picture.

Turning right 90 degrees we see a street branch off north from the street I am walking on. There are a lot of feral dogs in the area. Lots of people feed them to get good karma. So, they are usually friendly. Just another obstacle for the motorcycle riders.

The earthquake did a lot of damage 2 years ago. Here are 3 pictures; the first shows a building getting ready to be repaired, the second shows a building still not touched by repairs, and the third shows a building with lots of repair progress.

This third building that is 3 stories has an interesting background. A rich man who made his money selling hashish owned the whole block. When he died, his son sold the block, piece by piece. After the earthquake, the new owner hired a crew to rebuild it. When they were laying a new foundation, they found a cache of $5 million dollars left their by the old man who had died and never told his son about. The workers grabbed a bunch of money and split before the owner was notified who ran down to claim and grab it. The original son heard about it and claimed it. The government heard about it and claimed it. It ended up with the government getting half, the current owner getting half, and the original son getting nothing.

On to Freak Street!

Namaste from The Roof of the World

Flashback: Heavy Load

You see a lot of heavy loads in Nepal, whether they are pedestrians, cyclists (like here), motorbikes, or vehicles.

Notice the man in the middle of the picture carrying a refrigerator box full of stuff (hopefully, not an actual refrigerator.)

Namaste from The Roof of the World

Flashback: Eating, Part 2

Now that I have good internet, I will post some of the pictures I have been saving.

Here is a picture of the hotel owner and an assistant eating nepali style (with their hands.)

During another Friday night jam session, Johann decided to order chicken fried rice when I did. Since he is from Germany, he eats European style. In Europe, if they need 2 utensils, like cutting meat or scooping rice, they keep hold of both utensils constantly. Whereas, we Americans put down the second utensil between bites. This how Germans would catch Americans in WW2, whether they were spies or escaped prisoners - they watched how they ate in the taverns.

Snacks made in India. They seemed safe. The popcorn was 20 rupees per bag ($0.20) and the Lays were 60 rupees (although still made in India.) On the back, it says can only be sold in Nepal on the Lay's package.

This is an interesting potato chip here. They are sold in bags like noodles and are hard like noodles when you buy them. You deep fry them and they expand and become soft, like a soft chip. They are quite tasty.

Namaste fron the Roof of the World

Summerhill House

Well, I am living the pampered life, again, at least for 9 days.

I had my best Bible study this morning since I got here (Nepal). It is so nice to spread out and get nerdy.

I will get to unpack some. My last place was so small I couldn't even "live out of my suitcase." I had to live with a pile of stuff stacked on to of my suitcase that I had reached into it and grabbed, since I couldn't even lay my suitcase flat.

This is a shot to the west. Patan, along with Kathmandu and a third city, are in a valley surrounded by mountains. We are about a mile up. So, that is high enough to be in the clouds.

This shot is to the Southwest. There is a deck all around my first floor room (First floor is the second floor to you all.) Notice the mountains farther away are actually above the clouds.

I have a nice modern bathroom. It is the size of my whole room at the last hotel.

The mosquito netting is mostly decoration, now. Kathmandu, and the rest of the valley, got 24 hour electricity starting last October. So, now the rooms have air conditioning. Before, each area only had electricity 8 hours per day. So, windows were left open and most windows in the valley do not have screens. So, then you needed the netting.

It's nice to shower with a bit of room. The bathroom in my last hotel was 3 feet by 3 feet for sink, commode, and a spot in the middle to spray yourself.

After only one evening and morning of being at the computer, my legs began to hurt again. My left foot puffed up and my left ankle hurt and was turning red. I switched the desk chair with the chair behind it (notice that the seat is lower) and my legs feel fine. I guess my vein valves are so leaky that any pressure on the bottom of my legs will cause my legs and feet to swell. They immediately felt better.

This is a picture facing south. Notice the trucks and buses. That is the Ring Road. Most big Asian cities have a Ring Road that encircles the city. This is the wide open area of the valley (grin). They said it was only a 5 minute walk to the Ring Road (10 for me.) What they neglected to say was that this place is on a hill, a big, big, big hill - a Burlwood size hill (walking down Nohl Ranch Road.)

This picture is from my room door. The doors on the left lead to the dining room. We can eat outside if we like. However, the June-July monsoon season is still here and it rains almost every day - a lot.

This is another outside place we can eat or hang out. Notice the 2 dachshunds. These are the first non feral dogs I have seen. There are 11 rooms here, I think (I am in room 11.) I think I am the only customer, right now. There are 4 young men and a chef that do everything for the owners. So, I guess I have my own personal staff.

The road to get here. Not all roads on Google maps are equal. We were blocked by a water truck for about 20 minutes until my taxi driver convinced them to let us passed (they were stopped.) He pulled the tiny taxi (about 3/4 the size of a volkswagon beetle) into a tiny spot on the side of the road and the truck backed up with about 1/2 inches to spare.

The road down to the Ring Road. I wouldn't want to be in that tanker truck when it goes down this road.

So, that's it. I have 9 nights here resting up. I am trusting their food and eating the first fruit and veggies since I got here. We get free breakfast, which was huge. I ate at 8 am and it is 5 pm and I am just getting hungry. They served me a bowl of fruit, corn flakes, some health cereal with oats and raisins, and nuts in it, a pot of coffee, bread, 2 fried eggs, orange juice, milk, and yogurt. I didn't eat the milk or yogurt, just to be safe.

We can order supper with at least 2 hours notice, so I won't starve until I figure out how to get off this hill. I'll be able to get some good Bible study in and some other paperwork done.

Namaste from The Roof of the World

Friday Night Jam Session

The Hotel is owned by a husband and wife. The husband, JJ, is Nepali and the wife, Seriana, is Dutch. The hotel used to have a restaurant on the ground floor run by a third party (like the groomer at the pet store.) They just left. So, JJ and the staff now cook up whatever you order, which is nice.

Anyway, JJ has a band and a lot of musician friends. So, he has been installing speakers in the restaurant. Friday, he had his first jam session.

As you can see, like my room, the restaurant is small. You see here 90% of one of the 2 rooms. JJ is the one with no shirt. He and others played about 3/4 English songs and the rest Nepali songs. On the left you can just see the base guitar player and on the right you can see someone playing on their drum.

Just to my left is Johann, a German premed student here volunteering in a hospital. Ironocally, he plays Eurogames, like Catan, at home. While everyone else was drinking gin and coke (and I was drinking my lemon Fanta), he was enjoying beer after beer. He was on his 3rd 24 ounce beer when I left. He was happy.

As I turn rightward, the woman on the right is Seriana, the wife owner. She also does web site designing. The woman on the right is another German. But, she is staying somewhere else.

As I turn more rightward, you see the door of this room and then the other room of the restaurant. It is about 3/4 as long and half as wide. Overall, I would estimate that the restaurant is 100 square feet big, including the kitchen.

The long hair dude on the right is my druggy Turkish friend who is always up for Marijuana or hashish. He travels the world avoiding going home to Turkey. He will occasionally make a bunch of necklaces and sell them on the street. The owner makes him go outside to do drugs to protect his hotel.

I left about 9:30 and things got rowdy about 10:30, so the owner sent everyone out, ended the jam session, and closed the restaurant for the night.

Namaste from The Roof of the World

Eating, Nepali Style

Eating here is a little diffrent amongst the local people. I would take pictures, except it feels like it would be like taking pictures of animals at the zoo - rude and demeaning.

1. They eat with their hands. They usually have half their plate with sticky rice and half the plate with their "dish" of veggies and/or meat and there are many types. They scoop a little of each together and make a ball in in their fingers. Then they either lift the plate to their chest or lean over the dish and scoop the ball into their mouth. They use one hand to eat and the other they keep clean to hold the plate or get a drink.

2. They eat rather fast. Then, they will have tea afterward to talk about the day.

3. They drink from a communal pitcher or pop bottle. They never touch their lips to these. They sit up straight, tilt their head back, and then pour the drink into their mouth and then return the container to the middle of the table.

4. Being next to India, they like curry. Like Thailand, they like chili, also.

Namaste from The Roof of the World

Perseverance

I was reading a list of quotes I have read on the internet:

You aren’t reaching high enough if the future is known, the path is clear, and outcomes are certain.

A dream is worth a risk.

Do not fear failure, heartbreak or even death. Fear the unlived life.

There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.

A person either buys his dream by surrendering his excuses or he buys his excuses by surrendering his dream

Being a learner means using the worst moments in life to plan your future best moments.

Namaste from The Roof of the World

Drugs

I got food poisoning again. This time it was worse and I used a lot of Immodium. Feeling better today, so I went in search of a pharmacy.

I found this one and really stocked up on Immodium (generic), as well as some other things. It is amazing how you don't need a prescription for most things.

Because I got sick again, I am leaving 9 days early and going to an upscale hotel, upscale for Nepal, anyway. Hopefully, I'll stop getting sick. In any event, at least getting sick will be nicer with a bigger room and bigger, nicer bathroom.

I am tempted to go back to Kuala Lumpur to regroup. However, I have decided to stay no matter what, even if I have to get a $1500/month apartment for 6-12 months in a western enclave where the diplomats, etc. live.

Namaste from The Roof of the World

A good day, today. Walked further than any day so far. Had fish and chips at a nice place. It even has a restroom. Public restrooms are rare here. They make a good Americano, also. I have eaten at 3 places, so far. I have only gotten sick at one. But, I drank some lime water there and I think the water came from the tap.

It seems to work if I use the same rules here that I used for street vendors in Thailand: Only eat thoroughly cooked food that has just been cooked. I will have to forego veggies until I get my own apartment and can set up a system of making purified water via bleach and soaking the veggies.
Meanwhile, the hotel owner and his assistant continue to make my meals to order. I have been eating french fries that they make from scratch with a couple of buffalo sausages sliced thin and cooked well. Like India, they don't eat beef. Fortunately, they just substitute buffalo.

They also make me chicken fried rice. I think I will ask for some vegetable fried rice with about 1/3 chopped vegetables fried before the rice is added so the germs are killed. In the next couple of days he wants me to teach him how to make grilled cheese. So, I will do that and he has some yak cheese.

Namaste from The Roof of the world

August 9, 2017

The internet is terrible at this hotel and the connection breaks frequently, too frequently to upload pictures.  So, I will just have to write off line and then post without pictures.

With everything that has happened, my plans must remain flexible. Fortunately, I have 5 months until school starts. I should have things all settled by then. I made a reservation fore a place in Patan for 2 weeks for after my 4 weeks here.

Basically, I will just sacrifice this month for getting acclimated and enjoy the hustle and bustle of this downtown area. Patan is more rural. The place I will be staying is more like an acreage with gardens and a children's playground and plenty of free parking for guests.

The Immodium did its job and I just stayed in bed mostly, Tuesday. I felt better today and went out to a place and got breakfast: eggs, toast, fries, and Sprite for 240 rupees.

$1.00 = 100 rupees, so it is easy to figure out how much I am spending. There are 2 price systems here, marked and unmarked. In some stores, like the bookstore I went to, have price tags. Restaurants have menus with the prices listed. These are the prices you pay. A zillion little stores have no price tags and there seems to be a dual system, one price quoted for Nepalis and a higher price qwuoted for foreigners.

I found a little store today that is a bit bigger (about the size of the Burlwood TV room) that sells packaged goods. I will get some tomorrow.

Namaste from The Roof of the World

The Land of a Thousand Germs

Internet at the hotel is very spotty. So, I am writing this offline. And, pictures are a no go until I move.

My current plan is to stay here the 29 days I reserved for. I will use this time to let my body acclimate to altitude.

Then, I will move to Patan which is about 8 km away. This will get me out of the smog. I am looking at a few nice places. I want to live in Patan. I will ride the bus to class. And, it will be close to church and a bike will give me huge mobilty as there will be hundreds of businesses within 3 km.

I lived in Thailand and Malaysia for 5 months and never got sick. It has only been 5 days here in Nepal and I have my first gastrointestinal disease. Pop, pop, Immodium.

Once I get my apartment, I think I will be spending 2 hours a days cooking safely. However, since I will be learning a language, any waiting time can be used to study.

One nice easy meal in Thailand was Peanut Butter and crackers. I may get me a jar of peanut butter again, since that is a safe, easy meal.

Namaste from The Roof of the World

Houston, The CaliNebraskan Has Landed

Well, after 29 years, I finally made it. Now, may I come home???

Wow, what culture shock. One week after I arrived in Thailand I just wanted to back to good old USA. But, I guess things have gotten better. Now, I just want to go back to good old Thailand!

Anyway, I arrived and my ride was waiting. The taxis were not nice newer cars that were almost all identical like in Bangkok. Ours was this tiny hatchback about the size of a Volkswagen bug. It herked and jerked and crawled along.

We got to the hotel and I was not excited. We were dropped off about 2 blocks from the hotel. All those streets shown on google are not car drivable. These last 2 are about 15 feet wide from building to building with about 8-9 feet of brick street - used by only motorcycles, bikes, and pedestrians.

Notice the building across the street - a very narrow street. Also, notice the width of my room. Note that this is the width of the hotel, also.

Anyway, I was on the 5th floor. They use the British system where the ground floor is called the ground floor and the next floor up is called the first floor, etc. So, I was looking at 5 flights of stairs. They switched me to the 4th floor for that first night and today they switched me to the 2nd floor. The 2 flights seem to be alright.

The first room was nicer. It had a ceiling fan and I was nice and cool. The toilet worked right. With this one I have to poor water into the bowl. If it's yellow, just be mellow. If it's brown, flush it down! The room is about 6 inches narrower and you really notice it. Should I complain some more? (grin)

That wasn't bad. The worst part is I could hardly breathe with walking. I read up on it and this is normal when going from sea level to Denver (about the same change.) I also had sleep apnea the first night and woke up gasping for air. This is also normal.

Fortunately, I slept fine the second night and I feel better today. I was able to walk up the stairs one flight at a time without resting on the way.

So, I guess I'll stay. Even though the room is super tiny, it has what I need.

Internet is spotty. So, I'll post this for now.

Namaste from The Roof of the World

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry

Wow, did I make a big mistake! Since the airline had business class on sale for $550 (about 1/3 price), I flew that instead of economy $350. I flew China Eastern Airlines because they allow a 3rd bag for a fee. Other airlines that don't would only cost about $275.

I got to the airport and checked in my bags. I only needed 2, since I bought bigger luggage. I did have a gym bag as a carry on, as well as a near empty back pack and a heavy huge fanny pack. I was flying via Shanghai, China and Kunming, China - huge mistake. A ginormous, humugous, mistake!  They told me I had to pick up luggage at Shangai and recheck it. Ditto for Kungming. It seems that since Shangai is a domestic route, there are 2 different systems - domestic & international - to allow them to keep more control over people.

I thought I would just be pampered on the plane, meander from arrival gate to departure gate and wait at a coffee place and relax. Noooooooo! Instead, I had to rush through customs & immigration, explain to the guard why I had no VISA, get my luggage, find the right airline counter, get my boarding pass and check my luggage, go through customs & immigration again, and then to my gate.
Well, in Shanghai I had a 3 hour layover. I made it, all frazzled with 15 minutes to spare. I was the last business class person on.

In Kunming, I only had a 2 hour layove. I figured my luggage would get rechecked. But, I was thinking I would be spending 24 hours in the airport after I missed the plane. I made it with 2 minutes to spare. And, fortunately, the plane was delayed 45 minutes. But, I was too exhausted to even get up and walk across the aisle to this great looking coffee shop.

"Though I walk through the airport terminals of death . . . "

Experiencing all this kind of ruined the luxury air flight. I had 3 three-hour flights.
Starting at 02:30 I was kind of sleepy. Fortunately, the seats recline to about 80% so you are almost horizontal. I had a huge breakfast. The basket of hot rolls they came by with every few minutes was nice. Then got about 2 hours sleep before it was close to debarkation.

It turns out that business/first class is not really luxury. It is more like less suffering than economy. You are still up at 30,000 feet in a hollow metal tube being flown by someone you don't know and you are stuck in your seat.

The next seats were not quite as nice, but still quite nice. You basically had 2 seats where there were 2 rows of 3 seats in economy. So, the seats were wider with a small table between people. There was a huge space to the next row. The slippers they give you really come in handy. Again, another nice meal. This time I really appreciated the hot towels and orange juice and water they give you when you sit down because I was all sweaty and thirsty from running around the airport.

On the 3rd flight, there were 2 seats where there were 3 in economy class. However there was very little leg room, maybe only 20% more than economy class.There were only 8 such seats on this plane compared to 20 - 24 on the other 2 planes.  Again, the hot towels were very nice. I declined the meal because I was still full from the first 2 meals. I just drank a lot. They are very stingy with the ice. Finally, I just asked for a glass of ice with ice to the top.

Finally, I got to Kathmandu. Since there was no time pressure, I could leisurely get everything done. It took about 45 minutes and I was outside where my ride from the hotel was waiting with a taxi.

Namaste from the Roof of the World

Seasons Of Life

August brings 2 major life changes to people close to me.

(1) Sharon has officially gone into hospice as her time is near. Soon there will be a great burst of joy and laughter in Heaven when Charlene and Sharon meet again. Use the contact button at the right if you want phone number and/or address.

When I first arrived 5+ years ago they played Euchre a lot via computer. As time went by and Charlene couldn't play anymore, John (her husband) & Sharon would come over frequently to visit. They were always ready to help up to the very end.

(2) David retired this month. I am curious if he got to sleep late or if his wife, Irina, rolled him out of bed early to make everyone breakfast. Enquiring minds want to know!

Namaste from the Roof Of The World.

10 . . 9 . . 8 . . Last Day In Thailand

Almost all packed and ready to go. Doing a last bit of laundry. Bought a big suitcase. So, I will only need 2 suitcases and not have to pay any extra charges. I didn't realize how small my other suitcases were.

Car will be here at 9 pm. I am allowing an hour to get to the airport. So, I should be there by 10 pm. It is a different airport than when I left for Malaysia. Bangkok has 2 International airports.

My flight leaves at 2:30 am on China Eastern Airlines. I am taking the scenic route. Normally, you fly Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur-Kathmandu. That is like going Albuquerque-Los Angeles-Seattle.

However, I am going Bangkok-Shanghai-Kunming-Kathmandu in 15 hours. That is like going Albuquerque-New York City-Chicago-Seattle. This is actually less time because the shorter route involves a 15 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, so it actually takes longer.

I have 2.5 and 3.5 hour layovers in China. Like when I transferred in Taipai, I won't have any Chinese money. So, no snacks since there are no money changers. Hmmmm, maybe they will take a credit card.

Hmmmm, just found this interesting post:

"If you buy at the duty free shopping, it's ok to use the USD because the products in these shops are almost labeled with USD price. If you go to the convenient shops, RMB is needed. Bank of China provides the currency exchange. It is located between G15 and G16 in the International Departure Area. "

Namaste From (halfway to) Nepal