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