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