Kathmandu: Hello Cheap Price for You!

Jan 26. Or wants to go to India but has no visa. (I already got Indian and Bangaladeshi visas in Beijing in December). He really does not want to sightsee in Nepal. He is just coming here because it is cheaper than flying to India. So he hopes to get in and out of Nepal as soon as possible. However, it takes 7-10 days to get an Indian visa! So this morning (Jan 26) Or went to the Indian embassy. I went out to see the city. I walked a lot - all over the city. I visited the Royal Palace (outside only), Asan Tole, Durbar Square, the river, and lots of other places. As I was leaving the hotel, the guy at the desk told me there are no taxis or buses today - but walking is free. As I got out on the street, I saw what he meant. 90% of the businesses at 10am were closed. There were no taxis or buses. Lots of people walking. But more impressively - there were soldiers everywhere! Everywhere - on sidewalks, on top of buldings, in businesses, in trucks - everywhere. It looked like a war zone. I found out later that Nepal will have elections soon. The king chose which parties can participate and which cannot participate - but he only chose parties which support him - none that have different ideas than him. Many people were upset about their lack of political freedom and the king's unwillingness to allow others to have different political opinions. So they decided to protest - by striking. That is why there were very few businesses open and no buses and taxis. The police/army soldiers were all over the city to prevent violent protest and riots. As far as I know, there were no incidents to speak of.

Another thing about Nepal - it seems more than half of the people speak English (unlike China where only a small percentage knows English). While this is helpful for buying things and getting directions, it enables vendors to say more than "Hello cheap price for you" (which is normally what foreigners hear in China). Actually, it is very annoying. These vendors walk up to you carrying lots of merchandise and they don't say "buy". They say, "Hi, what is your name?" And you feel rude and mean to not reply. So you tell them. And then they say, "My name is ____. What country are you from? Oh, that is a very good country." And they follow you around for the next 20 minutes talking to you and then try to get you to buy things. It is annoying. After 20 minutes maybe you can convince one to leave you alone. Then another appears and follows you. It is tiring. The worst is near the historical sites when "guides" come up and start telling you things about where you are. These guides are not official people. After talking and walking with you for 5 minutes, they ask for money. When you refuse, they say I did work for you - I was your guide. You should pay me money. Very annoying. Kathmandu is more wetern in ways (Thamel is westernized (although the streets there are sometimes gravel/dirt/unpaved and people speak English), but in other ways it is similar to other Asian countries with persistent people bothering foreigners trying to sell them things. It is difficult to say no - some of them look really poor and desperate. At the same time, I hate to buy something - it only encourages them to use the same tactics on the next person. Actually, Nepali people are very friendly. I met several people who just wanted to talk to me -- and not sell me anything. They just wanted to learn more about foreigners - what do we think of Nepal, how long will I stay here, what do you like/not like about Nepal, etc. After a long day of walking around the city, I went back to the hotel and met Or. He said that the Indian embassy was closed so he would try again the next day.

Jan 27 I left early and rented a bike. Or planned to go back to the Indian embassy. I rode out into the countryside and up and down mountains outside of Kathmandu. Very interesting and beautiful scenes. Had lunch in a small village - had buff chow mein (buffalo fried noodles). It seems since Nepal is so close to India there are a lot of Hindus here. And so beef is rare here. Instead most restaurants serve buff (which Or and I believe to be buffalo instead of cow). However, at the restaurant they served me a glass of cold water. Maybe I should not have drank it (almost all restaurants in Asia serve hot water so you know the water has been boiled to kill the bacteria). I was thirsty and sweaty after riding the bike so far. I hope I won't get sick. Anyway, I came back to return the bike tonight at 6pm and told the guy I wanted it again tomorrow so he let me keep the bike. So I plan to leave early tomorrow to bike to Patan and Bhaktapur (two close cities with interesting sites).