You notice a few idiosyncrasies when in Kathmandu. Perpetual shortage of fuel and queues for diesel and petrol are part of the scenery, along with ‘load shedding’ which is so much part of the landscape it is almost seamless. The power goes off, on schedule, for 11 hours a day at the moment. As it does there are a few moments of pure black before all the back up systems kick in and it’s (nearly) back to normal. One unexpected bonus is that the range and quality of food is very, very good. There are everything from bakeries through every national food range, Newari and other Nepali specialties and some yummy street food. The range is astounding..and quite probably fattening.
Another interesting development is the ‘bandh’ or strike. They were used very effectively in the turmoil during the civil war and the eventual replacement of the monarchy but they seem to be a little like an escaped genie still trying to get put back into the bottle now. The Maoists are now part of the government but fighting amongst themselves on ideological grounds and the process of writing a constitution drags on some years after the deadline was first extended.
When there is a national bandh it is not just a little disruption. Everything is closed, all cars are off the road (except for police, army, press and, curiously, tourist buses). It is quite eerie to be walking down the middle of a road that, yesterday, was doing its level best to set you up with an early demise on the front of some sort of vehicle. I should qualify that though..in what seems to be a fairly chaotic traffic set up it is all managed with a great deal of thoughtfulness and politeness..cars actually slow down to let you through and very rarely seem to be actually targeting you.
One of the regional political leaders was in gaol pending murder charges when he was beaten up and a few weeks later died. A national bandh was called for the next day so it was ‘walk to work’ day. No problem for the seasoned walker, well aware that the lack of Nepali reading skills were no match for persistence and the ability to ask for directions (this will not last the trip home…I am an Australian male and as such, am constitutionally bound NEVER to ask directions.)
Off in the general direction of where I thought I was heading (although slightly delayed as angry students were marching past my hotel). It’s a bit surreal…there’s police in full body armour, water tankers for the cannon, angry crowds and all outnumbered by people out for a stroll or walking to work..even a few kids roller skating along the main road up to the palace (now a museum).
As with all good ideas..they are better fresh..which, in my case, was for the first 45 mins or so. The direction of the roads didn’t look anything like the map and the scale just seemed to stretch out interminably. Poor tired little leggies. Asked the riot police for directions..spotted a few things that seemed vaguely familiar and then after nearly an hour and a half had just about given up and was starting to retrace my steps when I spotted a really good landmark which meant I wasn’t lost after all. I am not sure if being not lost but thinking you were is actually a positive..the fact that I’m not still wandering around with increasingly feeble steps is a good thing though. It’s amazing what a different perspective you get when walking..and how little you really take any notice of the route the taxi takes every day. Thankfully the bandh was called off mid-afternoon so I didn’t have to pretend I knew what I was doing in the dark…that really would have been impressive.
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