Settling in

Grinning like a deranged idiot but no one to share this with. The excitement of actually getting here is dissipating and the relaxation is tempered a bit by the realisation that I will have to use skype and email but won’t be with Anne. This could be a longish 4 weeks.

It’s pretty much impossible to get Nepali rupees in Australia so had to scout around for the nearest ATM. Interesting juxtaposition wandering thorough mediaeval buildings looking for a hole in the wall. A-HA found one…with a guard chasing people away…OK..next one…only 50 metres away…doesn’t take my type of visa card…back up stash of American dollars looking good…then a bit further along actually got one to cough up some money. Now there’s a similarity to Australia, the banks charge outrageous fees in both countries. 400rupees ($5) per transaction..pfft.

 

So need the ‘traditional’ celebratory beer…sitting in a rooftop café (Café du Temple) drinking an Everest (of course) beer whilst gazing out over Durbar Square. Who’s a lucky boy then?

The street vendors, obviously sensing fresh blood, try their hardest to get their “only one in Nepal” artifacts offloaded while I still have money. A wise move on their part but they just don’t understand that I have a month to look forward to. Eventually they wander off and look for other tourists.

Although it is freezing in the early morning and as soon as the sun goes down (just after 5pm) the days are clear blue sky and quite warm. I’m not about to head off to the pool for a quick swim but it is certainly a no jacket required warmth….sometimes.

I’m still getting used to the erratic electricity supply. There’s no high wattage at the best of times but the main supply goes into ‘load shedding’ from time to time and there’s not always a generator backup. You can quite easily go from reading to scrambling for a candle and tripping over stuff that has surely moved since you last saw it. The erratic electricity also means that hot water is a bit variable. Not a big chance of scalding yourself.

Strangely, something which would be annoying at home is just part of the fun and experience when it has Nepal as the setting.