Nepal, Kathmandu 6 (back to the chaos, wedding, hospitality)

November 15, 2010

After yesterday’s lovely “dance evening” and a sociable game, Chinese-style, today it was time to say goodbye…

…to my beloved jungle view and…

…to the Chinese, who had been truly, exceptionally kind and considerate.

On the bus ride of almost eight hours back to Kathmandu, I admired an interesting poster advertising who knows what during a stopover. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with dogs, as the P.-hairdo of the gentleman at the top left might suggest at first glance…
Back in Nepal’s capital in the evening, and still raving about the Chinese food, I wanted another good meal straight away. My choice fell on a steak restaurant that many people had praised to the skies. Well, the prices were European all right, but the quality of the meat didn’t even come close to what I’m used to – oh, what a shame, I guess I’m still too spoiled by my beloved home country…
Back at my old guesthouse, the first thing the hotel manager did was try to scr** me over. Because of the last few days, he claimed, the price for this dump with its broken windows had gone up by 50%. It was already far too late to look for somewhere else to stay, so I launched into a lengthy discussion with him.

Two beers and a few schnapps later – on his tab – the hotel manager was extremely happy (see picture above) and in the end absolutely delighted to let me stay on the old terms after all – see, that wasn’t so hard. ;)

November 16, 2010

Early in the morning, the familiar view from the hotel roof awaited me again:

Glue-sniffing children (right) – and the police (left) look on and do nothing.

The rest of the day didn’t bring much joy either: the battle with the Indian embassy. Once again I spent a whole seven hours of my life in this bureaucratic jungle. A simple visa I would have got in six days. But I needed a “multiple entry” visa, and the Indian mission in Kathmandu was anything but keen on that. Of course – after all, I come from dangerous Germany, my antisocial appearance speaks volumes, and as a biologist with a doctorate I come from a highly criminal milieu anyway. What was I thinking, wanting to enter and leave India twice within six months? Surely it’s far too dangerous to let me, a tourist, bring money and intercultural exchange into this developing country of 1.2 billion people – who knows what might happen! After a talk with the head of the embassy, I was eventually fobbed off and told to come back the next day. The Indian “efficiency spiral” was gathering momentum…

Back at my guesthouse, thoroughly fed up with the day’s waste of time, I suddenly heard some familiar music from outside. …wasn’t that the song they had played over and over in the Tibetan disco? A really catchy earworm that I have some very fond memories of. ;) Hard as I tried to make out the chorus, I just couldn’t. I quickly asked one of the guesthouse staff, but his guesses at the title didn’t turn up anything useful on Google either. There was nothing for it: I had to track down the party and ask the DJ in person. Following my ears, I finally found the spot – it was a Nepalese Newar wedding with more than 500 guests in full party mode. Politely, I asked my way through to the source of the music…

…and eventually found the DJs. All I actually wanted was the name of the song they had played a quarter of an hour earlier. But the three guys were so keen to help that they stopped the music right in the middle of the party and started flicking through their tracks. I found this really, really embarrassing and tried to stop them – in vain. They played snippets of different tracks, fast-forwarded and rewound, back and forth, trying to find my earworm. Guests who wandered over to see what was going on only spurred them on – oh dear, oh dear, what had I started with my harmless little question? To cut a long story short: I got my song, plus a few of the DJs‘ favorite tracks on top, got invited to the wedding on the spot…

…and was wined and dined royally. That’s how quickly things can change: one minute I’m sitting alone in my hotel room, fuming about the Indian embassy – a few minutes later I’m in the middle of a huge wedding party. Yep, that was another unforgettable evening. :)

November 17, 2010

After a short night’s sleep, almost the entire day was once again dedicated to the Indian visa. Via Skype I called the German Embassy in Kathmandu, the Federal Foreign Office in Germany, the Indian Embassy in Berlin and the Indian Consulate General in Frankfurt. In the end I went back to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu in person – it couldn’t be reached by phone, you see. Armed with all my new information, I fought my way through to the head of the embassy once more. He had already received word from the Indian Embassy in Germany – which I had set in motion – that a “multiple-entry” visa could be issued to me without any concerns. Nevertheless, he wanted my travel plans explained to him all over again – but afterwards he assured me that I could pick up my visa in a few days. Well, we’ll see how reliable promises like that turn out to be.

I spent the rest of the day comparing prices for sending a parcel back to Germany – after all, it wasn’t long until Christmas. In the tourist hotspot of Kathmandu, prices vary hugely – for parcels, too, by a factor of more than three.

Luckily, I stumbled upon a small parcel shop in a back courtyard, run by Suraj and his wife Saru. Not only did they give me by far the best price for my 16 kg parcel, they also invited me to stay for food and beer on the spot. Nice, honest people without ulterior motives in Kathmandu-Thamel – they really do exist!

Further links:

1. India – A pretty big country with pretty big problems
2. Google – No idea…?
3. DJ – The guy who decides what music gets played (record dogsbody)
4. Newar – The majority of the Nepalese living in Kathmandu
5. Skype – Call anywhere in the world for free or for a few cents