Nepal

December 11^th 1993

Woke up to a rather cold morning – (we’d gotten used to the warm weather in Asia) went down & ate breakfast at a place named Lunch Box (there are so many Danes who use this place so they actually speaks Danish) After that we walked down to the post office through narrow streets – passed a meat marked on the way – parted goats looking sadly at you on tables & the dirt road – I’m so happy I’m a veggie traveler. The post office had closed all day – Then we decided to walk up to Thamel – the north end of Katmandu city - up there - there are more shops & restaurants & guest houses than down in the Freak Street area – it’s more “Party time” up there – I like the peace where we live.

Sad in the sun on Durbar Square & watched the other tourists & 2 holy men in red & orange draped clothes – they looked very important – but you’ll have to pay them if you want a photo of them.

We are so alone up here – so far nobody to talk to – it’s strange. Ate soup in Lost Horizon (a café) & walked up to Thamel again to look at the jackets & sweaters they sell. Found a restaurant where they showed a movie while we ate - & then we walked home to Freak – the light went out when we had walked ½ way. That was interesting – you get awful disoriented when you can’t see a thing – but is able to hear everything that goes around – around you – but we found our way home.

December 12^th 1993

I felt like I had slept on an iron board – the bed is awful. Ate again at Lunch Box & then we walked down to collect our letters at the GPO – it was so funny – they had this huge wobbly bookcase look alike where there were little rooms in for each letter in the alphabet – like my mail was stuck in between 100’s of other letters for people who’s family name started with A. 

I got some – Annemette only one – we got a letter for both of us from Roland & Bettina – they’ll be here the 15^th or the 20^th – JIIIBIII!!

Then we walked over to Aeroflot to reconfirm our tickets out of Nepal. Then we found a restaurant in Thamel where we could get a veggie burger (they make great food in Katmandu) – then we walked home & had a real HOT shower each – it was so great!

Right now we are sitting in the restaurant belonging to our guesthouse & eat cake (the people in Katmandu got something about cakes they’re bake the best cakes in the world – I recon – or maybe it’s because I’d been traveling so long without being able to eat sweets – but I think the cakes were special & good) & drinking lemon tea (it’s so strong it’ll be able to remove the enamel on your teeth)

December 13^th 1993

The sun is shinning - & we’d been changing money in the street (well I better explain this – A guy comes up to you & asks you: “change money?” “How much?” do we ask & he’ll get us a price if we like it we’ll follow him up a ladder to an office in Freak Street & here we sign our traveler check & another guy will give us our Rupees – then we crawl down again & is able to spend them).

Today I wanted to walk out to the Shwayambhunath Stupa – it’s outside Katmandu – something like 6 kilometers away. Annemette wanted to come along. We walked & walked over an almost dry river they use as a garbage dump – out on roads & in the distance we could see the Stupa on a hilltop – Buddha’s eyes followed us all the way. Finally we got to the stairway up to the Stupa – it felt as long as the one up to the Great Wall. The hill is full of baboons & they beg along with the human beggars. I was happy when we made it to the top. We could see the Katmandu Valley under us – green & lovely in the winter sun. Up where we were there was praying wheels & brass figures – monks & kids – bells & beggars – small temples & baboons – Nepal is something else.

Walked another route back to town – went down to the GPO & left a letter to Søren – you are not suppose to leave letters on the shelves – but nobody saw it.

Found a new restaurant & had dinner there – we’re getting real tired of one another now – need to either meet some others or go home. 

December 14^th 1993

We’re bored – but we had a funny day anyway – first we mailed some letters of – then we looked at daypacks for Annemette – her old Fjällräv needed a replacement. Katmandu is famous for its embroidering skills & Annemette wanted to have Buddha’s eyes embroidered on her shorts - found a place where they would do that – then we got caught up by the woolen jacket fever – we wanted some too. Annemette found a black/gray parka she wanted & I had found a maroon/black one I couldn’t live without. Annemette asked the lady if she could get the price down if she gave the lady some of her clothes – a Tele Denmark jogging suit – a skirt & a nail polish – she could she paid 300 rupees instead of 520 – the woman said if we had more clothes we could trade for other things – she had sons & daughters in all ages. I bought my parka without trading – we also bought 2 small jackets – one for Amalie (my niece) & one for Annemette’s friend’s kid. We walked home with our stuff & wanted to go up & find a movie in Thamel – on the way we remembered the shorts & walked back & bumped into a friend of Annemette – Per (& his girlfriend Trine). We all went down to Cosmopolitan to eat & there we met an Aussie who had lived in Denmark & spoke Danish really well.

December 15^th 1993

Ate breakfast with Trine & Per – then we walked over to the Old Royal Palace & saw it from the inside – it was a lovely building with fantastic woodcarvings around the windows & doorways.

We met Per & Trine at Lunch Box to eat dinner & watch “Midnight Express” & said goodbye to them.

Tomorrow we’ll go to Bhaktapur & from there to Nagakot.

Haven’t heard from Bettina & Roland.

December 16^th – 17^th – 18^th 1993

I didn’t bring my diary along on the walk – so I’ll tell the story now after getting back to Katmandu.

Took a bus over to Bhaktapur in the late morning of the 16^th – had a cup of milk tea & waited for the bus to Nagakot – when the bus arrived we met Stefano (Italy) & talked to him – the bus was filled up fast – with people & rice sacks – it was a funny trip – we laughed & had a great time with the locals – the 15 kilometers took 2 hours - & ended almost at the end of the world. Got a shared room with Stefano in hotel Galaxy – had dinner in a restaurant called “The end of the universe” & met 2 lovely people from Belgium (Simone & Andre) & a funny American (Ernie) & Eduardo (from Spain) – we ate & watched the sun go down between the mountains – met up with Ernie & Eduardo a bit later sad & talked – then the light went out - & we could just as well find our beds.

Got up at 06:00am the following morning & stood there in the COLD & welcome the sun when it rose over Mount Everest & shined so pretty on the valley & we just stood there & watched Helangbu & Langtang wake up – it was one of the most important moments of my life.

(To watch the dawn of a new day at the top of the world.)

Then we went down to have some breakfast - hot oatmeal with banana – sounds odd but tasted okay – I talked Ernie into walking with us & he agreed. We walked down to a cheese factory & bought some cheese & bread to bring along for our small trekking tour. (We couldn’t do a real long tough trek – due to my knee problems – I had surgery in both – so we just decided to walk a bit on the rim of the Katmandu valley) Then we said goodbye to Eduardo & Stefano & headed out of a small road. We walked & walked & took a wrong turn & had to walk back – it was okay cause the surroundings were so pretty – the distance mountains – the valleys - the villages we passed – the porters we met carrying tealeaves & branches in baskets – in a belt on their forehead down to the baskets. And all the kids we met on the way – NAMASTE – NAMASTE they all said & we said Namaste back to them - & they begged for pens or Rupees. (If you travel east – bring loads of pens along they’re worth more than gold among kids in Asia) – We walked fast & after 4½ hour we arrived in Bhotechaur (Ernie played his Hawaiian flute & all the kids in the area followed him).

In Bhotechaur we got a room with a view – the view was the best – on a ½ closed veranda – 3 hard “beds” full of flees (that we realized later) the next room was the room where they kept their chickens. Downstairs is a shop / kitchen where we ate Dal Bat & entertained the whole village – by just being there – Ernie played some more & the kids danced along – some of them wanted to show us their school – (they spoke a superb English) – so we went down to this long yellow building & met the school teacher & told him he did a wonderful job – he blushed when we said that. We hit the sleeping bags at 07:30pm & chatted until we fell asleep in the cold.

Woke up when a hysterical rooster started to scream next door. Had a doughnut & Chai (milk tea) – packed our stuff – left some things we didn’t needed anymore (enamel cups & 2 soaps & some socks) Ernie took my huge backpack & I got his small daypack (that was so nice of him) Then we said goodbye & started to walk again – my knees were protesting – we had 2 small girls walking us up to the rim of the hills – they were so cute. We waved goodbye to them & got down on a real dirt road – the nature was breath-taking – the mountains in the back – the soft hills with tea bushes & the sun was shinning to complete the image full speed.

On the way down to Sundarijal we walked down an endless stairway made of cobbled stones – we found a bus at the end & drove back to Katmandu.

Ernie lives in Thamel & we still in Freak – but we decided to meet up at 06:30pm. We got our room back & had a shower – felt so good. Then we walked up to Thamel to meet Ernie & Eduardo & share a couple of beers – but first we wanted something to eat & choose a small restaurant – inside sad Bettina & Roland – what a super wonderful surprise!!!

Much later we took a bike rickshaw home.

December 19^th 1993

Walked up to Thamel to eat breakfast with the friends – on the way we swapped 2 Tele Denmark t-shirts & 2 Tele Denmark lighters for 4 embroider ones – Had a good long breakfast – then we went down to the GPO to check out the letter situation & Eduardo shopped his last shopping – he was going home to Madrid.

Had dinner at Cosmopolitan with the others.

December 20^th 1993

I made a great swap today – Henrik’s  (a boyfriend back home) ray ban sunglasses for 7 hats (he’ll probably kill me – but that’s then & too late now) –then I swapped my old sandals for a discount on a jacket for my sister & my jeans for 2 Tibetan vests. We met Ernie for breakfast – then Annemette swapped her old trekking boots for a necklace with corals & silver. We took the back road up to Thamel & bought silver things – earrings & rings & bracelets – spend 500 rupees each (50 rupees = 1$) but we got a lot. Then we walked down to the post office to leave a card for Roland – who also never gets any mail. Then we went home to have a shower & decided to go up & find the others again – but on the way up we met a friend from Dali – Vincent Cooper – we were so happy to see each other & walked over to Cosmopolitan to drink tea & chat.

Later we ate at Lunch Box & saw a movie “A few good men” & now Annemette is sitting in the court yard talking with some others & I’m up in the room talking to a very big mouse – it’s living in a hole under my bed – I just feed it a cracker. Tomorrow we’ll go to Bhaktapur with Ernie.

December 21^st 1993

Had breakfast with Per – who’s going to India today – then we met Ernie & walked over to the bus station – found a minibus – a bit more expensive – but they had room for us & drove over to Bhaktapur. Katmandu was full of smog – it’s like the cold clouds put a lit on the city & hold the smog down – during day when it’s getting warmer the sun will shine & the clouds disappear & so does the smog. In Bhaktapur there are hardly any cars – it’s a pretty town – with wide squares & temples. We found a restaurant in the top of an old temple & sad there & watched people down at the square – met a British guy who was going to Vietnam & gave him some ideas. Then we decided to shop a bit – found some handbags & pants. Then we took the bus back to Katmandu & ate a lot of cakes in Snowman (a Café) – A guy jus! t knocked on our door & asked if he could get our garbage can – I gave it to him & closed the door – a few min later he knocked again & I got it back – he had “fished” our throw-out clothes up & left the garbage. Someone will be happy for 2 old bras & 3 pair of old socks. My toenails are falling off – so much for trekking!

December 22^nd 1993

We bought a lot of presents today – for those at home – though we won’t be home for Christmas.

Had dinner with the group at a place named Yak – that was really superb

December 23^rd 1993

Spend most of the day with Bettina & Roland who was trying to find the right sweaters – then we went down to the post office & found a letter Bettina & Roland had put there for us – they know too how much we long for letters.

We’re going to celebrate Christmas together with Bettina – Roland – Simone – Andre - Ernie & Vince (if we can find him – he mentioned a Christmas party somewhere) we’re going to buy Christmas presents tomorrow.

Right now we’re sitting at the window table at Cosmo over looking Durbar square – we can see the “souvenir” stalls & hear the sellers say: “Special Place for you” to new comer tourists – trying to avoid a chess set made of brass – We keep saying “no thanks I already bought a chess set “ & the sellers smile  & say “Yes! Yes! Same - same but different” – It’s getting dark now – we have noticed that there are monkeys on the roof of the Old Royal Palace. Every day brings something new from this old dusty strange town.

December 24^th 1993

Woke up rather early – Found Vince in Thamel & he told us the Christmas party was out in the embassy area & it coasted a fortune. Decided to skip it – but ate breakfast with Vince anyway.

Then we walked home to Freak & found the others at Lunch Box & had breakfast “en core” & we all decided to celebrate Christmas at Cosmopolitan went over & booked a table for 7 – then it was time for some Christmas shopping. Bettina got a pair of earrings & a Chinese handbag – Andre some Daphne paper stationary – Simone a Tibetan hat – Ernie an earring & a yin – yang box to keep it in & Roland a pair of hand knitted socks. We ate lunch in café Paradise & met Danish Maria & decided to share a taxi out to the airport with her tomorrow.

Then we went home to dress up – it’s hard to dress up when you haven’t got that much clothes left in your back pack & we looked rather “Hippie” but:

It was a super Christmas – the whole restaurant was decorated with “Christmas balloons” (never seen those before – but being in Nepal nothing could surprise me) - there was a “Christmas tree” some kind of pine with cotton pieces & Santa’s on - it was cute – our dinner was for Annemette & I -

Pumpkin soup – cheese & tofu burger - & fruit salad – the others had some kind of a bird I think it was pheasant we drank beer & “jungle tea” (a mix of every kind of booze they had in the café – they were not allowed to sell strong booze) & the whiskey we brought along – a jazz band played in the corner & we had a lot of fun –eating & talking & opening presents. A very memorable Christmas eve - far away from home.

A bit drunk & very later we walked home & celebrated a bit more Christmas with a bon fire in our yard together with the people from the guesthouse.

December 25^th 1993

Had a goodbye & see you again soon - breakfast at Lunch Box – then we did some more shopping – met 2 very young street sellers (2 girls – 6 &3 year old) they wanted us to buy something from them but we gave them an awful ring Annemette had – (so they could sell it to a naïve tourist & they did cause we met them later again) spend the rest of our rupees on hat & more earrings – ate some soup in Thamel & met up with Maria who got the heaviest hand luggage I had ever seen – packed our stuff & left the guest house& headed to the airport.

Now we are on the way to Sharjah in the United Arabian Emirates. Where Aeroflot will need more fuel – we bought red wine. Now we’re flying to Moscow – I fell asleep & didn’t wake up until we circled over the airport – the runway was solid ice & they got snow – it’s minus 5 degree Celsius – we need to sleep a bit cause after we land in Copenhagen we got 4 hours & then we’ll be going to work – wow! Don’t even want to think about it.

It’s been a great tour & all the friends I had gotten – hope to see them again.

(& I did – Karen – Fiona – Xavier – Bettina – Roland – Simone & Andre - & those I stayed in contact with – John – Ernie – Annette & Hasse - Thanks for being my friends for so long - I love you all!)