Nepal Day One

After I got back to the hotel last night, I decided to go out and walk around town. It was an experience like none other. My hotel is located just off a main street in a popular tourist section of town. The street is about the width of an alley in the US - enough room for one car to drive down the middle. Well, on this road there were not only cars, but motorbikes, bicycles, and bicycle rickshaws going BOTH directions, and narrowly missing the hundreds of people walking down the road to check out the amazing assortment of shops. You have to be very alert and aware of your surroundings to not get run over.

There are endless shops lining both sides of the road, selling everything from vegetables and meat, to paintings, to trekking gear. Carpets, jewelry, tour information, photo shops, and just about anything else you could ever want are within easy reach. It's sort of like a Super Walmart, except each aisle is a different shop, and there are madmen on motorbikes trying to run you down.

Being a tourist, every shop owner feels the need to yell out at you and try to draw you into their shop. Don't even think about looking at something in their shop (even while just passing by), or they will immediately start haggling on price with you. Another thing I found out is apparently they think Americans are all drug addicts, because at least 2 guys approached me asking if I wanted some hashish. After I understood what one of them was saying to me, I realized there were several other people that had approached me in the same way but I didn't understand what they were saying. All the time I just kept walking, and trying not to get run over.

I made it back to the hotel in one piece, and got a good night's sleep. Today was the first day of work, and everything seems to be going well. I am booking a mountain flight for saturday morning to go see the Himalayas (including Everest), and then after the Flight on Saturday Kiran (the owner of the studio here) is going to take me somewhere out of town to see some sights. Will try to get some pictures up tomorrow.