My current predicament

What to do while here...

Things could be worse. Prior to now, this has been my experience in Nepal (pictures will be uploaded tomorrow, given the stars aligning for a good Nepali Internet connection): The first 36 hours were in Kathmandu. The night I arrived, I found a quaint, authentic place to have a Nepali meal before settling into my room at the Pilgrim Guesthouse and writing my last entry. It was there that I met Tyler, a recent graduate of University of S. Carolina Law School, out here traveling before he starts practicing (contingent on those bar results, of course). He mentioned something about renting bicycles and riding out 15 km east of Kathmandu to a place called Bhaktapur. I knew nothing...sounded fun...why not? We met early the next day and headed out for an amazing ride. First, through so much dense traffic and smog that I thought I would die either from suffocation or from getting crushed between two cars. That is Kathmandu. Eventually, after multiple life-threatening experiences (of which Nepal seems to be full of), we made it out into the clear. With out mountain bikes, we pedaled up the hills, relishing the moments where we could cruise downhill, passing schoolchildren, intricately decorated buses, shops, cattle, and all the other hallmarks of a typical Nepali day. Bhaktapur itself is a beautiful city. My pictures will follow, but for the moment, take a look at what I've pulled from Google Images.

After learning a bit about the tabla from a craftsman, eating lunch, and getting a guided tour from a local, we headed back toward Kathmandu. The ride back was exhilarating. Exhilarating until we rode alongside the airport, stuck alongside a stretch of land that wasn't land so much as mud. Carefully holding on to the bike with one hand, a fence with the other, Tyler and I traversed the mudpit, fearing our loss of grip at any minute. Luckily, we made it through unscathed, dipped our bikes in the river bank to get the wheels spinning again, and found another temple to the north-east of downtown Kathmandu.

It was there that I saw two important things: monkeys everywhere and a little Nepali girl wearing a Melo jersey. I took a picture, and it will be up as soon as I get to it.

When we got back to the city, it was the premier night of the Yanya Punhi festival, a Newari celebration marked by massive crowds, tons of cotton candy, and hundreds of people pulling chariots across the town square.

That night, Tyler and I, at the recommendation of a local, found an incredible restaurant. The food was incredible. We ate as much as we wanted, drank as much as we wanted, and finished the evening with a hookah. By the way, this was the best attended-to hookah I've ever smoked. They came by every 20 seconds or so (yes, seconds) to look at the coals, blow on them, readjust them. At some point we just wanted to relax, but we appreciated the help. Perfect quality, too.

Oh yea, the whole thing, generous tip included, under 4 bucks a person.

Nonetheless, they kicked us out by 10:30, given the new rules put in place by the brand new government. Quite the interesting situation, if you ask me. They just got rid of their king, and the Maoists are running the show. Citywide curfew in Kathmandu of 11pm. It's intent is to eliminate crime by eliminating any life after dark. Apparently it's the same mentality as the teacher who says that because Johnnie was behaving badly, no one can go to recess today.

Problem is, I've always like recess.

Given the fact that I'm already overly verbose, I'm going to save the adventure of the next day for another post. But to hint...I left at 5am on an impulsive journey into the Nepali jungle, where I spent the next four days riding elephants, chasing rhino, startling monkeys and basking in the overwhelming sounds of the forest.

Currently, I write this from the following stop, Pokhara. See the first picture for details. More later.