sunshine and rickshaws

there's lots of both here right now. and also squillions of people - most of the hotels are full and I had to wait over an hour for a meal last night. Even the bar was full by 6.10 when I got there.
So where were we up to? I remember, I had been to the hospital. OK, so now I am putting eyedrops in 4 times a day to stave off infection (yes they sting too) and I am confining myself to a very small range of places as my eyesight seems to have clapped out completely now that I know I'm getting it fixed up. Typical. We have gorgeous weather 25-27 and bright sun (wish I could wear my sunnies) in the day, but the last few nights have been really cool at 11 degrees. So I have busied myself sorting out the clothes for cooler weather. And lounging around as I feel I should practice for after the op when I have been told to do nothing strenuous, don't go trekking, don't lift anything. Oh well if you insist doctor!
Robin and the boys have been enjoying the trek so far - they spent last night in a place called Timure - trouble is there are 2 of those in the same area so I'm not sure which one they are in - but they did go to a local hot springs to relax. The weather for them is also very good but I expect the clear skies make it very cold in a tent after dark. 
I have also been busy transferring movies from the enormous multi terrabyte hard drive Geoff brought over, so that I could be entertained in times of patheticness and no power. There's some great movies there that I've not seen for years. I have no idea where he gets all these things.
Sadly the internet here at home is crappy as ever, so I have taken Alvin the Apple out for a walk to the Korean restaurant that does great milk drinks. And has decent internet. Oh speaking of which there is a rumour that there is a NORTH KOREAN restaurant in town. I wonder what they serve - fermented gravel with dirt? Some of us are toying with going there for a laugh instead of for a meal.
The restaurant I'm in right now is directly opposite the spooky 'China's Tibet Bookstore' which seems to have been set up by the propaganda wing of the PLA of the PRC. If you know what I mean.  Very odd. Also odd is that I am here in Mandala Street, which had a fair on the weekend, and as I was walking through here yesterday I was accosted by a panda - which has nothing to do with Nepal but a lot to do with the aforementioned bookstore. I think. Weird.

And here's what I had for lunch yesterday: chocolate brownie sundae with 2 scoops of icecream. YUM Today it's an iced latte.
Later this week some friends will start coming back from the hills so there will be more people to gossip with. Till then I have maybe 4 or so friends here, plus family, and of course the shopkeepers I chat to and have tea in the sun with. It's a pleasant life.
I will also soon have to get cracking on some GHT things - once the eyes get sorted a bit more - and planning a book launch (the new Trailblazer trekking in Nepal and GHT book) in December. I must also remember to change our plane tickets home.
We've just had some electrical shenanigans here with the power going off and the generator needing to be set.
Right then I'm off to confidently predict some weather.....

The joy of phones

Another warm fun day in the 'du. Met up with some friends at the after hours office yesterday - the Professor (who isn't really a professor) was in a very good mood which means one thing - he will hug you all night! And then I was lucky enough to run into him this morning as well! Lots of mates are coming back to town now so I am never surprised who I bump into on the street.
This morning I went to immigration to extend my visa which runs out next week. usually it takes several hours, so you go and come back and waste all day basically. To my complete surprise, for the sum of only Rs 500 (less than 10 bucks) I could get it issued in 10 minutes. So of course I took advantage of this 'offer'.
Now that I am back in Nepal it is very difficult for Robin to call me in the afternoon/evening as the mobile network here is completely jammed. The 'best' time for him to get through is 6am. Or so he thinks! So here is what our phone calls sound like:
ring ring (well it is a Punjabi dance song but you know what I mean)
mrmph
good morning darling how are you? It is a beautiful day here.
mmm
are you in bed?
grrr
so how was the engagement party?
mrph blmph sari glub beautiful glmph rsft food
oh that sounds great! Packing the yaks now so I'll go and I'll call you tomorrow. Go back to sleep now.
F%*&^@
Love you too.

So romantic!
For some reason we have had extra electricity yesterday and today but of course because it is unannounced nobody knows when it is coming or for how long. So I never use the bonus time for banking!
Speaking of which, new banking rules here and in India are a real pain in the butt. In order to combat money laundering in both countries, the maximum withdrawal at an ATM is Re10,000 in India, and Rs15,000 in Nepal. BUT you can make up to 5 withdrawals in a day. So that stops people laundering money HOW???? So the queues at the ATM are very long now as people try to get enough money out to pay for a trek or whatever.
Only another 8 days till the deadline for the constitution passes without it being written - and we are all expecting trouble, which is why I got a multi entry visa just in case I decide to scoot off somewhere if the situation gets bad. Though Bangkok doesn't look like an option! And I can't go back to India (in theory) for 2 months - another new rule to combat terrorism. Don't ask. Pakistan looks nice? or Bangladesh for a beach holiday?  Perhaps Tibet would let me in now!

Well, here's a picture of the view I get in my after hours office:

power to the people

Well I don't have any at present, and my friends in Nepal have even less - but more on that later.
Robin is trying to dry out at a place called Lhuntsi near the border with China - they got soaked yesterday, and had thunderstorms all night, so stopped at about 11 this morning when they found a lovely dry grassy place by the monastery, and spread everything out to dry. Robin assures me that Pasang the cook is excellent, unlike the 2 horse boys who cannot tie a load to save themselves and have held them up rather badly. So it looks like some new horse boys will be recruited.
Unfortunately the sat phone is still a useless lump of plastic, and I am getting increasingly frustrated trying to explain to people in various countries what is and isn't happening as they keep asking me things like - does he know how to use it? If it doesn't work properly soon - and we are sure it is a problem their end not ours - it will be saved till the end of the trip and stuck where the sun don't shine!
Another quiet night in last night - especially as the cricket was rained out, then off to the pool this morning. Chatted with some friends in Nepal - I'm in no rush to go back there with all the Maoist protest hoo haa going on at the moment - why on earth would I go from Delhi, the shoppers paradise - to Kathmandu, shops open 2 hours a day and there probably isn't anything decent in there anyway. And there's not much electricity. Too boring. But the funniest thing about the Maoists luring people to Kathmandu to protest and gherao (blockade) the capital, is that many of them are getting the $hits from bad food and water - and frankly everyone is getting the $hits with them... karma.
This afternoon I whizzed off to Lajpath nagar in an attempt to locate a particular tablecloth I had my eye on, but when we arrived there were about 60 cops and a whole bunch of bomb squad around. I suggested to the driver that we should just 'go to home' and he, bless him, said 'but madam, SHOPPING!!'. I said it was OK, we would go 'today next' (tomorrow). He said that was a good idea as 'bomb make big problem for market. BOOM!'
Tonight I am going to paint the town beige (or puce) as I make a triumphant  return to possibly not sing at karaoke. Depends what sort of mood I'm in.
And more signings for the Great Himalaya Trail trip next year - Julie @ World Expeditions tells me that Carlos Buhler has confirmed he'll guide for the Tilman Pass section - so anyone looking for a wild and exciting trek with one of the great mountaineers of modern time would do well to consider it. 

to get you in the mood for trekking!

                                                 but some days it's all too much to bear!

Time to explain Kathmandu

Most of you probably have no idea what life in Kathmandu is like for longer term stayers like me, as opposed to tourists who often stay only 1 or 2 nights before and after trekking.
I stay near a temple, so about 4am the temple bell starts being dinged (or donged) by the faithful on their way to work. This is usually rapidly followed by dog fights and tooting horns (the horns continue pretty much ALL DAY). Then the cargo van from across the street arrives to load up before peak hour, and the lady next door starts her pressure cooker about 6am (kitchen window is right under mine). I don't know what the meat item she cooks is but it sure smells bad some mornings! From about 7am the shutters on shops all along the street start going up, and it is almost impossible to get back to sleep then.
Depending on the power schedule, I might be able to get a hot shower, or make a bucket of hot water with my excellent kettle, or I just don't bother. Then time for bed tea - which is a tray of tea items delivered to the room. The only way to start the day.
After a spot of laundry I wander out for breakfast somewhere with my block of Coon cheese - I can't take the yak and nak cheese they have here and the expense is well worth it. Then it's time for 'internetverke' as we call it. Most of my girlfriends here are busy on the net most of the day, and it is always a challenge finding somewhere with a generator and wi fi. Or I just hang out gossiping, arranging meetings, shopping for trekking food, arranging plane tickets, embassy do's and my niece's upcoming wedding. Now that I am no longer an associate member of the American Club (which had all day power, internet plus a lovely pool and gym) I have to be a bit more creative.
Yesterday I somehow managed 9 hours straight internetverke, impressive in a place with rolling 12 hr power cuts. Tourists can just go to the local internet cafe for their 15 minutes of email, but I have so much to do I couldn't afford it!
How am I here organising a niece's wedding? Well many years ago we were adopted into a Nepali family - I am big sister (didi) and Robin is brother (dai). This girl is the daughter of our Nepali brother and so as big sister I get to help in the planning - which is causing more than its fair share of headaches. You see, wedding dates are chosen by the priest for their auspiciousness according to the religious calendar, so it isn't just a matter of pick a date and off you go. The happy couple keep trying to pick a date where Robin and I will be in town, but then that date is never a 'good' one. I can see this taking some more time...
Evenings usually start at about 6pm at my 'after hours office' where I do more networking and gossiping washed down with a refresher before heading out for dinner with whoever I can drag out the door. Now that so many evenings in Thamel are without power till quite late it is pretty tempting to stay out till the power comes back at midnight - but not really a good idea in the long run.
Because I am here so often, many friends (local or foreign) ask me to help them out with something - English for an email or website, helping someone out with sightseeing or trekking stuff, plus of course I have 3 emails, 2 websites, a facebook page and blog to try to keep up to date.
Even when I think I have a fairly free day something springs up, but this afternoon I am really hoping to sneak off for a quick nanna nap.
This Friday I am off to a production at the Sterling Club (British Embassy) of 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. That is my culture for the week..
Well time to hit save now before something happens to the power.
I have given up trying to upload a photo for you today - better luck next time!
Judy

Greetings from Kathmandu

Well hello you lot. I've made this blog so that I can just sort of rabbit on about what Robin is doing, what I am doing and what is happening with the GHT, both here in Nepal and in the rest of the Himalaya.
Since we got back to Nepal about 3 weeks ago, we had the disappointment of our Tibet trip being cancelled at the last minute and the excitement of seeing just how much interest there is in trekking the GHT - certainly here in Nepal where it all sort of started.
Robin goes a bit stir crazy if he is stuck in Kathmandu for very long, so fortunately he was able to fly out west last week with his trusty sherpa guide Pema, and big Dawa, to research trails out west that he didn't get to last time around. Sadly, there is still a lot of poverty out west, food is in short supply but dust isn't.
Meanwhile I have been here in Kathmandu trying to remain mildly sane while battling with the noise, pollution, touts, limited electricity, and lots of friends arriving back for the season and wanting to catch up. oh dear.
But right now life is good. The sun is shining (so we get hot water) and I can use the internet. I'm never short of something to do or someone to meet up with. In fact getting to India in a couple of weeks will probably be a good chance for me to chill out a bit - although I will still have lots of work to do I think the electricity is a bit more reliable.
So what is the plan? We head to India on the 25th March, then Robin and Pema will go to Arunchal Pradesh to have a look around, before Robin then heads to Bhutan. I will be in Delhi, then come back to the 'du in mid May before I go to Bhutan for a look around and to collect Robin at the end of his trip.
The big news in town now (apart from Tibet being closed which is putting a few people's plans out of whack) is that time is running out for the new constitution to be written. I think it is due in mid May - and if the parties can't agree (which it seems they clearly cannot) the Maoists are threatening to 'assert' themselves. For some reason none of the parties seem to able to agree with any of the others about anything. Which is a shame as it is the regular folk who suffer when the government 'dilly-dallies' (as the papers are fond of saying!)
But, more spectacularly, the prison authorities in Kapilvastu (southern Nepal) are in strife because there was a tunnel dug in January whereby some rascally prisoners escaped, and the prison authorities don't have the money to FILL THE TUNNEL IN AGAIN. Apparently everyone is queueing up to be put into cell number 7! Consequently....
Well enough of my opinion for now.
I'm off to do some more work before the power goes again.

Judy