Dye was still running off me in the cold morning shower and I look like I am constantly blushing! The streets are colourful though everyone was fast in cleaning up the plastic from water bombs.
During brekkie a huge crowd went past chanting. This isn't unusual, but this was a particularly big march - it took about 10-15 minutes for them to pass the restaurant! I couldnt be sure if they were supporting communism, freeing tibet or both! Throughout today I saw several more, with lots more posters up - free tibet and the communist sickle/hammer. I am keen to get one of each as a souvenir!
Durbar square charges about 3 dollars entry, so it is really hard when you want to go around it. I was trying to get to Freak St, the older tourist area that catered for the hippy generation. A long and somewhat scary backstreet roam helped me, though I was a bit disappointed. Nothing really seemed left of the hippie era and it just looked like a small street in Thamel but a bit seedier. The side-street search was much more interesting!
It is getting really hot during the day now and warmer at night.
I bought some sunnies and a hat for trekking, though the bargaining for the hat was ridiculous! Im not too keen on wearing them so I chose a cheapie but his asking price was 20 bucks! I said im give him 40c, so we settled on just under a dollar. I was probably still ripped off.
Chilled out in the garden of dreams for an hour before going to the office. I had walked past it every day and the suspense had built up, but despite being a very nice greek-style garden I wasn't amazed. Though it was crazy entering the serenity and peace from the seediness of Thamel!
Met a few group leaders at the office as we had to pick up some groups. There are three leaving on monday - a safari and two Everest base camp treks, one swedish private trip and the other with 5 poms. Im going with the 5 poms, so I was to pick up the 2 that arrived later in the afternoon. The staff were all happy and told me to call Krippa bokka, meaning hunter. This was because they believe him to be a ladies-man with 5 girlfriends as well as his wife and kids! Krippa wasn't too impressed and I gathered the whole teasing had occured because he was wearing a nice suit to pick up the female clients.
To my (and bokka's) huge disappointment the two poms were 40-50 year old women and the other three im yet to meet are men!
The swedes were having visa problems so the group leader and I took the british ladies to their hotel. I hadn't seen the Hotel Himalaya before (it or the Everest hotel is used by the company) and I had to say it is a fair step up from the Om Tara guest house! It is a 5 star hotel that ordinarily costs 80US for a deluxe room. Im gagging at the price even though its pretty good for aus standards. It was a nice hotel and being a foreigner they believed me to be a guest, giving me welcome drinks! I should just pop in to rich hotels more often.
I ended the day with a one-dollar burger, salad and chips, though I wasn't too sure what was in the "special". I just hope I don't get sick as the trek on monday will be a horror!
