In an odd surprise today was actually the most peaceful one I've had in Thamel! Everyone treated the occasion like a public holiday - using the car roads to play cricket and soccer! But no alcohol has been on sale for a few days and all the bars are closed so no partying.
Though of course nearly everything was closed. It took me an hour to find somewhere for breakfast - a hotel restaurant/bakery. For my dollar or two breakfast budget I could sit down in the fancy garden and buy a cup of tea, so i opted instead for a huge chunk of banana cake from the bakery (not as good as grandmas). For lunch I lucked upon a small juice bar that makes very good muesli. I even bumped into the tour guide that took us around the monkey temple! A few souvenir shops opened as the day progressed but I had to spend another hour to find a place for dinner, and my "Tibetan Pizza" was oddly satisfying in the packed place (was like a pancake with sauce and cheese). I had to share tables with a polish couple and even though it was nice to have company for a change conversation was limited as I couldn't understand their heavy accents. A new zealander on the table across was interested when I mentioned that I just got back from base-camp though again the conversation was short-lived when he presumed I was from Perth because of the long hair!
The hotel guys had stolen me a Maoist flag and so we celebrated with the guava juice I had promised them. They said that a Czech guy had put in an order as well! They also managed to coerce a couple of japanese guys to get them some mango juice, so I spent most of the morning playing cards and drinking juice in the hotel lobby.
Other than that it was a relatively boring day. Used the free time and WHOLE day of power to organise the photos and watch a movie, again no bloody ending on the dvd!
