It has taken me a few days to get over my culture shock after stepping off of the plane in Kathmandu. I was completely bowled over by the level of poverty that I saw in the streets. I know now that I have lived a very fortunate life. When I exited the airport I was immediately hit with a barrage of taxi drivers wanting to get a fare. I was trying to locate an ATM so that I could get some local currency. One or two started to follow me and then wouldn’t leave me alone. I tried to be as polite as possible saying that I would wait until the car from my hotel came and picked me up. I looked out into the crowd of people. Some of them were holding cards naming the hotels that they were driving for. I didn’t see Hotel Ganesh Himal anywhere and I was starting to get nervous. Finally, I spotted my driver and I was thrilled because I had not been able to locate an ATM. He led me to an old Toyota that had about five Nepalis sitting in it. I didn’t know how we were all going to get in that car, but as soon as I arrived, they all got out. My pack was placed in the trunk and I got in the back seat as the sole passenger for this ride. Before my door was closed, one of the five put himself between me and the car door and spoke to me in an intimate tone. “Give me some money,” he said. I told him that I didn’t have any rupees to give him. “Then give me whatever you have.” Who was this creep? I said very firmly that I was not giving him any money. With an exasperated sigh he closed the door to the Toyota. I reached for my wallet and kept a death grip on it until we arrived at the hotel.
That first episode was enough to give me a shiver, but my curiosity got the better of me and I had to go take a look around. I headed towards Thamel to do some exploring. In this older section of Kathmandu, pedestrians, cyclists, and cars all share the road. There is no order. You find your own path, or you make one. This results in a lot of cars and motorcycles using their horns almost constantly. I was on the street for two minutes when a Nepali man approached me and started asking me questions about where I was from and how long had I been in Nepal and where was I going. He followed me and did not stop until I asked him to please stop following me. Imagine trying to find your way somewhere when you have a map, but no street signs. Cars and motorcycles are honking at you and the other pedestrians. Taxi drivers are shouting, “taxi, ma’am, taxi!” Hawkers are out trying to sell me whatever trinket they have available, and I have got this Nepali man following me trying to carry on a conversation in heavily accented English. It was just too much at once.
I came to Nepal to meet a friend and do some volunteer work and a little traveling. I had two days on my own before my friend came into town and I thought I spend that time taking a look around the city, but I spent most of it hiding in my Hotel room reading. This was no easy task. There is no central heating in the hotel and during the day, they turn off the electricity to the guest’s rooms. I read by sunlight from the window wrapped in two heavy bedcovers.
The third episode that contributed to the shock was when I ventured out to get my laundry cleaned. I moved as quickly as I could thinking that if I moved with a purpose, people would leave me alone. Everything went okay until I exited the laundry. I got brave enough to head towards Thamel again because I was just captivated by some of the jewelry that they had in their windows. A woman ran towards me holding a small child. She begged me to help her by buying milk for her child. She even waved an empty milk bottle in the air to further illustrate the point. I couldn’t get away from her. I just wanted to look at the jewelry. She persisted, “please, there is a market right up there, my child needs milk.” I looked at the small child she carried who looked more bored than hungry. I tried to give her a few rupees, but she told me that I had to go buy the milk. At this, my suspicion was completely aroused and I walked away from her urgent pleas and back towards my hotel, my book and my covers.
