The Wooden Covered Shelter

Namaste!

It's the second day since I reached Kathmandu, Nepal. The plane ride from Dubai was loud - many Nepali were just talking constantly. Although they were not as loud and squeaky as the Western women on the plane, their voices added up. They talk so quickly that I could hardly catch the very few Nepali words I knew. They were excited. They were going home, leading a more comfortable and luxurious lifestyle after all that time working in Dubai. As soon as the plane touched down, the boisterous crowded roared and clapped.

I got the visa on arrival fairly easily. They didn't even bother checking if I had a ticket to exit the country after the visa ended. I was glad I didn't spend the $14 + 2 days to go to Washington, D.C. for the visa. As soon as I exit, Ram, logistic manager of the research center, recognized me easily. He put his palms together and raised them up to his chin and said "namaste". That's how Nepali greet each other. Don't offer to shake hands unless they offer their hands first. I quickly did the same. Ram spoke fluent English. In fact, most people in Kathmandu can communicate in English. Although Nepali was not absolutely necessary, I was rather ashamed by my so limited knowledge of Nepali. I'm trying to learn the language - among all things I want to do here - and I just realized how occupied I would be during my two months in this landlocked country.

Kathmandu derives from two words: "kastha" (which I learned today) means "wood", and "mandap" means "covered shelter". It is named after a shelter in Durbar Square which was made of entirely wood. Come to think about, there are similar structures in Malaysia. I find quite many similarities between Nepal and Malaysia, which I will slowly explore and discuss in further blog posts.

I stayed at a guest house for the night in Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur. It's in between Kathmandu and Patan, two historic sister cities. The guest house is actually called a "hotel", but it's nothing like the "hotel" most of you are used to. There's electricity (which is good, considering only 10% of Nepal gets electricity), hot and cold water, wifi internet, electric kettle, fridge, TV (which I would probably never use), and hot breakfast. Kathmandu is not cheap anymore. Such a place would cost me 1000 rupees/night ($11.50 based on current exchange rate). It's in a central location, surrounded by many restaurants. A regular meal costs about $2.50. There's this other place which my office located for me - it's with a Christian family (minority in the Hindu kingdom of Nepal), costs 40,500 rupees/month, and includes dinner in addition to everything else. I'll have to decide by next week where I'll be staying for two months. Obviously I'm on a tight budget, so I'll save whatever that I can save. We'll see how that brings me.

I got the typhoid vaccine today. Its efficacy is about 55-85%, but I rather have it and feel safer. Only 1 in 30 adults will feel soreness after the vaccine, and not surprisingly, I'm one of the 3%. I've been really jet lagged and sick - that really affected my daily interactions and cognitive abilities. I really hope to get well soon.