Well, with all this comes the big price. It is not cheap. At least, by Nepali standards. A night's stay could easily be someone's monthly salary.
I didn't stay there... of course. But I had the opportunity to visit there, get the VIP treatment, and relax in the courtyard while having the most amazing meal in Nepal. G, a really remarkable lady, invited me to see the hotel. Yes, the same G who went on the little adventure. She was staying there for the night.
We were talking before the vehicle arrived in front of a brick building. It was nothing special.. Red buildings matching the dusty Kathmanroads. It looked something like this (no camera with me that night so had to use a stock picture):
| The exterior looked something like that... |
"That's the hotel... the five star hotel?" I ignorantly asked. "Doesn't look like it."
As soon as we stepped out of the car, I was immediately proven wrong. Two butlers immediately arrived and carried our bags into the building. As soon as we enter the main gate, a butler comes and places a yellow satin scarf over our necks, like how they put on lei in Hawaii. As we sat down, a waiter comes and offers us a delicious mocktail with a warm towel.
So far, so good. I observed around and found out that they have complimentary daily yoga lessons as well as cultural dance lessons. They also have cultural movie nights every weeknight. There are restaurants serving different cuisines, from elaborate Newari food to simple salads and snacks. They have their own giftshop. Most amazingly, the building is made of really exquisite stones and antiqued material salvaged from historical sites. Walking into it, is like walking into a cultural resort.
After G checked in, a staff brought us around the compound and to her room. G's room, which was the smallest room she could get, was amazingly large, air-conditioned (rarity in Nepal), with spa-like tub and shower. The room overseas the courtyard with royal feel. There's also a gold-plated Bagh-Chal on the table.
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| This is exactly how the Bagh-Chal looks like |
After some relaxing in the room, we walked around the courtyard. G got some postcards. We then sat down for a drink and snacks, while enjoying the cultural performance. The drinks were not great, the snacks too small in serving size, and the service was slow. It was also rather overpriced (250 rupees for fruit juice, 650 for 8 tiny pieces of fried squid) Well, it;'s a 5 star hotel after all. We got bitten by mosquitoes despite a coil in a fish-shaped container was placed below us.
At first we were contemplating enjoying the 6-course Newari meal, but admittedly, I didn't feel like too much food and/or raksi that night. Oh, raksi. It's reportedly almost 80 proof, stronger than tequilla. So we decided to move into the fushion restaurant for dinner.
Service was excellent there. We were first served an assortment of bread with sesame and regular butter. It took G and me a long time to guess the ingredients of said sesame butter.. and we got it wrong! xD The Tamang waitress was pretty happy to see me guess her ethnicity right in Nepali. We ordered a salad, a soup, and a "spinach pancake", which to our disappointment, was spinach flavored crepe with red peppers and mozzarella cheese. The portions this time were sufficient, though the flavor a little on the salty side.
G and I had a really good talk. G's a really inspiring person. She seems to really enjoy what she's doing, and despite leading a really busy life, she finds time for relaxation and balance. Definitely something to strive for. I've been thinking a lot since I arrived to Nepal, and with G, I was not hesitant to share my thoughts, regardless of how silly they are. She also led me in some of the "insides" of research that I would not have known.
We finished dinner off with dessert: lemon yogurt cheesecake and iced coffee. So, in America, when you walk into a shop and ask for ice coffee, here's what you would probably get: a glass of ice with brewed black coffee, sometimes sweetened, sometimes not. In Nepal (and many Asian countries), here's what we got instead: coffee blended with ice cream, served with chocolate chips. Yes, it's tasty, but it was too sweet and not what we were expecting.
| Iced coffee in USA |
| Iced coffee in Nepal |
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Thoughts of the day:
1. Wealth disparity and poverty: In America and many developed countries, there is some disparities in terms of wealth, but is mostly buffered by the big middle class. Many Asian countries, such as Nepal, do not have a big middle class. There is the very rich enjoying luxury, while the very poor struggle to make ends meet.
2.Culture: well, we ordered iced coffee, but we got something different than expected in the US. In Nepal, if you shake your head from left to right and back, that means "yes", while in western countries it usually means "no". That's why people kept on refilling my plate when I did that gesture...
3. The role of medicine and public health: It's a very fine line if medicine or public health brings more money. In the US right now, it's certainly medicine. Public health = poor. End of talk. I don't even know why MPH programs are still so expensive. But in places i.e. Africa, wealth(PH) > wealth(medicine)...
Call me young, naive and ignorant, but I think money is important to change the world.
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