The Last of Nepal
16.8.08
15.8.08
Did I ｍｅｎｔｉｏｎ ｔｈａｔ Ｉ stayed in a brothel/ pay-by-the-hour institution in Nepal? Well, I did. On accident. Patricia and Iｗｅｎｔ ｈｉｋｉｎｇ ａｒｏｕｎｄ Ｋａｔｈｍａｎｄｕ ａｎｄ ｗｅｒｅ ｌｏｖｉｎｇ ｔｈｅ ｓｅｒｅｎｉｔｙ ｕｐ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｏｕｎｔａｉｎｓ． Ｗｅ ｍｅｔ ａ ｎｉｃｅ ｌａｄｙ ｗｈｏ ｏｗｎｅｄ ａ ｇｕｅｓｔ ｈｏｕｓｅ ｎｅａｒ ｔｈｅ ｂｅｇｉｎｎｉｎｇ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｔｒａｉｌ． Ｗｅ ｓａｉｄ ”ｗｈａｔ ｔｈｅ ｈｅｃｋ， ｉｔ’ｓ ｃｈｅａｐ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅ ｌｏｃａｔｉｏｎ ｉｓ ｐｅｒｆｅｃｔ． Ｎｅｖｅｒｍｉｎｄ ｔｈａｔ ｉｔ’ｓ ｒｅａｌｌｙ ｒｕｎ ｄｏｗｎ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｒｅ ｉｓ ｍｉｌｄｅｗ ｏｎ ｔｈｅ ｗａｌｌｓ．”
Ｓｏ， ｔｈｅ ｎｅｘｔ ｄａｙ ｗｅ ｒｅｔｕｒｎｅｄ ｔｏ ｓｐｅｎｄ ｏｕｔ ｌａｓｔ ３ Ｎｅｐａｌｅｓｅ ｎｉｇｈｔｓ ｏｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｏｕｎｔａｉｎ．
Ｔｈｅ ｎｅｘｔ ｄａｙ Ｐａｔｓｙ ｉｓ ｏｕｔｓｉｄｅ ｒｅａｄｉｎｇ ｍｏｓｔ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｄａｙ． Ａｒｏｕｎｄ ｌｕｎｃｈｔｉｍｅ ｗｅ ｓｅｅ ａ ｎｉｃｅ ｌｏｏｋｉｎｇ ｌｏｃａｌ ｃｏｕｐｌｅ ｃｏｍｅ ｉｎ． Didn't think anything of it. Well, I retire to the room after lunch and Patsy continues reading outside. The couple checks out approximately 2 hours after they came. The man asked Patsy where she's from and who she's there with, etc. She says "my friend is asleep upstairs." Evidently she used a feminine pronoun, which left this guy looking a little perplexed. He decided to explain to her that this "Hill Resort"ｉｓ ＴＨＥ ｐｌａｃｅ ｉｎ Ｋａｔｈｍａｎｄｕ ｔｏ ｔａｋｅ ｙｏｕｒ ｈｏｎｅｙ ｆｏｒ ａ ｒｏｍａｎｔｉｃ ｒｅｎｄｅｚｖｏｕｓ．
Ｔｈｉｓ ｗａｓ ｃｏｎｆｉｒｍｅｄ ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈｏｕｔ ｔｈｅ ｎｅｘｔ ｆｅｗ ｄａｙｓ ａｎｄ ｎｉｇｈｔｓ． Ｍｕｌｔｉｐｌｅ ｔｉｍｅｓ．
Ｔｈｅ ｌａｓｔ ｎｉｇｈｔ ａｔ ｔｈｅ ｇｕｅｓｔ ｈｏｕｓｅ ｗｅ ｈａｄ ａ ｓｈｉｎｄｉｇ ｗｉｔｈ ｔｈｅ ｏｗｎｅｒｓ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｉｒ ｆａｍｉｌｙ． Ａｎｄ ｏｕｒ ｔａｘｉ ｄｒｉｖｅｒ， Ｒａｊｕ， ｗｈｏ ｄｒｏｖｅ ｕｐ ｆｒｏｍ Ｋａｔｈｍａｎｄｕ ｔｏ ｓｐｅｎｄ ｔｈｅ ｎｉｇｈｔ ｂ／ｃ ｍｙ ｂｕｓ ｌｅｆｔ ａｔ ７ａｍ ａｎｄ ｈｅ ｄｉｄｎ’ｔ ｗａｎｔ ｔｏ ｍａｋｅ ｍｅ ｌａｔｅ．
Ｒａｊｕ ｉｓ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｅ ｐｏｕｒｉｎｇ ｔｈｅ ｂｅｅｒ． Ｔｈｅ ｌｉｔｔｌｅ ｇｉｒｌ ｉｓ ｔｈｅ ｎｉｅｃｅ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｏｗｎｅｒｓ．．．ｓｈｅ ｉｓ ｐｒｏｕｄｌｙ ｄｉｓｐｌａｙｉｎｇ ｏｎｅ ｏｆ ｍａｎｙ ｄａｎｃｅ ｍｏｖｅｓ Ｉtaught her. And the other is our "room," if you hadn't already guessed.
a father's last moments with his child before it is placed on the funeral pyre. heartwrenching.
quite possibly the most intense scene i've ever witnessed.
12.8.08
Hello friends and family!
Just a quick update to say that I arrived safely in Calcutta this morning.
My overnight train ride from Varanasi was uneventful. There are usually 4 different passenger sections in Indian trains. 1AC, 2AC, 3AC, 2ndSL, and SL. 1AC is the equivalent of 1st class, the AC standing for the fact that it has AC. The lowest tier class is SL or sleeper. (This may be obvious to those of you who ride lots of trains but my experience outside India has been mostly limited to the Crescent City Amtrak line from Tuscaloosa.) I've taken 3AC once with a lady from work, but other than that I rough it and go with sleeper class. I met some American boys in Varanasi who were planning to go to Calcutta at the same time as me. So, naturally, we booked our tickets together. I convinced them that SL is fine- it's clean, you can open the windows for a breeze, and while some people say it's unsafe, I've never had anything stolen. And the toilets are disgusting no matter what class you're in.
Another fun India fact: the human excrement from trains goes directly onto the tracks which gives Indian train stations their distinctive smell.
So, we got our tickets in sleeper class. I've never considered myself extremely low-maintenance (although I haven't fixed my hair once in the past almost 4 months!! and I stayed in a run-down brothel in Nepal) and I think sleeper class is fine. Well, the boys heard some stories about families of roaches or something like that, and upgraded their tickets. But I stuck with my original cheapskate decision. 300 Rs ($9) for a 12 hour ride is pretty unbeatable. And now I'm staying in a guest house that rivals the Nepalese brothel in terms of cleanliness and water leakage. Except the brothel had a bathroom sink and this guest house doesn't. Nor had the bathroom been cleaned and the toilet flushed upon my arrival. Oh, India.
My plans for the rest of the day are to visit 2 Bengali art museums and then go to the Kali Temple (Kalighat). After that I'm going to wander around the Kalighat Rd. area to see the local sculptors (Kumortuli) who make huge clay sculptures for the Durga Puja and Kali Puja festivals.
Haven't decided what I think about Calcutta yet. I do like that 1/2 the things in this city have my first name as their root word. But it is possibly more congested and polluted than Mumbai. I also plan to check out Mother Theresa's Motherhouse either today or tomorrow and see if they need any help for the next week or so.
Pictures to come.
Just a quick update to say that I arrived safely in Calcutta this morning.
My overnight train ride from Varanasi was uneventful. There are usually 4 different passenger sections in Indian trains. 1AC, 2AC, 3AC, 2ndSL, and SL. 1AC is the equivalent of 1st class, the AC standing for the fact that it has AC. The lowest tier class is SL or sleeper. (This may be obvious to those of you who ride lots of trains but my experience outside India has been mostly limited to the Crescent City Amtrak line from Tuscaloosa.) I've taken 3AC once with a lady from work, but other than that I rough it and go with sleeper class. I met some American boys in Varanasi who were planning to go to Calcutta at the same time as me. So, naturally, we booked our tickets together. I convinced them that SL is fine- it's clean, you can open the windows for a breeze, and while some people say it's unsafe, I've never had anything stolen. And the toilets are disgusting no matter what class you're in.
Another fun India fact: the human excrement from trains goes directly onto the tracks which gives Indian train stations their distinctive smell.
So, we got our tickets in sleeper class. I've never considered myself extremely low-maintenance (although I haven't fixed my hair once in the past almost 4 months!! and I stayed in a run-down brothel in Nepal) and I think sleeper class is fine. Well, the boys heard some stories about families of roaches or something like that, and upgraded their tickets. But I stuck with my original cheapskate decision. 300 Rs ($9) for a 12 hour ride is pretty unbeatable. And now I'm staying in a guest house that rivals the Nepalese brothel in terms of cleanliness and water leakage. Except the brothel had a bathroom sink and this guest house doesn't. Nor had the bathroom been cleaned and the toilet flushed upon my arrival. Oh, India.
My plans for the rest of the day are to visit 2 Bengali art museums and then go to the Kali Temple (Kalighat). After that I'm going to wander around the Kalighat Rd. area to see the local sculptors (Kumortuli) who make huge clay sculptures for the Durga Puja and Kali Puja festivals.
Haven't decided what I think about Calcutta yet. I do like that 1/2 the things in this city have my first name as their root word. But it is possibly more congested and polluted than Mumbai. I also plan to check out Mother Theresa's Motherhouse either today or tomorrow and see if they need any help for the next week or so.
Pictures to come.
11.8.08
10.8.08
Patricia took lots of pictures of me getting ready this night. I had just received an email from Molly with pictures of her trying on potential wedding dresses.
Patsy's commentary was, "Your sister is wearing wedding dresses and you're just wearing a towel." I think the last time I was pictured in a towel was in the backyard of our 13th St. house...at a party that I never quite got ready for.
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