(This was Katie's 20th birthday today!)
We rolled out of some jet lagged sleep to the prayer
flags in our hotel and a tasty breakfast with some familiar dishes with a
Nepali twist(read: spicy eggs). Dinesh and Nura met us in Nepali time in the
hotel where we introduced ourselves and got started on the day. They took us
out to get a phone (for our team leader Kelly, yay for Nepali digits) and then
out for a delicious Nepali lunch: momos. We sat in a special room for
tourists (or at least that's what it seemed like) and ate lunch by candlelight
due to the power cuts in the city. We had some white forest cake for Katie's
birthday and even had candles to blow out. Momos are steamed dumplings that you
can fill with different fillings, like mutton, chicken or peanut paneer. We
will probably talk about paneer a lot because it is super delicious (it is a
special kind of Indian cheese). Dinesh and Nura shared stories about Nepali and
Hindu culture, which was really neat.
After lunch, we headed back to our neighborhood and had
some tasty masala chiya (tea) and then went out shopping/exploring close by.
There are a lot of really great shops around our hotel selling lots of spices,
tea, cashmere (so soft!!), and lots of great flowy clothes. And the prices are
amazing...so here's an insider tip if you want to travel to Nepal: just buy
your things here, all the trekking equipment is here for very discounted
prices. Really neat!
We had a great dinner at Thamel House restaurant down the
street where we enjoyed some curry and rice and tea. There were some
traditional Nepalese dancers who performed at intervals, all decked out in
bells and beautiful costumes.
For a first day, it was full of narrow streets and lots
to see!
Kelly Gerlings
DWC student team
Nepal May 2013
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