1st Week in Kathmandu

I’m writing from Anuraj’s oldest sister’s house in Kathmandu. We had been staying with his youngest sister and her family since Monday, and are spreading our love and clothes at his other sister’s house now. I arrived in Kathmandu late last Thursday night (July 31) – the trip was mostly uneventful but exhausting.

On Friday, Anuraj took Anusha and me to Nagarkot, a mountain town about an hour outside of Kathmandu. This was a breath of fresh air for us – literally! The drive itself was beautiful and green, winding up the mountain. We stayed in the nicest hotel in the town, perched on top of a grand hill. You could actually see the Himalaya’s from our room. It was clean cool air, foggy and rainy at times, sunny and warm other times. Anusha enjoyed the fish (in tanks and the ceramic pond), the ceramic animals / plant holders, the pool and the music that trickled down from the gift shop in the morning, the music from our Nepali “jazz” musicians during dinner, and the music that blared from the bar on Saturday night. It was hard to leave, knowing we would be returning to Kathmandu, city of traffic and pollution.

And being in Kathmandu just makes me miss Nepalgunj. The (mostly) quietness and simplicity of that city and the people, the familiarity, our little place and our cook. The adjustment is difficult.

Anuraj took this week off from work, which has been good. Anusha is now used to him and even let him put her down for a nap the other day! We are desperately searching for a place to live. Well, mostly Anuraj is doing the searching and I’m being desperate (though I am petitioning the few people I know here). I’m ready to find our own place – an oasis from the city. Let’s hope something comes up sooner rather than later.

Anusha is very much enjoying her cousins – and all the cool toys at their respective houses. She is also being a trouper as we hike around the city and take public transportation.

A highlight in the week since our return from Nagarkot was our outing yesterday – Anuraj met his friend and former supervisor of his UNMIN unit at Garden of Dreams, a beautiful green garden with fountains, benches and lots of grass and trees. Anusha and I wandered around and intermittently visited with Anuraj and Eddie. Then we treated Anusha to some ice cream (which she had been asking for in sign language since the morning) at a coffee shop (“Java” it reminds me of a US city coffee shop). We wandered around a bit and found some delicious donuts stuffed with cream – oh so good, and I didn’t even get sick! We dodged rain for the second day and ended up investing in a big family size umbrella.

So, that’s life in these parts. I am eager to hear from you, my friends and family. Keep me posted by email or “comments” on the blog.