February 14, 2012

My $85.00 dollars a night room featured a defective shower head that sprayed water in every direction, but my head. I had been looking forward to washing my hair under a powerful spray, something I don’t have in Dushanbe. I didn’t even have access to the BBC channel so I could catch up with the news as every channel broadcast was in a local language. Breakfast was included in the price of the room and they had a decent selection of puri bread, vegetable curry, hot porridge, eggs and toast, and cold cereal. I ordered tea masala to break the grip of the headache that was pounding at my temples and then coffee and some more tea. The day was overcast and Corrie’s suggestion that we hire a cab to take us around the city before departing for the airport didn’t appeal to me.

We departed for the airport three hours before our flight, which I thought was way too early. Caroline, Corrie and Sally went to look at the myriad of stores and restaurants the airport contains and even had henna drawings done on their hands. They encouraged me to do the same, as I was bored out of my mind, but I stuck to reading my book. Our flight was delayed by another hour and we didn’t arrive at our hotel in Kathmandu until 5:30pm. Looking through the cab’s window I could tell that nothing much had changed in the city and what changes had taken place had been for the worst. More people crowded onto cars, buses, and tempos and a veritable river of motorcycles seemed to be flowing around us. The noise level, the lack of sidewalks, the same unfinished houses left that way on purpose so the tax man doesn’t change the appraised value, the dust everywhere, the sounding of horns from every vehicle, motorcycle and bicycle as they tried to make their way through the congested streets, the dusty children and appalling poverty were all still there. I never cared to visit Kathmandu during my Peace Corps years here and simply resent having to be here now.

Our taxi crawled its way to the Summit Hotel through lanes so narrow I couldn’t understand how the SUV ahead of us could turn while avoiding pedestrians, motorcycles and dogs. The hotel sits atop a hill overlooking the Patan area of the city and is surrounded by beautifully landscaped grounds. The pollution didn’t allow us to see even a peak of the mountains. My room was small, tidy and very clean including a desk and access to the Internet for 4.00 Euros a day. The hotel rate for us was 32.00 Euros. I agreed to have dinner at the hotel with Harry as I didn’t feel like venturing out in the dark as Corrie, Sally and Caroline decided to do. They had counted on me to be their tour guide, but I clarified that I was totally unfamiliar with this area and would be of no help to them. I can’t even remember any of little Nepali I knew then.

When I got to the dining room, Valerie and Harry were already sitting and I ordered the thali plate and a banana lassi. They brought me a lot of food, including two types of lentils, but I can’t say that it reminded me of what I used to eat when I was here ten years ago. The lassi was the same though. I learned that Harry will be departing Kazakhstan this year as he has been reassigned to the Gulf Region and needs a year to learn Arabic, which he’ll be doing while living in the Washington, D. C. Not a bad deal I’d say.