This was a journal entry that I wrote on March 14, 2009, shortly after I arrived in Kathmandu.
The Hotel – It was with a great sense of relief that I finally checked into the hotel after three full days of travel. I was happy for the chance to unload the bags off my back, shower three days of travel grime off my body (it’s amazing how quickly it accumulates), and to most importantly, find some much-needed sleep.
The pleasant and polite girl behind the check-in counter did offer up one final surprise before I could go collapse, as she handed me my massive brass key, which looked like it would handily open a bank safe, should I have the need, or – at the very least – use as a self-protecting weapon should one of the holy cows stray too close.
“Sir, I should also inform you that power usually only turns on after 4:00PM….”
“Huh?” (This is me)
“…and is usually shut off by 8:00PM”.
Hmm, come to think of it the lobby was pretty dark and I quickly realized that the candles set up around the check-in desk were not her attempts at romance. I shrugged; who needs power to sleep? It turns out that the power issue isn’t limited to the hotel, which was my initial suspicion. Rather, the entire city of Kathmandu is suffering from a serious power crisis that the government seems unable or unwilling to solve. When the check-in girl said 4:00PM, it was really closer to 6:00 or 7:00 before things turned on.
After accepting her offer of “welcome” glass of orange juice (mmm, orangey), I made my way up to my upstairs, second floor room, which was small – with two twin beds, a desk that was clearly constructed for a 8-year old, and a dingy looking shower (which I ignored for now…sleep was calling me greater than cleanliness) – and quickly crashed.
My sleep was short, but felt amazing. I woke to the sounds of pigeons doing whatever it is that pigeons do – loudly, outside my window, of course – along with the sounds of an enchanting woman’s voice singing loudly to the beat of drums. This combination of pigeon mating rituals and a hypnotic voice made their way into my dreams, which were weird to say the least. After I came to and my head cleared a little, my first thought was the voice belonged to a parade, or perhaps a concert on the street. A photo op, to be sure, but one that I was still prepared to forego, as I was standing in relative powerless darkness in my underwear and I thought it might cause a scene if I rushed to the street in that state, assuming I could find my way out of my room in the dark. I would find out later in the night – as I really tried to sleep – that it was just a Thamel br or club that liked to take full advantage of its 1000W speakers and onsite generator.
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