11/26/16,
“Nepal Complete”
Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal (KTM)
My time in
Nepal has come to a close, I have said, “Nepal Complete”, and I can now write
the triumphant airport entry that will mark the conclusion of Phase 2 of my
trip. On that note, I think I can safely
conclude that Nepal is, by far, the most interesting country I have ever
visited. Not necessarily the most
beautiful or the most historically significant or even the most enjoyable, but
absolutely the most interesting. From
the moment I landed at Kathmandu, the trip was full of surprises and a mix of
sites of cultural and natural interest.
When I went to India, I said that I experienced more a culture shock
there than I ever had anywhere in the world, and my short trip there was not
enough to prepare me for the same culture shock I would receive here. People have no sense of personal space here
either standing or on the road. Just
like in India, driving is erratic and chaotic, yet, somehow, no one manages to
hit each other. I will not even begin to
get into how disgusting the bathrooms are.
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The experience of flying domestically around Nepal on Yeti Airlines is
not an experience I will soon forget either.
What makes this far more interesting than my time in India, besides it
being longer, is that my time in India was spent entirely in Delhi and
Agra. Here, I got to visit rural Nepal,
along with visiting two natural World Heritages Sites (The Mountain and The
Jungle). Each one on their own would
have been worth a trip, the view of Everest being one I will never forget, nor
I am likely to forget my time in The Jungle.
It felt like I was living out scenes from The Jungle Book.
The drive from Chitwan to Lumbini was also of
interest, as were the rudimentary buildings we saw under construction. The fact that half the time was spent with my
friend made for all the more interesting experience, this being only the second
time he has left the States. It is rare
for me to do end to trips like this that result in saying the country Complete,
but I did the same throughout Central America and the Caribbean, multiple
times.
All of those countries looked
much the same, and Nepal had regions that looked like that, but missing from
the North American Tropics were the urban sprawl of Kathmandu, the mountains of
the Himalayas, the varied fauna of Chitwan, and the religious shrine of
Lumbini. Yes, they are present in
smaller degrees, but not to this extent.
Nowhere in Europe can compete either, as each country, even the
continent as a whole, tends to be pretty homogenous. The only close competition would be my home
country of the United States, but I don’t think it’s fair to count that, seeing
as it’s my home country.
Perhaps Japan
could compete if I visited the entire country, rather than the handful of sites
I saw during my visit. Likewise for
China or Mongolia if I visited those entire countries, but I have not, so I am
firm in my conclusion. I reflect more on
the trip as a whole when I am ready to depart, and I will save such reckoning
for then, but it has been a great trip so far, and I am glad for the exact
precision with which I executed Phases 1 and 2 of the trip. It has been perfect so far, and all that
remains is my time in Qatar, which will be considered Phase 3.
After I closed last night, we went down for
dinner, which was crowded as groups of pilgrims or tourists had arrived at the
hotel. On my way, I learned that the
Wi-Fi was, in fact, down for the whole hotel, and they were working on getting
it fixed. Not wanting to have any more
curry, it was difficult to find options at the buffet for dinner, but I settled
on rice and noodles, barbecue chicken, and sweet and sour chicken. I then found some very plainly sautéed pork,
which was the best part.
After dinner,
Raymond and I went up to the room. I
just wanted Wi-Fi to post my picture and my entry, but it was still down. We were both also ready to pass out. I wanted to smoke a cigar, as well. I went outside and lit up a Nub as I pouted
about the Wi-Fi. Eventually, I gave up
and decided it was time for bed, my cigar only half done. I told Raymond that I was going to sleep
outside. Half asleep, he acknowledged
me, but I do not think he understood that I meant that I was going to drag the
mattress outside and sleep on the balcony, the same as I did in Boise and
Victoria and Maine. I slept great
outside, but I was still upset not be able to post my stuff.
We woke around 6 AM and went down for
breakfast, which was sorely disappointing.
After breakfast, I retrieved my cigar from last night, and we began to
make our way to the airport, figuring that we could stop in town somewhere to
use Wi-Fi. I lit up my Nub, and we did
find a restaurant, where we got coffee and Wi-Fi. I was able to post my picture there, but not
my entry. I then learned that I had
forgotten my room key, so we had to go back to return it.
We went straight to the airport and said
goodbye to our driver. The flight was
delayed by an hour, but the airport had very fast Wi-Fi, so I was able to post
my entry. Eventually, it was time, but I
lost my small bottle of whiskey to security.
It was a short enough, if uncomfortable flight, but we were at KTM by
noon, and we hired a driver for the next three hours, which would take us to
Durbar Square and Parliament before dropping Raymond off at his hotel and me at
the airport. The price was less than
fare from my apartment to LGA.
We lit up
cigars as soon as we were in the taxi, an Hoyo de Monterrey for me, and I was
again shocked by the driving conditions.
Durbar Square was a complete disappointment, and I did not want to pay
the overpriced entry fee to walk further around. From there, we went to Parliament, or tried
to. He was completely confused, and I am
running short on time, so I will be brief about it, but he took us to what it
said on my map was Parliament.
It was
large compound of government buildings known as Singha Durbar. It was restricted, but we could not get to
Parliament, nor did anyone know what that word meant. It was clearly the government buildings, so a
picture at the entrance would have to suffice.
That was exactly what we did before I said, “Nepal Complete.” He seemed to think Parliament was somewhere
else, but that turned out instead to be the headquarters of some multi-national
organization.
Done with our business, we
went to Raymond’s hotel, which took some effort to find, but it was right by
the souvenir area. I used the hotel’s
Wi-Fi to post my picture, and we went in search of my final Nepal
souvenirs. I got a mug, keychain, flag
pins, and a t-shirt, all with the Nepal flag.
That was Official. We walked back
to his hotel and said our goodbyes before the driver took me back to the
airport. I smoked a Montecristo for the
ride.
When I got to the airport, it was
a bit of a process to get through check-in, emigration controls, and security,
but I was done with two hours before my flight.
I even picked up another small bottle of the whiskey to bring home,
along with a bag of chips to hold me over until dinner. Asking where the smoking lounge was, knowing
they had one, and walked in to discover the most disgusting smoking lounge I
had ever seen. Most bathrooms in the
States were far cleaner than this. Even
construction sites aren’t this filthy. I
didn’t care. I just wanted to write my
entry and smoke a cigar. I finished my
chips while I waited for a seat. Once
one was free, I sat down, lit up a Romeo y Julieta, and proceeded to write this
entry, which I will now close, as it is almost time for boarding. I’ve had a great time in England and Nepal,
and I hope that my time in Qatar only adds to the overall value of this trip.
Doha, Qatar
(“Arabian Nights”)
I suppose
that Doha is not significantly different from Abu Dhabi, but it is certainly
smaller and more relaxed. I have always
loved my Arabian Nights, and there is something special about spending a night
in one of the capitals of the emirates.
When I went to Arabia three years ago, I spent nights in the capitals of
the UAE and Oman, flying in to Dubai, taking a taxi to Abu Dhabi, hiring a
driver to take me from Abu Dhabi to Oman and stop at the World Heritage Sites
along the way, then flying to Dubai before spending a day there and flying
home. The reason for that trip was to
see the tallest building in the world.
I
suppose once Saudi finishes building their tower, I will go there next. In the meantime, out of convenience, I have
found myself in Qatar, giving myself a 24-hour stopover instead of the brief
layover I would have had if I had taken the next flight out. Eventually, I’ll visit Bahrain and Kuwait
City and Beirut and Amman. When things
calm down, I’ll also visit Sanaa and Baghdad and Damascus. No, reader, I did not have to look up any of
those capitals. I knew them all by
heart.
When you travel the way I do and
have as good of a memory as I do, those things just stick with you. I have faith in my ability to name every
capital in Western Europe and most in Eastern Europe and Asia. The Caribbean and South America I’d be almost
perfect. Africa I’d probably be 50/50,
but Oceania would trip me up. I cannot
fully check a country off my list without visiting the capital, so I
necessarily learn the names of the capitals before even considering a
trip. Reader, I consider far, far more
trips than I wind up taking.
Okay, I’m
rambling. I am now smoking my 2014 Christmas
Pipe, which, like the 2013 one does not have as much experience around the
world as the others, but it is the same pipe I smoked in the capital cities of
Buenos Aires and Lima and Baton Rouge, so Doha is in good company. It is also the same pipe I smoked in Giza,
which is far more significant than those capital cities.
After I closed at KTM, I headed to the
departure gate and found a quiet corner, or so I thought. Next thing I knew, I heard someone sitting
next to me saying that he lived in New Rochelle. “I’m from Scarsdale,” I interjected. He said that he used to live in Yonkers,
right off of Central Avenue. We talked
about the IHOP there, and we both had gone there with some frequency. It turned out that, randomly, three groups of
people (counting myself as a group) had congregated in the same corner, and we
were all from the NYC metropolitan area.
It was soon time to board, and we had to walk across the tarmac to our
plane. We boarded, and, even before we
took off, I, appropriately, watched “The Jungle Book”. After the movie, the meal service had
started, and I was starving. I decided
that I would watch “The Hunt for the Wilderpeople” for my second movie with
dinner, though this would technically be lunch for me. As soon as the meal service started, I
smelled an overwhelming stench of curry, and I couldn’t wait to be in Arabia
and be able to eat just plainly grilled kabobs.
The only meat option for the meal was the same curried chicken I had
been eating all trip. This was Qatar
Airways, so why couldn’t they serve Arabian food. I then realized that the meal I had had from
MAN-DOH was actually more British, so perhaps they cater to the tastes of the
point of origination for their flights.
The meal was edible, barely, and I paired it with a seltzer and a
gin. After the flight attendant served
me, he asked me to put my seat upright so that he could serve the woman behind
me. That seemed fair, and I would put
the seat back again after dinner. I
should note at this point that the movie was disappointing, and I turned it off
after about 20 minutes.
They soon
brought coffee and brandy, which I drank before I was ready to pass out. The trays were cleared at this point, so I
put my seat back again, much to the outrage of the couple behind me. I told them that I needed it like that to
sleep, but the woman said she didn’t want it back. Well, la di dah. The seats are made to recline, so I firmly
believe it is my absolute right to recline, barring extenuating circumstances
(such as meal service or perhaps an infant on lap). They did not share that view. Tired of arguing with them, I put my eye mask
back on and went to sleep, waking up as we were making our descent into
Doha.
Clearing border control was quite
a process. This was also when I
considered going to Bahrain. There was a
flight leaving for Bahrain shortly, and, if I was willing to do everything at a
lighting pace, I realized that I could fly to Bahrain tonight, spend the night
there, see my stuff in Bahrain, fly back to Doha midafternoon, do my stuff in
Qatar, sleep for a few hours in a hotel here to credit myself with an
overnight, then take my 2:50 AM flight back to JFK. I almost did it, but, in the end, I opted for
the more relaxed pace of just staying in Qatar.
There was a long line for immigration, and I was stuck in front of a
complete asshole. When they made an
announcement, he made fun of the guy’s accent.
You don’t make fun of your host country.
Just no. The irony was, when he
started talking to his partner, he did so in a thick accent and a European
language I could not identify.
Eventually it was my turn, and I paid the visa fee and proceed to
baggage screening, whereby they discovered my small bottle of whiskey. Someone then appeared and took hold of my
passport and asked me to follow him. I
feared for the worst. No, no need to
worry. He said that they could store my
alcohol in the airport for me to pick up before flying home.
I did that and then bought a box of Partagas
from duty-free. The price was a third of
what I expected. Did I somehow pick out
miniature cigars? I bought it anyway and
would later discover that they were regular sized coronas but of a lesser
quality tobacco or something like that.
It was a short ride to the hotel from the airport, and I went up to the
room to get settled in before going outside to have one of the cigars. They also had free Arabian coffee, which
paired nicely with the Partagas, a perfectly good smoke, despite the insanely
low price.
After the cigar, I went to
dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was empty, but they were still
serving. I opted for the Arabian mixed
grill, along with sparkling water. It
was perfect, and I was so glad to be eating something that wasn’t doused in
curry, the Arabian spices being for more tolerable to my palette. This was it, my first Official meal in
Qatar. I was now at 68 countries. After dinner, I went back to my room to grab
my laptop and pipe and then came back down outside, where I lit up my 2014 Christmas
Pipe, sat down, and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so
that I can publish and get to bed.
Tomorrow will be a relaxed day, so I can sleep in and probably should
anyway since my flight is not until 2:50 AM, and I need to start getting back
on New York time.
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