I went to Kathmandu half a year after the 2015 earthquakes. I lived two months lodging in the centre, some weeks in hostels and spent some weeks in the breathtaking Himalayas. Here are my best tips from four months of culture shock.
Actual view from flat over Balajutar area, Kathmandu.
Arriving in Kathmandu
Imagine a secluded place where there's no railroad, hardly any paved roads with meter-wide potholes and daily power cuts for 8-12 hours a day. The local year is 56.7 years ahead of the European calendar, the local time is +5:45 ahead of UTC and the year has six seasons. (Anyone out there still not believing in Platform 9¾ at London King's Cross? It leads to Nepal!) Passers-by in dusty sandals and Winter jackets are spitting and clearing their throats every so often. Life is bustling even at night - dogs and cows, monkeys and pigs - all roam garbage piles in search for food.
This is Nepal, the country of Mt. Everest, a touristic top-attraction and home to nearly 30 million hospitable people from 80+ ethnic groups.
What's a day like?
Sunny October morning. I have goosebumps as I get out of bed in a room just north of Thamel, the poor concrete walls refuse to keep the heat inside. The rumors were true, I frown, you never get warm inside. Nepal has many national heritage sites, not only those listed as the seven UNESCO sites, and today I'm fully intended to immerse myself into the ancient culture of one of those - Nepal's old capital and one of the three old kingdoms of the valley, Bhaktapur - translated as the city of devotees. Monsoon just ended a month ago, the thermometer shows a pleasant 27C (77F) and the cheering and singing for the Dashain festival, coming from groups of students in a nearby canted school, is ricocheting off the rough house walls just outside my window.
With my European habits still ingrained (habits vanish faster than you think they do, don't worry), I try to twist the tap in the shower with a sweet expectation. The tap drips reluctantly and a transparent baby cockroach peeks out to tease me from the tap. The lonely light bulb below the gray ceiling of concrete turns suddenly off, so as to destroy my hope of showering this day and bid me out of the bathroom. Load shedding just started and this happens twice per day, every day. As Kathmandu expanded, power lines were added ad-hoc, which resulted in a big mess of wires along most streets and scheduled power cuts in order to rotate the worshipped power across the city's districts.
Culture and values
If people haven't said yes three times, then it's a no.
Like in many Asian countries, saying no or being direct is considered rude. Instead, they will hesitate to answer, give an imprecise answer or talk about something completely different. For instance, let's say you're inviting someone for dinner and receive the answer
That sounds very interesting, I might come!
It means a dead no. A yes would be more like
Okay I will come, when and where is it?
It's not about the enthusiasm shown, it's about the precise/imprecise word choice.
People in Nepal are raised with a group mentality, meaning they'd generally spend time with relatives and friends rather have personal time or take a vacation abroad, which would reflect a more individualistic mentality. So being nice and friendly to a Nepali means you'd spend quality time with him or her, have breakfast/lunch/dinner with them and tell stories about your experiences.
If you've ever been to Malaysia, you know how much they love good food! Nepali are just like that, in part because there are many ethnic groups with their own recipes. I've heard numerous stories of Nepali coming back from Europe complaining about the bleak cuisine! (Europe, come on!)
Time
Please note, everything takes longer time and has hidden costs, compared to your country of origin.
- Going through passport control? Wait 1-1.5 hours.
- Getting a research permit? Count on $100 for application, 100 rs for the application form and weeks of hassle.
- Want to cook food? One grocery shop might be too expensive, the other closed for festival (there are more festivals days than working days) and the third is far away, so you end up in the fourth one tomorrow.
- Going home late? Oh, last bus went at 20:00, now you'll have to walk 1h from Patan.
- Thought the cinema movie is 1h30mins, as it says in the description? Nope, you get 20 min advertisement of detergent and a 10 min break in the middle of the movie.
- Of course you planned to talk to your mom at seven this evening. Better you shift it 4h either way, because there will be no power in the house at seven. Or there might be from the backup battery enough to light the lamps, but because the inverter is falling apart and gets the voltage up to 80% of the working level, your laptop might refuse to charge.
There are some objective peculiarities to Nepal, like that odd +45 min time zone shift (UTC +5:45). As I got to know, Nepali try to find all possible ways to be independent from India, this includes being 15 min before Indian time. The calendar which is about 56.7 years ahead of the Western calendar (New Year starts in April) is because they use a lunar calendar and sidereal time. And there is a more subjective time experience difference, like that people are walking slower than in Europe (oh my god, I stepped on heels all the time) and are generally not obsessed with always looking at the watch to count minutes, as well as the notion of being of time for a meeting is very flexible (I guess like in Brazil, from what I heard about it) mostly due to chaotic traffic.
Clothes
If you don't care about fashion or blending in, you'll be comfortable in sandals, jeans and a t-shirt that covers the shoulders all year round, both genders. If you want to be hip, find a t-shirt with "Paris, France", "JAPAN" or any other far away place spelled out in large font. If you want to blend in: for women, consider covering legs, breasts, shoulders and not wearing skin-tight clothing; for men, wear jeans, shirt and covered shoes.
Clothes to buy from Nepal are typically locally produced sari, kurtha, colorful patched bags and woolen garments.
Bugs
Do what you fear most and you control fear /Tom Hopkins
I recently helped my host family to fix the water boiler. It smelled burnt and didn't boil properly, so I opened it up and brushed off the dust inside. I also removed a burnt cockroach larva that had caused the smell and the rest of its family - mother cockroach, father cockroach and two siblings. This says it all, doesn't it.
Having a childhood fobia of cockroaches from the time when I almost wet my pants after seeing them on every surface in the kitchen, including the table where I used to eat every day, I certainly came to the best place to meet my fears. You can find them in the strangest of places, like shoes, tea pots and on the bread in cheap street cafes.
Tips
- carry a portable bottle of alcohol solution for cleaning hands before meals. Many dishes are eaten with hands.
- check with your vaccination office what you'll need. Rabies will probably be the most expensive to take, but you want to have that extra protection, because there are lots of stray dogs and monkeys here. A 12-year old boy died in Rabies in the beginning of 2015 after being bitten by a dog. Malaria pills are only necessary if you'll travel south to the Terai region.