I'm currently enjoying Sunday brunch at the Yellow House B&B. It is very bule, as they would say in Indonesia. The only Nepalis within sight are the wait staff. Still, it is somewhat comforting to have food that I'm familiar with (scrambled eggs, hash browns & sausage, yum), plus the cafe is right across the street from the guest house and it has free wifi, which right now is a big plus.
This morning I was in a bit of a quantry about what to do today. In order to go anywhere around here I need to take a taxi, which means venturing out of my comfort zone and talk to a cabbie who barely speaks English. How would I tell him where I'm going? How would I instruct him where to take me back to? How would I negotiate a fare? These are things that worry me when getting a cab in San Francisco, let alone Kathmandu...
What finally got me out of the house was the realization that I can't spend the next 2 months in fear of leaving the house. If I'm going to do anything besides work here I need to face that fear and get out. If not then I might as well fly back home tomorrow.
I was able to get a taxi with a driver who spoke enough English to take me to Patan and Kathmandu Durbur Squares so I could see the temples. I probably paid more than I should have but the traffic was crazy and the driver didn't get into an accident, plus he waited for me at each place, so I didn't mind paying a little extra.
So this day is a success, and it's still only brunch time. :)
I'm told I'll have wifi for my laptop tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to post my pictures from today then. I'm interested in comparing the pictures I took today at Patan to the ones I took last year to see how much progress there has been with the reconstruction of the damaged temples. It does look like they have made some progress.
Yes, this is what qualifies as adventure in my life... but you know, not everybody can describe a cafe in Nepal that caters to tourists by using the Indonesian word for foreigner ;)
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