Hotel Arun Jan16-17/09

I have my last language class with Parbatti then head back to the hotel to pack up my things. I decide to leave my bike and most of my luggage at Hotel Ganish Himal. I take some photos of the staff and the lovely ladies that housekeep.

I pick up my laundry, a stove and fuel. I go back to Indra Chowk to look for some things, including a money belt.

At the pharmacy I pick up something for my stomach as it is still upset. After a tea at Roadhouse Cafe and stocking up some groceries I head back to the guesthouse. Rinku calls a taxi for me and ensures that they know where to take me.

At Hotel Arun, I talk to Amit (owners's son) to stress that my water must be boiled and that my food must be on wiped dishes so I don't get sick.

My room is okay but not very clean. It has a western style toilet and a shower in the bathroom.

When I go down to eat, there are Nepali guests sitting in the dining room which you enter from outside through a curtain. I ask a Nepali couple that is eating if I can join them-their food smells good. I show them pictures of Canada and they show me family photos on their camera. The husband has been working away for 2 years or more in Bahran as a baggage handler (without visits home) Their two sons are away in boarding school since they were 3 years old.

I think his wife likes me as she gets her husband to take a photo of us.

After a breakfast of toast and coffee I walk to the intersection to find a grocery store and check the price of bottled water. The store I locate does not have much for groceries.

I decide to walk to Budha along the main roads so I won't get lost, however it is not enjoyable as it is very busy and polluted from the exhaust from the vehicles.

Close to Budha I begin to see monks, locate the Gemini grocery store and see the top of the big stupa.

Although the admission is only good for one week, when I tell them that I am volunteering for 3 months, they do not charge me.

I have a snack at Saturday Cafe on the rooftop. It feels peaceful around the stupa compared to the normal bussle on the streets.

I plan to get a taxi back but as the street is very busy I decide to walk back on the quiet route. Despite one wrong turn, it is fairly straightforward. I bypass Pashupatti (large Hindu temples).

When I get to an intersection I am not sure if I am back to where I started so I ask a taxi to take me to the hotel but he doesn't know it, so I cross the street, as I am walking along the main street, I realize that I was already back to the intersection that I started at, so I go back to the hotel.