We were up early and I met Johnie for breakfast at the Freedom Cafe. As we were eating we heard loads of banging of drums and then saw hundreds people dressed in red marching past along the street. As they were passing the shops along the road put down their shutters as did the restaurant where we were sitting. We were told by the staff that it was unlikely that there would be any trouble but it was just a precaution.
It is Labour Day today and it was the Maoists that were marching. The Maoists have a lot of support within Nepal. A few years ago they actually over through the government with the support of some other groups and Nepal became a democracy rather than a Monarchy. While this upheaval was taking place Nepal was unsettled and tourists stopped visiting. The Maoists did not win over all control. The last few years Nepal has been much more stable and the tourists have returned.
There are still areas within Nepal which are extremely poor (starvation and malnutrition) and there is a large amount of support for the Maoists in these regions. There has always been a huge gap between the rich and the poor in Nepal with the aristocracy only spending money on building grander and grander palaces and nothing on infrastructure before Nepal opened their boarders in the 1950's. After this point there was still a Monarchy which did not invest in infrastructure for several decades.
We all spent hours over breakfast again, nattering and faffing on the internet and then went for a long wander round Kathmandu to get goggles (from the Adidas shop) and look for motorcycle shops. It was interesting to see what the rest of the city was like (other than Thamal - the tourist area that is). There were loads of western shops. I even spotted a Starbucks. Nepal is very different in that regard from India.
I bought some maps for trekking and biking around different areas of the country. I spoke to several people and found out that the well known treks are so popular that I don't have to pay for a guide and it will be very safe. Awesome!
We did not manage to find the motorbike shops before it got too late and the rainstorms arrived.... We did get to the a wine shop and bought a few nice bottles for the next few days as a treat. This sort of wine is almost impossible to get in India. We also went to the "Master Baker" shop ;-)
We got a little lost on the way back to Thamal and popped into a cafe called "Hot Chilli" which was advertising momos for 35RS. As we walked though the door the rain really started heavily and we decided to stay for a while. It is great to be inside when there is a storm outside and it is raining heavily on the corrugated iron...
The menu was fab as there were loads of dishes I had never heard of before. We ordered loads of different dishes and also some Tibetan wine. The food was excellent. The "wine" was a green coloured spirit which was like fire water! We asked if we could buy a bottle for Emma and Angela but they said that there was no bottle. We were a bit confused by this. Eventually we found out that the "wine" is a homebrew made of chillies, rice, barley, wheat and other things.... Awesome. They stored it in clear plastic bags and decantered it into an empty water bottle for us. The staff were really friendly. We were the only westerners in there. It was good to get out of the tourist Thamel.
Did not get back until 12ish. We had a lovely walk home as the streets were really quiet. I was a fab time to see the streets and take photos of the architecture. No one around to bother us. Fun evening.
It is Labour Day today and it was the Maoists that were marching. The Maoists have a lot of support within Nepal. A few years ago they actually over through the government with the support of some other groups and Nepal became a democracy rather than a Monarchy. While this upheaval was taking place Nepal was unsettled and tourists stopped visiting. The Maoists did not win over all control. The last few years Nepal has been much more stable and the tourists have returned.
There are still areas within Nepal which are extremely poor (starvation and malnutrition) and there is a large amount of support for the Maoists in these regions. There has always been a huge gap between the rich and the poor in Nepal with the aristocracy only spending money on building grander and grander palaces and nothing on infrastructure before Nepal opened their boarders in the 1950's. After this point there was still a Monarchy which did not invest in infrastructure for several decades.
We all spent hours over breakfast again, nattering and faffing on the internet and then went for a long wander round Kathmandu to get goggles (from the Adidas shop) and look for motorcycle shops. It was interesting to see what the rest of the city was like (other than Thamal - the tourist area that is). There were loads of western shops. I even spotted a Starbucks. Nepal is very different in that regard from India.I bought some maps for trekking and biking around different areas of the country. I spoke to several people and found out that the well known treks are so popular that I don't have to pay for a guide and it will be very safe. Awesome!
We did not manage to find the motorbike shops before it got too late and the rainstorms arrived.... We did get to the a wine shop and bought a few nice bottles for the next few days as a treat. This sort of wine is almost impossible to get in India. We also went to the "Master Baker" shop ;-)
We got a little lost on the way back to Thamal and popped into a cafe called "Hot Chilli" which was advertising momos for 35RS. As we walked though the door the rain really started heavily and we decided to stay for a while. It is great to be inside when there is a storm outside and it is raining heavily on the corrugated iron...
The menu was fab as there were loads of dishes I had never heard of before. We ordered loads of different dishes and also some Tibetan wine. The food was excellent. The "wine" was a green coloured spirit which was like fire water! We asked if we could buy a bottle for Emma and Angela but they said that there was no bottle. We were a bit confused by this. Eventually we found out that the "wine" is a homebrew made of chillies, rice, barley, wheat and other things.... Awesome. They stored it in clear plastic bags and decantered it into an empty water bottle for us. The staff were really friendly. We were the only westerners in there. It was good to get out of the tourist Thamel.
Did not get back until 12ish. We had a lovely walk home as the streets were really quiet. I was a fab time to see the streets and take photos of the architecture. No one around to bother us. Fun evening.
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