I've been in Kathmandu for three days now. Probably two too many. I'm in Thamel, the tourist district. This place is chaos, a major tourist trap. An incredible number of shops and restaurants of all kinds line the narrow, winding, dusty lanes: hostels, souvenir shops, trekking outfits, laundry services, restaurants (everything from Nepali to Italian), you name it. You can also find tons of cheap expedition gear with big names like North Face and Mountain Hardwear. The problem is they're all fakes--though decent fakes apparently, at least according to my guide, The Lonely Planet. Somehow, to my continual amazement, navigating these tiny streets are taxis, buses, motorcycles, bicycle rickshaws, and people, many, many people: tourists, women in Indian dress, Nepalis, beggars, and the bane of my existence, the touts. These are the guys trying to lure you into one of their trekking outfits or hostels, or whatever. To call these people tenacious would be an understatement.
For me there is a painful transition period in a place like this. I'm an easy mark when I first arrive. Five minutes after I left the hotel, two "holy men" walked up to me and painted a red mark on my forehead. I didn't resist, thinking it was part of a current festival. "Blessings, long life," they said. "Money please...no we need more." Suckered. A few minutes later a tout introduces himself, asks me where I'm from. When I explain I'm not interested in what he's selling, he continues walking with me saying, "No problem, we're just talking." What he's counting on the is the fact that I don't want to be rude. Sure, why not chat with one of the locals? It soon occurs to me that I'm now getting a "tour," and eventually have pay the guy off just to get rid of him. Suckered again.
There are beggars everywhere, too. My heart breaks over and over. The money I have compared to those in most of the world sometimes feels obscene...
It's no fun being so mistrusting and watching my armour growing thicker. This is a very poor country and I don't blame them. They're just trying to survive, but I hate it all the same.
Whew!
On the brighter side, I'll be leaving tomorrow for a 16 day trek to Mt. Everest base camp! I'm so ready to be out of Thamel and in the mountains, especially these. Mountains have always been magical places for me so this should be quite the adventure. I'll have a guide/porter and be staying at guest houses/tea houses along the way.
I can't imagine there will be Internet access on the trek so I'll be back in a couple weeks.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Namaste Eric! You are probably on your trek to Everest base camp now and enjoying all the wonderful aspects of Nepal. Kathmandu, particulary Thamel, can be overwhelming. Just wait to you get to India...Thamel is tame in comparison and training for the hardcore stuff! Thanks for bringing up fond memories about those tenacious touts though...it put a smile on my face.
When Dave and I were staying in the Thamel district we had an encounter with a snake charmer. The snake charmer family was performing their act on the street outside our hotel window. We watched the "show" from our 3rd story guesthouse room and took some pictures. The main snake charmer saw us take pictures and asked...okay, insisted...for some rupees. Dave went right down to pay the man off as there was absolutely no need to have bad snake karma in Asia.
There are so many examples of being targeted and feeling like you are taken advantage of in this part of the world. However, it is entertaining and every once in awhile it produces a brilliant travel story that you will remember for the rest of your life. Enjoy every moment!!!
Love,
Christen and Dave
Ahh...the ugly "travel armour". I think that I get it worse than most and I hate that part in me that feels the need to be bulletproof when in situations like that. I think mine grew in Morocco after a few short days of being targeted. In Morocco I found that succumbing to the "tourist guide" would prevent the more malicious predators to get past the armour, so I would let the benign is to keep the hazardous out.
I wish I knew how to get rid of the armour, but I fight with it everytime I get into those situations. It is the one thing that seems to grow thicker with each incident and I find it distracting for me at times. Remember when I couldn't shake it in Cambodia...and that was just a mild case.
When dealing with giving money there is one thing that I try to remember, it is a line someone told me when I was a bellman. He told me about an incident when he was child getting on a train with his father. His father asked the porter for assistance with their luggage and then asked what a "good tip" was. The porter immediately replied, "$100.00 is a good tip". His father was shocked and voiced it. The porter followed with, "You asked me, what a 'good tip' was. $100.00 is a good tip, but .25 cents a bag is the normal tip".
They will test the waters to see what they can get from you if they see you as American. We are the biggest suckers out there and sympathetic to all. We also overtip (yes, I am guilty) to a fault, and it is a fault if we give people too much. It becomes expected and people stop becoming self-sufficient in these societies as they become reliant on the "guilt" of wealthier nations. My friend Kathy has been to Kathmandu many times only giving old hiking boots, Levis and other items that are American made that they can't get there. She would never give money. That was her, but I thought it to be a good approach.
Christen is right though. These instances can be very intertaining and can produce great stories. I still recall over 11 years ago when the gypsy in Seville grabbed my palm and "read" it and then asked for money. When I opened my wallet to give her some small bills, she reached in and TOOK a $20US out of my wallet as well as the pesetas that I had given her. I recall many others as well and as painful or irritating as they were then, they are fond memories now.
If you can figure out how to shake the armour, let me know. I am in desperate need of learning that. You may recall our conversation about it in Thailand/Cambodia when I said that I minimalize the people when my armour goes up. That isn't how I want to be.
Take care -
Bret
Post a Comment