KathmanUS!

The super cheesy title is the result of over a thousand* repetitions of this exchange, always initiated by Jeff: "KathmanWHO?" "KathmanYOU!" "KathmanUS!!" I apologize for inflicting this on the rest of you.

Jeff and I just returned from the Winter RA meet in Chennai (2 days) and a week of vacation with my dad in Nepal, both of which were top notch. We spent 5 days getting to and from the Himalayas, and 3 days actually trekking**, but it was definitely still worth it. Since I'm more inclined to ramble than Jeff is, this post is about our (brief but wonderful) time in Kathmandu (काठमांडू); he'll write about the trekking. In sum, though, we hiked a small portion of the ridiculously gorgeous trail to Mount Everest, accompanied by a guide that my dad hired.

First, here are some photos from the RA Meet:

Most of our time was spent in the IFMR conference room, hearing about each others' projects and getting up to speed on JPAL finance and organizational policies (yes, I'm a freak for finding the latter topics interesting). We also went to Dakshina Chitra, a museum of sorts which has models of traditional architecture and household items from throughout southern India. 

Now, here are some photos from Kathmandu:

Before and after our actual hiking, we spent a few days in Kathmandu. While we were hiking, we met someone who lives in Oakland but regularly hikes in the Himalayas (random, huh?), and he said that he hates Kathmandu and views it as a necessary evil to be endured on the way to the mountains. To some extent, I can understand this perspective - it's overflowing with people and dust, has quite awful roads, and is completely dependent on tourism. None of this is surprising in a city that is the gateway to the Himalayas and has doubled in population in the last 10 years, due in part to rural inhabitants fleeing Maoist-related violence, which has pretty clearly overwhelmed the already insufficient existing infrastructure.

However, coming from Patna, Jeff and I were convinced we were in heaven. I'm sure that the gleam would have worn off after a little while, but since we only had two-ish days there, it was simply magical. We visited really interesting historical/cultural sites, including Boudhanath, Durbar Square and Kasthamandap, among other sites. See the photo slideshow for more info. We strolled the streets, where we were not given a second glance (as opposed to the unremitting stares of Patna); Jeff and I could even have held hands if we had been that daring, since we saw other couples doing it. I wore a tank top (!) and sipped mocha beverages in one of the many coffee shops. We grabbed root beers and ginger ales at the local supermarket (all three of which do not exist in Patna). We ate pastries like cinnamon rolls, croissants, and chocolate cake. We stuffed ourselves at restaurants serving a spectrum of international cuisines: Thai, Italian, Japanese and Mexican (quesadillas with yak cheese?), and there were tons more that we would have visited if we had the time; again, Patna has only Indian, Indian-Chinese, and Domino's. Basically, we did a lot of very good eating.

I don't say any of this to critique Patna, since we are genuinely very happy here. But Jeff and I have been spoiled by having so many different eating options in the US, so we really crave the variety that isn't available yet in Patna. Things are changing though, as the recently opened Domino's indicates.

Anyways, Kathmandu was a short but significant portion of our vacation time, and we're all filled up with international food (Gnocchi! Udon!), like bears preparing for winter.

Coming soon: the Himalayas!

*Jeff tells me that I am "wont" to exaggerate. This may be one of those times.

** i.e. hiking/backpacking