I finked out. So did Judy. We’re old and ailing is the bottom line. What we’re missing is visits to two of the top nightclubs in Nepal and right up there in world rankings. Purple Haze is first, “one of the best rock bars in town,” with good food and drinks. Two hours there and then to Lord of Drink, a new club that ranks in the top 100 in the world. Lots of famous bands and DJs plus great food.
I must admit I wanted to go for bragging rights but my appreciation of modern rock is limited. Oh well. Ah to be young again.
Our first stop was at Deerwalk Holdings, the parent company of the Deerwalk software firm where Julie, Jeff and Rob worked. Deerwalk was purchased by Cedargate. The three partners left Cedargate to found Maitri one year ago.
For Julie, Jeff and Rob, and for Judy and me too, it was fun to see the campus. Today the main activity at Deerwalk Holdings are two schools: the Sifal School, a K-12 school with upwards of 900 students and Deerwalk Institute of Technology with 400 students studying mostly information technology.
Jeff, Rob and Julie saw several former colleagues with whom they have an enduring friendship. For us, the campus had changed greatly with new buildings and attractive landscaping. Tea and coffee were served in the traditional Nepalese way of treating visitors but it threw us somewhat behind schedule.
Lunch was next at a restaurant owned by a former Deerwalk colleague, Manesh. We traveled with Manesh when we went to Pokhara 10 years ago. I showed Manesh pictures from that trip including one where he, Jeff and several others were playing the card game Marriage. The restaurant’s name is the Forth Floor, pant, pant. The food was great – a selection of appetizers for 11 – as was the view of the Monkey Temple, our next stop.
The Swayambhu Stupa is known to folks from away as the Monkey Temple because monkeys have the run of the place what Westerner can pronounce and remember the Nepalese name.
The monkey temple is located on a hill in Kathmandu with a commanding view of the valley. Great view, that is, if it weren’t raining cats and monkeys today. Normally one can walk up the stairs at the bottom of the hill to the top but today the stairs were literally a running waterfall. Our driver took us to near the top, leaving us with maybe a fourth of the climb. No other tourists to speak of; monkeys outnumbered us two to one.
Swayambhunath Stupa dates back roughly 1,500 years. It has been rebuilt and modified 15 times in that period. It is most holy to the Newar Buddhists, who we saw in Kirpitur the other day. It’s the second holiest to Tibetan Buddhists, second only to the Boudha Stupa we saw upon our arrival in Kathmandu.
Swayambhu is also a holy site for Hindus. Mixed in with the Buddhist stupas are a number of statues, shrines and prayer wheels associated with Hindu gods. Most holy sites in Nepal are that way.
Buddhism, after all, is not a religion that worships a god or gods. It’s a way of leading one’s life so as to increase karma, eventually achieving a state of nirvana after many reincarnations. Hinduism is the worship of many gods. Pleasing those gods through prayer and right living is its goal.Both believe in reincarnation. Buddhists reject priests, gods, rituals and the caste system.Buddhists believe karma is gained through meditation.
So the two belief systems go hand-in-hand. There are lots of Christian Buddhists in the world for a similar reason.
The rain didn’t let up for even a minute so traffic to our next destination – the Maitri office building – was brutal. At the office we had a tour of the three floors occupied by Maitri and then were given a reception by all the Maitri employees. There was lots of spirited singing by employee musicians, cake for those celebrating birthdays in September and snacks. It’s a regular monthly event made to coincide with Jeff, Julie and Rob’s presence along with their families.
In many respects, this was the highlight of our trip: to see the miracle the three Maitri founders have created. Eighty five engineers, brought together over 12 months to form a cohesive team. It says a lot about the Nepalese worker and Jeff, Julie and Rob’s ability to work with them to achieve the results we saw today.
The trip from office to the Marriott was even worse – flooding and heavy traffic caused the trip to take almost two hours. That cut into the buffer between arrival and the clubbing expedition.
In the end, everyone but Judy and I went. We had to face reality, something hard for us intrepid travelers to admit. We are sick. Flu, picked up who-know-where.
The monsoon brings on the flu season earlier than ours back home. Judy first, then me came down with a hacking cough. She has intestinal distress, not so much me. I have a low-grade fever; she doesn’t.
We had the hotel doctor come in last night to check us out. He says Judy is on the road to recovery but I have an “angry” throat. He prescribed a medicated lozenge for me. I asked about Tamiflu for me, since the onset of my symptoms was lest than 72 hours ago. He shrugged and said, “I don’t know how much good Tamiflu does for you. Go ahead if you want.” In the end, the hotel sent a driver out to get these non-prescription drugs. Total cost; 1,100 rupees or about eight bucks. I believe the doctor’s visit will be $60. All without leaving our room in the hotel.
So now here we sit Saturday morning. Only three hardy travelers have ventured out with Paras. Our van driven by Ashok is hopelessly stuck in the flood waters. Paras’s friend is driving them instead.
Our goal right now is to get better enough to attend the Maitri party here in the Marriott and then beat feet for the airport and our 2 AM departure to Doha and then Boston. Thank goodness for lay-flat business class seats. Signs are positive so far, Hopefully Judy will be strong enough to struggle into her sari for the party. I just have to wear a cool hat, thank goodness.
I won’t have time for the final posting today so I’ll try to get to it when we’re home, jet lag permitting. Thanks for traveling with us. It’s always great to know we’re not in this alone.
