Pokhara buying blow

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Pokhara buying blow

I folded up the piece of paper with his budget calculations on it, and stuffed it in the back pocket of my slacks. We shook hands and he must have committed my face to memory, because for the next week, every time I passed his office, he would call out to me and ask about my plans. But today, we simply said goodbye. I left his office, and headed for the main streets of Thamel. The first thing one notices about Thamel is the dust. Loose, dry dirt which is being constantly kicked up into the air by the beating of a thousand feet and the spinning of scooter wheels. Half the people in Kathmandu, locals and travelers alike, wear facial protection on a daily basis; the other half probably should too. The dust is unavoidable: it irritates the eyes, lodges in your throat and causes chronic coughing, and quickly coats anything left outside. The settling of the dust is impossible to miss, as every shop in Thamel has piles of dusty goods stacked outside, an incentive to shoppers overwhelmed with choice. Most of the trekking shops stack duffel bags outside their doors. These big piles of multicolored haul bags all appear brown and faded as dust settles on them throughout the day. The owners pull them inside at night, shake off the dust, and the cycle begins anew the next morning. Smog and pollution from motorbikes and taxis adds to the poor air quality. Scooters and actual bicycle-powered rickshaws regularly mingle with the pedestrian traffic in Thamel. Scooters and taxis, free of any environmental controls, have been known to do that. I picked a direction, and started walking. I had no particular goal in mind. Truthfully, my meeting with the trekking agent had overwhelmed me. I just got here, I thought. As I walked, I marveled at the high buildings and the seemingly endless array of trekking and souvenir shops. The owners stood on their stoops, and called out to me as I passed. Despite my best efforts, I was easy pickings for the touts. Many, many men walked up to me on the streets, matching my pace and offering to show me around the city. First time here? What brings you to our country? I have a trekking agency, very good, very cheap! Come, come with me, brother. Very good, I promise! Worse than the trekking touts were the drug dealers. When Holly and I were traveling together, we had never once been approached about such things. Although touts would occasionally harass us about her blond hair, or try and convince me to buy her a rose or a ring or some other trinket, we had certainly never been offered drugs. I kept walking, then did a double-take, as I processed what he had said. He caught my interest, and hurried over to me. Too nervous to buy drugs off the street on my first day in a foreign country, I immediately resumed walking. He kept walking with me. Very good, see? I shook my head and kept walking. Undeterred, he continued with me. By now we had walked half a block at least. The tout was much shorter than me, and I was trying to discourage him by walking as fast as my long legs would carry me. The Nepali are not so easily discouraged though, and he was cheerily keeping pace. Again, I told the man no. Again, he offered me drugs. You want to go to mountains? This time, I just kept walking. The drug aspect reminds me of Amsterdam. And the tourist treatment of many places. It takes zero time to clock a wealthy foreigner. It always amazes me how slick they are. One second a drug dealer the next a trekking guide lol. You describe it well, I first went there many decades ago and often since then. Wonder if I should do a comparison post … I would never suggest any foreigner go to Thamel, far too many touts! A cafe in Freak Street would get you a more genuine deal on trekking or anything else you need to buy. Same, same but different! India is most certainly different than the rest of the world…more complex, more culturally diverse and most certainly more populated. In terms of land area alone, India is bigger than four to five European nations put together. And the population must be the same as the population of US and Australia put together, if not more. India is still an agrarian economy that largely depends on farming and revenue it earns from its export and farming is still not as technically sound and modern as rest of the world. At least not any more except for a few sporadic instances. But if you can get past the cows, and other sensory assault; India has a lot to offer. Give it some time and you just might end up liking us…we welcome you and the rest of the world with a genial smile and a warm embrace…Namaste! And after a couple of days, he got used to it. Are you there currently, or is this based on a former trip? I was there in March. The sensory overload was immediate, and total. Thamel is dusty, polluted, and loud. Like Loading Any advise? You should definitely write a comparison post! Leave a comment Cancel reply. Comment Reblog Subscribe Subscribed. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now.