Yesterday I decided to venture into downtown Kathmandu to check out some of the sights. Trying to save a few bucks (ok, fine, a taxi is only around $3, but the same $3 can also buy two dozen mangos, so I kind of lose perspective of much a rupee is really worth) and add some adventure to my day, I brushed past the taxi drivers in favor of a tempo, a three-wheeled electric vehicle about the size of a station wagon that holds about twelve people. I was pretty proud of myself for figuring out the tempos until we pulled over five minutes into our drive for a reason that I still don’t know (though I know it involved a bunch of police officers and I think a kid with a bike). We sat there for about 15 minutes before everyone finally climbed out and started walking, providing me with a wonderful opportunity to see whether I could match my brand new street map to the craziness in front of me. An hour or so and zero street signs later, I found myself in the backpacker’s heaven of Thamel, and finally got some chapattis and scrambled eggs. Lesson of the morning: don’t attempt public transportation in Kathmandu before breakfast.
After a day of taking in the sights (I’m going to leave you in suspense until I get some pictures up tomorrow….) I was faced with post-sundown taxi prices (now more like three dozen mangos) so I looked around for another option. The amazing thing about being in a place where gas is expensive and labor is cheap is that a bike-rickshaw is a whole lot cheaper than a taxi, and way more fun. And because the bike-rickshaws are all fixies (they have no idea how trendy they are – too bad skinny jeans are probably inappropriate here) we had to get off and walk up the hills. Lesson of the afternoon: gears and lights are excellent additions to bicycles.
Today I decided I was ready to start being my own transportation, so I am now the proud owner of a shiny new mountain bike. The weird thing about Kathmandu traffic is that somehow with it felt easier and safer to be part of the traffic than to be a pedestrian trying to dodge it – like the cars and motorcycles recognize me as another wheeled being and give me a little respect, in the form of not hitting me. Other weird things: they drive on the left, and traffic lights and emissions inspections do not exist here. Lesson of today: don’t leave home without a facemask ever again. The only thing scarier than the traffic is the particulates.
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2 comments:
Yeah, man, that air quality is brutal. The key, especially with that mountain bike, is to explore the back alleys and walking paths that people use that are off those main clusterfuck roads. They make the mask wearing almost unnecessary. Major props for attempting the tempo; I never even tried, though mostly on account of my gigantic frame that would have been hilarious for the locals to see squeezed in one of those things.
Ok, I'm not actually eating dozens of mangos a day, it just provides a useful measure of the value of a rupee :) But I have eaten a few, and they are delicious. Right now I have a bunch of lychees and a pomegranate at home ...
Ryan, I can't even imagine you in one of those tempos - though I do think it's a nice public service for us to provide entertainment for the locals, maybe you should have tried.
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