I returned to Thamel after ODing on the paneer and mushrooms I had bought for meals (they were family sized purchases and I hate throwing away food). Thamel was, unlike everywhere else, packed, and it was odd to see so many goras after a week or so in the suburbs. There were mandalas outside the shops and little roving bands of children standing and singing in shop entrances until given a small sum of money. At one point, as my taxi was stuck in traffic, a group of young men pulled out drums and trumpets seemingly from their pockets and started playing in the street. All in all very festive.
At last I arrived at the hotel where the Gentleman Friend and his group are staying. It was delightful to see him after some weeks, though I was shocked to see he looked rather feeble. His bout of altitude sickness was worse than I had realised and his persistent cough looks like it might be on the verge of a chest infection, and on the flight his sinuses caused an eardrum to pop so his hearing was affected. And I am sure he has lost about 5-6 kilos if not more. I must have looked an absolute fright when I returned, even aside from the hideous toe and the charred nose.
Like me, he was delighting in fitting himself back into civilisation – sending clothes to be laundered, drinking coffee, eating cake. We went for a coffee in the Garden of Dreams. The coffee and cake were mediocre but the surroundings were indeed lovely, particularly as evening fell and the Diwali oil lamps were lit. Green and peaceful and elegant in the midst of Thamel, I see why it’s so beloved of the travel guides.
At dinner we ventured into Thamel again, this time I proposed the restaurant. We went to OR2K, a popular vegetarian Israeli place and I think it was exactly what the GF had been craving after weeks of mediocre food. It wasn’t spectacular but hit the spot. And then back for a good night’s sleep.