Yesterday we checked out of the hotel and moved to our next Airbnb, a room in a family house in Lazimpat. This is the embassy district of Kathmandu, about a 20 minute walk from Thamel. The main road is full of restaurants and shops, and behind it is the usual Kathmandu warren of very narrow winding streets. It does seem odd to my eyes that the streets are so pre-motorcar even in these parts, but I wonder if it is a relic of not having strong planning-focused city governments at the time cars became very common. And, to be fair, there are still not as many cars as one would expect to see in an Asian capital.
The new place is very nice. We upgraded our room, at some cost, to a very large room at the top of the house with windows and terraces on every side. This is particularly pleasant as we haven’t really had a sunny bedroom since leaving Byblos, and even that was only minimally sunny. After checking in we went to Sanepa to meet our thangka fellow and pay him for the two purchased – one Wheel of Life and one as a gift for my sister. There is a Mahakala image that the Gentleman Friend really has his eye on but the dealer has committed to sending it for a Paris show. If it isn’t sold there I would not be surprised if it makes its way to London. There was also a lovely white Tara, which was beautifully modelled on a rich etched gold background. It’s a style I really love, but of course well beyond my means.
We had asked for dinner at the place we are staying, and it was absolutely delicious, far nicer than any restaurant meal we’ve had in Kathmandu. Earlier in the day we’d had a snack of bhogate sadeko, a pomelo salad, which was spectacular. Dinner was almost as nice – daal bhaat, but with really delicious sides, including some goat offal and a spoonful of sukuti, which is the Nepali jerky. Our host cheerfully informed us that this was illegal, as it was from hunted wild venison. He then offered us some moonshine which neither of us were inclined to accept.
After dinner we came back to the room and watched the first episode of the new season of Better Call Saul.
Now, after a large and tasty breakfast, we are relaxing in our penthouse suite. I have a bit of work to do, and the GF is relaxing with a comic, and is generally looking better than he has in the past day or two.