Prince of Thamel

I haven't posted in awhile because it was our weekend. Internet is very hard to find / most places still use dial-up/ in Kathmandu when I am not at work.

Anyways, Friday I went out with a guy from work, the "James Dean" sort of one. He's pretty awesome, he wears a gold chain, rhinestone studs in both ears, streaks his gelled hair with orange dye, and drives a motorcycle (actually most people here do- they are "motorbikes" which seem to be a mix between a motorcycle and a mo-ped.) "V" is his name.

One of his best friends is who they call the "Prince of Thamel." (Thamel being the happening, night-lifey tourist district) Together, these two with another man called "Santos" run the tourism board for Thamel, Lainchour, Lazimpat, etc. So, apparently - it took awhile to figure this out- but they pretty much mob-style run Thamel, but in a philanthropic way. I know that seems like an oxymoron, but what I mean is that these boys (in their early thirties) are way above the police in the social hierarchy. They do the law-enforcing, or rather they have say as to what cases the law can be enforced. But at the same time, they do it in a manner that aims to mobilize the "raggy" nepalese (their name not mine) to get jobs, find houses, just get off the streets in general etc. Not getting them in trouble for crime that is really based on starvation... I don't really know how to explain it. It seems to be a complicated situation that's way over my head- especially because I am not Nepalese. A Nepalese who went to Sewanee once described Nepal bureaucracy as "one of those ugly creatures in A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." I like that image...

Anyways, point being, these are pretty awesome buddies to have around. We went to a few bars, and it was pretty fun. I rode in my first rickshaw, which is the Kathmandu version of the Horse and Buggy in Central Park. Actually that's helarious. Google image search "rickshaw nepal". They are pretty filthy little bikes driven by a man in front with a tiny seat on the back over 2 wheels where two people can fit. I guess with an open mind they could be quite romantic.... Usually they have some sort of very dingy fake flowers hanging from the front, and old strings of beads hanging from the back. Actually I am going to take a photo and post it soon. They are awesome.