I <3 Potala Hotel

Catie and Jon left yesterday to fly to the border, where they will take a bus to Darjeeling. It was so much fun having people to travel around with, so I'm a little bummed that they're gone. However, I promptly met a few new traveler friends and ran into some volunteering friends, so it's all good.

I'm staying at the Potala Hotel, which I find incredibly cute and endearing. All the staff know me and are super nice. They give me special rates because I am a volunteer. When Catie and Jon left, they gave them scarves, which is a Nepali tradition. However, most hotels don't give scarves to everyone.

The nice thing about Potala is, mostly because it's so cheap and central, it's filled with interesting backpacker types. Also, because I am on a budget, I always opt for the cheaper rooms with a shared hallway bathroom. Last night, I met an interesting young man there. There are two toilet rooms, both with doors, obviously. The sinks are outside in the hall. There are also two shower doors. Well, as I was coming out of one of the toilets, I saw (unavoidably, as the toilets are right across from each other) a young man peeing with the door wide open. He said "Sorry!" as I walked past. I thought "weird" and went to wash my hands. The guy struck up a conversation with me at the sinks when he arrived. He is from England and is traveling about South Asia. He was your general tall dark and handsome type, but he was really nice and not at all conceited. He invited me to meet up for dinner with him and some others he'd met. I agreed. We all met later, and it was quite an interesting bunch. There was a young American girl (about 25) who now lives in New Zealand, her NZ male partner, and her Floridian step-father, plus me and Max, the guy from Potala.

We went to literally the most expensive restaurant I've been to in all of Nepal. Luckily, I happened to not be that hungry, so I just got tea. Earlier, I'd run into a group of Israeli's I'd met in Pokhara. We went to get food at 4pm, which is why I wasn't hungry at this point. Anyway, this group I was with were very interesting. NOT your usual backpacker types whatsoever. They were clearly about to spend $20 each on their meals, which is unheard of in Nepal. The Step-Father character talked a bit about his bargaining techniques on "major purchases/big pieces" which he was planning to aquire. I hadn't met this type in Nepal yet, and it was interesting to see. But I've decided that there's no one in the world who can't teach me SOMETHING, and so as to learn as much as possible, I'd like to meet as many people as I can. Everyone was really nice to me, although the one thing that really bothered me was that the girl was extremely rude to the waiter. This irritated me even before I'd been in that position, but it pretty much infuriates me now. I would NOT have wanted to wait on this girl. Not that she'd ever be seen in the type of establishment that would hire me!

I left the dinner early because I was recieving a phone call from the Israel program. I'd actually really been enjoying the dinner conversation, and was mildly sorry to be cutting out early. I pulled out 50 rupees to cover my cup of tea, and Max, the guy from Potala, told me it was fine, he'd pay for it. I think he felt bad bringing me to such an expensive place and thought perhaps I had only ordered tea because I couldn't afford anything else. In any case, I refused, and put my money on the table. I agreed to meet him and some other friends of his later at a bar.

I went back to my hotel room and waited for the phone call. I was really worried that they wouldn't be able to get through or something. Promptly at 8:45, the phone rang. The interview was almost exhilarating in a way. It was straightforward and simple, but by the end I was so excited about the experience I'm going to do. The guy told me I should fill out the scholorship forms even though they were optional, as it was basically a guaranteed $2000. Since I'm planning to pay back my parents from the money I'm borrowing for this program, I thought it was a wise idea. I had half a mind to run down to the internet cafe and fill them out right away, but I didn't. Instead, I went out to the bar.

I got there at 9pm, and unsurprisingly, Max wasn't there yet. I decided to leave and get something to eat. I wasn't super hungry, so I just found a little hole in the wall and got some delish naan bread and lemon soda. At around 10.30 I went back to the bar. It was packed, but I didn't see Max. I got a cocktail, and chatted with the bartenders. (Today, I learned that Max had gone at 9.30 and left before 10.30, so we just missed each other). After that, I went to the bar under my hotel. A bunch of my friends were there and we had some pretty hilarious conversations. I hadn't gone out in a long time, and it was really fun. I wasn't so wild about the sketchy Nepali guys trying to buy me drinks, but they were friends of friends, so I felt safe. Around 11, the police came in. They weren't raiding the place, just observing. We talked to them a bit. Shortly after that, I opted to go to bed.

This morning, I ran into Max again. He and I were brushing our teeth at the same time. (This is how I'd learned we'd missed each other at the bar). When he'd finished, he went into his room, leaving the door open. When I'd finished, I walked past his room to mine and looked in to say bye. He was definitly naked, in the process of wrapping a towel around himself. I didn't see anything, but it was still really awkward. Who does that? Weird! I felt a little like an innocent prude-ish type, as I felt exceedingly embarassed by his nudity, regardless of the fact that he happened to be built like a greek god. (I'm not interested, obviously, but I can appreciate the asthetic beauty of a person, just like anyone else). In a bizarre coincidence, he checked out and the hotel moved me into his room. (Yesterday there were no singles, so I stayed in the triple, but paid the single rate).

This morning, I decided to sell back my sleeping pad. It was taking up much needed room in my bag, and I wasn't going to use it, probably ever. I went to several stores, but they said they weren't interested in buying it. This random Nepali guy came up to me on the street and offered to buy it. I had wanted to get 500 rupees for it, but he offered me 300 and I took it. He then tried to get me to go trekking with him or come join him for tea. It was super sketchy. I fell back on my usual lie (Sorry! I'm meeting a friend; she's waiting for me!) and walked away.

Anyway, that's my life today. Pretty freaking sweet. OH! Also, it's the start of Tihar. It's the second biggest religious festival, after Dasain. Last night, groups of Nepalis were dancing on the streets, and today, all the shops, restaurants, hotels, and houses are decked out in strings of marigolds and colorful lights. There are also tons of fireworks and bottle rockets, and every time I hear one, I jump about a mile. I'm glad I decided not to go trekking, but to stay around for the holiday. This Saturday, I'll leave for Lumbini and spend a few days there. And then I'm off! On more adventures!