My Night as an American (13/09/08)

So last night was my roommate Libby’s last night in Nepal. I really like Libby and will definitely miss her in the house. Last night was almost my second experience in Thamel. Still crazy (if not crazier than the last time I went) and still crowded with foreigners, street kids, and aggressive shopkeepers who think a “Hello American!” is enough to get you to buy things from them.

We ate at Or2K for dinner with my classmate and only other Heller person in Nepal Elle. Or2K (I have no clue as to what the name is for or means) is a popular Israeli restaurant with the local foreigner crowd. The place is very hippie with low tables and floor pillows and cushions to sit on. You’re always bound to see at least 3 people with dreads, 1 Che shirt, 1 Bob Marley shirt, and the other person is probably wearing something light and flow-y in linen. The food’s good and at least gives me a place to get pretty good hummus and pita, baba ganoush, and falafel.

After dinner, the three of us went to Tomaz to meet up with the other roomies, Tom (the neighbor), and some other friends. Tomaz. How to describe this place. It’s got a South Beach-y feel with neon, long billowy bright white curtains, dim (I mean, DIM) lighting, and loud music playing (anything from Fergie to techno/house and we even heard The Offspring’s “Pretty Fly for a White Guy”… yup, anything.). So with the South Beach-y feel, throw in some random Hindu religious art and sculpture, some jewel tone interiors, and you’ve got a pseudo-swanky bar for the young hipster Nepali crowd to mix with the foreigners that are bound to find their way there.

What did we find out? Their long island iced teas are strong, their other drinks taste like a juice box, and they don’t understand the concept of straight liquor shots. They have shooters (kamikaze and other girly like shots), but ask for Smirnoff Red vodka shots and they bring it to you in big tumbler glasses and ask you if you want ice. Also, when you order a drink, say you order the long island iced tea… they say, “how many?” Not “how many” like how many does your party want… but how many do you think you can hold right now at this very second. Our waiter didn’t really quite understand that we only wanted one drink at a time. Then again he asked me a couple of times why I don’t want to order snacks (though other people in the party did).

And then the impromptu dancing started. So there’s a new minister in power in KTM who has decided that places need to shut down at 10. So this includes the shower bars (actual bars where showers set up and girls dressed in bikinis dance around… though not always IN the shower. Obviously these places are also fronts for prostitution rings – keep in mind, I’ve only heard about shower bars from locals and other westerners and never want to experience them for myself), bars, dance clubs, and regular restaurants. So we decided that Tomaz needed a dance floor… as we proceeded to dance in the little space by the DJ.

So there’s like what, 7 girls? Plus Tom. Of course some random guy from Oregon who just finished law school and is on his last hurrah until joining the wonderously boring and long hour days and weeks at the public defender’s office would join us. Weird. Luckily, maybe he got the hint from Libby and me… or it could have been the constant elbow in the side from Tom, but the random guy from Oregon left without a word.

Anyway, this morning, Libby, Tom and I ate breakfast overlooking Patan Durbar Square (very cool, quiet, and not like the rest of KTM). And then Libby left this afternoon for Dhaka. :( I spent the rest of the day moving into her room… there’s always turnover at Sushil Villa they say. Still it’s kind of sad. It was great hanging out with Libby and finding out we’re alike in some ways. Wonder how much Dhaka flights are? I’ve never been to Bangladesh.