Tiger Balm, Bracelet, Marijuana?

Hymalayas at breakfast: I went to the top of Helena’s today. This is another restaurant that I frequent, but have not given it due credit. It is a great place where I often go early in the morning to sit in the roof top café. I am not sure how many flights of steps I have to travel to get up there, but it is always worth every step. From my vantage point atop one of the tallest buildings in Thamel (the part of Kathmandu where I am staying) I could see forever. With the air being particularly clean and the skies amazingly clear I was able to eat my breakfast looking at the Himalayas in the distance. It was quite amazing. I was mistakenly told by one of the waiters that one of the mountains I could see was Everest. I was able to get clarification on that layer in the day.

Tiger Balm: Upon entering the Thamel are of Kathmandu, likely the first person you will encounter will be someone selling something. They are everywhere. I could likely predict with a high percentage of accuracy that the first thing offered would be tiger balm, and when you politely tell him that you are not interested in tiger balm, he will reach into his pocket and pull out a wire contraption that, quite honesty, I have not taken the time to figure out what it is. It starts out as a flat labyrinth of wires with an occasional bead here and there, and then magically, with one tug on a wire, it opens up into a basket, then a bracelet….and so on. (It will be my goal today to find out exactly what the contraption is…..it will be painful, and I may end up having to buy the damn thing, but I will take one for the team to provide you with accurate information). I digress…back to the salesmen that inundate Thamel. After you have said “no” twenty-seven times to the tiger balm and then also to the magical bracelet….someone will walk up behind you and whisper in your ear “hash, marijuana…smoke?” Their voices are almost musical and seducing and it is done in such a surreptitious manner that you might be left wondering if you are hearing voices in your head…… or, if the message were different, if perhaps the voice was from on high. On many occasions I have turned around to see who it was whispering in my ear only to find the street behind me in its normal state of hustle and bustle, with no obvious whisperer close behind. I did, however, catch one intentionally last week during Tihar. After much convincing that I did not, in fact, want hash or marijuana, I asked him if he had any fireworks or if he knew where I could buy some. He looked at me as if aghast, and said “no way man, those illegal” …….but I have hash. The irony of that exchange gave me something to laugh about for hours. (fyi, drugs are very illegal in Nepal, and many foreigners sit in Nepali prisons for drug possession charges)

Tactical Error: I had decided prior to arriving that I would not shave while in Nepal. It is not often that I have the luxury of not having to shave everyday. After two weeks, it got to be intolerable. Not only was it incredibly itchy, but I found myself pulling and twisting incessantly. So I decided to shave it off. What a mistake! Let me interject quickly here that the longer I have been in Thamel the less I get pestered by all the street salesmen. I assumed that it was because they recognized me after seeing me day after day. But no……I have figured out their tactic…..The morning after I shaved I walked out on to the street and I was nearly trampled by salespeople offering me tiger balm, treks, various jewelry etc… It was the lack of the beard. I looked too clean shave and well kempt to have been in Kathmandu for any period of time. So, I have not shaved again, nor do I comb my hair in the mornings….and it makes all the difference.