X-Mas in Kathmandu
Still just hanging out in Kathmandu and even here where only some of the tourists are of the christian or related faiths it's hard to escape the pull of Christmas. I'm staying at a Buddhist Meditation Center and even here the monks gave us all free chocolate cake on Christmas eve and there were candy bars stuck to our doors with a note saying "Happy Christmas". It's quite funny at times.
I spent christmas eve dealing with a bit of a gastrointestinal disorder that had me on the toilet far more often than I cared for and I even broke my 13 year long run of not vomiting. The last time I threw up was I think 1993. Fastforward to Nepal, 2006 and halfway through watching a bootleg DVD copy of the movie "The Departed" in the buddhist meditation room here at our hotel I got up to use the bathroom and while I was there I had this growing suspicion, "I think I might actually throw up" which shortly after changed to "I totally am going to throw up" and throw up I did. It was not as bad as I remembered but I would be more than happy to go another 13 years without another episode like that.
Today, being Christmas, has been a bit better. No vomiting and things are feeling a bit more settled internally. I might even have an actual meal for dinner tonight instead of the few pringles and coconut biscuits I've eaten since lunch yesterday. In the christmas spirit I did get out to do a little gift shopping for the friends and family back home but mostly just hung around the hotel area reading.
Two days ago on the 23rd Casey and I went to a punk rock show here in Kathmandu. We missed the first band to play but we caught the entire set of the second band Rai Ko Ris. They were pretty good politically influenced hardcore punk stuff along the lines of a Crass of Ebullition Records type band. There was even a female playing guitar which I thought was great considering the culture here. There is a long ways to go still in terms of womens rights and gender equality. The third band was pretty more gimmicky drunk punk style stuff with 2 or 3 westerners and wigs and a santa clause costume etc. We hung around for a few songs of their set and halfway through a Dead Kennedies cover but we were less into that style and decided to take off. It was a cool thing to see a young punk scene in a place like Kathmandu. It's something I was not expecting to find. There is supposedly an "Infoshop" here in Kathmandu that I will have to go check out soon. Here's the website for the band Rai Ko Ris.
I spent christmas eve dealing with a bit of a gastrointestinal disorder that had me on the toilet far more often than I cared for and I even broke my 13 year long run of not vomiting. The last time I threw up was I think 1993. Fastforward to Nepal, 2006 and halfway through watching a bootleg DVD copy of the movie "The Departed" in the buddhist meditation room here at our hotel I got up to use the bathroom and while I was there I had this growing suspicion, "I think I might actually throw up" which shortly after changed to "I totally am going to throw up" and throw up I did. It was not as bad as I remembered but I would be more than happy to go another 13 years without another episode like that.
Today, being Christmas, has been a bit better. No vomiting and things are feeling a bit more settled internally. I might even have an actual meal for dinner tonight instead of the few pringles and coconut biscuits I've eaten since lunch yesterday. In the christmas spirit I did get out to do a little gift shopping for the friends and family back home but mostly just hung around the hotel area reading.
Two days ago on the 23rd Casey and I went to a punk rock show here in Kathmandu. We missed the first band to play but we caught the entire set of the second band Rai Ko Ris. They were pretty good politically influenced hardcore punk stuff along the lines of a Crass of Ebullition Records type band. There was even a female playing guitar which I thought was great considering the culture here. There is a long ways to go still in terms of womens rights and gender equality. The third band was pretty more gimmicky drunk punk style stuff with 2 or 3 westerners and wigs and a santa clause costume etc. We hung around for a few songs of their set and halfway through a Dead Kennedies cover but we were less into that style and decided to take off. It was a cool thing to see a young punk scene in a place like Kathmandu. It's something I was not expecting to find. There is supposedly an "Infoshop" here in Kathmandu that I will have to go check out soon. Here's the website for the band Rai Ko Ris.
3 Comments:
Happy Christmas. Hope your feeling better brotha.
dan
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
From Casey's Mom and Family
Hope you had a great day
It will be good to have you both home in a few weeks
Until then Enjoy!
Don't forget the struggle, don't forget the streets! Sounds like a good place to open up Contrast Records Far East... must be a surreal place to catch a show.
P.S. Good luck with the new streak. I'm betting you don't make it back before you break it again...stay safe.
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