December 4, Sunday: I took a walkabout and did some shopping.

I am in Kathmandu for a few more days. I have an appointment at the Fulbright Nepal office on Tuesday morning. According to Google maps, their office is only 1.2 miles away from my Inn, so today I thought I would see if I could get there walking. The big Bhat Bhateni department store (like a vertically stacked Super Walmart) is just this side of the Fulbright office, so I thought I could do some shopping during my walkabout. 

I can see the Bhat Bhatani store from my Inn room's window. It looks farther than a mile.

I also saw this Nepali garbage truck from my window. Two guys were walking alongside and tossing trash bags into the truck.

Most of my walk looked like this. I was walking along a major roadway: the "Ring Road," which is a loop around Kathmandu. In this image, that roadway is above and to the right.

This isn't a great photo, but I saw this guy pedaling this tricycle along the Ring Road with a huge load on the back.

I walked past all sorts of shops: motorcycle repair, butcher, fish monger, pharmacy, clothing, and lots of restaurants. This menu was outside of one restaurant. It looked unusual.

As I approached the Bhat Bhateni, I looked back and could see my lodge -- just to the right of the buildings under repair with the green coverings. Yes it was a significant walk. This photo is looking at the Ring Road. Dallas has several "Ring Roads": Loop 12 and I-635, but they are nothing like the Kathmandu Ring Road. Maybe I need to explain more clearly about Nepali traffic: I have not yet seen a single traffic light! And the roads are all in incredibly poor condition -- huge potholes and many roads are entirely dirt. For example, the last few blocks of roadway to my Inn are all dirt/gravel.

At the Bhat Bhateni, I first toured the grocery store floor. Grocery stores seem to look pretty similar everywhere.

Surprisingly, The store has a Christmas display! And the store was playing Christmas Music! It is weird to hear Jingle Bells and other familiar tunes sung in another language. 

I even found a FRUITCAKE! But I think this may be a year-round item and not just a seasonal cake.

One of my laptop's charging cables died, but I was able to find a replacement on one of the upper floors of Bhat Bhateni. I also purchased 2 sweatshirts and a pair of "longjohns." Even though one sweatshirt was 2XL, when I got home I found it was too small. And the longjohns are too small too. I may try again on Tuesday on my return walk from the Fulbright office.

I also bought a new cap -- featuring the Nepal flag.