"Taxi to Thamel? 400 rs." "No. 150." "For you, special price- 300." "150"."...okay 200."

I am officially fairly confident in the value of things here. And I am feeling extremely confident in my ability to barter. The men like me because I'm white, female, and I am nice to them and I think they expect me to be easy to take advantage of, and then they get really confused when I am adamant in my price (and I'm stubborn and never afraid to just not buy something) and very stern. Yay!

Okay, this is what the majority of shops (including pharmacies, phone stores, etc.) look like. The little packets hanging are not condoms, which is what most of us thought in India where they were on every roadside vendor (of which there where many...), but in fact candy.

So, I went back to the doctor. After 9 blood tests, they established that I'm not pregnant, I don't have HIV, and I don't have any of the Heps. So that's good. Basically, I'm getting better, just really really slowly. Oh, my liver is also inflamed, but apparently that's no big deal.

So then PD and I went shopping. While in the taxi, I saw these:

Yep. In case you aren't aware, there has been a Maoist group that has been waging guerrilla warfare against the Nepali monarchy for 15 years, which won the popular election last year, I believe, so they are currently the dominant power after forcing the King to step down.

So, we went shopping and I bought more presents. Once again, PD helped prove that one can get much much better prices with a local around. Plus I think he was telling them to help him out with me, because when he would barter with them his voice got kind of soft and the kind of tone you'd expect in such a situation, and he would not towards me sometimes. Hey, whatever works.

I also bought a sari. I was just debating it, but I mentioned it to him and he decided that I had to have one. So we went and got it for pretty cheap, actually. He then decided I absolutely had to wear it then, so I did (mostly because I wanted the girl to help me put it on so that I could see how it was done). I realized a little later that it was a wedding sari, but it's a cheap one, so it's not as elaborate and showy as many are. He, having come from work, was wearing a suit, so everyone we passed on the way back to a taxi (which was many, many people) thought we were getting married and offered congratulations.


Last night the power went out and, being bored, I decided to wrap it myself. I'd say I did well! I even pleated effectively! Of course, it helps that I had softened it up. Being fairly cheap and new, it was pretty rough and stiff. I rinsed it a million times (partially also in order to get out the excess dye, of which there was plenty) and washed it twice and hung it out to dry twice, and it finally worked! I think I got the majority of excess dye and I softened it quite a bit.

I stayed bored, so I then decided to take pictures.

Also, I bought myself a ring! It took forever and many many shops to find, but I finally succeeded with PD's help. It says "om mani padme hum" in Tibetan (which is what made it so hard to find) and is sterling silver. Also, the middle part spins!

Om Mani Padme Hum means "the jewel is in the lotus." It is a mantra that is on all prayer wheels and is the most well-known Buddhist mantra. Oh, and a mantra is like a prayer, which one says, sends out into the universe by spinning an engraved prayer wheel, or by hanging painted prayer flags that are blown by the wind, for the benefit of all sentient beings.
The jewel is in the lotus can be interpreted as the idea that the lotus flower, which begins in the muck at the bottom of a pond and grows to be clean and pure above the water, is representative of all sentient beings, as they have the ability to start from any level of life, karma, beliefs, etc. and achieve true understanding of the nature of the universe.

Basically, the idea is that saying the mantra with the true intention of benefiting all sentient beings is like praying for them. It doesn't mean you have to be a Buddhist; it simply means that you are raising your thoughts to all other beings to help them achieve an end to suffering.

My mom asked me whether or not I consider myself a Buddhist, for which I am sure one could make a case, considering my writing. Here's the answer:
I am not a Buddhist in the strict sense by which it will be considered by most non-Buddhists. I wondered, before this trip began, if I would go home and expound upon the spiritual revelations I had while abroad and how I found inspiration in Buddhism through the various pilgrimage sites I would visit. Before I came, I followed Buddhist philosophy of compassion, karmic retribution for one's actions, non-violence, and ignorance leading to suffering, and I continue to do so now. However, I have visited a number of pilgrimage sites (though, to be fair, none of the most revered, which are in parts of India I did not visit), and I never felt truly inspired or particularly enthralled with them.
However, the most touched I have ever felt, spiritually speaking, was receiving a blessing from a high lama, here in Kathmandu and receiving a blessing from Geshe Dorjee la at home. I think it is simply difficult for a Westerner to conceive the levity of the various myths and deities and images.
But the fact is, were I forced to align myself with a faith, I would align claim Buddhism over Christianity without any hesitation. I am not Buddhist, but I have more respect for a faith which excludes no one, is completely non-violent and therefore is never the basis for wars, promotes questioning, researching, and debating the faith itself and everything about it and included in it, and says that every sentient being is in charge of their own fate through their actions and, more importantly, their intentions, without the promise of being saved by an outside entity.
Again, if you have questions, please let me know!

To answer a few more questions from my parents:
No, I have not had mystery meat. In Nepal and India, there are next to no regulations on meat, so it is generally a very big risk to order any meat. However, there are restaurants that have meat shipped from Europe, most often, which guarantees the safety. For this reason, I am not entirely vegetarian and have had chicken and beef while in Kathmandu.

Toilet paper here is generally very rough and resembles streamers in both texture and form. It is fairly difficult to find in both India and Nepal, though Kathmandu has a reasonably large population of Westerners who refuse the water and hand method.

The most common religions are Buddhism and Hinduism, though there are also many Muslims.

There are many stray dogs here, which I find terribly sad. This is one of the issues that pushes me away from the more devout Buddhists here. It kills me to see them circumambulating the stupa (the path is lined with prayer wheels and they recite mantras as they go) and stepping over or around dogs that are starving. There is also a disease here that I have never seen or heard of; basically, the dog's intestines start coming out, which eventually kills them. I have seen so many dogs that are about to die and some that are dead already, just ignored for a while.
I don't understand those who say they have compassion for all sentient beings, yet refuse to help certain forms. This is, of course, not universally true, as I have often seen healthy, happy dogs hanging around monasteries where they are likely to get scraps. In answer to the initial question, they are allowed inside the monastery courtyard, but they never attempt to go into temples as they have curtains hung over doors and dogs here know better.

Kathmandu as fiction is a topic for another entry, I believe. Suffice it to say that, as one of the poorest countries in the world, it is impossible that any city could be as imagined by a Westerner, particularly one with such a great population.
Oh, and as for altitude: