Where We Be
| The walled Garden of Dreams feels a hundred miles away from the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu |
| A koi pond sits at the center of the garden |
| This elegant formal garden with an Asian feel is set in a secluded corner |
| One of our best meals of the trip |
| Our refuge during the one-week strike was the Sacred Valley Inn |
| After May 2 this is what the main streets in Thamel looked like. Thamel is Kathmandu's main tourist hub and you'll rarely see it this deserted. |
| Hotel restaurants were permitted to continue feeding guests even during the strike, although the choice of food dwindled as fresh food became scarce |
| We got to know the cooks and wait staff at Sacred Valley pretty well |
| This 2nd floor patio became our go-to happy hour hangout |
| Kaiser Cafe is set in this elegant building and offers fine patio dining |
| A bowl filled with pink and purple flowers sits on a wooden table as the sole centerpiece of a room |
| Meanwhile, the Maoists (seen marching here) were staging protests and preparing for a general strike |
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| Garden of Dreams -- Kathmandu, Nepal |
We walked from our Sacred Valley Inn, located
in the tourist-central Thamel district, to the
nearby Garden of Dreams. This lovely walled
garden is filled with statues, koi ponds, flowers,
and lounging mats on the grass. Some people
spend the whole day reading and relaxing here.
We only had a short time as the sun set but it
was beautiful. After touring the gardens we ate
at Kaiser Cafe on the premises and had one of
our best meals of the trip: crepes forestiere
and grilled vegetable shish kebab over rice.
The Garden -- and every other business and
form of transport nationwide -- closed the next
day, May 2, as part of a Maoist strike. The strike
ended up lasting an entire week, putting a
serious dent in our plans. Special tourist-only
buses traveled to and from the airport, but that
was it -- you couldn't get anywhere else in the
country -- so we mostly stayed put and watched
the huge street protests on TV. After the first
day, shops were allowed to open from 6 to 8 pm
for "essential provisioning," and during that
two-hour window the Thamel district would
come alive again. Most shops would open, as
who's to say a pashmina shawl isn't an essential
supply? To keep from going stir-crazy, we took
walks around the block and ate at nearby cafes.
in the tourist-central Thamel district, to the
nearby Garden of Dreams. This lovely walled
garden is filled with statues, koi ponds, flowers,
and lounging mats on the grass. Some people
spend the whole day reading and relaxing here.
We only had a short time as the sun set but it
was beautiful. After touring the gardens we ate
at Kaiser Cafe on the premises and had one of
our best meals of the trip: crepes forestiere
and grilled vegetable shish kebab over rice.
The Garden -- and every other business and
form of transport nationwide -- closed the next
day, May 2, as part of a Maoist strike. The strike
ended up lasting an entire week, putting a
serious dent in our plans. Special tourist-only
buses traveled to and from the airport, but that
was it -- you couldn't get anywhere else in the
country -- so we mostly stayed put and watched
the huge street protests on TV. After the first
day, shops were allowed to open from 6 to 8 pm
for "essential provisioning," and during that
two-hour window the Thamel district would
come alive again. Most shops would open, as
who's to say a pashmina shawl isn't an essential
supply? To keep from going stir-crazy, we took
walks around the block and ate at nearby cafes.
| This could have been a nice refuge from the strike -- except it was closed along with everything else |
