We awoke at 8:30 am. Both of us had slept soundly without waking once. We ate breakfast in our guesthouse’s restaurant. I ordered the banana pancake, two fried eggs, and milk tea while Jonny asked for banana porridge, hot milk, and scrambled eggs. It all came to about 590 and it was way too much food for both of us. I think we have not quite yet realized how cheap it is here, so we assumed that we needed to order more items thinking that the portions would be small.
After breakfast, we chatted with Ram. He gave us some advice about how we will be heckled by some merchants and to avoid those people. He told us that he was always there for advice on making purchases, and that he could help us with any requests. He continued to tell us that we are family and that Stupa Guestuse was our second home. He is so kind and gracious. It is nice to be hosted by someone so honest and genuine!
Next, we needed coffee. Himalayan Java was highly recommended, so we headed there. It wasn’t too far from our guesthouse, maybe 15 minutes, and it was situated on the second floor. Jonny ordered an americano and I a double espresso with equal parts water. Wow, was the coffee wonderful there! My drink was the best espresso I have had in a very long time. I am sorry Korea, but you could never quite cut it when it came to a good espresso. This was quality in a cup and definitely a place to revisit. The coffee shop also offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and highly raved about deserts. It is quite a large space with plenty of comfortable seating and larger tables for those with laptops with each spot offering an outlet. The servers come to you for your order and are very professional with great English. There are books for sale in one of the corners, and the place also offers coffee making classes. I am in love!
Our next stop was the ‘Garden of Dreams’. The entry fee is 200 Nepalese rupees and in my opinion, worth it. Come with a book or with the readiness to simply relax and listen to the different sounds you will be exposed to there. The garden is absolutely lovely. Chipmunks are scampering everywhere. Bright orange fish glide through the man-made pools. There is a terraced grass seating area overlooking an outdoor theater. There, you can relax on thick mats with your back resting on a round cushion. We did that for a good half hour, listening to a group of young kids chasing the chipmunks, and the soft sound of water bubbling away in the ponds. I want to go back there with my book, it certainly is my kind of place.
We left after feeling some light rain drops and worried that it would change into something heavier. We needed to buy some odd items like soap and ‘lady products’, so we found a convenience store which had it all. We also thought we needed an adapter, but later realized that our Korean adapter works just fine here. Oh well, 80 cents down the drain….
Already despite it being only about 1:30 pm, we felt drained. We headed back to our guesthouse (checked out the view from the roof quickly which was better than I’d hoped), I took a cold shower, then we went back down and ate a quick soup lunch. Jonny tried a buffalo meat soup and I had a simple veggie soup with a plain lassi. Only about 300, so cheap! Then we went back to our room for a good ol’ snooze.
Later that evening we went out for some Momos at a place called Lian something….We ordered the chilli buff fried momos which were saucy, slightly spicy, and yummy! There were a little greasy and too saucy for my taste, but worth a try anyhow. I think the steamed original momo would be more of my thing, so that is on my list of things to try soon. After finishing, we actually went back to Himalayan Java for desert and tea. We both ordered a Nepali tea, which is a black tea with milk, plus a brownie to share. Oh…my….goodness was their brownies there ever good! They heat them up for you before serving so it comes out warm and slightly crunchy on the outside. It was sweet rich, and full of little nut pieces and something else that tasted like toffee bits. It was a dream on a plate, and the unsweetened tea was a perfect accompaniment. We love that coffee shop, and I have a sneaky suspicion that we will find ourselves there again during our time in Thamel.
Now we are back in our guesthouse, cozy and ready to watch the rest of our TV show, ‘Mr. Robot’, which has slowly been uploading while I write this blog. It has been a wonderful day in Kathmandu and tomorrow I expect more great experiences to come.
