Nepali Land
>> Sunday, May 29, 2011 –
Simple Things,
Travel
Just a quick story:
Today we went to buy phones. The city was extremely crowded—this happens when there are pedestrians, bikes, cars, motorbikes, cows, and dogs all sharing the same road. There are no road rules and no safe bets. At least that’s how it seems.
After wandering through the streets full of vendors we reached the small kiosk where we intended to buy our cell phones. Unfortunately, only two of us were prepared to buy them. Not because we were the only ones with money, but because we were the only ones with an extra passport picture, our passport, and a copy of our passport with us. Oh, and 2,575 Nepali rupees, which I’m pretty sure wasn’t a very good deal. As we proceeded with the purchase process (and OH was it a process) we discovered that in addition to the three above noted forms of identification they also needed our passport number, date of birth, hotel and contact info of our hotel, thumbprints of both our right and left thumbs, and the name of our Father. It took the better part of an hour.
They tried to take my right arm too but that’s where I drew the line. I’m right handed. I just need it.
We weren’t renting them. We were paying with cash. Seemed pretty much like an I-give-you-money-you-give-me-phone kind of exchange. But I suppose that is not the Nepali way. And so for the next 6 weeks, I suppose that’s not my way either. And dad, if you ever come to Nepal some family in a small electronic kiosk will already know who you are.
I promise more exciting things have happened since we’ve been here, so more later.
Oh, and speaking of Hills…they have some here. They call them the Himalayas. They are majestic and they take my breath away.
Today we went to buy phones. The city was extremely crowded—this happens when there are pedestrians, bikes, cars, motorbikes, cows, and dogs all sharing the same road. There are no road rules and no safe bets. At least that’s how it seems.
After wandering through the streets full of vendors we reached the small kiosk where we intended to buy our cell phones. Unfortunately, only two of us were prepared to buy them. Not because we were the only ones with money, but because we were the only ones with an extra passport picture, our passport, and a copy of our passport with us. Oh, and 2,575 Nepali rupees, which I’m pretty sure wasn’t a very good deal. As we proceeded with the purchase process (and OH was it a process) we discovered that in addition to the three above noted forms of identification they also needed our passport number, date of birth, hotel and contact info of our hotel, thumbprints of both our right and left thumbs, and the name of our Father. It took the better part of an hour.
They tried to take my right arm too but that’s where I drew the line. I’m right handed. I just need it.
We weren’t renting them. We were paying with cash. Seemed pretty much like an I-give-you-money-you-give-me-phone kind of exchange. But I suppose that is not the Nepali way. And so for the next 6 weeks, I suppose that’s not my way either. And dad, if you ever come to Nepal some family in a small electronic kiosk will already know who you are.
I promise more exciting things have happened since we’ve been here, so more later.
Oh, and speaking of Hills…they have some here. They call them the Himalayas. They are majestic and they take my breath away.
