17 de noviembre

last day in kathmandu (again?). i sit in durbar square drinking some chai while a shoe-wallah repairs the soles of my huaraches, which he praises for their craftmanship. they don't make sandals like that in nepal anymore, he says, they just buy cheap ones from china.
the early morning chai is an important social ritual, and all kinds of people gather round the chai-wallah before work, or school, or whatever, for one or two cups of the strong, thick, sweet liquid. young kids, boys and girls in school uniforms, ladies in their saris, old men with walking sticks and their nepali caps, young urban proffessionals in suits or simple western clothes, reading newspapers in both nepali and english, chatting, or simply basking in the first sun. the sunlit days are as warm as ever, but the nights are getting colder and colder, sort of like a mexico city winter.

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nepal is a chess-playing nation. all over kathmandu men gather around chessboards, playing or watching others play, discussing the moves over endless glasses of chai. they sit on very low wicker stools and take turns at playing the winner; i find it a healthy symptom of civilization (that's the kind of remark dario would make). it's a pity you don't see women playing, but its not surprising really since women seldom like to play games which involve too much thinking (except for hungarian women). and, furthermore, i don't think women would play chess with men in nepal even if they liked playing it since there is a very clear-cut separation of social roles and activities according to gender, not so much as in india, but still very evident.
one thing that very specifically pisses me off is that when you go to a bar or nightclub the only women are foreigners, hunted-down avidly as prey by under-sexed local men, whereas the local girls are well locked-up at home. it is not fair, to say the least. not for them. not for us.