A Room with a View

This post will let the pictures do the talking.

The important thing about moving to a new place and creating a new home is, well, finding a home. The central factor to finding a good home is generally the same around the world: location location location. And Kathmandu --technically, Patan, across the river where I'm living --is no exception. With an infusion of international organizations and UN scale up in the last 5 years, housing prices have shot up faster than your blood pressure when negotiating a decent taxi fare. But fear not, as there is an endless supply of real estate 'agents' trolling the lanes and neighborhoods who can sniff out a homeless expat from a mile away and are creepily eager to provide their "support". I've been no exception to grabbing on to any potential house leads, eagerly anticipating every appointment with the hopeful glow of a giddy teenage girl on her first date. And the scary thing is, the questions about my potential house have been similar to those days back in high school, while Duran Duran crooned on about being hungry like a wolf or A Flock of  Seagulls lamented some kind of space age love song (what was that song about, anyway?) Questions such as : is this going to be good? Will it lead to a second date? How much is this going to cost? What comes with it? Other wonderings include what secrets you might find out later, after you've already committed and how to get out if things go poorly. Not to mention all that maintenance that comes with both a house and a relationship.Maybe we've all been preparing for househunting for a while now...

But luckily there is such a thing as temporary housing to take the edge of all that angst. And its even better when it comes with a lovely view and fresh air. ....

As can be seen, Patan and Kathmandu are surrounded by a ring of mountains and hills...the Kathmandu Valley hugs close the now several million inhabitants who squeeze themselves into any corner. Not to be outdone, these hills also hold lots of little respite hiking and relaxation points for all those folks who gets stressed out every day by this (ignore the chatter in the car)"This" being the lack of any traffic lights in the entire valley.

or this:

Personally, I'm finding that the best approach is to draw on those clever Romans: When in Nepal, do as the Nepalis do and leave road driving to the experts: the rickdraw drivers. This is the best way to check things out without losing your mind or your way:

Now, if the househunting thing really gets you down, you can always take a break and just get out. As in, out of the city. Out of the area. And into the far west of Nepal, with views that make everything seem better:

Just Exhale.