Elderley and differentlyable...

So a busy few days. After a week of trying to find a painter who was free and fairly short notice,  Shanta (pronounced Santa, which really never ceases to be pleasing) the local handy man, rang to say he had finally found a painter who was free today to look at the birth centre. A day of going back and forth on his motorbike to meet the painter, get paint/materials and clean the place in preparation and then back the next day to check the painting was all going well. I haven't seen the finished job yet as I had promised Anna a day out on the Saturday and have been feeling a bit unwell so fingers crossed it looks ok!

Off to the cinema in the evening to see the one western film on,  Monuments Men, which was entirely similar to going to the cinema in the UK apart from the fact that every time somebody was depicted smoking the message 'SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO YOUR HEALTH' came up at the bottom of the screen. There was also the interval, at which point the film was abruptly terminated and we were treated to adverts for steel, paint and hair products. As it was a rather slow film anyway this interruption did nothing to aid concentration. :-)

The next day I was feeling decidedly worse so me and Anna got a taxi to 1905 - farmers market and expat heaven - where I bought an indecent amount of tea and ate a range of yummy food in the sunshine. Following this strenuous activity we went to Garden of Dreams where we did what we do best - napping in the sunshine. An oasis of green in the middle of city, Garden of Dreams was originally built as a private garden in 1920 but was restored in cooperation with the Austrian govenment and opened to the public between 2000-2007. It appears to be a hang out for Nepali couples, made notable by the fact that I have hardly ever seen couples together in Kathmandu. After interrupting their romantic seclusion by taking a turn around the gardens we sat on the mats (which are provided free of charge), read our books and watched a toddler do her best to drown herself in the water feature. Following an impressive and dramatic face plant into the water her mum took off all her clothes and she sat naked in the sun to dry off, at which point a group of teenagers delightedly took photo's. The attitude towards children in Nepal and Thailand appears different to the UK as in both places I have seen locals take photos of other peoples kids without reserve. In a way its rather nice as you realise what negative connotations frame our interactions with children in the UK. Not without reason of course but nevertheless to observe such innocent enjoyment of the children felt refreshing.

We finished our day out with a trip to the Narayanhity Royal Palace where the late Royal family lived until the mass shootings in 2001. 1960's/70's glamour presides alongside occasional Nepali style opulence but the overall style is fairly muted by western standards. Lest you become weary on your way round there are seating areas signed 'Elderley and differentlyable'. As you get to the end of the tour there are signs saying 'Way to the massacre site' and guides you to the area where the shootings took place. The entire building was demolished following the shootings with printed signs showing where each member was shot, leaving me feeling uncertain as to whether it was embarrassingly crude and voyeuristic or eerily respectful. Interestingly, many nepali's are sceptical of the official story that Prince Dipendra carried out the killings with rumours of conspiracy theories involving the Indian intelligence agency or American CIA. There has also been speculation that King Gyanendra was involved in the murders so that he could assume the throne himself.