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Restaurant review (and flashback): Hotel Utse, Kathmandu 13 October 2009 10:33 am

Posted by Tracy in : Kathmandu,nepal,pictures,restaurants,reviews,school,travel,writing , View Comments

Hey party people, remember how I was in Nepal two years ago? Yeah, me too. Today I’m rocking a bit of a head cold, so I’m posting another reworking from last year’s food writing class, this piece was written for the travel writing assignment. Professor Sax was particularly entertained by the lede, and I’m still pretty proud of it myself. I’ve updated this version to correct some typos, and incorporate a few of her suggestions, as well as links and pictures.

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If you eat only one meal in Kathmandu, make reservations for dinner at Krishnarpan, the restaurant at Dwarika’s Hotel, rightly recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its celebration of Nepalese art, architecture, and culture, including food. But if you have more opportunities to eat in the capital of Nepal — and I hope you do — try the restaurant at the Hotel Utse, on the outskirts of the Thamel tourist district.

Welcome to Thamel
Hustling-bustling Thamel. (more…)

Adventures in drinking: Tracy versus Tongba 13 November 2008 12:49 pm

Posted by Tracy in : Kathmandu,Morning Glory,books,friends,nepal,pictures,travel , View Comments

When my friend Matthew heard that I was going to Nepal, he told me, “You’ve got to try millet beer.” During our trek, we were strongly advised to drink only what our kitchen crew had boiled for us, or bottled beverages — nothing locally brewed, no matter how fresh. But once we got back to Kathmandu…

For Matthew.   Closeup on the tongba.

Final score: Tracy 1, Tongba many. Here’s what I wrote in my journal entry on 2 November 2007, in Kathmandu, illustrated with photos by me and my brother Piett. (more…)

Nepal picture mania, part 2 4 December 2007 6:40 am

Posted by Tracy in : Kathmandu,agriculture,eating,nepal,pictures,travel , View Comments

So last time I got a little distracted by the deliciousness of momos thanks to a random fast food place in Kathmandu, but today’s pictures are pretty straight-up travelogue. First, a few notes about flying in Nepal: it’s all about patience. A few days of uncooperative weather can wreak serious havoc, and we were pretty lucky in that regard — only a few hours worth of flights had been cancelled and rescheduled to October 14. Still, this was enough to overload pretty much the entire domestic terminal at Kathmandu airport: ticket counters, security, and above all the seating area where we waited our turn to check in. Behold the awesomeness of Kathmandu airport security theater:

Just part of our gear pile.

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Another picture post, this time with flashback to Nepal! 28 November 2007 10:17 am

Posted by Tracy in : Kathmandu,garden,nepal,pictures,tea,travel , View Comments

I keep having these weird moments when I realize where I was one month ago — today it’s Mani Rimdu in Tengboche, for which my automagical post predicted. “Picture me taking notes furiously, till my hand cramps up with the effort” and was exactly right on. The masked dances alone take up pages 14-22 of the second paper journal I ended up filling on the trip (eventually I had to start a third) and then there’s three or four more pages of other writing for that day. It was a doozy.

So this morning as I bravely sipped my first cup of the milk tea I bought in Kathmandu (so strong it actually demands milk and even sugar), remembering Tengboche got me motivated to wrangle a few more Nepal trip photos, this time from the morning before we left on our trek, October 14. (more…)

Monkey Monday: now with actual monkeys! 19 November 2007 7:34 am

Posted by Tracy in : America's Test Kitchen,Kathmandu,monkeys,nepal,pictures,seasonality,travel,vegetarian , View Comments

See? On the roof of the Patan Museum, even:

Monkey! On the roof of the Patan Museum

Nepalis were always pretty entertained by how excited we Western tourists got whenever we saw monkeys, except when they were busy warning us not to get too close. Apparently monkeys have been known to snatch purses, but that’s nothing compared to the trouble caused by monkey bites, or so I’m told. (New Delhi’s monkey trouble even made the New York Times last week!) We were all pretty happy to have avoided first-hand experience of all that. Anyway, (more…)