We are planning to move house into central Kathmandu at the end of this month. It's been pleasant living in the hills of Godawari but we are very isolated as the only foreigners for miles around and the daily 20km trip in and out to Kathmandu has become quite a chore. Oh, and it gets bitterly cold here in the winter in a house that, typically for Nepal, has no central heating.
A couple of months ago we found a suitable house. It's a little old fashioned but it had the attraction of being a few minutes walk from one of our favourite watering holes. And it had an idyllic secluded garden that gave a lovely sense of peace perched high above hectic, noisy, polluted Kathmandu. I went to the house last month with Bev and the owner to discuss what works needed to be done in advance of the move. Surveying the garden, the owner pointed out a rogue tree which had to be removed as its roots were undermining a wall. That was of course fine with us but within my earshot I heard Bev confirming with him no less than three times that the other mature trees would be spared. He agreed to that and we left quite happily.
Last week Bev returned to the house to find the trees had been chopped down. Horrified she challenged the owner as to why he'd broken his promise. He answered "Oh, I thought you'd like a nice panoramic view of Kathmandu". Bev protested that this was exactly what we didn't want but of course it is now too late. Perhaps if the owner had told the truth he might have said that he just wanted the firewood.
You come across this kind of behaviour all too commonly in Nepal. People say yes, yes and then run on their own agenda often taking the most bizarre jaw-droppingly stupid decisions. It leaves you feeling at times like you're surrounded by drunks whose irrationality goes a long way towards making life miserable and risks turning you into the horrible expat.
