The sun was setting over the Himalayan range across the valley. From
this distance the snowcapped mountains appeared peaceful, but the reality up
there would be different, I mentioned to my friends Roland and Madeleine
sitting next to me enjoying their drinks and some succulent momos on the
terrace. These were the highest mountains in the world, with several peaks reaching
up to more than 7,000 meters above sea level. Many climbers had perished in the
violent blizzards, sudden storms and avalanches during their attempts to the
summit. Mount Everest (8,848 m) shone bright between peaks that appeared much
larger than this highest of them all in the distance. Here in Nagarkot, away
from the noise and pollution of Kathmandu valley, there was true peacefulness.
It was wonderful to sit down and relax with good old friends who recently
relocated to Kathmandu from Cairo.
I had spent the week in Kathmandu attending the Evaluation Conclave
organized by the South Asian Community of Evaluators, a gathering of more than
300 evaluation professionals. When the Conclave ended at lunchtime (with no
white smoke), I checked out of my hotel and hooked up with my friends to drive
out of town. We drove through the chaotic city traffic across the ring road,
past Bhaktapur where finally urban sprawl gave way
to open fields. It was very dusty, although it had rained just a week before.
In the beginning of March, there were no crops in the fields. Here people would
grow rice in the summer on their terraced fields. In the winter, another crop
of wheat, rapeseed, millet would be harvested.

As we reached higher ground, we saw many small bars and restaurants
perched perilously above steep slopes with gorgeous views giving out to the
valley. Resisting the temptation, we pushed onwards. There were also several
military camps along the road. Nepal is still emerging from a prolonged Maoist
insurgency and lawlessness that rendered much of the countryside uninhabitable,
contributing to the uncontrolled growth of the capital city region.
Nagarkot, just 40 km outside of the city, has developed into a major
tourist destination thanks to its proximity to the capital and natural beauty.
The town of Nagarkot is not much more than a messy conglomeration of houses in
a crossing where two roads diverge, but it is bustling with activity. On all
sides, there are smaller and larger establishments under the general rubric of
’resort,’ with names like Paradise Inn, CafĂ© du Mont, and The Hotel at the End
of the Universe. We continued past the town and the sprawl of resorts ended. We
drove until we came to another fork in the road where a soldier advised us to
take the path to the left. The road became increasingly rough with potholes on
the unpaved surface. At the end of the road we reached Bhangeri Durbar Resort.
A reservation had been made by Amogh, a friend of my New York –based Nepali
friend Anish. Bhangeri Durbar turned out to be a lovely choice. A new hotel,
opened only at the end of 2011, it was made with good taste and occupied a
pristine location with a view to the Himalayan mountain range. The altimeter in
Roland’s wristwatch clocked over 1,800 meters above sea level.
By the time we arrived for dinner after a rest, both of our fellow traveler
groups had already finished eating, so we had the restaurant—and the assistant
manager’s attention—all to ourselves. The meal was delicious consisting of
chicken curry and fish curry (made from frozen fish, as Nepal is far from
sources of fresh fish), spinach and other vegetables and, of course, rice and
daal. The vegetables were grown in the hotel’s own fields just below. We asked
for raksi, the local alcohol distilled from rice or millet, which the staff
went to procure from a nearby farmhouse. He soon returned with a plastic water
bottle filled with slightly cloudy liquid, which we sampled for the benefit of
our digestion.
Darkness fell rapidly and the moon that rose over the mountains was
two-thirds full, bright orange and huge. It’s so much closer here, observed
Madeleine.
For me this was just a mini-holiday, as I’d have to leave this afternoon
for India. However, we still had time for some sightseeing and decided to head
up to the highest point in the area, the Nagarkot Tower. I had expected to see
hikers there, but was surprised at the scene. Just below the peak, there was a
fair field with a large grouping of shops selling snacks and souvenirs. The
largest share of merchandise, however, clearly was alcohol of different
varieties: there were large bottles of beer, rows of Khukri rum, piles of
Ruslan vodka and Himalayan whisky. This was clearly a popular party place.
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