New Nightlife

When I first arrived in Kathmandu the nightlife was actually pretty good. Contrary to popular belief, there were actually a lot of very nice bars in the city which catered to many different kinds of people. If you felt like lounging at a nice bar or pub, there were quite a few to lounge in. If you felt like dancing while you were drinking, there were a few dance clubs that were there to fill your needs. if you felt like drinking while you watched other people who apparently had not acclimatized to the hot weather in the summer months of Kathmandu, and had thus decided to leave their clothes at home, there were plenty of establishments to do that in as well.

Other than the avid beer lover, there seemed to be something in Kathmandu for everyone.

Enter the communists.



Apparently the communists of Nepal skipped that chapter in their manual "Communism and You: Deluding Yourself, One Food Stamp at a Time."

The Maoists have decided that the city is full of filth and it is high time that it was cleaned up, which in itself is a noble goal, and something that honestly should be done. The dance bars attract a lot of bad people, are unregulated, promote people trafficking, and generally make the city look rather sleazy. So, the issue isn't with their goals; it is with their plan to solve the problem, the side effects and there alternative agenda.

Instead of shutting down all the dance bars, sleazy establishments, and drug rings, they have decided to just shut down the city at 9 or 10pm every day. So effectively, as long as you are home for bedtime, you can drink and watch nude people dance to your heart's content. The big problem with this plan is that there are a lot of good places to get a nice drink and some good food late at night. Thamel, the tourist part of town, usually goes all night and has a lot of nice establishments. These places are causing no harm, and help the economy. When you shutdown all of the nice restaurants and stores, you are also taking away income from the taxis, and hitting all late night grocery stores hard. In general it is causing a lot of hardships to business owners, and proving a great inconvenience to people who want to party.

It really is annoying, believe me. Example in the next post.

-TR