Nights Out

So I left the last post with implying(clearly stated)that the next post would have an example of why the government putting me down was annoying. I don’t really have any proof of this event so I will do my best to describe the happenings with confusing you as much as possible.

Last Saturday there was a concert at a club called the “1905”. The 1905 is a huge place that serves food and puts on concerts in the middle of Kathmandu, right outside of Thamel. It truly is a classy place. The concert was for a blues festival in Kathmandu which was happening all week long.

First of all, the concert. I must say that the musicians playing were all quite talented, and impressive. There were a few guitarists that could really play some great solos, and some vocalists that could really belt. That being said, it was a blues concert, and I found it strangely odd that by the end of the night there was in fact, no blues. Almost the entire concert was based around a distant distant blues baseline and drum beat, which could barely be heard through a steam rolled pile of rocks(haha rock and roll!!).

This is where the government steps in. 4-5 police offers came strolling in at 12pm..am…whatever it is, and decided to shut the place down. When they initially broke in there were a few things running through my head about why they decided to end the party:

1. They’ve found me!

2. They’ve had enough with this so called “blues” and have decided to teach us all a lesson, either via beating or a nice offbeat quartet rendition of the new Nepal Anthem.

3. Its 12pm and its 2 hours past curfew…whoops.

Either way, the police came in, all serious like, jumped on stage, and had the event organizer tell everyone to go home. The place was packed full of expats and such, so except for a few rowdy people it seemed like it was going to be a pretty orderly exit. The police seemed upset, but it didn’t seem like there was going to be any trouble. Enter the drunk guy.

Some drunk guy decided that enough was enough and that it was time someone showed the police who was boss. He kicked, yelled, pushed, shoved, yelled some more, and fell over a few times, which really did not help whatever view he was trying to express. Lots of shoving and some intensifying time later, I decided to go home. Exciting no?

I went back to that club last night to see a jazz concert. I was not expecting any real jazz but to my surprise the name held up and the main act had a sax, a bass, and a drum set. It was actually pretty damn good, but this time, they decided to end the event on time.

Got to take my first concert photos:

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