Kathmandu, the heart and soul of Nepal, is incredibly unique in its own ways. The narrow alleyways and the bustling environment with houses sprouting in thousands every day.
Kathmandu has people from every nooks and corner of Nepal, with a hopeful aspiration to make it big! ‘Mero pyaro Kathmandu.’
Here are some of the peculiar things that residents of Kathmandu are familiar with:
1. People are patient enough to wait for 72 hours for 5 liters of petrol but intolerant when it comes to overtaking from the wrong side of the road.
2. The irony of having a better domestic airport than the lone international airport.
3. A cubic centimeter of newspaper advert space costs Rs. 3,500 while a square foot of real estate costs Rs. 2,500.
4. Land Rovers are all over the city, but the road conditions are dismal, to say the least.
5. The speed breakers are built higher than the sidewalk if any.
6. Buying the best available products is considered a status symbol, however, making the kid wear a helmet on a motorcycle is not necessary at all.
7. Paying Rs. 500 for a liter of petrol in the black market, however, will bargain for a rupee at a roadside vendor.
8. You don’t have running tap water, but the roads are flooded with rainwater.
9. Literally, there are more museums in the city than public restrooms.
10. Cow slaughter is illegal, but no one cares about stray cows roaming on the city street.
11. People in the city are lobbying for “Ek Desh, Ek Pradesh,” but barely think of contributing to internal tourism.
12. The mockery people make of themselves when they ask for bottled mineral water after a delicious intake of roadside ‘Pani Puri’.
13. Wearing a helmet is considered classy (rather for safety) when on expensive “Lapierre” mountain bike or similar, but not necessary when on classic green-colored “Hero” cycle.
14. The city produces thousands of medical doctors every year, but few kilometers outside on the outskirt, people are dying of modest diseases.
15. With widespread knowledge of being an earthquake-prone area, tall buildings are constructed everywhere.
16. A city where traffic jam reduces only during Dashain and Nepal Banda or the ongoing Nakabandi.
17. A city where not a single traffic signals are working.
No matter what, Kathmandu is where our heart lies. We love KTM. There is no city like it in the world. Mero Paurakh, Mero Gaurav, Mero Kathmandu.
