Nepal - Kathmandu - The Hotel

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My first post about Nepal has to be about the hotel that I’ve picked. When choosing online I was looking for something ‘authentic, character-filled, in Patan (the historic district)’—nailed it! I noted last entry that we turned into an ancient looking alley to come to the hotel. It turns out that the alley is called Momaru Galli (Galli means alley, apparently) and it’s quite famous in the area. It’s also less than a minute down the alley to Durbar Square, the major temple grounds and site of the former palace (now a museum).

Temple House, from the alley (note the typical Asian telecoms and electrical infrastructure)

Momaru Galli

Temple House from the rear/internal courtyard (my room has the balcony)

Quoting from the guidebook you get in Patan:

“The alley is home to the temple of Goddess Chhinnamasta worshipped throughout the year. The Chhinnamasta temple was once used for witchcraft, and according to a local story, a learner wanted to sacrifice her husband to acquire knowledge and power. But the husband was saved by his clever friend. The tantric goddess is seen as a protector of the area, warding off evil spirits and safeguarding the local people.”

Temple House has five rooms, one per floor. There was an option on the website for a room with a balcony, which I selected. Turns out, there’s only one of them! As the photos show, the room is a square, very low ceiling height (no more than 2ms, mostly 195cm – I’m 193cm tall), and the doors are only 1.8m high. I’m mostly stooped or bending over as I move around the whole hotel. (While I’ve been writing this on the balcony, I’ve gone in and out of the room a couple of times, and just now cracked my head on the balcony door lintel! 😒)

The bed is two single mattresses on a low base made into a king. That’s fine and it is comfortable. The balcony is very narrow and hangs out over an internal courtyard of the surrounding buildings.

Getting up to the room involves climbing three flights of stairs; well, ladders really. The stairs have a rise of about 200mm and a ‘going’ of <100mm. The door is barred by a big brass bolt, locked with an ornate padlock – on the outside. Inside there is no lock, one must close the two leaves and shoot a small bolt into the lintel and/or sill of one leaf.

The pitch of the stairs

It’s like being on a ship, a wooden ship

I like the door but it fakes security

The bathroom is clearly a ‘later addition’ but utterly charming. The spout for the basin is carved as a water channel. The shower is a small hand-held which has the saving grace of providing actual hot water. The whole thing is no bigger than a toilet cubicle, with a raised floor to accommodate the plumbing.

The other notable thing about the room is that the windows do not have glass in them. They are merely holes in the wall with timber shutters to open or close, as needed. That’s fine, I suppose, but it definitely means that the room is not soundproof! This morning, I woke up and none of the lights or powerpoints worked; then, mysteriously, they did. I discovered later that the whole area had suffered a blackout. All in all, I’ve definitely got the ‘authentic, character-filled, experience’ and while I’m enjoying that experience, I’m vividly reminded that I am a ‘glamper’ at best and a great lover of my creature comforts.