Getting lost in Kathmandu, or the time I was asked if I wanted a gigolo

After visiting the Monkey Temple, I decided to walk around Kathmandu and explore it a bit more deeply. It's a beautiful, busy and colorful city and I wanted to see what I can find.


Now, I'd like to point out that normally I have a very good sense of direction. I generally walk and figure out exactly how to get back to where I started, so I never get lost. I've traveled to 26 countries and have never gotten lost, minus a brief ten minutes that I took the train the wrong direction in Vienna.

So, when I went into the cafe, I fully intended and knew I'd be fine once I got out. I ordered a milk tea (obviously) and rested my feet for a few minutes. But when I got out of the cafe, I was completely disoriented. I thought I needed to go right, but that was false. Thinking that I needed to go right led me into an unknown location, filled with bright colors that looked similar to all the other bright colors and suddenly I was lost.

After what felt like hours, I finally managed to get my way back to the Durbar Square, which was one location I knew I could get back to my hostel if needed.












I went to try and walk across but was told I needed to buy a ticket to cross, which is the entrance fee for the square. It was $7.50. I felt this was a bit too much to pay, since I wanted to go take more pictures the following day and didn't want to pay $22.50 total to walk through the square. I try not spend frivolously as I travel. So I decided I'd attempt to find my way around, which proved to be difficult. At this point I was feeling flustered.

Jennifer Aniston in Kathmandu

Of course, this was also the point that a man who was at least 60 came up to me and asked if I would like a gigolo.

In my shocked and startled state, I said, "What?"

He said, "Do you want a gigolo?"

To which I obviously said, "No."
He said, "Come on, we'd have lots of fun."

I said, "No." He did not back off and I ended up yelling no.

A few people laughed but he backed off.

To say I was alarmed would be an understatement.

I hurried off in the opposite direction and almost immediately, Kersten from Germany asked me for directions back to her hostel, which was in the general direction of my hostel and we agreed to be lost together.

We stopped into this square on our way back and took pictures. The little kids asked to be in my picture and wanted to look at their pictures, which I of course let them be. Kathmandu is really a beautiful city.

We continued to be ridiculously lost until Toby from England led us back to the right place.

We finally found our way back to our two hostels and decided, since we were both traveling alone, to go to dinner together. We chatted about travel and had a lovely time. She worked for a small company that makes documentaries and was on a solo trip to Nepal because her husband was on a boys trip to South America and she decided to go trekking in Nepal, rather than wait around for her husband in Germany. I got briefly lost one more time on my way back to my hostel, but managed to get there without being intercepted again. The next day, I headed to the temple where they do the cremations in Kathmandu, but that will be the next blog.