I’ve known I needed to find another place to live since last winter set in. The Nepali family that also lives in the building kept a draft going all day long. It’s culture and I’ve learned that’s one thing you just can’t argue. Then a couple of other ‘cultural’ issues arose and right on time, another perfect place to live came my way. I say another because no matter the cultural issue, I just couldn’t find another apartment that I like as well as this one.
I decided I needed to rent an entire building so I could make sure it’s warm enough for me. Imagine it being a nice, winter’s day, but the apartment is colder than outside. That’s been the issue here since I moved in.
Then one day my dear friend and Nepali son, Kamal, called to tell me he found an entire building for me. One problem with it is that it’s in Changunarayan, a village I knew had water issues. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the community has installed a reserve tank, so the water issue is as resolved as it can possibly be. That means they do still run out of water, just not so often. Bhaktapur and Kathmandu are the same.
The other issue with Changu is regarding the location of the village itself. There is only one road to it and it’s a bit further from Kathmandu, which means an extra bus ride for tourists traveling by local bus. On the plus side, the energy is amazing there and there is a road being built from the other side. In a short year or two, I will have the first guest house tourists see in Changu. Changunarayan is the oldest temple in Nepal still in use. It’s being preserved and restored very nicely. The people in the village are Tamang and other indigenous castes that are laid back and kind. I enjoy all my Nepali friends of various castes, but I’ve noticed a few of the castes have an entitlement that causes a lack of respect toward tourists, even when their income is primarily from abroad. It doesn’t make sense to my inner psychologist.
When I saw this building all my resistance was gone. Yes, there are a few functional issues to deal with, some bathrooms do not have sinks. I’ve stayed in buildings with the staircase coming up into the middle of the floor like this one, but the builder/owner will put doors on each floor to keep the draft out. I will invest in a good insulation product to keep the cold from coming up through the floor. So, issues dealt with. The guest house is located right at the edge of Changu Narayan Temple Village, just outside the Westgate of the Temple.
Although newly constructed, the Shaman’s Way Guest House, as I will name it, blends quite well with the existing, ancient arctecture. It is built to withstand a category 9 earthquake and has such modern conveniences as Western toilets throughout. When you see construction like this you can be assured it’s rated to be earthquake safe. Nepal has a major earthquake every 75 years. Sure enough, in 2011 the big one came. Fortunately for me, since I was in Thamel at the time, Sikkim, Delhi and Islamabad took the worst of it. Thamel is not the place to be when an earthquake comes.
Changunarayan Temple Village is an amazing step back in time and a person can spend hours just gazing out the living room window at the Himalayas off into the distance and local activity nearby. One of the things I love about my current apartment is the views of the lovely mountains. The view is even better from Changu, and this building than where I am now. What an incredible step up and I didn’t even know a step up was possible.
As you can see, we aren’t quite ready for our first guest, but it will be lovely. Each floor will have a common area for watching TV or just relaxing. There are only three rooms for guests on the two full floors with a suite and small room on the rooftop level, for a total of 8 guest rooms.
We will have a little kitchenette area where our guests can make a cup of coffee via our French press or our little Italian Moka style, tiny pot. We will not allow Nescafe on site. We’ll feature only Nepali Organic coffee and our guests are welcome to make it anytime. We will also have fruit and pastries in the mornings for guests who want to get started early. This area will be located on the landing at the stairs on both full floors between the large suite, guest room and the common living room. This will have a gas stove, coffee, assorted, organic teas, sugar, fruit and assorted breads. It will be self serve and all you want.
This is right out my front door, community land so no one will hide the magnificent views. I want to get some tents to rent for this area.
There are some nice walking paths and a couple of trails will take you to Bhaktapur or Nagarkot by walking. They make for a great warm up trek.
Any inquiries for booking a room, please contact me at:
Amanda +977 984 993 0812 or at FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com
Additional amenities at our guest house:
Yoga/Meditation room
On-site therapeutic massage room
Library of healing DVD’s
Library of Travel books for Nepal
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Nepal: A Tourist’s Manual-For more information check out our website. If you enjoy this blog and the website you will enjoy the 299 page eBook. It is a well illustrated, easy read with over 1,000 tips to help you get the most out of Nepal.
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