October 17, 2024, day 1
The flight leaves from Catania. I stop in Dubai for a few hours. I arrive in Kathmandu the next morning. During the night I can sleep even sitting up. In that position my dear friend sciatic nerve is quiet in its corner. He is an exhibitionist, he has been coming to visit me for a year now, sometimes discreetly, sometimes with a racket that does not leave me in peace. When he is really in the mood, the pain takes over. I promise myself to undergo a check-up once I return. For now he has to deal with me.
I unpack what I need for a long hot shower, then meet in the hotel lobby with my guide and Mr Kesh. My guide, Padàm, is a little man with eyes that smile instead of a mouth, he looks like a cartoon, animated by the typical affability of the Nepalese. After exchanging the necessary pleasantries, I say goodbye to my hosts and dedicate myself to her, to the city. Kathmandu reciprocates with the exuberance of a suffocating embrace: to say that it is chaotic does not do it justice, if only it were only chaotic. There are no sidewalks, cars and mopeds appear everywhere and slip in everywhere, as if nothing were happening you find a taxi under your armpit. Cars speed in every direction, smoke and dust filter the air in a cloudy dust effect. But the enchantment of the city prevails, like a voice telling you 'go beyond what you see, concentrate on what you feel'. And I see colors and I smell, the colors of the fabric shops and the smells of the essences. Every shop has a lit incense stick. The fragrances stun more than the chaos of the cars, but I also hear voices, soft voices, whispering something to me that is not immediately understandable, perhaps because of the traffic, perhaps because of the mysterious charm of the city. Then I understand: they are the whispers of the barkers, men who approach you discreetly, point at you, stare at you and talk, and promise you women at easy prices, massages, stimulants, everything near you, only on the third floor, see? Come on, sir, take courage, it costs little, sir, women, sir, good stuff, sir. Sir.