Goodbye Malta, Namasté Nepal

As I write these lines, I am sitting at a small, but surprisingly comfortable hotel desk. I can hear cars honking, people jabbering, birds chirping, several construction works and, in the distance, some sort of foreign carnival music. Smoky and sweet-tart smells of burnt plastic and Southeast Asian cuisine mingle in my nose. Looking out the window, I observe the forested foothills of the Himalayas – hiding behind low-hanging clouds and a mixture of smog and fog – stretching up above the colourful rooftops of Kathmandu.

For over a week now I have been in Nepal’s capital, in mandatory quarantine.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. My last travel report ended on Malta in early August. Let me summarise what has happened since then and draw a conclusion of my first travel episode.

Dolce Vita on Malta

In August, I spent my fourth and, for now, last month on Malta. Working only three hours a day, I spent quite much time with friends and visited the last highlights of the island I hadn’t seen before. Without going into too much detail, I’ll let some pictures speak for themselves:

Unlike the other months on Malta when I was quite busy, I enjoyed more freedom in August. I often lived for the day and let myself drift from moment to moment without planning too much. An Italian attitude to life spread in my mind, also thanks to my flatmate Ivano, from whom I learned a lot.

The last time I felt such serenity was during my student days in Tübingen, when my circle of friends lived in my neighbourhood and became a kind of family. On Malta, this was coupled with a leisurely pace fuelled by intense heat and a paradisial environment that invited you to swim, relax and explore everywhere. An unbeatable combination!

But my carefree attitude was also due to my plans – finally I had some again! Originally, I wanted to travel to Nepal in August, but then the Delta version of Corona swept through the world, and all of Asia shut down. As an interim step, I stayed a month longer on Malta and considered going to another European destination until Asia would open again.

Somehow, though, I could not get comfortable with the idea, and whenever I picked a country as next destination, it closed its borders a short time later. In August, I learned that Nepal was welcoming tourists again, so my next and original destination was finally set again!

Something I did not take as lightly was my departure from my work at ToLL Relations, because after more than three years I quit my job as PR Manager at this Frankfurt-based agency. I had only been working part-time since May and the end was foreseeable, thus saying goodbye to my beloved colleagues happened gradually. However, when the end of this phase of my life finally came, it left me with the expected wistfulness.

My Maltese lesson: I will become a digital nomad!

With melancholy, I also said goodbye to Malta at the end of August. I revisited all the places and people that were important to me, organised a small farewell party and reflected on my last four months on this small Mediterranean island.

I find it a bit difficult to give an overall bottom line, as my time on Malta consisted of different phases. In May I was living in the Coliving house and looked for a new flat, in June I fell into a sort of limbo, July was mainly dedicated to my job as a teacher, and in August I enjoyed a rediscovered sense of freedom.

Besides the wonderful impressions and experiences on Malta, my new friends and the sunburns, I especially take one thing with me: my decision to become a digital nomad.

Okay, maybe not quite in the classical sense. I would like to settle down someday somewhere, and I also like to be an employee. What can I say, I like structure and security. But a condition for my next job will definitely be the option to work completely remotely from abroad for at least two to three months a year.

Because it works! With a laptop, a stable internet connection and a comfortable desk I have all the working conditions I need. Whether I sit at home or in a coliving villa on a rock in the Mediterranean should not matter at all.

I met many fully-employed digital nomads who, after a few weeks or months on Malta, returned to their homebase, with the firm plan to spend the winter months in the next warm place while working. I want this too.

Two weeks of holidays are not good enough

Only over a longer period of time it is possible to really get to know a place. I became especially aware of this in August when I observed the hordes of tourists. All these beautiful places that belonged to my neighbourhood, to my everyday life and to cherished memories, many tourists saw mainly through their cameras. Briefly marvelling, quickly taking a picture and then moving on to tick off the next place on their holiday checklist.

I am usually such a tourist, too. I enjoy sightseeing holidays and really want to see everything when I am at a place. This is because I don’t like to travel to the same destination twice, as there is just so much to see in the world. Still, in a way, it is a waste to visit the world in such a superficial way.

In addition, it was a great feeling to go running along the seafront in the morning and go for a swim before work started. Or to put on my swimming trunks after a long day, pack a towel and snorkelling mask and jump into the sea before enjoying the sunset with a tasty soda at a cozy beach bar with live music.

Why shouldn’t we always be able to have that? Why do we accept local conditions and long for the annual holiday that is over again after two weeks, without being able to recover us properly? That’s not how I imagine my life any more. I would like to enjoy the amenities of this world more, and be able to give them real attention.

True, this is a financial question and I am in the fortunate position to work in fields that allow for remote work. And it also becomes more difficult with school-aged children involved. But children have long summer holidays. And flats can be sublet. I am sure I will find ways to be able to live and work at least one to three months abroad in the future. That’s my version of digital nomadism, which I’ve discovered for myself on Malta.

One last paragraph about Malta: Malta was the right decision for me to start travelling. The international community is large and active, it’s easy to create connections and the island is overseeable. Nevertheless, considering the size of Malta, there is so much to discover, be it of a sporting, cultural or relaxing nature. Everything is nearby, orientation is easy, thanks to the Euro and EU roaming your local bank and SIM cards work, and almost everyone speaks English. And yet Malta is culturally different enough to get new input.

Many thanks to Daniel at this point, who brought me to Malta and accompanied me there as friend and mentor.

Back home

On September 1st, I flew back to Berlin. Man, 14 degrees can be freezing cold when the average temperature for the last four months was over 30 degrees! In Berlin, I stayed with friends for two nights and visited my grandma before finally returning to my home in Dresden to stay with my parents, as I continued to sublet my room in Mainz.

I was amazed at how quickly I returned to the German culture in my mind. I expected that, in the beginning, Germany’s different architecture alone would seem strange to me after being in a different environment for four months, but the opposite was true: everything felt immediately familiar and almost frighteningly “normal”.

I wanted to stay in Dresden for one month to give myself enough time for the Nepal preparations, my family and friends, and also to celebrate my 33rd birthday at the end of September with my loved ones.

Entering Nepal required a lot of bureaucracy in addition to the usual travel preparations. I had to be able to present a number of documents, including the visa (which was a bit tricky to get and costs € 125 for three months) and a quarantine hotel. Foreigners entering Nepal must go into a 10-day quarantine. While vaccinated immigrants can spend the quarantine in a private place, unvaccinated people have to book a special hotel listed in an official document from the Nepalese government.

Besides preparing my trip, I spent a lot of time with my loved ones, including my Switch, and with my work as freelancer. I am currently working as an editor for two German gaming outlets and additionally as a content writer for an agency. In September, for example, I wrote an SEO-driven Cornerstone article on an IT topic. Fortunately, I can do these freelance jobs flexibly while travelling, which grants me additional financial freedom and security.

Off to Nepal!

My flight took off on Friday, October 1st. I departed from Berlin in the evening, stopped over in Istanbul at night and arrived in Kathmandu at noon the following day.

In the days leading up to my departure, I was surprisingly calm. At moments, a deep melancholy hit me. The natural worry of my parents sometimes infected me as well, then again I had brief moments of thrilled anticipation. However, all these emotions were of a very fleeting nature; mostly I felt empty, somehow.

Then the parting came, which was a tearful affair with my parents. It’s always this way since I have moved away from Dresden and can only visit them two to three times a year on average.

The 24-hours-long trip went as planned. I took the bus to Berlin airport, from where I flew to Istanbul. The Istanbul airport really impressed me, it seemed like a small city in itself. Around 2 am I continued there for the seven-hour flight to Kathmandu.

Again, I felt only little excitement. I watched Cruella and Toy Story 4 as if it was a normal Friday night. It wasn’t until about an hour before landing that I had to force myself to realise what was actually waiting for me now. Almost for a year I had been expecting this moment – and when it came, I didn’t really notice its importance.

I felt strange when I caught myself with this. Is this normal with such long journeys, or has the constant bombardment of social media and other entertainment turned me into an emotionless zombie? I definitely want to get to the bottom of that question in Nepal.

After landing in Kathmandu valley, which is surrounded by green mountains, numerous security gates awaited me. First, vaccination, PCR and hotel booking status were checked in some barracks close to the runway. I was one of the few who did not have a vaccination certificate, so a uniformed soldier pulled me aside and wrote my name and hotel on a scrap of paper.

I was allowed to proceed to the immigration desk for my visa check. This was followed by another screening of the hand luggage (again, I didn’t miss being fished out), the collection of my checked luggage (I was relieved to receive my undamaged backpack), money exchange and another check of my health and hotel status, again with my name written down on scratch paper (I wonder what happens to it).

After about two hours I finally left the airport and discovered the friendly driver with my name tag, bringing me to the hotel in an old van. I noticed how some tension fell off my shoulders.

First impressions of a different world

During the 20-minute ride, I finally felt euphoria welling up inside me. I was in another world! You know some images from TV, but in real life the impressions hit with full force.

The traffic! My driver speeded along the chaotic roads filled with mopeds as if we were the only ones using the road. At one point we drove completely in oncoming traffic for about ten seconds. Several times we crossed the other lane (if one can speak of “lanes” here) almost without indication to turn left or right. But somehow everyone went along.

Amidst the chaotic traffic, there were lots of people crossing the road. No one seemed to be afraid for their lives, even though we often passed them with only millimetres. They probably felt the same as I did – somehow I had the basic trust in the driver named Dil that he knew what he was doing.

Other impressions included: Colourful houses. Rubbish. A market place densely packed with people; the goods on display mainly lying on the ground. Street dogs. A goat. Thick bundles of cables everywhere. Bamboo trees left and right. Small temples with typical Asian roofs. I can hardly wait to be able to explore everything by myself!

Quarantine in Kathmandu

At the hotel, I received a warm welcome and learned that “quarantine” is a loose concept here. Contrary to expectations, I am allowed to leave my room and move freely throughout the hotel complex. I am allowed to have my meals in the hotel restaurant without a mask, to go to the spa including sauna and whirlpool, to book a massage and so on.

So, if I really had a deadly virus, I could infect all the staff here and all the other guests who are not in quarantine. But fortunately, I am healthy and I am totally fine with enjoying a little more freedom.

The Himalayan Suite Hotel is priced in the upper-middle range by Nepali standards. For 10 nights, breakfast and dinner, I pay around € 320. However, in the list of hotels provided by the government, it was one of the cheaper options – there were many hotels that cost twice as much. I live on the top floor, have a balcony, and a good wifi connection, which was important to me.

Apart from a few ants (which I got rid of by rubbing a lemon on the floor and taping some cracks), my hotel is almost comparable to Western standards. Together with the fascinating view from my balcony I am able to acclimatise excellently here.

What does a quarantine day look like for me? I get up around 9 am (I’m still getting used to the time difference of about 4 hours). I exercise, shower and go to the restaurant. There I stuff my belly, because the next meal is not until 7 pm at dinner. Then I chill a bit and start writing my articles. After some more exercises to stay in shape, I eat dinner, continue working and chilling, and go to bead around 1 am. What a life!

In between, I study my guidebook, chat with other guests and the staff in the restaurant, enjoy the view, learn some Nepali vocabulary, send voice messages, play Nintendo Switch or laugh about the weird TV programme here. So I’m not getting bored, and I almost wish my quarantine would last a little longer so I can get through the workload I’ve imposed on myself.

Balcony observations

Before I write about what happens next (oh dear, this article is getting way too long again), I’d like to share some of my observations from the balcony:

• Many women here seem to spend most of the day taking care of the household. I noticed they wear red clothes especially often.
• In almost every corner there is rubbish, mainly plastic bags.
• There is a small littered green area behind the hotel. There, a man beats the shit out of two pillows with a wooden stick every morning, while several women and men seem to be sewing old blankets there around noon.
• In between the colourful, stylistically mixed houses, there are small corrugated-iron shacks. Opposite my window, there is a corrugated-iron yard where a goose lives, apparently together with two huge rats and two to three suspicious men who burn plastic waste in an old trash barrel several times a day, whose clouds of smoke then drift through my room.
• The clouds hang quite low here (okay, Kathmandu is also about 1,400 metres above sea level) and often cover the mountains in the background. Sometimes the mountains are not visible at all, and I am unsure whether they are hidden by natural fog or the city’s smog, but probably it’s both.
• Over the city, large hawk-like birds make their circles, which according to my best friend are probably named “black kites”. They seem majestic.
• Many children are playing on the roof terraces of the houses, the families here seem to be quite big. They play with square kites who are supposed to scare away the rain after monsoon season.
• The sun sets quite early. At 6 pm it’s pitch-dark already.

What’s next?

On October 12th, I am allowed to leave the hotel. I will move to a school on the western outskirts of Kathmandu, where I will work as an English teacher for probably three months. The headmaster has already visited me to talk about the coming weeks.

Recently the Dashain Festival has started, the biggest Hindu folk festival of the year (comparable to Christmas for us). This means that children are on holiday right now, and therefore I have one week to settle in Kathmandu before the work starts. There is a holiday programme that includes Yoga at 5:45 am at the local Monkey Temple. So I’m excited about everything that awaits me!

I will combine details about the school with a report about my first experiences in the next article. Until then, I say: Namasté (which also means goodbye)!